"Kaos" Caribbean Kapers: Anegada, The Gem of the BVI's

Anegada, truly the gem of the BVI’s!

Anegada, is the most remote of all the BVI’s and is located about twenty (20) miles northeast of Tortola. A haven for beach lovers, the island is home to about 250 permanent residents. Unlike the other volcanic rock islands, which can be seen from miles away, Anegada is a coral atoll, with a height of only 28 feet above sea level, meaning that one has to be within five miles of shore before sighting land.

Much of this low lying island is surrounded by the extensive Horseshoe Reef, which provides shelter from the ocean swell for the magnificent stretches of sand beaches along the north shore of the island, and snorkeling for the so inclined. The harbor in Setting Point offers mooring balls and plenty of room to anchor. Moorings are generally full by 2pm each day, meaning arriving boats must anchor, as we did. The bottom is mostly sand, and deep draft vessels will need to exercise caution. Most evenings during our five day stay, there were 25 – 50 boats in the harbor.

Lobster is certainly the specialty here in Anegada with five or six restaurants lining the shore around the harbor. Most just serve dinner since the majority of visitors head to the north shore for a day on the beaches, where lunch is available at both Big bamboo’s on Loblolly Beach or Cow wreck Bar and Grill on Cow wreck Beach.

Cow Wreck Beach

The Reef Hotel provides shuttle service to your beach of choice for $10 round trip per person. We opted to rent a car from L’il Bitz, just outside the hotel gate. Cost was $60 per 24 hours. We rented noon to noon, and for an additional $10, we extended the car until 6pm. This gave us flexibility and allowed us to travel the island. Many of the roads are rock and sand, so travel is slow going at times.

Following a tasty breakfast at the Reef Hotel, we strolled the local community and gleaned the lay of the land. We picked up our little rental car at noon and set off on another adventure with friends Tim and Jan. We visited several beaches on day one. The first beach was Cow Wreck, which got it's name hen a ship carrying cow bones to a fertizer facility floundered on the reef and sinking. Cow bones washed ashore, hence the name.
All beaches were great, but we selected the stunning Loblolly Beach with Big Bamboo bar and restaurant as our favorite spot.

Lobster is the house specialty, and since we skipped lunch, we decided to enjoy an early dinner at Bamboo’s, where we listened to the rhythm of the surf and watched the sunset, while feasting on the best lobster yet.

Bring on the Lobster

Sally, our waitress took great care of us and serenaded us with her songs as she worked.

Aubrey, the owner of Big Bamboo said it all with his quote “Anegada is the place to rinse your soul”.

We enjoyed Loblolly so much, we decided to spend the entire next day on the beach, swimming, soaking up the sun and "rinsing our souls".

Our experience was that much of the reef at Loblolly Beach is in distress, suffering from UV damage, but it was still a wonderful relaxing day that we will remember for a very long time.

The annual “Dark and Stormy Regatta” was hosted by the Reef Hotel during our visit, and the additional 25 or so sail boats added to the activity and enjoyment with a dance and DJ at the hotel on Saturday evening and a live band on Sunday evening.

It was quite a sight to watch the boats depart on Monday morning.

Small community outside the hotel with local gift and souvenir shops, clothing, basic groceries and some fresh produce, Laundromat and car and jeep rentals.

Supposedly, there are flamingoes on the island, and if you are lucky, you may see some in the salt ponds. Although we searched diligently, it was not our lucky day.

Potters By The Sea

Reef Hotel and Potters

Fellow "Loopers" (America's Great Loop Cruising Assoc) Neil and Peggy, aboard "Early Out" arrived in Anegada. We re-connected and swapped sea stories and lies over happy hour at Potters by the Sea, located next door to the Reef Hotel. Dinner reservations appeared brisk if the number of lobsters being pulled out of the pen, submerged at the dock were any indication. As previously stsated, lobster is the specialty here in Anegada, and all restaurants have their own holding pens at their dock.

Next morning we walked along the beach, past Neptunes Treasure, another quaint seafood restaurant. Later we took the dinghy to explore and check out the damage incurred from the hurricanes of 2010.

The rental cottages located out on the point were built on the sand, which appeared to wash out during the storms, leaving the cabins with no foundation, and susequently breaking apart with some falling into the sea.

Pam's Kitchen is a bakery/deli, located behind Neptune's Treasure, and most evenings prior to sunset, Pam visits the boats at anchor, offering her home baked goodies. We purchased a couple of scrumptious cinnamon buns and a fantastic loaf of multi-grain bread.

Later that evening, we dined aboard while watching another spectacular sunset. A wonderful end to ourlast day here in paradise.