Anguilla

[NEsota]

In the past I have enjoyed reading about other"s vacations and travels. Only once before have I been off the N. American Continent until last Saturday when I came to Anguilla. Which is an island approximately 18 N and 60 W., it measures about 14 X 3 miles. It is an official British Overseas Territory (BOT). It is considered a 3rd World Country, there is a lot of poverty here among the permanent residents. This is a vacation destination and tourisem supports the local economy, but not at a very attractive level for most people. Population of the island is about 12,000 and phosphorus was mined here, providing work and income before the mine played out a century or more ago.

To come here travelers fly into St. Maartin, a boat ride away and another of the British West Indies Islands. In spite of being called that, some islands have affiliations with France and other countries, similar to the link Britain has with Anguilla.

Many cruse ships stop at St. M. and off load people for the day. These guests do not spend much money there and Anguilla is a better place to visit because there isn"t so much competition from other tourists. Anguilla boosts that it has 32 of the best beaches in the world. There are many fine restaurants and not over crowded. There are no movie theaters but more than 50 different Christian denominations. If this were closer to population centers it would be far more popular and the cost of flying here must be the reason it is not over-run with tourists.

If you think low taxes are the Holy Grail, this might be the place for you. Something this size does not need a lot of roads and this should be an easy place to maintain them, but these are the roughest paved road I have ever seen. Most buildings are poured cement and half are not occupied, they would be torn down if not used in most other places where there is government. Here they stand in various stages of ruin, else where they would be made usable or done away with. There is no public water system. It is bottled water to drink and domestic water is truck delivered to your private cistern and is expensive . There is no gas utility and electric power comes from a diesel-electric plant on the island it is fairly reliable power but very expensive per/KW. This would be a perfect place for wind power but without leadership it may be a long time coming. This has been about the most relaxed week of this septuagenarian"s life.
 

[paul]

Interesting, thanks.

paul
 

[Tom in TN]

NEsota,

Thanks for the information. It's very interesting.

But, I must ask, how in the world did you decide to visit there?

Tom in TN
 

[Dave Sherburne NY]

I looked it up I'm a septuagenarian too.
 

[Paul from MI]

I have been to a lot of Caribbean Islands over the years, Antigua, Turks & Caicos, St. Maarten, Martinique, Aruba, Bahamas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, probably missed a few. The weather in Jan-Mar was phenominal, but they are third world countries. Very friendly people, everything purchased had to be shipped in and was expensive. Life there is very different, they don't seem to worry much about tomorrow but they're not going to be sleeping in a snow bank if the taxes aren't paid. The more remote and less travelled the better in my experience. A beautiful part of the world.