THE ARRIVAL
After five fantastic days in Tortola, it was time for the family to venture on to Anegada. We woke up before the roosters and made our early morning dash to Beef Island. Undeterred by my earlier brush with the Tortola police, I even passed a few of the slower drivers on the way. My type-A personality had mellowed a great deal after a week of limin’, but some habits die hard.
We were greeted at the airport by a Clair Aero employee who took our bags, checked us in, handled our credit card transaction, flew the plane and explained to us that he is the company’s Vice President. Along with one other passenger, our 8:00 a.m. flight departed forty minutes early. Middle management be damned, we were impressed by this one man operation.
After getting off the plane, we observed a dozen or so people standing outside of the “airport,” jockeying to get on the return flight to Tortola. One of them approached and asked if we needed anything. I explained that we were supposed to meet Dean Wheatley with a rental, and she promptly called Dean on her cell phone to check on his whereabouts. It was not the last act of unsolicited kindness we’d experience on this island. Before she could finish her call, our rental vehicle arrived, and the Anegada leg of our trip officially commenced.
Despite the early hour, we were able to get into our cottage at Neptune’s and it was perfect. We asked Randy about getting a key, and he just laughed. For now, crime is as foreign a concept to Anegada as Wal-Mart’s and Starbucks. The rest of the world should take note.
After leaving our luggage behind, we headed up the road to Cow Wreck Beach. The kids liked the name, and that was good enough reason for me. Upon arrival, I found a lot more to like. With its great expanse of beautiful white sand and amazing turquoise water, Cow Wreck was a Buffet song come to life.
The snorkeling was good, but not great, probably because I didn’t know where to go. Undeterred by this minor setback, we spent most of the day at Cow Wreck, and Alex fixed us some burgers that paired up nicely with a few cold beers. Later on, we headed back to Neptune’s and picked up some things at Pam’s Bakery. My son is currently undergoing rehab as a result of some serious cinnamon roll withdrawal.
Running on fumes due to lack of sleep, we nevertheless opted for a little exploring. We headed out to the Iguana Rescue project in the Settlement; an experience we all enjoyed. On the way back we stopped at the Cash and Carry for a few essentials – beer and chocolate.
Back at Neptune’s my son and I decided to walk over to the salt pond to see if we could spot the flamingos. When we got there, we started to walk around the edge of the pond only to fall victim to Anegada’s version of quicksand. We tried to cross what looked like a dried up creek bed and quickly found ourselves knee deep in the foulest smelling, nastiest looking substance yet to be discovered by man.
I have some odd personal philosophies about life and one of them is my belief that it is much better to die in a dramatic fashion. I’d much prefer to be eaten by a shark than have a run-of-the mill heart attack at my desk. I gotta’ tell you though that during the brief moment when I thought my son and I were going to sink to our deaths in flamingo crap, there was nothing cool about it. Fortunately, we managed to pull ourselves out, narrowly escaping a truly humiliating demise. We laughed so hard on the way back to our cottage that we cried.
After cleaning up, we ate our first dinner at Neptune’s. The meal was good. The service, atmosphere and view were great. As we crashed hard for the night, I think we all had the sense that we were going to really like this island.
DAY TWO
After starting off the day with the few left-over cinnamon rolls we managed to hide from the kids, we took off early for Flash of Beauty. Soon as we arrived, I snorkeled straight out from the point. The current was strong but manageable. The coral was healthy and beautiful. About 100 yards or so out, I took a turn and discovered a couple of nice sized nurse sharks resting on the sandy bottom. I briefly contemplated that whole “it would cool to be eaten by a shark thing,” but quickly decided that it’s really more of a theory than something I want to put into practice. Fortunately, the issue quickly became moot as the sharks grew bored with my company and took off.
We lunched at Flash of Beauty and this was our first meeting with Deshawn and his cousin Raqueen. (I apologize in advance for any and all misspellings). Deshawn is the second grader who was helping his mom run the Flash of Beauty, and Raqueen is his cousin who was taking a break from the rigors of first grade in Tortola. We were most impressed with Deshawn as he helped his mom in the kitchen, cleared tables and looked after his two sisters. Our attempts to make small talk with Deshawn were unsuccessful, however, as he was all business. I imagine he sees lots of us tourists who are there one day, gone the next. In any event, the food was great --- conch fritters, fries, burgers and self-serve cold beer.
After a long, wonderful day of doing nothing, we headed back to the cottage. While sipping a few cold drinks at Neptune’s, I convinced the wife and daughter to walk over to the salt pond. Randy let us borrow his binoculars and we were fortunate enough to spot some flamingos hanging out in the pond. On the way back home, my son and I showed my daughter where we nearly met our death but she refused to get close. In order to bring the mountain to Mohammed, I stuck a stick in the muck and proceeded to chase my wife and daughter down the road with the foul smelling implement. Immature? Yes. But, sometimes on a remote island you have to make your own fun.
Dinner that night was cheese, crackers and beer. The lights were out by 8:00 o’clock.
DAY THREE
Now in a routine, we rose early and divvied up some of the baked goods from Pam’s. My six year old daughter insisted on the brownies. Because it was vacation and because I have yet to win an argument with her, I did not protest. Afterwards, we headed to Big Bamboo where we planned to spend the day. After checking out the shade situation, my wife said she really liked Flash of Beauty’s set up better, and I didn’t complain. It’s hard to split hairs over which beach spot in Anegada is “better,” when they’re all pretty damn spectacular. The choice was a good one, as we had Flash of Beauty all to ourselves for the morning. On my first snorkel of the day, I found my sharks again. Very cool.
Later on that morning the kids disappeared to go play with the hermit crabs that hang out near the beach bar. When I checked on them later, I discovered they were playing with Deshawn and Raqueen, and a large time was clearly being had by all. After lunch, Deshawn’s mom brought the kids down to the beach for some swimming and everyone had a blast.
After a great day at Flash of Beauty we took a mini-tour, driving the sandy road all the way around the north end of the island to Cow Wreck and then home to Neptune’s. Despite failing to make dinner reservations by the 4:00 p.m. deadline, Randy let us slide. My wife and I enjoyed crab cakes on the patio while the kids hung out in the cottage. Great food, cold beverages and plenty of boaters telling lies about their exploits. All in all, another great night. The stars were spectacular.
DAY FOUR
Because it was our last day in Anegada, I asked the wife and children what they wanted to do. Eager to rejoin their newly formed posse, the kids insisted we return to Flash of Beauty. It was another day of great snorkeling (like clockwork, my shark buddies once again made their morning appearance), sea glass hunting, swimming and limin’. My kids hooked back up with Deshawn and Raqueen and disappeared for most of the day. When I checked on em’ later, I discovered they were playing some sort of island hockey game that involved a large stick and some of the hermit crabs. Unwilling to ruin a good thing, I chose not to interfere.
At the end of the day, we said our goodbyes to our new found friends at Flash of Beauty. When we did, Raqueen looked at my wife with tears in his eyes and told her he “was going to cry.” I know how he feels. Pulling away from Flash of Beauty for the last time was extremely tough.
Dinner was once again at Neptune’s, chicken for the wife, tuna for me. Both were excellent. When I went to settle up with Randy, I thanked him for his hospitality. He shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said – “bless you and your family.” I think he really meant it.
Other people have told me that Anegada is like the Caribbean “use to be.” I don’t know, but suspect they are right. There are few amenities, suspect roads and a lack of modern “creature comforts.” There is also no crime, wonderful people and miles and miles of amazing, uncrowded beaches. It’s not for everybody. In fact, if anyone asks you, please tell them that it’s a miserable little island with lots of dangerous bugs.
Next year we were planning on going to Italy. Something tells me that we may be putting that trip on hold.
