Landscapes

Teacher Helens’ Landscape Features. Anguillians of a certain age remember Teacher Helen. She used to teach geography at the High School. She was strong on landscape features. Recently, she was back on a visit. She remarked on Anguilla’s newest landscape features. I went out on Tuesday and took some photographs so you could see what she was talking about.

The above monument is what she was referring to. It shows one of the many new landscape features scattered along the roadsides around the island.

They are a major improvement on the old oil drums that used to be found outside every house. They can hold so much more garbage. But, if only they were collected more often. Or, if they were bigger, the better to hold the overflowing garbage. Do we have to drive along our highways and byways every week looking at these mounds of garbage around every corner?

Corito is the location of Anguilla’s landfill. It is the public dump. But, does unwanted garbage have to be dumped on the Corito road side? Why should Charlie Gumbs’ guests have to look at the above view every time they turn the corner to go down Charlie’s drive?

You drive along the road, and there are piles of rubbish just dumped on the side. You must have heard the tale. There was a land-fill expert visiting Anguilla. He asked a waitress in a restaurant, “What do you do with your garbage in Anguilla?” The reply was, “We do not have a problem with garbage. Visitors put it in rubbish bins; but, we Anguilllians just throw it out of our car window.” The photo above is the evidence.

Go down the Rendevous Pond road. It is exactly opposite the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway in Blowing Point. At the end of the road, you will see where some of the good residents of Blowing Point throw their garbage. The Rendezvous Bay Pond is in the background of the photo above, with a pile of modern incidentals visible in the foreground. No doubt, some inhabitant of Blowing Point considered this would improve the view, or he would not have placed the pile there.

You do not have to go as far as the pond. The above photo was taken at the start of the road. It shows that it is OK to throw your garbage right in the middle of the village. Just in front of your neighbour’s house, if you want.

On the road to Cap Juluca Hotel, just as you leave the main road, there is a collection of garbage on the west of the road. It has been there for months. I have been checking each week to see if anyone will remove it. No, it just grows bigger and bigger.

Further down the Cap Juluca road, is the sight above. There is an even larger mound of garbage just off the eastern side of the road. It covers an area of about a quarter of an acre. It takes quite a lot of work to build up such a collection of garbage. It requires even more concentrated effort on the part of the relevant authorities to let this mountain of garbage grow from week to week, with no sign of a dent being made in it.

This is a different view of the same spot. It showsone of our premier locally-owned tourism destinations in the background. The owners have invested millions on this development. We have to hope that their guests do not come out of their rented accommodation and walk up the road. The above is the view they will be greeted with.

This is perhaps my favourite landscape feature. On the picturesque back road from South Hill to Long Bay, there is a magnificent view eastwards to Sandy Ground and Crocus Bay. As you can see, the scenery is livened up by bags of contemporary stuff artfully placed alongside the road by some of the more thoughtful residents of Long Bay. You are encouraged to stop for a moment and take a photo, as I did.

Send me your favourite photos of Anguilla's landscape features. Perhaps, we can do a follow up post?