Playground of the Rich & Famous

Fabulous Villas

The Island of Anguilla, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, is fast becoming a haven for the affluent and famous. Still a British overseas territory, the island is only about 26 km long and 5 km at its widest point. While it has no international airport, and does not allow the docking of cruise ships, the local airport is adequate for smaller airplanes. With only 26 miles of ocean separating Anguilla from St Maarten, it is a quick thirty minute ferry ride across.

But Anguilla is fairly unspoilt without the wall-to-wall waterfront hotels that most touristy islands tend to have. Instead spectacular villas tucked away in quiet bays and coves are the main tourist accommodation. Celebrities can come and go without fuss and interference and this include bestselling author Dan Brown (he actually bought a villa there) and Robert Di Nero.

The beaches are pristine with powdery white sand that slithers through your toes. It is said if you need to scuba, Anguilla is the place to so.

The Viceroy Hotel is fairly new, and one of the largest on the island. A regular

One-bedroom suite cost US $1,395 and up per night during the high season. While on a tour of this hotel in mid January, from its wide balcony, I looked out at the tranquil turquoise Caribbean Sea only to see the magnificent, $300 Million, 394 foot mega yacht known as “A” owned by Russian billionaire, Andrey Melnichenko glide into the bay. If there was any doubt about the caliber of visitors to the island, this certainly confirms that Anguilla is attracting wealthy visitors.

Billionaire's yacht arriving in Anguilla

http://www.topazvilla.com/2.html

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Vacation of a lifetine Part # 6 In Samoa Tatooing is Not a Fad

One of our charming tour guides

After a delightful visit to the exotic Island of Western Samoa, we continued our journey and arrived in Tutuila, known as American Samoa. This island is a territory of the USA and was a coaling repair station for the United States navy from 1878 to 1951.

A tsunami had hit the island nine days prior to our arrival. We were naturally leery about the visit, but our captain was assured it was safe to come ashore. Besides, the country now needed all the help it could get. Our purchases would help the economy. The authorities promised to make sure that we did not enter any devastated unsafe areas.

Within two hours after our boat weighed anchor at Pago Pago, the capital city, we piled into quaint buses that lacked air conditioning and headed out to tour parts of the island. Two beautiful female college students were our tour guides. They were determined to have us learn as much about their culture as we could during out limited time. They told us folktales and sang native songs. They encouraged all passengers to learn the words of one of the popular songs and to sing along.

Later as we walked about I noticed that many natives wore tattoos and asked about it. One student explained that tattooing in not a fad in Samoa; it is a part of the culture.
“I am daughter of a chief,” she said. “I have certain tattoos that my father ordered for me to have.” She stated that she had no say in the matter. Lifting her long skirt above her knees, she showed me a shapely leg covered in neat, uniformed tattoos.
“This is what I had to get,” she said.
While I don’t plan to indulge in this art form anytime soon, I now have an appreciation for the art of tattooing.http://tinyurl.com/y9ntuu8

Vacation of a lifetime Part 5

One of the better fales in Western Samoa

Arriving in Western Samoa

The islands of the South Pacific are all unique and wonderful and while they all have much in common, some things about each one stand out and remains indelible in my mind. I found two of the islands more fascinating than the rest; Western Samoa and Moorea.
Western Samoa: It could have been our tour guide on our excursion that made this island so interesting. He was the chief of his village, proud, very articulate and most willing to share information. “Everyone owns a plantation,” he explained. “We spend our time at the plantation and we share. The whole family is taken care of.” He explained that the land of Samoa cannot be sold. It is passed down to family members. If an outsider marries a Samoan woman, he will be allotted land but he will never own it and therefore cannot sell it.
Most Samoans live in fales; houses built on platforms, opened at the sides and supported by pillars. We passed many as we traveled through the country and noted that they rarely had any furniture. The residents sleep on mats that are rolled up and stored during the day. Curious about intimacy, after noting the lack of privacy, I asked our guide how a couple could be intimate under the circumstance. He had us cracking up when he said, “When I was a boy I asked my father the same question. He replied, ‘Why do you think your mother and I went to the plantation ten times a day? We were making babies!’”
I thought that answer was priceless.

Vacation of a lifetime Part 4

While this series of blogs will focus mainly on the exciting ports of call visited and unique objects, I would be remiss if I did not mention some events on board ship.

The equator, lines of longitude and lines of latitude have always been merely lines on a world map as far as I was concerned. I was on a course to learn about the significance of these ‘lines’ as our cruise ship proceeded southerly.

On October 2, 2009, as our ship headed toward Bora Bora, we crossed the imaginary line that divides the northern hemisphere from the south called the equator. But the crossing was not left to our imagination. The captain and crew held an “Equator-crossing” ceremony that was next to none! Hundreds of passengers gathered on the deck to witness the affair. Suddenly, sedate, dignified crew members and passengers transformed into wild party animals! From deck 14, a voluminous male crew member, dressed as King Neptune in a togo and head dress sashayed down the stairs to the Neptune’s Reef & Pool accompanied by a full entourage. Then began the most incredible ceremony as King Neptune passed sentence on many accused. Spaghetti and food colouring were plastered over many participants’ faces and they dived into the swimming pool to cool off. Some had to kiss large raw fish to obtain forgiveness. Our handsome captain strutted about in his lily-white sailor suit and cap with a necklace of colourful artificial fish around his neck. It was the wildest party on board so far.
A prize was given to the first person to spot the row of equatorial marker buoys in the ocean. Crossing the equator now has significance!

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Vacation of a lifetime Part 3

Church in Moorea, French Polynesia

As I toured the South Pacific Islands, I was impressed by not only the exquisite waterfalls in Hawaii, Samoa and Milford Sound, and by the exotic flowers seen at every turn, I was also fascinated by the churches. Besides the natives, the population of the South Pacific Islands includes Asian, Indians and Caucasian. With the immigration of these groups, came religions of all types. The islands are now dispersed with some of the most exquisite, quaint places of worship imaginable. One guide mentioned that the strongest, safest buildings on the islands are the churches. Take a look:

Catholic church in American Samoa

Church in Western Samoa

Temple in Maui

Vacation of a lifetime Part 2

Bird of Paradise, Hawaii

Poinciana, American

Samoa

When one thinks about the South Pacific Islands, one conjures up picturesque landscape, exotic fruits, beautiful women, buff men and azure waters. This is what I envisioned and the Islands did not disappoint. I am always fascinated with flowers, one of God's many fantastic creations. The flowers in the South Pacific Islands were healthy and sensational. Let me share some photos with you:

Bougainvillea, Hawaii

Vacation of a lifetime

Some of dozens of waterfalls in Fiordland-Milford Sound


Viamaitutu Falls:Papeete, French Polynesia


Akaka Fall, Hilo-Hawaii

I recently returned from a South Pacific cruise and so enjoyed it, I thought I would share some interesting aspects with you. The Ports of call visited are:
Hilo, capital of the big island HawaiiLahaina, the capital of MauiBora Bora, French PolynesiaPapeete, French PolynesiaMoorea, French PolynesiaApia, the capital of Western SamoaPago Pogo, the capital of American SamoaSuva, the capital of TahitiAuckland, the capital of New Zealand in the North IslandWellington, New Zealand in the North IslandLyttelton, Christchurch, New Zealand in the South IslandPort Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand in the South IslandFiorland, Medford Sound, New ZealandSydney, Australia
The islands are lush, picturesque and charming. Let me begin with the amazing waterfalls. They are tall, skinning and incredible. Take a look above: