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Enjoy some pictures of the worldrecordtour, taken in
Anguilla
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Anguilla Map
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Map of the Caribbean |
click a
picture to see details |
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- Every inch is taken. Even on
- the ramp a car is transported
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- "MV Vagabond" in the harbor
- of Marigot in Saint Martin
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Boarding for Anguilla |
Anguilla -
"Tranquility - wrapped in Blue" (and a
lot of troubles)
Shall it be Anguilla, Antigua or Montserrat? Since weeks, we are discussing which of these
tiny Islands should become the 150th country on our epic journey around the world - we
chose Anguilla - as a result that Montserrat didn't signalize yet an OK for the car's
entry and for Antigua we didn't find yet a reasonable shipping line!
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We sail into the
sunset |
Port of Sandy Ground in Anguilla |
- Two happy children at
- Sandy Ground Beach
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Already the departure from the
French port of Marigot harbor is not under a good star, as the vessel "MV
Vagabond" which will take us for free to Anguilla, is delayed hour by hour. Already
at 8am we are at the port, and at 6pm we finally sail. The reason is that firstly the
vessel is running only on one engine and secondly two of the three caterpillars are soon
breaking down and the vessel full of bulk has to be unloaded beforehand. "Burnt
children are afraid of a burning fire" is a saying. Therefore, we want to make sure
that we do not have to hand over our car key to the port authorities on our late evening
arrival in Anguilla. Emil phones to Mrs. Brenda Gumbs of the Ministry of Tourism, who
arranged our car entry, and uses all the phone cards of about US$ 40 until we get a
positive answer. Finally relaxed, we board the "MV Vagabond" and sail into the
sunset and towards our new destination. Soon, we see lights glittering in the water in the
distance. They belong already to Anguilla, the flat neighboring coral island, which -
beside Malawi being country No. 50 and Germany No. 100 - will be a milestone on our
worldrecordtour. A bottle of Champagne for a proper celebration is already on ice.
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- Lanvil, our helpful "hand" in Anguilla,
- standing besides Emil with brown
- white shirt with brother and daughter
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- "Village"-Church in the capital
- "The Valley"
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- House with balcony in the
- capital "The Valley"
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The small port of Sandy Ground is
deserted as we land. The officer in charge is informed. We park our Landcruiser in front
of the Customs, close the doors and are driven by Lanvil, who we met in Sint Maarten, to
the simple guesthouse "Nadine", where we shall spend one night. The next
morning, we are already up with the chicken. In "The Valley", the island's
capital, everything is still sleeping and we crave for a cup of hot coffee. Why do we not
go to the harbor and have breakfast in our car? At 6.30am we are there. But the port
security does not allow us to go to our car, which is parked just besides the entry
shelter. It somehow reminds us at some narrowness we experienced in earlier times. Two
hours later the gate opens and we can start with our breakfast and the entry formalities.
The young, friendly lady officer is already informed and handles everything
straightforward and efficiently. After we bought a local third party insurance and paid
the port fees of US$136.20, she sends us to the vehicle inspection.
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Beach of Sandy Ground |
Rural charm in Sandy Ground |
Lost?
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In the beginning, everything is
running easy and smoothly. After the inspection of the lights and the horn, we are sent to
another corner of the town, i.e. land, to get a local license plate made, which will cover
our original one. We are happy how really smooth everything seems to be working out. But
one should not praise the day before the evening! Suddenly, I hear Emil's voice rise at
the licensing department counter. What is happening? Indeed, they present us a
considerable bill for the licensing - fees which - according to the Ministry of Tourism -
should have been waved. But the people here do not know anything about it and their boss
is out for the day. We do not see any reason why we should be the victim of a false
communication between two departments and spend money we are not supposed to pay. If on
this small island one hand does not know what the other does, it is not our problem. The
situation calms down and the people at the licensing office tell us after a while:
"Go and enjoy the Island and return tomorrow morning" what we do and get sent
off again with the same words as the boss still is away.
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Shipwreck on
Anguilla's rocky shore |
- Sailing between containers back to
- Saint Martin on "MV Captain Johnny I"
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- Luxury hotel resort at
- Anguilla's North Coast
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We think that the matter is
solved now and drive to the Ministry of Tourism to thank for their support. A heavy
tropical shower is starting, as we turn into the gravel road leading to the lonely pink
building. Two ladies are sitting at the front desk, as we enter, another on a bench near
the window. The lady at the window introduces herself as Brenda Gumbs. We are told that
according to the Finance Department, the Licensing Department would not have been allowed
to wave any fees, and thus, we are driving illegally in the country because we did not pay
the bill. Why did then the Licensing Department let us drive at all? "Where did you
spend last night?" she then asked. As we tell her that we slept in the car in the
compound of the local Toyota Dealer, she argues that camping and therefore also sleeping
in a car is illegal in Anguilla, even if it is on a private property. Slowly we start to
realize that this is not a country we want to be in. Luckily the vessel "MV Captain
Johnny I" which was supposed to take us back to Saint Martin in a weeks time, has
just arrived and will return to Saint Martin within two hours. "Better an end with
fright than a fright with no end". From this moment on, everything goes very fast. At
3pm we already board the vessel and leave Anguilla on a free ride after only 42 hours of
visit, of which most of the time was spent dealing with its bureaucracy, and sail back to
our "loved" Saint Martin. We drove 77 kilometers in the 150th country and
reached hereby nearly both ends of the Island. What is there to see? Our frustration
apart: Besides the beautiful beaches, which are mostly accessible only through the
expensive hotel resorts, there is not very much. The island is totally flat, covered with
scrub. Mostly we drove on a badly paved road between houses. The Capital is inland - it is
rightly named 'The Valley' - is scattered, without a real center, lacks of charm and has a
population of only about 600 people. There are no colonial buildings, because the English
decided at that time to make their government seat of the region in Basseterre on St.
Kitts. Many of the scattered, luxury villas seem to be empty on this tax-free paradise. We
have our own thoughts where Anguilla gets is income from.
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- Flat Anguilla with long sandy beach
- and the mountainous island of
- Saint Martin in the background
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- Child with his friend in
- Sandy Ground
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Anguilla - " Tranquility -
wrapped in blue" |
Our 150th country leaves behind a
kind of emptiness, a hole, as black as Anguilla's license plates that covered for a few
hours our original Swiss ones and which are kept now as a souvenir. The Director of
Tourism apologized that things went wrong because "They (the Licensing Dept.) told us
one thing and another occurred" and confirmed - as agreed upon - to reimburse us the
50% of entry fees. If it becomes reality, it is a gesture we appreciate but which will not
be able to modify the big disappointment we feel for that island. It is really a pity, as
the few people we had the chance to meet were kind and welcoming and carnival and boat
racing festivities were just starting. |
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