PErfino the clouds, on this Caribbean island, are different. Lie down under the palm trees of the most exclusive beach in AnguillaShoal Bay West, cross the islet of Anguillite with your gaze and point your eyes on that distant line where blue and blue meet. There, just above the horizon, you will see a subtle embroidery of trine and white puffs which acts as a light border between the infinite of heaven and the infinite of the sea. Those thin plots of white threads are neonated clouds, delicate hints of clouds, painted by the great painter of the universe in a peculiar style.
The great painter dropped color spots almost everywhere, in this British overseas territory consisting of eel and the islets that surround it. You can swim in the rainbow of parrot fish, clown and butterfly around Prickly Pear Cays; admire the wealth of the coral reef Starting for the diving from Sandy Ground; Pagine in kayak in Little Bay’s crystal clear water; ride on the shore or do hippotherapy in Cove Bay. But if what you are looking for is the taste of luxury or the fun of VIP hunting (celebrities abound: Brad Pitt, Will Smith, etc.), Shoal Bay West is the right place, because the villas of this bay are dear to the celebrities of the show and sport. But even better is to be served a chalice of champagne from the butler in one of these villas, to be rented with a nice group of friends (they are very spacious) or alone (if your current account were even more spacious). The most illustrious are the Altamer Villas, buildings of bold creativity, made in the nineties by an American architect who has the name of a villain by James Bond: Myron Goldfinger (Remember Agent 007-Goldfinger mixture?). “White geometric castles in the sand, with a profusion of triangles, semicircles and rectangular stretch stretches of glass”: thus the prestigious magazine Architectural Digest described them.
The Leeward Islands in Anguilla. (IPA)
An Anguilla, the local star on the hammock in Palafitta
This area of Anguilla, the West End, however also has cheaper surprises, such as The Arch. It is precisely a arch -shaped pharaglione but above all it is the most popular “kisses” of the island. According to tradition, in fact, the couples who kiss here, looking through the archery the sun at sunset on the sea, will be lucky in love.
There are many gifts that Anguilla can do to the stressed western who arrives herebut to appreciate them it is necessary to enter the spirit of the place, well summarized by this motto: “Whatever it is, you do it calmly”. Let’s take the local star as an example: the Soul-Reggae Bankie Banks musician. As a young Bankie he became famous after playing the guitar with giants like Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. It was enough for him. Usually you can find him lying on the hammock of his home-page in a corner of Rendezvous Bay, one of the longest beaches of the island. Walking on the sand, from his Palafitta you get to his place, the Dune Preserve, where he should perform in the evening, but – know – Bankie does not always want to get up from the hammock and go a little road on foot.
In Anguilla a hammock facing the sea: even the rock stars here rest like this. (Getty Images)
Silence and zero cruise passengers
Illuminated by the example of Bankie, The inhabitants of Anguilla take their lives with a lot of phlegm. The cars (few) are very flat, the harassing noises are not tolerated, The only moment of collective emotion is the sailing regattas. The sunny and sleepy capital The Valley, in the center of the island, has no architectural eco-tops, has not unleashed discos and has no cinema. Fortunately, it does not even delinquency because the inhabitants are few and everyone knows each other (a thief would make little way). In this remote corner of the Antille Sea, even the crowds of cruise passengers do not arrive: no mass landings because Anguilla has – at least for now – a port capable of welcoming the large cruise ships. As for the airport, it is tiny. To get here, in fact, you have to land in the nearby island of Sint Mars/ St. Martin (half Dutch, half French, much more touristy and fractal) and from here climb on a motorboat or a tourism airplane. And that’s why there is no mass tourism in Anguilla. “For me this island was the discovery of paradise, and I am not referring only to nature,” says Lynne Bernbaum, an American artist and gallery owner who has lived and works in the Sandy Ground area for thirty years now. «I had suffered the metropolitan frenzy of Chicago and San Francisco and I needed to find the tranquility, my inner center. So in 1995 I gave up my life in the United States and arrived in Anguilla, with the idea of opening an art gallery: I was immediately welcomed very well. And still here you live well: there is solidarity, you help each other, there is no violence. Life on this island is a long quiet river »concludes Lynne Bernbaum smiling.
Boats moored
to the small pier on the beach of Island Harbour. (IPA)
The most popular dish? Lobster
Among the expats that have found their size In Anguilla there are various Italians, pensioners who have purchased a house but also young people who make a career in a very important sector here: catering. Anguillans are proud of their gastronomic culture, and restaurants offer a range ranging from the simplest traditional dishes – such as the lobster to the barbecue – to the more elaborate ones such as parrot fish in a wet coconut crust in spice sauce, rum and banana. But almost all, including Anglo -American tourists, love Italian cuisine. The tip of diamond is an emanation of Venice: Cip’s by Cipriani, one of the flagship restaurants of the refined Belmond Cap Julca Hotel, lying in the enchanting Maundays Bay. To direct the orchestra in the kitchen two young and brilliant cooks, Erika Aprigliano and Matteo Bertoletti. High quality services also in the luxurious eco-resort Zemi Beach House in Shoal Bay East: three-level digrady swimming pool, attention to sustainability (the energy used is produced by three thousand solar panels), a spa in ancient wooden houses disassembled in Thailand and reassembled here, and in Cuisine Italian music with chef Emanuele Sabatini, who brought the family to Anguilla. Also because, he says, “it seems to me a perfect place to grow my children”. In short, there is a lot of Italy, including the name of the island. Yes, because “Anguilla” is an Italian word. Why does this long and narrow island have an Italian name? Nobody knows. The colonizers were Spanish, French and English. So what? An Italian cartographer, or an Italian cook, on their ships? Maybe. We will have to study, understand. Always calmly.
Like an oasis: one of the many bars on the beaches of the Caribbean island. (IPA)
Where to sleep in Anguilla
Zemi Beach Resort & Spa
A Shoal Bay East, a jewel of Anguillana hospitality on one of the most famous beaches of the Caribbean. The Stone restaurant is managed by an Italian chef. The swimming pools and the Thai Spa, hosted in ancient houses transported here by Thailand, are spectacular. The double from 500 €. www.zemibeach.com
Altamer Villas
A Shoal Bay West, the candid iconic villas built by Myron Goldfinger. To treat yourself to an exclusive luxury, between private swimming pool, solitary butlersplage. A villa for 10 people with full employment is rented
at € 320 per person. Altamer.com
Where to eat from eel
Cip’s by Cipriani
Venetian flavors in the Caribbean: Cypriani’s iconic dishes such as the au gratin cuts and carpaccio. Beautiful, in the evening, the terrace overlooking the bay of Belmond Cap Juluca. Belmond.com
D’Vida Restaurant
Pleasant restaurant overlooking a candid beach. To have lunch with a MAHI fillet or a grilled lobster, or a fresh salad, sipping a fruit cocktail. davidabeachclub.com
What to buy
Lbernbaum Art
Lynne Bernbaum’s art gallery, where to buy her works, ink jet prints with a metaphysical touch, or inspired by the Caribbean life. It also houses paintings by other artists, local and non -local. Instagram.com/lynnebernbaum
Irie Life
Very colorful clothes, swimwear, bags, shirts in two equally colorful wooden houses. To immediately enter a Caribbean mood that puts in a good mood. irielife.com
Cheddie’s Carving Studio
The sculptor Cherdie Richardson’s atelier, who mastered birds and sirens, human faces and animals, working woods found on the beach and broken trunks. It also carves coral and stone. Web.ai/cheddie/cheddie.html
Info
Tourism Authority of Anguilla Anguillacaraibi.com