Scoobi to Eastern Beaches of Anguilla

We hop on Scoobi for another cruise over to Anguilla.  The plan is to go to Prickly Pear Cays, two small uninhabited islands located six miles from the Anguilla mainland.  However, the winds and waves are too high, preventing us from passing through the channel between the islands and our captain instead takes us to the western side of Anguilla (the same thing happened last year, although that time the captain diverted to eastern Anguilla).

Anguilla features thirty-three gorgeous white-sand beaches along its coast.  The island is a British Overseas Territory is the northernmost of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles chain.  First settled around 3,500 years ago the island was claimed by Britain in 1650.

Leaving Saint Martin in stormy weather

Houses on the Anguilla coast

Four Seasons Anguilla

Our first stop is Little Bay, Anguilla, one of Anguilla's most remote beaches, accessible only from the water.  To get there, we travel up the western coast of Anguilla, past other beaches, resorts, and ships.

Along the coast

Ships at anchor

Little Bay

We swim to the small beach, return to Scoobi for lunch, and then head south along the coast to Road Bay.

Passing small islands off the coast

Road Bay is Anguilla's main port and harbor, with the small village of Sandy Ground and a wide beach lined with colorful bar shacks and restaurants.  We anchor, swim ashore, and stroll the beach (in a heavy surf that actually knocks us over as we walk along the beach on the edge of the water).

Road Bay

After more fun on the beach and in the water, we pull up the anchor and head back to Saint Martin.  A storm comes up as we depart Road Bay, with rain and blowing water invading all parts of the deck.  But, it quickly passes and a rainbow comes out as we cross the Anguilla Channel.

Storm developing

Channel crossing

Another great day on Scoobi!  We'll have to come back next year and hope the channel at Prickly Pear is passable.

Wandering Through Grand Case, Saint Martin

With the holidays over, the blog returns to Saint Martin in the Caribbean.  We stay on the French side of the island in Grand Case on the Anguilla Channel.  The town has a long white sand beach and is known as the "Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean" due to its large number of high-quality restaurants offering a variety of cuisines on the mile-long (1.6 km) main street (Blvd. de Grand Case).

We get quick peeks of the ocean and the beach as we walk down Blvd. de Grand Case.

Glimpses of the sea

Blvd. de Grand Case

The street in the morning is quiet as restaurants prepare for service later in the day and the rest of us stroll or start a non-strenuous day.

Lazy morning

At the edge of town, the holiday decorations light up in the evening to greet the people who walk in and drive in for dinner and drinks.

Holiday greetings!

We return to Grand Case every year for the quiet, the beauty, the beach, the sea, and, of course, the food (upcoming blogs).

New Year's Dinner: Paella Mixta

The theme for New Year's Eve and Day dinners is seafood.  New Year's Eve we make crab cioppino again, using leftover cioppino sauce from Christmas Eve with new Dungeness crab, scallops, shrimp, and rigatoni.  To that we add a kale salad with homemade bread crumbs, avocado, pecorino cheese, and a dressing of garlic paste, pecorino cheese, lemon juice, olive oil and salt/pepper.  All accompanied by a sliced baguette and a light-bodied cabernet sauvignon which complements the spice of the cioppino sauce.

New Year's Eve

On New Year's Day, we make paella mixta with chicken, chorizo, and shrimp.  We soak saffron threads in hot water for 15 minutes while we cook chicken, shrimp, and chorizo in a paella pan until browned.  Our old aluminum pan won't work with our new induction cooktop, so we're cooking dinner on the grill.

Ingredients

Cooking the chicken, shrimp, and chorizo

We remove the shrimp from the pan and continue cooking the chicken and chorizo with paprika, garlic, chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, and minced onions until the onions are soft.  We add the saffron mixture and  homemade chicken broth and bring to a boil.  We then add bomba rice along with artichoke hearts, peas, and roasted red peppers. 

Add in the tomatoes and onions

Add stock,  rice, artichoke hearts, peas, peppers

Continue cooking

When most of the liquid is absorbed, we return the shrimp to the pan, nestle mussels into the mixture, hinge side down, and continue cooking until the mussels have opened, the liquid is absorbed, and the rice is al dente. We remove from the heat, let it all sit for a few minutes and then serve.

With shrimp and mussels

Finishing up

Done

Served

What a great holiday dish.  We'll have to declare our own holidays occasionally in order to make paella mixta more often!

Happy New Year!  Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2025!