Ahhhh, Anguilla: October 2013, Post-the-Last

Wow, but this trip flew by way too quickly.  We've done several 4- and 5-night trips before, but this one seemed particularly swift. I awakened with the sunrise in the morning and instead of snapping a photo and going back to sleep, got up to pack. We'd debated between getting up early for breakfast and returning to the villa for the last few minutes vs packing up and doing our leavetaking of the villa before  heading out for breakfast and the airport, and the latter won.

Apartment above Bonjour Cafe

Thus it was that around 10:00 we showed up at Bonjour Cafe again, having locked up the villa, made a last-minute sweep for out stuff, and leaving notes and tips for our housekeepers. DH decided to fortify himself with protein and thus ordered eggs & bacon, but I was a pastry girl all the way.  We ordered cappuccinos (cappuccini?) and shared one of the freshly squeezed orange juices, plus a buttered ham baguette to go to eat in St. Maarten.

I appreciated that the flowers were picked fresh daily--the handwritten sign for the OJ looked the same, but somebody had taken the trouble to remove the bougainvillea from the day before and put out fresh frangipani blooms.

We had some time, so once again we lingered over coffee, even having a second cup, and chatting with the owner a bit.  I ordered the identical pastries from the day before--almond croissant and a pain au chocolat--and they were infinitely better and fresher-tasting. I was even tempted to try out the hammock this time, but I held off. Gotta save something for next trip, right?

Before long, it was time to head to the airport to meet Joan from AARF, who was delivering two kitties to us to transport back to the US. My husband was filled with nervousness about it, but I'd been in contact with GreensFromMaine, a member of one of the travel forums I frequent, and she walked me through the process pretty well via email. We took two litter mates with us and AARF takes care of everything: carrier, small pouches of food, a small toy, veterinary papers, collars, leashes, and a spare liner for the carrier in case the kitties had to wee. They even provide cash for paying the airline carrier's fee, but in this case we volunteered to pay it as a means of supporting AARF.

Check-in with Anguilla Air Services was easy and since the kitties were sharing one carrier and it could ride on my lap, they didn't charge anything to transport them. The kitties could even stay in the carrier while I carried it through security--after they inspected the carrier, that is. I just have to say that those kitties were champs.  Though they cried for all three takeoffs and cried for most of the 6-minute flight from Anguilla to St. Maarten, they were champs. Troupers. Whatever cliche you prefer, insert it here. They went about 13.5 hours without eating, drinking, or using the bathroom!

Expressing their displeasure at takeoff

This was the third time we'd flown with AAS to St. Maarten and this trip we flew lower and came in at a sharper angle than we'd done before, seeing new parts of both Anguilla and St. Maarten.  We took lots of photos, including a shot of what I think might be the old location of Straw Hat and Saba seen through the windscreen:

Is this the old Straw Hat seen in the mid-ground?

Saba, dead ahead

Coming in sharply for the runway!

The pilot and the gate agent for AAS were marvelous, helping us onto the little bus that takes us to the terminal, and helping us handle our bags (we had one empty but largish bag with us that had been filled with stuff for AARF on our way to Anguilla), and showing us exactly where to go to find the transfer desk at baggage claim so that we wouldn't have go out into the terminal to check in. Everything we did that day with the kitties went as smoothly as possible--it was a dream, really--and we will definitely do it again. I don't imagine that we will ever take the ferry again if we had our druthers.

I had to take the kitties out of the carrier to go through security at St. Maarten, which I was rather dreading.  As any of you know who have passed through SXM, they seem to have the surliest workers in all of the travel industry. But with the kitties in hand, they were all smiles at me as I passed through, offering to help with zipping or unzipping the carrier, and one woman quickly jumped in to help extricate one of the kitties' claws from the mesh on the carrier. Verdict: everybody who travels to Anguilla back to the US via St. Maarten should transport a puppy or kitty to make their travels easier and more pleasant!

Once upstairs in the gate area, we turned left to the quiet end of the concourse to try to give the kitties a little food and water, but they refused it all, except for when I dipped my fingertips in water and then moistened their mouths. Oh, well.  They seemed fairly content when I would slip one hand into the carrier and pet them, with the fuzzier kitten having such a loud purr that even DH could hear it one seat away.

Seriously, how cute are these two?

The rest of our travel went smoothly and except for a few minutes at takeoff, the kitties were quiet, nestled into their carriers.  Even Miami wasn't bad--lines were pretty short for immigration and we spent an extra 5 minutes in the agriculture line where our veterinary health papers were inspected and we were waved on through.  At security in Miami, I thought one of the TSA agents was going to go into paroxysms of joy at seeing the kitty, and lots of people asked if they could see the kitties before we put them back into the carrier. On the flight from Miami to Hartford, we had one open seat between us, so we could take turns putting one of our hands inside to give comfort, all through the flight.

We met the kittens' foster mom at 1:00 am when we landed (such is the dedication of the people who work with AARF), who is a vet tech. She surprised us just a few days later by letting us know that the kitten had been adopted already.  Seriously, I would urge anybody traveling to Anguilla (or to other parts of the world that might have an animal overpopulation problem) to consider volunteering these animals for transport.  I was surprised just how hard it was to give up those kitties after spending just one day with them, but I would do it again in a heart beat.

That essentially concludes our trip. When we arrived back home, it was to a miasma of black mold, intermittent service of electricity, water, and internet, and no heat for two weeks.  Which is to say that all of the relaxation we soaked up in in the Anguillian sun evaporated lickety-split, such are the joys of home ownership. Thus it is that we're already planning in our minds our next vacation in June.

I'll miss these empty beaches!

Some closing thoughts: Visiting Anguilla this October was very different from being there in Oct '09 and Oct '10. Much quieter over all, and far more places were still closed for the season compared to our previous fall trips. We loved the quietness of the beaches, though, and we'll definitely miss that come next summer.  I was a little surprised to discover just how much our favorite restaurants play a part of our vacation in Anguilla, so we've decided that we will probably save future October breaks for other islands--either new ones we'd like to explore or old favorites that we've not revisited since we discovered Anguilla--and save Anguilla for our two weeks each summer.  Comparison is the thief of joy, and it was difficult not to compare this trip with previous ones.

Some folks have asked if we'll go back to Sweet Return villa and the answer is a qualified yes. Caribella earned our loyalty a couple of years ago and we will return to them whenever they are open.  If we go back to Anguilla again when they're closed, then I would absolutely go back to Sweet Return. I preferred the villa's location on the island compared to Caribella, as it felt much more centrally located.  It's also much nicer than Caribella, whose premium value is its beachfront location on a quiet stretch of sand. I'll say this--it was pretty easy adjusting to Sweet Return's amenities, especially its pool.  But I guess when it comes down to it, I'd rather be beachfront than have a pool, and though it would be perfectly lovely to have both, I'm not aware of any places in Anguilla in my price bracket that offer both. (If you're reading this and you know of any, I'd love to hear what they are!)

Ahhhh, Anguilla: October 2013, Part Three

Beautiful Meads Bay

We awaken to wet pavement and wet cushions 'round the pool.  There's been a storm in the night but we both slept so well that neither of us heard it. We settled into our routine of early morning coffee outside, followed by breakfast around 9:00 inside.  There are about two hours mid-morning when the pool and deck area are completely in the sun with no shade at all, so we always ate breakfast inside.  I picked out the veggies from my pasta the night before to make a cheese & veggie omelet while DH opted for scrambled eggs.  We both had bacon, toast, coffee, and juice.  After breakfast my sweet'art wasn't feeling so hot, so he reclined for a while and I busied myself with my book and checking in on the Anguilla travel forums using the villa's wifi.

Breakfast at home

Fetch me my fainting couch!

Around 1:00 pm, DH starts to feel better, so we decide to pack up beach bags and a couple of chairs & umbrellas and head for a west end beach.  We really wanted to go to Maundays Bay, but with Cap Juluca still closed, we weren't sure what the beach access would be.  Remembering how much we loved that little cove on the Malliouhana end of Meads Bay, we headed there.  Surprised that nobody was under the tree, since it was a Sunday afternoon--we'd expected more locals kicking back down there--we ducked over the small headland and started to set up shop in the "private" cove on the other side.  I say "private" because by law,  all beaches on Anguilla are public up to the high water line, but we were the only two on it. We lasted only about 5 minutes, I'm afraid.  It was so frickin' hot in that cove, with not a lick of shade other than what we brought, and not even a hint of breeze. And it was hot. And one of our umbrellas didn't work. And I stepped on a thorn, lost my balance standing on one foot trying to get it out, and served only to jam it further into my instep.  And did I mention it was hot?

The public access road to Meads Bay 

Our one working umbrella

You can see Malli's dismantled restaurant here

Steps leading down to the private cove

We just looked at each other after I stopped swearing at the thorn, and it was a good thing, too, because we started laughing.  If I hadn't started laughing, my mood would have become very foul, very quickly. We it took us more time to pack & unpack everything than we spent actually on the beach. We headed back to Sweet Return to enjoy the comforts of the copious breezes and the nice swimming pool.  Note to self: In the future, only visit Meads Bay in the morning.

DH, right before we started laughing at ourselves for poor judgment

At least we got to see some nice animules on our way back to the villa:

I've never seen such a big hermit crab in such a small shell.
DH tried to help it across the road so it wouldn't get run over,
but he couldn't get a grip on it that was safe from pincers.

Neither one of us could get into the pool fast enough.  We floated there for longer than we should have, considering the sun was still pretty high in the sky, but eventually common sense kicked in and we retreated to the shade once more to read and doze. I was really peckish by that time, having skipped lunch, so we snacked on the remainder of our cheese plate that the villa provided us, and we nature provided us with a show in the form of a storm approaching from the east. We looked up and all of a sudden St. Martin wasn't there any more.

Normal, hazy view with St. Martin in distance

Stormy view, all but obliterating St. Martin

We debated whether to go out for dinner or just order a pizza to go from the Corner Bar and Tasty's won. We called ahead to see if they could accommodate us and arrived around 7:00.  We'd only been there for breakfast on a previous vacation, and it had been disappointing, so I doubt we would have returned to Tasty's if other options had been available.  As it turned out, it would have been completely our loss had we skipped it, because we both enjoyed dinner quite a bit.

There were a few tables already seated when we arrived, and several more would fill up before we left, so it was also the busiest restaurant we visited on this trip. Despite the fact that the restaurant is on the main road and not on the water, the dining room was comfortable, with breezes darting in through the windows. Chef Dale Carty sent out an amuse bouche of  tuna in a sweet but spicy sauce--I liked it, though I'm not a big fan of thoroughly cooked tuna.

The amuse bouche

We shared the conch fritters as a starter course, which came with a spicy banana sauce and a small seaweed salad accompaniment. DH selected the goat stew, which proved to be the best goat he's eaten anywhere, and in a break from my usual island protocol, I ordered the coconut curry chicken, which had a sauce that was hot and sweet in equal measure.

Conch fritters to share 

Goat stew, with provision

Coconut curried chicken

The food was good, and we were happy to tell the chef so when he came to the front of the house and did a walk through the dining room to greet each table. We felt that Tasty's provided a good value for dinner on Anguilla, all with the charm of feeling like we were eating hearty, home-style food with a touch of flair.  One appetizer, two entrees, two cocktails, one glass of wine and a clearly marked service charge came to only $5 more than our barefoot beach lunch the day before, which led to an interesting conversation about expectation vs value. The dessert menu didn't interest us, so we drove back to Sweet Return to have a bowl of ice cream and a night cap. It was another mighty fine day on Anguilla, but our trip is already halfway over.

Tune in next time for two ingeniously identical days: Tropical Sunset for lunch, hours on Shoal Bay East, and dinner at Dolce Vita.

Ahhhhh, Anguilla! October 2013

It's no secret that my husband and I love Anguilla.  We've been vacationing there pretty regularly since we first tried it back in 2009, sometimes even being lucky enough to go twice a year.  You see, my husband teaches and every October he gets a short fall break. Since our birthdays also fall during October and November, we save our pennies and forego any birthday presents and generally are able to  squeeze in a 4- or 5-night visit to the Caribbean in October, which is also peak hurricane season. Meaning, basically, that the beaches are virtually empty of tourists. Just another perk in our book.

October also happens to be a month when many Caribbean restaurants and hotels close down for vacation and renovation, so this trip was quite different from previous ones. The place we usually stay is closed through the end of this month, so we had to scramble to find someplace else--it was actually the perfect opportunity to try a villa in a different location on the island.  While still technically in the West End, Sweet Return villa is more centrally located than any place else we've stayed and it turned out to be perfectly lovely.

Anguilla from the air

Our travel day was a long but relatively easy one, about 12 hours door-to-door from the time we left our airport hotel to the time we arrived at Sweet Return. We opted to fly Anguilla Air Services from St. Maarten to Anguilla, and for us it's completely worth the extra $25 per person each way over the private ferry boat service--and if you take into account all of the tips we disburse when using the boat, the price differential isn't even that much. We also prefer the immigration & customs process at the airport over Blowing Point AND you get the chance to see Anguilla from the air, so I think we'll always fly to Anguilla in the future.  Ronnie Bryan left us a car in the parking lot, we stopped by Albert Lake to pick up some provisions, and hit the road for Sweet Return.

The directions were fine and easy to follow: basically, when heading west, turn right off the main road right before you get to the new Cuisinart entrance.  The road was terrible, though, and each time we came or went, I mentally apologized to Ronnie for putting his car through that. Stacian met us at the villa and showed us around, explaining the ceiling fans, showing us where to find various things like beach towels & beach chairs, and lastly presenting us with a cheese & wine platter.  That was completely unexpected, especially since we'd negotiated a lower rental rate, but quite welcome.

Our hospitality platter

Once Stacian departed, we opened up all of the doors and windows (all screened) to the breezes and sat down to take it all in.  The villa is very nicely situated, facing south toward St. Martin, with constant breezes that always kept us comfortable.  In fact, we didn't even change out of our long-sleeved travel clothing.

Sweet Return

We were pretty tired, and after snacking on the grapes, cheese, and crackers, we decided that there was no real need to head somewhere for dinner.  We could simply enjoy the villa, read, and nosh as the mood strikes us.  In hindsight, I do wish we would have gone out to Flavours for dinner, as it was a restaurant we wanted to try, but which ended up being either closed or hosting a private event for the rest of our stay. C'est la vie. We were both worn out from our day of travel, and just as we were about to head inside to unpack after the last light had faded, the power went out.  It only lasted about 30 minutes, but luckily we had seen that the villa had flashlights plugged into outlets in the kitchen and our bathroom, so we used those while we unpacked our suitcases. Once the power came back on, we shut up our bedroom, turned the a/c on, and sighed with contentment as we finally got horizontal.  DH went straight to sleep while I read for a bit, but we were both in the land of nod before 9:00 pm. 'Cause that's just the kind of wild and crazy folks that we are.

Here, then, are some photos of and around the villa. It was a very nice place to stay, with comfortable, stylish, yet sensible furnishings for the environment.  It was elegant and offered a nice level of luxury without being fussy.  I felt like I could kick back with impunity. In short, it was a very liveable and gracious space. There are two bedrooms on the main level that are nearly mirror images of each other, with en suite bathrooms.  We chose the bedroom on the left as you look at the above photo.  Each bedroom has a full set of sliding doors and two windows that can be opened up to the ample breezes.  In truth we probably would have been comfortable without air conditioning, but we used it nonetheless. The king-size bed was quite comfy, and it was either a Tempurpedic mattress or one with a Tempurpedic top.  Each bedroom also has a large trunk-like piece of furniture that Stacian explained can be opened up to make a twin-size bed. The bathrooms were done in a stone tile that was both attractive and practical, and the towels were uber-fluffy. Downstairs there is a third bedroom with a private pergola and separate entrance.

This trunk unfolds into a twin bed

The patio & pergola of the lower level bedroom

Between the bedrooms is the primary indoor living space, comprising kitchen, dining area, and living area, plus a separate little sunroom off to the side.  There is a TV and entertainment center, but we never used it. The dining table is large and solid with a glass top, the sink overlooks the yard, and they even provide a kitchen "map" indicating what items are in which cupboards & drawers.  There is one sofa and there are three matching chaises longues (one pair and one single one by the tv) in the living space, too. A coordinating sofa is in the sunroom, too, as well as cabinet holding all of the bar glasses & tools.

The kitchen

The cabinet & drawer "map"

The sunroom

The bar

The two chaises longues

View of pool and St. Martin beyond from the dining table

We also appreciated the little touches, like the matching chandeliers & sconces in the living area, the glass jars filled with sand from the different beaches on the island, lined up like squat little soldiers, and the globe in the sunroom.

My DH in particular loved this chandelier

But most of all, what we appreciated were the pool and the views (well, except for all of the power lines). We spent a lot of time outside, either reading in the shade, taking the early morning sun, or kicking back in the pool.  The sliding doors in our bedroom faced full east, so we slept with the curtains open in order for the sunrise to wake us up in the morning--then we'd either head out to the chaises longues to enjoy the earliest morning rays if the cushions were dry, or thrown open the doors and crawl back on top of the bed if it had rained in the night. We didn't have a full-on sunset view, but we craned around, we could get close to one.  The plot of land behind the villa has an incomplete house on it, as does the plot of land to the one side, and the rebar from both construction sites shows up in most photos where I tried to snap the sunset.

The first sunrise we were awake for

The eastern sky at sunset

Sunset behind the neighbor's house

This shot was from the window in the sunroom

If you squint, you can just make out Saba's shadowy outline in the middle of the photo

And that just about brings us to the end of our tour. We really, really liked our space at Sweet Return, with its privacy, views, and pool.  While we missed being directly on the beach, it was pretty neat being at a relatively high point on the island and seeing so much of the island.  We could look beyond our pool to the salt ponds and Rendesvouz Bay, or over land to Cuisinart and Temenos. We enjoyed seeing the lights of the island and on St. Martin twinkling in the twilight. It was the perfect place for relaxation for five nights, but I can also see how it would be perfect for actual island living.

A tired but happy self-portrait.