Day 5 - First Trip Off to a Good Start

Maybe the best day yet! We slept in this morning and consequently didn't leave as early as we hoped. None the less, we headed off to Marigot to take the ferry to Anguilla. Found parking easily today. Signed in at the ferry, paid our tax and decided to walk around for about 20 minutes to check out the markets. The ferry left on time and the boat ride over was uneventful. Once there, we cleared immigration and customs in minutes. We were greeted by a lady from the chamber of commerce who was pushing us to visit Rendezvous or Cove Bay, she even gave us a restaurant certificate. At first I thought she was another timeshare salesperson but I was wrong. We had our sites set on Shoal Bay so we found Ingrid and her taxi who offered to take us there for $26 each way. Ingrid was friendly and informative about her country. She took us to Elodias Beach Bar at our request and we agreed on a pickup time when she dropped us off.
We spent the entire day on Shoal Bay Beach. This is a very beautiful, quiet beach. The sand is white, soft and fine. The water is very colorful too.
We also liked the vibe at Elodias Beach Bar. Very friendly, talkative people and the food was excellent and reasonably priced. We also rented two chairs and an umbrella from Elodias for $10.
We decided the cost of the ferry ride was well worth it and will definitely return to Shoal Bay someday.
After our trip to Anguilla, we headed to Grand Case to check out Calmos Café. We arrived about 15 minutes before sunset so we were able to watch the sun disappear into the horizon today from our table at Calmos Café. We had an excellent dinner. My wife had the Goat Cheese Salad which she would recommend to everyone. I had the Mahi Burger (Mahi steak on roll). We finished dinner off by splitting a crème brulee. Very good meal. Only complaint is that it took 2 hours from start to finish
The ride back from Grand Case at 8 pm was uneventful and we are now sitting on our balcony listening the ocean.

GREAT DAY!!

Glad you enjoyed Anguilla. I have done exactly as you did many times. A nice diversion from SXM.

Thanks for your updates.

Sounds good to me, too. I'm glad you enjoyed your AXA day - it really is a nice change of pace, isn't it? And I don't think you can find a bad beach there but I'm inclined to agree - Shoal Bay is just about as good as it gets anywhere!

Don't know where you're staying but lucky you to be able to enjoy the sounds of the waves - that's the only thing I miss here in our quiet little corner. We can see them but not a sound to be heard - I should get one of those relaxation tapes of wave and surf sounds and play it as background for our evening balcony moments....... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

We're staying at Belair Beach Hotel. Every morning I open the sliding glass doors all the way to enjoy the air and sounds. We have the only new sliding doors and they allow for almost complete acess to the balcony. Watched two royal Caribbean ships pass by this morning.

Sounds like you are having a great time also. Absolutely beautiful morning today!

What does the ferry cost and how long is the trip? Thanks for the report.

I love the Belair and the fact you ARE right on the water there. We have an island friend who ran the activities desk there for years before she left the island and went back home to South Africa. We'd stop over to see her and I always thought it would be a great place to enjoy both the views and the sounds of the ocean.

Yes, we're having a very good trip. Hope your time continues as nicely as its been so far. Enjoy.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

You make it sound so easy---we have to get there one of these days...how was the trip going there and back??

I've been enjoying your reports!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I hope you try again for Anse Marcel.

The ferry cost $53 round trip per person which includes both departure taxes. CASH! The ferry ride is about 20 minutes long.

The boat ride was smooth, I think the taxi might have been rougher It was a perfect day, I'm sure there are times the ride is pretty scary.

We would do it again in a heart beat!