If you were at Shoal Bay in June 1999, you might have wondered about the large group of college students there. . . .
July 15 1999 - Site Map - Click to enlarge pictures

The student group receives academic credit for their work in Anguilla. They stayed at Spin Drift on Sile Bay. Budding archaeologist John Crock, who lived in Anguilla for two years, was here again this year (John is still working on his PhD dissertation, based on his field work in Anguilla). Last year John and a group of students and supervising professors did an a excavation in Sandy Ground which was very successful. This year the field trip class was completely signed up in less than 6 hours, so the group from last year must have spread the word about their excellent visit to Anguilla.

The excavation site was next to Elodias Bar and Restaurant on Shoal Bay. The students dug a trench about a hundred feet long and up to five feet deep. Every cubic foot of sand that was removed from the trench had to be sifted for artifacts (shell fragments, tools, pieces of pottery, etc.). Then whatever is discovered in that chunk of sand is bagged and documented as to location and condition.

Later it will take hours of analysis to figure out what the findings and their distribution can say about the people who lived on the site and their society. In fact, for every man-hour of the week-long dig, there will be four or five hours of lab and analysis work!

The lead picture in this story was taken by Jamel Lake ([email protected]); the others were taken by Bob Green ([email protected]). Jamel had this to say:

I learned that there was a post hole located in that area which is an indication that there was habitation. There are also pottery, shells discarded after eating, and actual charcoal from cook fires. The archaeologists are going to test the sand when they get back home. That's why it's important when they are scraping the trench walls that they cut of the roots that are there now (they use a scissors).

I really enjoyed the experience of visiting the site; it made me respect TIME.

The pictures above show the discovery of a dark circular spot in the sand that is the remains of a post, probably for a building. The students and supervising archaeologists gather round to ensure that the find is handled carefully.

The best guess of the archaeologists is that a community of about 500 people once occupied the flat sandy area from Uncle Ernie's to Serenity Restaurant at Upper Shoal Bay.

As the students dig down into the sand, they find layers of white sand. These were laid down by major hurricanes of the past, including Hurricane Luis in 1995 which laid a new layer of white sand at the top!

When Lloyds Hotel opened on Crocus Hill in 1959, it was the first hotel in Anguilla, and it is still going strong today as a friendly, well-run place to stay for locals and tourists alike.

Any friends and former guests who would like to offer congratulations to Vida and the Lloyd family, can call them at 1-264-497-2351

The Anguilla Tennis Academy is once again running their free tennis clinic for children this summer. Founder Mitch Lake and Tournament Director Damien Hughes report that they have a record 183 children enrolled this summer, with the youngest being 4 years old!

Mitch has graduated from college with a BS in Math and Damien has a year to go (but he should graduate, since he has a 3.7 grade average so far, and his school tennis team at Morehouse College won the SIAC championship and went to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in Savannah.

Students at SUNY. A group of 19 Anguillian students was recently in New York for a two week training program at the state university.

Arawak Cafe Grand Opening. Arawak Resort in Island Harbour has reopened under new management, including a new Arawak Cafe.

Smokey's Opening. A new beach bistro has opened at Cove Bay in the West End. They will feature live music and dancing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. 1-264-497-6582

Here are some events scheduled for the next few weeks:

• July 19-August 30, Computer Club Boot Camp
• July 25-August 1, Art Festival.
• July 30-August 8, Carnival and Boat Racing
• July 26-29: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Ruthwill Audit.
• July 30, Lloyds Hotel, 40th anniversary
• July 31, Car Festival, next to post office

The first person with the correct identifcation of our mystery beach was Sally Janin. Other winners include Mike and Pat Kocor and Garry and Cynthia Burgess. This beach was a real challenge, since most answers identified the wrong beach: Junks Hole, Meads Bay, Cove Bay, Island Harbour, Captains Bay and even Scrub Island.

Directions: From the airport parking lot, take the only exit and turn left, then turn left again and drive west past the airport entrance, through the roundabout and follow the road to the west end. You will go straight through the Sandy Ground roundabout also. When you finally pass Cap Juluca and Leduc's restaurant, you will reach the end of the paved road. Turn right on a dirt road and take it straight to the shore.

Want to learn more about Anguilla's beaches and see hundreds of more pictures? Visit beaches.ai

Of course, not everything is closed. Cap Juluca is open, as are many other fine hotels. Many restaurants stay open also. The selection ranges from fun local spots such as Circle Inn to gourmet restaurants such as La Veranda, Luciano's, Ripples, Le Saint Claire, Cap Juluca, and La Sirena.

Charters to or from Juliana Airport US$285.00, Night US$350.00 Charters to and from St. Barths, US$750.00

To arrange airport pickup, send number of pages, flight number and time of flight arrival. Telephone: 497-8079 / 6297. Cellular: 1-264-235-6205 / 7010. Pager: 7240-440. Web site with lots of pictures, coming soon! Lyle Connor

Special Wedding Thank You. John and Susan write:

We like to thank everyone on the island of Anguilla who made our wedding special. We'd like to especially thank Carol Webster and Alan Piazzi. Carol, the concierge at the Sonesta hotel, did the most incredible job putting together our wedding plans. We highly recommend anyone considering getting married on Anguilla to look up Carol, you will not be disappointed. Her high standards of quality are directly reflected in her work - Thank you Carol for making our wedding our most memorable experience.

The person who is directly responsible for our wedding reception is Alan Piazzi. Alan and his staff (Trattoria Tramonto) put together a wedding reception that can only be described as "phenomenal." The tasting menu that was developed was second to none, and the level of service was fantastic. Alan "Thanks - We'll see you soon, tell your staff to keep dancing."

We'd also like to thank Dumpa and his band for keeping everyone dancing all night long, as well as Capt. Rollins on Chocolat for that sunset sail.

Can't wait to come back!

John & Susan Sias

American Eagle Announces More Flights. Beginning November 19, they will add more flights to Anguilla, timed to connect with new flights from the USA to San Juan. Much higher bookings for the winter season this year.

Pool Tables? Robert Girard writes

Hi Bob:

My family and I will be spending some time in Anguilla later on this year. Since my sons and I are enjoy playing pool, we would like to play while there. Do you have any idea where we might be able to play? Thanks for any info you care to forward.

There are lots of places to play pool in Anguilla. About half of the local bars have pool tables. A fun restaurant with a pool table is the Little Mermaid in the Farrington. You can go for dinner and play pool. They also have a nice place to sit in the shade of a huge tree and play dominos. Very Caribbean. Telephone: 1-264-497-5523. Directions: from the parking lot at the airport, take the only exit and turn left, continue straight past Island Car Rental and Anglec. Turn right at Alberts Supermarket and go through The Quarter. The road makes a sharp left after Proctors Market, then a sharp right in about a block. Take the next right in about 1/2 mile and look for the Little Mermaid on the left.

Who else has a favorite place to play pool in Anguilla?

Visitor Feedback: Love Anguilla. Pete and Eileen ([email protected]) write:

Dear Bob:

We love Anguilla and thank you for all the advance information you made available to us on the Internet. Just returned from what seemed like a very short week vacation. Our trip was a success, even if our luggage did not arrive on the same flight!

Paradise Cove was "paradise" in every way. Sherille and her staff are remarkable and assisted us in making our vacation wonderful.

There is so much beauty in Anguilla the beaches are perfect, people delightful and temperature wonderful. It rained but did not stop us from seeing the island and enjoying the hospitality. Our favorite beach was Shoal Bay East, Ripples our favorite restaurant, (oh that garlic coated grouper -yum) and rum punch at Ernies almost compared to pina colada's at Sonesta Beach Resort.

A day on Chocalat is a must.

We had a wonderful vacation and look forward to returning to Paradise Cove and Anguilla in the near future. Your web site is a great help and we appreciate all you do to promote the island, it helped to make our trip a success.

Thank you! Pete & Eileen

Visitor Feedaback: A Beautiful Island. JoAnne and Jack ([email protected]) write:

Dear Bob,

I always check out the local news on Anguilla and see how my home away from home is doing. My husband and I truly love the island. We have been coming to the island for a number of years. We got married on the island in 1996 (it was us pictured on the front of the 1998 tourism guide).

If anyone is thinking of starting their lives together and want to have the best memory of their lives...Anguilla is the place to do it. I can not tell you how perfect the day was. I was on the island in February 1996 for 4 days and planned the entire event. I did have help from my dear friend Verlyn Rogers. We returned in June with our family and friends and found everything to be better than perfect. The people on the island of Anguilla are the best people I have met in my lifetime. Our day was sensational and the island is more beautiful than paradise. We return year after year and spend more and more time.

It is my hope and dream to someday build a home of our own on your beautiful island. Each year it becomes more and more difficult to leave... I just keep telling myself... you will be back before you know it.

Anyone looking for the perfect spot and the ultimate vacation...visit Anguilla and the wonderful people...

Sincerely,

JoAnne and Jack Horigan

Swinghigh.ai is the new Internet domain name for the Swinghigh Apartments, which are available for short-term rental at $90 per day or long-term rental at competitive rates.

Lourance Steven's has updated her personal home page at web.ai/vanilla

Patsys Seaside Villas has updated their web site with information on their new villas, new air conditioning, and new email address: [email protected]

Funtime Charter. Chris Cutler's Funtime charter boat has a web site at funtime.ai