I’ll Forever Love Anguilla & all there is to do

Having first visited this tiny well-kept gem in the eastern Caribbean as a baby, nestled in the arms of my mother, I haven’t stopped visiting Anguilla ever since. I consider Anguilla, my “Home Away from Home” and this is an undisputed fact. The proof lies within the stamps of the four passports I have had, and of course, the many albums of pictures I have taken over the years.

I consider Anguilla, my “Home Away from Home”

Why I love Anguilla

As a known globetrotter, one may wonder, why do I keep returning to Anguilla of all places. The answer is this, there are far too many reasons I can give to justify my repeated trips, so this article will be never ending, if I attempt to name them all.

Nonetheless, I will list a few, so that in the not too distant future, I can start reading your individual stories of trips to Anguilla too or may be even bump into you in Anguilla while you are biting into delicious roast corn done before your eyes or chilling with friends on the beach.

I recently visited the island again, from August 1^st to 9^th and my childhood thoughts about Anguilla have not changed. Anguilla is a fantastic get away! In fact, I now have even more beautiful thoughts about this place and its citizens. Anguillians are some of the most hospitable humans I have ever met, they epitomize the true meaning of “mi casa, su casa”.

And, let me warn you, they not only open the doors of their homes and hearts to you, but they also open the pots from their kitchens too. Prepare to “eat you belly full” of the national dish of peas and rice and fish, pigeon peas soup with pigtail sweetened with sugar (my favorite), BBQ ribs and garlic bread or fried bakes, and all types of well-seasoned and prepared seafood, just to name a few.

Ah yuh Lard! (In my acquired Anguilian accent) The beaches are to die for! Long stretches of pristine sandy beaches, with turquoise blue waters of about fifty shades, I just had to stop writing this piece and put on my bikini, to fool myself that I was still at Shoal Bay, basking in the sun, enjoying the scenery, swimming in the sea and collecting seashells for souvenirs.

There is no if, nor but, nor may be about it, Anguilla is definitely “Tranquility wrapped in blue”. This little place of Anguilla, for the most part of the year (I will explain this later), is very quiet, relaxing and inviting. It is for this reason and more, celebrities visit the island, as there are no mega crowds trying to invade your privacy. It boasts an uninterrupted vacation for those who certainly need to get away from the lights, camera and action and just unwind.

The beaches are to die for!

Visiting Anguilla for the Anguilla Summer Festival

So I said it is quiet for the most part of the year, because, as the Summer heat turns up, so does the “party turn up” at the amazing Anguilla Summer Festival. It is a melting pot of pageantry, revelry, Calypso bacchanal, lots of food and drinks, tons of boat races and of course beach party, after beach party. The Caribbean Beach Party on August Monday is of course my favorite.

It is not only home to the biggest crowd of the festival, but there are performances from bands from all across the Caribbean region, catering to the various musical tastes of patrons, who flood the beach from neighboring islands. Persons from St Maarten/St.Martin and St.Kitts and Nevis are a constant staple at this mega beach bash.

The organizers of this year’s Caribbean Beach Fete must be commended for certainly taking it up a notch, by having soca artists from Trinidad and Tobago, Kerwin Dubois and Farmer Nappy, the Haitian band T-Vice to add that unique creole “kompa” flavor and the King of the Dance Hall himself, Beenie Man out of Jamaica, who all kept the massive crowd dancing, to the pulsating rhythm of their beats.

Need I say more? Well yes! Anguilla, I will forever remain in love with you and others should too!

Guest Writer – Sonia Boddie, former CARICOM Youth Ambassador, St Kitts – Nevis

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