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WRECK DIVE CAPITAL OF THE CARIBBEAN

Frankly, you're a wreck. You've had enough. You need to get away from everything. You urgently need the simple things in life for a couple of weeks: space, light and peace.

You know what you want. But where can you find it?

Then somebody suggests an island covered in scrub that most people would declare a desert. If you are immediately enchanted, get a ticket to Anguilla, and soon your fantasy will become a reality.

As the plane dips toward Wall Blake Airport, a series of white domes catch your attention. This is the tiny island of Anguilla in the Caribbean. It is the northernmost island of the Lesser Antilles. A mere three and a half by sixteen miles, the island does not, in fact, consist only of scrub. Once out of the airport--a runway that can take prop jets but, thankfully, is unfit for package-tour jets--you are greeted by a friendly driver for the 15 minute car ride to Cap Juluca--named after the local rainbow god.

Although the resort certainly does seem to be placed bang in the middle of nowhere, neither Bedouins, camels nor T.E. Lawrence come galloping across the sands.

Driving down the island's one and only main road, those same graceful white domes come into view again. They merge with the white puffs of cloud that are surrounded by the brilliant blue sky. The North-African style architecture is well suited to the requirements of the Anguillian government which forbids any hotel to be higher than a palm tree. Upon arrival, swaying palm trees and fine white beaches are already inviting you to enjoy the better thing in life.

True to Moorish architecture, these buildings are without a rigid distinction between inside and outside even though they still provide intimate and private surroundings. From your room, you have a fine view of the sea that is visible beyond the brilliant colors of the bougainvillea, frangipani, jasmine, and orchids that line your terrace. Since your terrace is totally private, you could even sunbathe here in the buff.

The sound of the waves lulling you to sleep at night is the perfect sedative. But you will wake up to a bright and beautiful day (they all are in Anguilla) ready to hit the twelve miles of pristine white sand beaches meeting crystal clear blue waters. Crescent shaped, horseshoe shaped, gently curved, lined by cliffs, edged by sea grapes, one is more breathtaking than the next.

Tranquil Anguilla, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean may lay claim to being the "wreck dive capital of the Caribbean." Anguilla has seven wrecks--considered to be the largest number in the Caribbean, each sunk in various locations and depths to create a diverse diving experience.

Four of these wrecks were sunk in 1990 as part of the Road Bay Clean Up, an ecological program undertaken by the public and private sectors. All the wrecks are intact and upright on the bottom and are easy dives for every diver, from the beginner to the most experienced.

Geologists say that Anguilla is a remnant of a lost Antillean continent that was at one time linked to South America. Several underwater sites have outcrops of lignite, evidence of once vast and ancient forests.

Anguilla has some magnificent pristine reefs that surround the Island, particularly the barrier reef that extends eastwards for several miles from the Prickly Pear cays. For the most part diving is easy with reef dive sites from 10 feet to 110 feet with plentiful hard and soft corals and schools of smaller, tropical reef fishes.

ANGUILLA TOURIST OFFICE 800-553-4939.

CAP JULUCA, MAUNDAY'S BAY ANGUILLA, LEELAND ISLANDS, BRITISH WEST INDIES. 800-323-0139.

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