First Visit to Anguilla (March 2006)
Greater Moncton’s Magazine
Come On In! Volume 3, 2006
You’re Going Where???
by Wayne Harrigan
When snow falls and freezing winds prevail, many Canadians seek respite with southern holidays. For some, a week or two at an all-inclusive resort does the trick and travelers return home refreshed and better able to cope with the challenges of our winter. For others, there is a quest for interesting destinations offering something more.
You’re going where? Why would you pick a Caribbean island no one has heard of?
Anguilla, (rhymes with vanilla), British West Indies, is the most northerly of the Leeward Islands. It’s roughly the same length as Grand Manan and half as wide. There are about 12,000 islanders, predominantly of African descent. Anguilla is a dry, flat, scrubby island with no waterfalls, rivers or mountains, and not even many palm trees. So why do people go there? Repeat visitors say Anguilla is the ideal escape vacation. If you are looking for fast food outlets, night life, casinos, clothing optional beaches, you won’t find them on this island. But if world class beaches appeal to you, there are 33 of them, all public. If you like food, the many restaurants feature a variety of local and international fare. The Anguilla people are friendly and helpful; all speak English with a lilting West Indian accent.
And if you are a Harrigan, you are going to find many natives who share your surname.
For the past ten years as a hobby, I have maintained a web site, Harrigan That’s Me!. I have researched the Harrigan name worldwide, and my website includes an index of anyone born or adopted with it. There is a significant presence of Harrigans in the Caribbean and in particular on the island of Anguilla. Did these Harrigans descend from the mixed marriages of English plantation owners and slaves or did they descend from the Irish crews of shipwrecks that occurred in the last century? It was time to find out!
In recent years, Anguilla has become the destination for the rich and famous. Denzel Washington arrived by yacht to celebrate his 50th birthday. Celine Dion has stayed at west end resorts. Michael Fox holidays with his family there. Tourism workers are known to respect the privacy of their well-known visitors. It was at Anguilla’s Exclusivity, a resort which lives up to its name, that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt spent the New Year’s holiday when they tried to salvage their marriage. Kevin Bacon and Bruce Willis are often found jamming with local musicians at various small venues. But can ordinary people afford to visit this island?
For my wife Barb and me, this was a holiday we had considered over the years. For the six New Brunswick retirees who joined us, it was a real leap of faith! Mostly retired teachers, although we knew each other, the eight of us had never all traveled together before. It was essential to do some planning and gain some background information. Out came the Caribbean travel guides and we surfed the internet for Anguilla references and articles. A young Montreal student who had been spending winter holidays with her family in Anguilla for years, Nori Evoy, offered the Anguilla-Beaches site. Anguilla: A Shorter Sleeved Way of Life by Seattle-based T. H. Patten is a recent book by a first-time visitor. It celebrates with wonderful pictures and anecdotes some of the allure of this island. When contacted at her Wisconsin office to ask more advice about Anguilla, publisher Liz Tiefenthaler referred us to Dan and Jane Uyemura, a retired couple from Maryland, who fell in love with the island many years ago, and finally decided on Anguilla for their retirement. Self-described as opinionated, Dan was a wealth of information and advice, and we corresponded for several months before our visit. When we arrived, the couple willingly loaned us beach chairs, coolers and snorkel equipment. At the end of our visit, we returned their belongings with a gift pack of Anguilla rum and New Brunswick maple syrup.
Before leaving for Anguilla, we were fortunate to meet Moncton businessman, Jon Andrews, who is from the island, and whose parents and other family members still reside there. Jon met us for coffee and provided us with valued tourism materials and many tips for first-time visitors. Most visitors to Anguilla fly to Phillipsburg in Dutch St. Maarten, take a cab to the ferry wharf in French Marigot, and take a twenty minute ferry ride to Blowing Point where you enter British Anguilla. Last winter there were direct flight charters from Halifax to St. Maarten and we were delighted with the four hour flight. We got a cab to the car rental company owned by Hamlet Harrigan. A Canadian driver’s licence meant you could be licensed in Anguilla and rental cars are necessary because sites and restaurants are spread out. Driving is done on the left (signs in each rental car remind drivers to “keep left”) but most cars are American with driver on the left so it is like driving on the outside lane of a two-lane highway except when you have to turn or enter the roundabouts (few and far between). There are only two traffic lights on the whole island and many roads are in a poor state so the speeds are reasonable.
We needed affordable accommodations. Various searches tracked down an eastend
villa called Asmaré in Sandy Hill. The villa is owned by an Anguilla native who works most of the year in Washington. Asmaré is two story, with five bedrooms and four baths, so it could easily accommodate eight residents. The rent was $2500 per week; divided eight ways, we decided that would be fine. Would it really be like the internet pictures when we arrived? It was. Our instructions ... Take short showers; water comes from cisterns that collect rain. Be careful with the propane stove; it works like a barbecue. Keep the gate shut; goats and dogs wander randomly and they
cause damage. If there are many mosquitoes, keep screens closed and use masking tape if necessary. This became our home for the two weeks and the conditions were excellent, comfortable and quiet. There were balconies at each level and we all had views of the Caribbean. The trade winds were prevalent and we never experienced uncomfortable humidity. When one of our group asked the owner about air conditioning for sleeping, she replied there is no need for any. “Sleeping is what one does best in Anguilla!”
Our first visitor was a cockatoo named Pekoe. He flew over from next door and made himself at home on our balcony while we settled in. We were well entertained with his repetitions “Hello, come on over!” His owner arrived soon after and indicated
this was quite out of character for Pekoe. The cockatoo’s owners have family members in Rexton, have been to Moncton and shopped at Champlain Place.
How did we spend our time? Each evening the eight of us had a “tribal council”, and we discussed plans for the next day. We soon discovered there was a FOMO (fear of missing out) factor. This is an island of wonderful uncrowded beaches, icing sugar
sand leading to water of the deepest turquoise. We included beach time almost every day and one of our favourite spots was within walking distance. It was perfect for swimming, warm and clean, and also suitable for snorkeling. We had morning walks every day at 8 for about an hour. This gave us a chance to experience on foot various parts of the island. Eating out became an event and we were able to enjoy many different menus and sites. Lunch at Uncle Ernie’s was memorable, barbecued chicken and ribs washed down with either rum punches or Ting (a grapefruit-flavoured soft drink), right on the beach at Shoal Bay East. Uncle Ernie, by the way, is a Harrigan, almost 90, and he takes credit for the success of tourism in the area. Other lunches were enjoyed at the Overlook where the view of Sandy Ground is breathtaking, at Smokey’s on the Cove, under a thatched gazebo at Koko’s. At Roy’s, fish and chips is the specialty and they were beyond reproach. Dinners required more planning and in the two weeks we only ate dinner out five times. Entrees are expensive, but the food is exquisite and the experience makes it worth the cost. It is also possible to download the dinner menus from the internet, so there are no surprises when you are about to order.
Picture this! Our second night in Anguilla, we have reservations for the barbecue buffet at the Cedar Grove Café, Rendezvous Bay Beach Hotel. With the sun setting over the Caribbean and torches surrounding the outdoor tables where we sat, our group enjoyed a great meal with live music in the background. We were told that at E’s Oven, we should ask for one of the porches where we would be served a halfchicken with sauces for $10. Again the setting was ideal.
Bob and Melinda Blanchard are the celebrity restauranteurs of Anguilla. College sweethearts, the couple decided to follow their dreams more than a decade ago and move from Vermont to Anguilla to open a seaside restaurant. They chronicled this move in their best-seller, A Trip to the Beach, the story of their journey to living the life they love. We got in touch with the Blanchards long before we headed to Anguilla. We knew dinner there would be a special so we saved it for our last night on the island. Blanchard’s is situated on the beach at Mead’s Bay. When we arrived for dinner, Bob Blanchard welcomed us and made sure we were happy with our dinners.
At the east end of the island, Colville Petty and his wife have established a heritage museum, a labour of love that includes artifacts illustrating the history of Anguilla. And what a history it is! In the early 19th century, Anguilla had been annexed to St. Kitts- Nevis. With the government center in St. Kitts, the people of Anguilla felt they were not well represented and finances were not being fairly distributed. In May 1967, the Anguillans kicked out the St. Kitt’s policemen, held a self-rule referendum and declared its secession from St. Kitt’s and Nevis. British forces were sent to quell the rebellion and were startled to find the Islanders awaiting their arrival waving Union Jacks. Anguilla has remained a British colony ever since. Today it elects a House of Assembly and its own Chief Minister while a British Governor is responsible for public service, the police, the judiciary and external affairs. Atlin Harrigan, editor of the newspaper in the 60’s, played a key role in the rebellion. Today the House of Assembly in The Valley is named after Atlin Noraldo Harrigan, and his brother Kenneth currently sits as a cabinet minister.
Sir Emile Gumbs, former Chief Minister of Anguilla, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
when she visited with Prince Philip in 1994. Sandy Ground is where Sir Emile, now
retired and approaching 80, gives weekly tours that circle the Salt Pond (used in salt processing from the 17th century to the 1980’s) and includes a site replete with evidence it was once occupied by Indians. Sir Emile lives in a pitched-roof wood-frame house built by his grandfather in 1904. It features a tall hedge of scarlet oleanders. “Oleanders have three virtues,” Sir Emile explained. “They bloom all year, they are drought resistant, and goats won’t eat them.” The $10 tour fee goes to the Archaeological and Historical Society.
One evening several of us sat at Soul Kitchen, the home base of multi-talented musician Sprocka. The night was quiet with a light breeze making the outdoor site most enjoyable. Over Heinekens, we listened to Sprocka himself play and sing a mix of Caribbean and familiar popular tunes. During his break, he circulated through the club to speak to everyone there and to thank them for dropping by. His space in Anguilla claims to provide Mind, Body, Music and Food. That pretty well sums up our island experience!
Did we find enough information about the Harrigans? Not really. But the Harrigans we met were genuinely interested in our choosing to visit their island. And we can continue our search when we return.
(Wayne Harrigan is a frequent contributor to Come On
In!)
Come On In! Volume 3, 2006
You’re Going Where???
by Wayne Harrigan
When snow falls and freezing winds prevail, many Canadians seek respite with southern holidays. For some, a week or two at an all-inclusive resort does the trick and travelers return home refreshed and better able to cope with the challenges of our winter. For others, there is a quest for interesting destinations offering something more.
You’re going where? Why would you pick a Caribbean island no one has heard of?
Anguilla, (rhymes with vanilla), British West Indies, is the most northerly of the Leeward Islands. It’s roughly the same length as Grand Manan and half as wide. There are about 12,000 islanders, predominantly of African descent. Anguilla is a dry, flat, scrubby island with no waterfalls, rivers or mountains, and not even many palm trees. So why do people go there? Repeat visitors say Anguilla is the ideal escape vacation. If you are looking for fast food outlets, night life, casinos, clothing optional beaches, you won’t find them on this island. But if world class beaches appeal to you, there are 33 of them, all public. If you like food, the many restaurants feature a variety of local and international fare. The Anguilla people are friendly and helpful; all speak English with a lilting West Indian accent.
And if you are a Harrigan, you are going to find many natives who share your surname.
For the past ten years as a hobby, I have maintained a web site, Harrigan That’s Me!. I have researched the Harrigan name worldwide, and my website includes an index of anyone born or adopted with it. There is a significant presence of Harrigans in the Caribbean and in particular on the island of Anguilla. Did these Harrigans descend from the mixed marriages of English plantation owners and slaves or did they descend from the Irish crews of shipwrecks that occurred in the last century? It was time to find out!
In recent years, Anguilla has become the destination for the rich and famous. Denzel Washington arrived by yacht to celebrate his 50th birthday. Celine Dion has stayed at west end resorts. Michael Fox holidays with his family there. Tourism workers are known to respect the privacy of their well-known visitors. It was at Anguilla’s Exclusivity, a resort which lives up to its name, that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt spent the New Year’s holiday when they tried to salvage their marriage. Kevin Bacon and Bruce Willis are often found jamming with local musicians at various small venues. But can ordinary people afford to visit this island?
For my wife Barb and me, this was a holiday we had considered over the years. For the six New Brunswick retirees who joined us, it was a real leap of faith! Mostly retired teachers, although we knew each other, the eight of us had never all traveled together before. It was essential to do some planning and gain some background information. Out came the Caribbean travel guides and we surfed the internet for Anguilla references and articles. A young Montreal student who had been spending winter holidays with her family in Anguilla for years, Nori Evoy, offered the Anguilla-Beaches site. Anguilla: A Shorter Sleeved Way of Life by Seattle-based T. H. Patten is a recent book by a first-time visitor. It celebrates with wonderful pictures and anecdotes some of the allure of this island. When contacted at her Wisconsin office to ask more advice about Anguilla, publisher Liz Tiefenthaler referred us to Dan and Jane Uyemura, a retired couple from Maryland, who fell in love with the island many years ago, and finally decided on Anguilla for their retirement. Self-described as opinionated, Dan was a wealth of information and advice, and we corresponded for several months before our visit. When we arrived, the couple willingly loaned us beach chairs, coolers and snorkel equipment. At the end of our visit, we returned their belongings with a gift pack of Anguilla rum and New Brunswick maple syrup.
Before leaving for Anguilla, we were fortunate to meet Moncton businessman, Jon Andrews, who is from the island, and whose parents and other family members still reside there. Jon met us for coffee and provided us with valued tourism materials and many tips for first-time visitors. Most visitors to Anguilla fly to Phillipsburg in Dutch St. Maarten, take a cab to the ferry wharf in French Marigot, and take a twenty minute ferry ride to Blowing Point where you enter British Anguilla. Last winter there were direct flight charters from Halifax to St. Maarten and we were delighted with the four hour flight. We got a cab to the car rental company owned by Hamlet Harrigan. A Canadian driver’s licence meant you could be licensed in Anguilla and rental cars are necessary because sites and restaurants are spread out. Driving is done on the left (signs in each rental car remind drivers to “keep left”) but most cars are American with driver on the left so it is like driving on the outside lane of a two-lane highway except when you have to turn or enter the roundabouts (few and far between). There are only two traffic lights on the whole island and many roads are in a poor state so the speeds are reasonable.
We needed affordable accommodations. Various searches tracked down an eastend
villa called Asmaré in Sandy Hill. The villa is owned by an Anguilla native who works most of the year in Washington. Asmaré is two story, with five bedrooms and four baths, so it could easily accommodate eight residents. The rent was $2500 per week; divided eight ways, we decided that would be fine. Would it really be like the internet pictures when we arrived? It was. Our instructions ... Take short showers; water comes from cisterns that collect rain. Be careful with the propane stove; it works like a barbecue. Keep the gate shut; goats and dogs wander randomly and they
cause damage. If there are many mosquitoes, keep screens closed and use masking tape if necessary. This became our home for the two weeks and the conditions were excellent, comfortable and quiet. There were balconies at each level and we all had views of the Caribbean. The trade winds were prevalent and we never experienced uncomfortable humidity. When one of our group asked the owner about air conditioning for sleeping, she replied there is no need for any. “Sleeping is what one does best in Anguilla!”
Our first visitor was a cockatoo named Pekoe. He flew over from next door and made himself at home on our balcony while we settled in. We were well entertained with his repetitions “Hello, come on over!” His owner arrived soon after and indicated
this was quite out of character for Pekoe. The cockatoo’s owners have family members in Rexton, have been to Moncton and shopped at Champlain Place.
How did we spend our time? Each evening the eight of us had a “tribal council”, and we discussed plans for the next day. We soon discovered there was a FOMO (fear of missing out) factor. This is an island of wonderful uncrowded beaches, icing sugar
sand leading to water of the deepest turquoise. We included beach time almost every day and one of our favourite spots was within walking distance. It was perfect for swimming, warm and clean, and also suitable for snorkeling. We had morning walks every day at 8 for about an hour. This gave us a chance to experience on foot various parts of the island. Eating out became an event and we were able to enjoy many different menus and sites. Lunch at Uncle Ernie’s was memorable, barbecued chicken and ribs washed down with either rum punches or Ting (a grapefruit-flavoured soft drink), right on the beach at Shoal Bay East. Uncle Ernie, by the way, is a Harrigan, almost 90, and he takes credit for the success of tourism in the area. Other lunches were enjoyed at the Overlook where the view of Sandy Ground is breathtaking, at Smokey’s on the Cove, under a thatched gazebo at Koko’s. At Roy’s, fish and chips is the specialty and they were beyond reproach. Dinners required more planning and in the two weeks we only ate dinner out five times. Entrees are expensive, but the food is exquisite and the experience makes it worth the cost. It is also possible to download the dinner menus from the internet, so there are no surprises when you are about to order.
Picture this! Our second night in Anguilla, we have reservations for the barbecue buffet at the Cedar Grove Café, Rendezvous Bay Beach Hotel. With the sun setting over the Caribbean and torches surrounding the outdoor tables where we sat, our group enjoyed a great meal with live music in the background. We were told that at E’s Oven, we should ask for one of the porches where we would be served a halfchicken with sauces for $10. Again the setting was ideal.
Bob and Melinda Blanchard are the celebrity restauranteurs of Anguilla. College sweethearts, the couple decided to follow their dreams more than a decade ago and move from Vermont to Anguilla to open a seaside restaurant. They chronicled this move in their best-seller, A Trip to the Beach, the story of their journey to living the life they love. We got in touch with the Blanchards long before we headed to Anguilla. We knew dinner there would be a special so we saved it for our last night on the island. Blanchard’s is situated on the beach at Mead’s Bay. When we arrived for dinner, Bob Blanchard welcomed us and made sure we were happy with our dinners.
At the east end of the island, Colville Petty and his wife have established a heritage museum, a labour of love that includes artifacts illustrating the history of Anguilla. And what a history it is! In the early 19th century, Anguilla had been annexed to St. Kitts- Nevis. With the government center in St. Kitts, the people of Anguilla felt they were not well represented and finances were not being fairly distributed. In May 1967, the Anguillans kicked out the St. Kitt’s policemen, held a self-rule referendum and declared its secession from St. Kitt’s and Nevis. British forces were sent to quell the rebellion and were startled to find the Islanders awaiting their arrival waving Union Jacks. Anguilla has remained a British colony ever since. Today it elects a House of Assembly and its own Chief Minister while a British Governor is responsible for public service, the police, the judiciary and external affairs. Atlin Harrigan, editor of the newspaper in the 60’s, played a key role in the rebellion. Today the House of Assembly in The Valley is named after Atlin Noraldo Harrigan, and his brother Kenneth currently sits as a cabinet minister.
Sir Emile Gumbs, former Chief Minister of Anguilla, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
when she visited with Prince Philip in 1994. Sandy Ground is where Sir Emile, now
retired and approaching 80, gives weekly tours that circle the Salt Pond (used in salt processing from the 17th century to the 1980’s) and includes a site replete with evidence it was once occupied by Indians. Sir Emile lives in a pitched-roof wood-frame house built by his grandfather in 1904. It features a tall hedge of scarlet oleanders. “Oleanders have three virtues,” Sir Emile explained. “They bloom all year, they are drought resistant, and goats won’t eat them.” The $10 tour fee goes to the Archaeological and Historical Society.
One evening several of us sat at Soul Kitchen, the home base of multi-talented musician Sprocka. The night was quiet with a light breeze making the outdoor site most enjoyable. Over Heinekens, we listened to Sprocka himself play and sing a mix of Caribbean and familiar popular tunes. During his break, he circulated through the club to speak to everyone there and to thank them for dropping by. His space in Anguilla claims to provide Mind, Body, Music and Food. That pretty well sums up our island experience!
Did we find enough information about the Harrigans? Not really. But the Harrigans we met were genuinely interested in our choosing to visit their island. And we can continue our search when we return.
(Wayne Harrigan is a frequent contributor to Come On
In!)
posted by Wayne Harrigan @ 3:05 PM
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