Anguilla

 

 
(Ann-Gwill-a)
 
 
 
A slender low lying island of limestone and coral, Anguilla - the northernmost of the Leeward islands – measures 28 kms long and 5 kms wide. With blanched landscapes and endless white beaches, Anguilla is a quintessential Caribbean getaway. Sightseers can explore sleepy fishing villages nestled along the coast – or stretch out on the sand and think about it.
Vacationer can relish the slow pace and the astonishing gradient blues of the sea and sky. Everything sparkles.
Hotels run the gamut from quaint West Indian guest houses adorned with colourful lacy woodwork to vast white Moorish palaces at the waters edge.
This is a place to pamper one self on rest, romance and sumptuous fresh seafood feasts.
Visitors find it hard to get lost on Anguilla. There’s only one main road – called, aptly, The Main Road – with tracks branching off to the superb beaches and bays that sun worshippers, swimmers, divers and nature lovers never want to leave.
 
 
Capital:            The Valley
Currency:         Eastern Caribbean Dollar      US$1 = EC$2.68      US Dollars widely accepted

Population:       11,797

Area:                 35 square miles (90 sq km)

Languages:      English
Economy:         Tourism
Religion:           Mainly Protestant churches
Government:    independent state within the British Commonwealth
Telephone Codes:       1 - 264
Airport Departure Tax:
Passport/Visa requirements: Australian Passport holders do not need visas.
Health Certificates:      None required. Contact health authorities for latest information.
Shoping Hours:            Shops keep long hours but generally take a good lunch break

Banking Hours:            8am-3pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8am-5pm on Fridays.
 
Time Zone:                  14 hours behind Sydney (EST).No Daylight Saving Time is observed.
 
Electricity:                    110v, 60 cycles
Weather:                     Anguilla is a dry island with an average annual rainfall of 35 inches and average monthly temperature of 80ºF. The island is continually cooled by prevailing trade winds, with little change of temperature in the summer. Water temperatures are in the upper 70ºs to lower 80ºs. Optimum diving conditions are in the summer months when visibility is at its highest and there are little or no ground seas.
Transport:                    From Blowing Point, Anguilla to Marigot Bay, St. Martin , 20 minute crossing, half hour intervals. Ferry service available from Blowing Point to Juliana via Link Ferry.
 
The Arawaks were the first to call Anguilla home.  Then the Caribs settled the island, calling it Malliouhana, the Carib word for eel. Next came Columbus in 1493, who agreed that the island's shape was eelish and promptly dubbed it Anguilla, the Italian word for the snakelike fish. Although Spain never colonized the island, British settlers from nearby St. Kitts arrived in 1650. Since then, Anguilla has fought, contrary to many of the other Caribbean islands, to maintain its dependence on Britain. When Britain tried to loosen its ties with the island in 1967 by making it an AssociatedState along with St. Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla rebelled. In 1969, Britain sent paratroopers to restore peace. The paratroopers were greeted by smiling Anguillians holding candy bars for their saviors. It seemed that while the island wished to break away from St. Kitts-Nevis (which it did in 1971), it wanted to keep its relationship with the mother country. In 1980, Anguilla became a dependent territory, which it remains today.