Anegada in In the Kingdom of Suzu

Several have asked how we discovered barbuda so have decided to write how we ended up here.

First off we like the three “b”s as jeff has dubbed it. Beach, books and booze, in whatever order you wish to put them. Uncrowded, very little people, if possible, total relaxation.

Back in 2003, we did a bareboat sail around the British Virgin Islands with my cousin and his wife. They had done a sail a few years prior with some other friends who were planning on living in Grenada and needed sailing experience. It sounded so neat that we said if they ever did it again, we would love to do it. We hired a captain and off we sailed.

One of the places they sailed to was the northernmost island of the BVI, Anegada. Nothing there but beach, they fell in love with it and when we went there we did too. There was only one hotel there, a few guest cottages and then we found our spot. Seven one bedroom cottages, five of which were right along the waters edge. We booked two for the next trip.

We stayed several times in those cottages and they were the best time and always an adventure. It was an adventure because the man who owned them did not maintain them meaning, our cottage might not have a coffee maker that worked but our friends did. When it rained in the middle of the night, we were usually fine, but our friends, had to get out of bed, move it to another spot and hope it didn’t leak in there. The shower head in our bathroom did not work right, so I would fill up a jug and then pour it over me. Good times.

The best part of the whole time was that we never saw anyone! There are only about 200 people who live on the island and most live in what is called The Settlement. We made friends with several people and got to really see island life. We had the whole beach to ourselves, we could walk for miles and see no one. If we went to one of five restaurants on the island, all serving the exact same thing, chicken, ribs, fresh-caught fish, lobster or conch, we were usually the only people there. Cows and donkeys wander the road and at times come on the beach so you might have to occasionally walk around a cow pattie! The first night we stayed on land, I was taking a shower and heard a shuffling noise outside the window and got spooked. Next day I discovered that some cows had been around our cottage, that was what made that noise.

The BVI islands are a great sailing destination and many of the visitors do sails. Some just do land which is what we ended up doing. There are no big chain resorts or fast food restaurants. The cruise ships do come in several times a week and then it is mobbed on Tortola, the main island.

We stayed on Tortola for a few nights at times to “ease” back into civilization and had some neat times, ate some great food, discovered rotis for the first time and goat meat, but Anegada remained our favorite and it always felt like home.

Unfortunately, because the man who had the cottages did not maintain them, plus he tore out all the beach vegetation, and eventually erosion took the cottages. Last time we were there, the water was up to the front porches, the cottages were listing in to the water and he even left everything on them, meaning refrigerators plugged in, bedding, furniture, etc. we think it was because he was angry at being “I told you so” from the local people and yet he was a local Anegadian himself but was too proud to admit he made a mistake. Of course, by this time, other guest houses/cottages had been built and we stayed in one that last time, but it was not the same, hence the search was on for another paradise home with the 3 bs which I will make it’s own entry.

Last updated May 15, 2015