was the first line of an email that went out to several Penumbra member companies a few years ago. 

To me the email sounded like one of those chain letters detailing how the bank chief of some African country died and now they need your help with wiring the money out of the country, by you wiring money to them somehow.

I vividly remember thinking "there IS no country named Anguilla" in my geographical ignorance, but when my former boss said that it WAS in fact a real place in the Caribbean that he'd even sailed to before, I re-read the email and looked at the attached project plan. 
A project manager, implementor, end user and Administrator certified Instructor was wanted to convert an existing Domino domain into a brand new three-domain environment.

Lucky for me, I was the only person at the time to fit that profile at Workflow Studios and during the first conversation with the Anguillian client manager, an inaudible personality "click" took place, which immediately put another competitor out of the running.

So two years ago today, I met and immediately fell in love with Anguilla for the very first time.



I had only known the Caribbean and St. Martin for about 36 hours before coming to Anguilla but the difference is and was un-mistakable, even to a novice.
St. Martin is buzzing, exciting, charged and at times combustive.  Things are happening in St. Martin and there is constant activity.

Anguilla looks different, flat and calm, even from the ferry and at first I wasn't convinced that the island was inhabited at all.  Never in a million years did I expect to find a place that looks and feels unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

The people, the landscape, the smells and the energy floating around in Anguilla is completely unique and almost entirely calm.  While the constant, humid breeze can be a bit sticky at times, I will never forget my first exposure to it, like a sweet, unexpected and enveloping hug.
What was even more odd, was the overwhelming sense of peace and belonging....

I was home.



So while I had high hopes for plenty of down time during my 2 week stay, I ended up spending 14 less than glorious days, in a concrete bunker, next to the prison, in the middle of "downtown" Anguilla, while my then husband spent his days exploring the 33 beaches of the island.
I think the grand total of "sunlight hours" I got to see in November of 2005 was less than 10 and one of us returned to Texas tan and happy, while the other one was still stark white and a bit grumpy.

But both had the impossible pipe dream of living on Caribbean island one day.....

(to be continued)