Anegada

Anegada was the one island that we planned the rest of our trip around. Ferries leave from Road Town, Tortola on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7:00AM and 3:30PM. The return is 8:30AM or 5:00PM. We decided to go on the first ferry on Wednesday morning. The reasoning was, if we ended up missing it, we could always try again on Friday. Or if we really, really loved it and wanted to go back, we had another day to do so.

What I knew about Anegada, I had read in Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise Trilogy. I also did a little bit of research and learned about the Conch Shell “graveyards” in the area. After talking to a coworker who is from Tortola, she said getting there would require a boat. I’d also read about how the island is known for their lobster. Some places on the island (supposedly) will take you out on a boat, dive down to get a lobster, and then you can get it cooked and eat it. Then I read there are sometimes flamingos on the island. It is one of my life goals to see flamingos in the wild. I’ve seen them at the zoo, but it’s not the same.

When researching, I found out that the island is incredibly small and very easy to navigate on scooters. So we set about looking up the best place to rent a scooter and secured our reservation for Wednesday. We used Amazing Rentals. The best part was it’s location to the ferry. As you walk off the ferry, you walk straight just a little ways and it’s on the right. After a brief tutorial and payment, we were off. After about 30 minutes, we had seen the entire island. It’s that small.

Our first stop was Big Bamboo in Loblolly Bay. We checked out the beach, talked to the bartender (who also happens to be the Dock Master), and set off past the Anegada sign and to the Iguana Sanctuary. Wild cats kill many baby iguanas, so this sanctuary is actually a “headstart facility”. It keeps young iguanas in cages, taking care of all of their needs until they are big and old enough to take care of themselves. The facility is beside the Anegada Police Station and jail. Speaking of, Anegada is incredibly safe. Because of the small population, there is almost zero crime. According to the bartender at Tipsy, the jail is used for people (usually tourists) who drink a little too much and need to sober up for a while before being released.

Next, we made out way to Cow Wreck Beach. Along the way, we saw many goats. There are also wild donkeys and cows. You can see their tracks in the pavement on the main roads. We walked a ways on the beach, there was a little seaweed, but not terrible. As we continued to explore the island, we were getting ready for lunch. I really wanted to eat some lobster, since they are known for it there. So, we ended up at The Lobster Trap. They were just getting set up for the day. So we sat at the bar and started chatting with the nice bartender who’s from Trinidad and Tobago. We ordered a few drinks, conch fritters as a appetizer, and for our entrees, Bill got the half lobster with rice and beans and a small salad. I got the lobster BLT with fries, it also came with a small side of coleslaw. It was all delicious. Afterwards, we lounged on some chairs and swings under a tree by the restaurant as we watched the waves and boats. When our food settled we hopped back on our scooter to go to Tipsy.

Tipsy is so fun. It has tons of beach games, a great bar and outdoor seating area, as well as a little shop. The owner (Anegada Ann) is known for meeting one of her favorites, Kenny Chesney right at her bar! We had several drinks and hung out there until it was about time to turn in our scooter and take our ferry back to our home away from home for the week.

The ferry was running late that day due to a ball game some of the local kids were playing in. We waited at a little shop by the dock. The owner made some fresh donuts that smelled heavenly. As we were talking with them, they let us sample some homemade drink with some small brown fruit in them. They asked if we knew what it was, I guessed sea grapes, and was right! Soon after our donuts arrived, so did the ferry. The ferry company is adamant about no food or drinks on their boat, so we placed our donuts in a plastic bag to enjoy when we got off of the ferry.

Anegada is a cute island, and would be fun if you want to get away from it all! A great place to relax. An excellent place to stop by for the day if you’re on a boat. The link to the book set is an amazon affiliate link, using it does not increase your price, but will give me a small commission if you choose to purchase.

Come back soon, as we Goforth and Explore our last stop in the BVIs, Virgin Gorda!