Sunday - The best sand ever!
A dilemma occupied the early morning, the weather forecast creating problems for the planned trip to Anguilla.
The Northerly swell from ocean would make staying in Road Bay, the capital of Anguila, difficult because it's on the North side of the island, but because of it's strict customs requirements to combat the drug trade, you have to go to Road bay to do your clearance before you can cruise or stay elsewhere.
We debated different options, tried calling ahead for a weather update, but ultimately decided we needed to go there to see for ourselves what conditions were like.
We set off, and the gang got to do some sailing again, complete with Jib, and some tacking! I enjoyed a little nap on the front deck, woken to a bourbon and a cup of tea!
We sailed around the westerly point of Anguilla, still a British overseas territory, despite Britain's best intentions, who tried to "lump" it in with St Kitts and Nevis, to box it off nicely, but the Anguillans revolted, preferring to keep links with the UK!
The sea went though dozens of shades of blue and provided some great contrasts we sailed!
We arrived into Road Bay, the only area on Anguilla where you are allowed to clear customs, and had another spot of nautical lunch, before Katie and Tim headed ashore to get our Anguillan passport stamps!
Pete and I headed ashore after Katie and Tim had got back on board for a nice walk around Road Bay. We found a walk in Katie's guidebook that we would never have been able to find without it! We headed down a narrow track next to a gravel warehouse, and then up a coastal path to the headland road which took us on a pleasant walk around the coast.
We arrived at an "Anguilla" sign with some locals sitting on it. As we approached, in a thick Carribbean accent, one gent said "come on lads, this is why we built this, for these guys to take photos" and they all vacated so we could take a nice photo!
The vista was lovely, and we just caught the others getting off the dinghy for a drink!
We met on the beach, and had a walk down the sand. The sand is white because of the coral in the bay, which as it breaks down releases the white compounds that make it. It was warm, and lovely and soft, and as the evening sun came down provide a lovely backdrop for a cocktail in Elvis' Bar!
We watched again for the green flash, but caught something arguably better:
It was then back to the boat for Pete and I to cook Fajitas,.complete with tortillas, chicken, veg, refried beans, sour cream and salsa. This went down a treat, with a nice red wine, and decaf while watching the fish at the back of the boat!
