by Tim Adams
(Windham, NY)
Amber enjoying a rum punch on Shoal Bay beach
After hearing about the Blanchards' story and reading their first book "A Trip To The Beach" some seven or eight years ago, the quest to visit Anguilla has always been top on my list. My wife and I own a small restaurant and brewery in Windham, NY and can relate to the adventure of building a restaurant from the ground up. We were completely inspired to explore the island thanks to this very helpful website, and we practically used it as our map and guide. We were there April 10 through April 19 (2009)
Where to begin...
We stayed for 8 nights at the Arawak. It was a toss-up between the Ku and Arawak thanks to the recommendation on this website as the two "top cheap Anguilla hotels". We don't require a lot of amenities but what we did find was a terrific staff, and very friendly guests vacationing there. The hosts Maria and Maurice couldn't have been nicer. The cafe attached is lots of fun, and we had breakfast and dinner there several times. On Wednesday they had a few local musicians, Smoothee and Terry, singing and playing guitar next to the pool. We met some very nice locals and tourists at the Arawak which was one of the highlights of the trip.
Our Favorite Things...
1. Becca's Roadside Van (I think towards the west end on the main road)... Awesome goat stew and curried conch
2. Elvis's Beach Bar on Sandy Ground. Live music on the beach and terrific jerk chicken pockets.
3. Tasty's breakfast. My first taste of saltfish... incredible
4. Steak and eggs at the Ku restaurant.
5. Ripples menu... We looked for spaghetti and meatballs but settled on bolognese. Good gazpacho too!
6. Johnno's grilled whole fish and their peas and rice. We had a lot of peas and rice and theirs was the best. Great ribs too.
7. Best rum punch... That's perhaps the hardest to answer. Maybe Gwen's Reggae Grill? Maybe Smoothee's Water Sports? Perhaps the Roti Hut? Scilly Kay? You be the judge.
8. Massage for two at the Malakh Day Spa.
9. Excellent coffee at the Village Bistro. I think the owner is French.
10. Breakfast at Blue restaurant at Cap Juluca. I wanted the lobster eggs benedict but showed restraint and had classic eggs benedict... an excuse to go back. My wife Amber ordered french toast that we agreed was the best we ever tasted.
11. Crayfish at Scilly Cay.
12. Lobster at Blanchard's.
13. Pit Stop roadside stand on the Shoal Bay road near Island Harbor. Grilled chicken and ribs are reason enough to book our trip back immediately.
14. Cold Carib beer anywhere (and everywhere!!) on Anguilla
15. Driving on the left
16. Petting anguillian dogs and watching goats
17. Maurice's Huevos Rancheros at the Arawak.
Nori's Reply: Thank you for the great vacation story, Tim! I am so glad to hear that my website was a great resource... Your story has become one for me as well. You have listed so many things that I still have to try: Becca's, saltfish, Village Bistro, breakfast at Blue (I'm dying for this, breakfast is my favorite meal!), a return to Scilly Cay too. Wow!
It looks like you and Amber sure got to see the island! Thank you so much for sharing your vacation and all of your wonderful Anguilla photos. :-)
