Pull up a chair under an umbrella and put on your reading glasses this could take awhile.



Our vacation included 3 days in St Maarten and 7 in Anguilla. While on vacation I updated a daily blog with pictures and stories of our activities of the day. Here is the link if you would like the whole story with pictures. Anguilla eXcellent Adventure

Like most blogs it goes backwards in time, but if you would like to start at the beginning there is table of contents on the right. Just expand the month of May and you will see the first post. At that point one can page through in chronologically.

The Short Version:

The trip was amazing and we experience so many great things! Here is a recap of the highs and lows.

Lodging:
SXM � Towers in Mullet Bay. The units may be a little tired and could use some attention to AC system, but I would return no question. Crews were busily working on the exterior and the grounds were immaculate. I cannot say more about the staff and how friendly and helpful they were. � Excellent Experience!

AXA � Carimar Beach Resort. I almost do not want to say anything about this beachfront resort and keep it a secret, but that is not fair. A TTOL Board member got us pointed to Carimar, and we are so glad she did. This place was a perfect fit for my wife and me. Absolutely beautiful, great location, the units everything one could ever need or want, staff was over the top. Just look at the pics on the blog. Some people may give it a negative hit because of no pool. Not me � Who needs a stinkin� pool when the sea 40 paces away. AMAZING!

Before I get started on the about our eating experiences, I should add that it is damn near impossible to find a bad meal in Anguilla. This trip from the get go was about good food and decompression time � Both were had in big spoonfuls.

Food:

Best Find: Bon App�tit (Pelican Key, SXM) - Off the beaten track, but the mussels were Outstanding!

Best Service: (Straw Hat, Meads Bay) � Hands Down! Excellent Food and Outstanding Service made it a magical night.

Best Food: Veya (on the way to Sandy Ground) � The food and wine list just outstanding! Service not so good, but what came out of the kitchen blew me away.

Best Dessert: My wife and I would probably split on this one. She would go with Blanchard�s homemade ice cream � amazing flavors with every bite. Me I would have to go with Dolce Vita�s Tiramisu. Yep it is a classic and every Italian restaurant does it, but the preparation of Dolce Vita�s chef was just excellent. It was a really wanted after a very good meal - right time and right place.

Best Deal: (Which is hard to find in Anguilla) The award goes to: E�s Oven. From the chef�s treat all the way to last bite this meal dollar for bite was hard to beat.

The Single Best Thing I put in my mouth (This is a tough one) � Jacala (Meads Bay) The calamari risotto with proven�al flavors truly a culinary delight.

Best Surprise: Picante Mexican Restaurant � Mexican in the gourmet island capital? Absolutely wonderful! The Guacamole and Chips is a must! The food was wonderful, and the meal can be very reasonable if you can stay away from the top shelf margaritas.

Favorite Breakfast Place: Well that would be Geraud�s Patisserie. It is the only place that we tried - Frequent and Often.

Favorite Lunch Place: Blanchard�s Shack � Reasonable and had something for everybody. Treat yourself to a Mango Coloado.

Best Dining Experience: Blanchard�s � The food, service, and ambiance all came together and all were excellent. It did not make the top of any category in my estimation, but was just a wonderful evening. Even better it was a short walk from Carimar.

Things we did I definitely would do again:

Anguilla Day Sail Race - Sounds crazy running around the island to see the next leg of a sailboat race, but I can tell you it was some kind of fun. Plan your vacation for the week of May 30 � you will have a blast. Sure glad we stumbled into it by chance. Plan to make a day of it!

Sunday School with Bankie and Friends � Not sure I have ever had a more relaxing day in my life. Sitting in a shack listen to John Lloyd�s �Springer� beautiful voice and guitar work. When Bankie joined in for a few numbers it was just over the top!

If you are Catholic, a Sunday on Anguilla is not the time to skip Mass. I recommend it to all. Very up lifting and such nice people.

Things which were a little disappointing:

Snorkeling on AXA� I have to say that any day you have a mask on your face and fins on your feet it is a good day. The snorkeling on Anguilla or if you take a day trip to Prickly Pear it is just so-so. However, I would still carry my mask and fins back to Anguilla. If I did not have fins and mask with me, I would have never been able to take the shark picture� Did I get your attention � check blog.

Dune Preserve Monkey � I sure wish they would let the monkey free. Tied up animals or swimming with captured dolphins just doesn�t seem humane to me � IMHO.

Caveat:

I broach this subject as if I was walking on glass, but I do so because it needs to see the light of the day. Before going out to dinner one night we stopped by Elvis� Beach Bar. It was very slow and it was just us and another couple. My wife and I had one Rum Punch and chatted with the other couple who were newlyweds. After our one drink we left for the restaurant where we had dinner reservations. After one glass of Prosecco, I noticed an immediate change in my wife. Eyes dilated, slurred speech, and just a general feeling something was wrong. By the second course she was no longer under control and extremely uncomfortable. She had only a few sips of the wine we ordered with our dinner and after two strong coffees with dessert, but things were not getting better. We departed the restaurant clueless of what was going on. She was walking like a sailor heading back to the ship after liberty, but we made it to the car safely.

The next day we told the story to a neighbor at Carimar. She later found a similar event at the same place on Trip Advisor (Early May). I was still upset about the event, but uncertain of the how and why. I told the story to a female bartender at another bar a few days later, and with lowered eyes and embarrassed she said it was highly possible that my wife�s drink had been tampered with. I cannot nor will not accuse anyone of what I suspect occurred. So I offer a caveat to all � That when your drink is being made at Elvis� Beach Bar you watch the process or just avoid it all together. Ladies � Bring a Wing Man!

Wrap up:

Albeit besides the caveat, we had a great trip! Spending a few days in SXM allowed us to slow down to an island tempo before going to the complete decompression state we achieved in AXA.

There were some pretty special people we met along the way who were also visiting the island. AXA is small enough that you keep bumping into each other at the beach, restaurants, or day trips. Those who are lucky enough to call AXA home were so friendly and helpful. Anguillans smile and laugh as much as any group I have ever met.



Yes it was an excellent Adventure