Anguilla

Did you know?

• 🏝A self-governing British Overseas Territory in the eastern Caribbean Sea — a long, flat coral island renowned for its laid-back atmosphere, luxury tourism, and the incredible friendliness of its people.
• 🏳️Its flag, adopted in 1990, combines traditional British maritime design with the island's unique coat of arms. The Blue Ensign with the Union Jack in the canton signifies Anguilla's status as a British Overseas Territory. The coat of arms in the fly shows a white shield with three interlocking orange-gold dolphins symbolizing community, continuity, unity, strength and endurance — rooted in the island's 1967 revolution. The white background stands for peace, tranquility and harmony, and the turquoise-blue base represents the surrounding Caribbean Sea as well as faith, youth and hope.
• ⛵Boat racing is the national sport — while cricket dominates much of the former British Caribbean, Anguilla's national sport is boat racing. The tradition goes back to when local fishermen handcrafted their wooden sailboats and raced each other back to shore. Today, intense engine-free sailing races are the highlight of the annual Summer Festival in August.
• 📍No real street addresses — Anguilla does not use traditional street addresses with road names and house numbers. Mail is received at a single central post office (with just one postal code for the whole island: AI-2640), and people navigate using natural landmarks, business signs, and word-of-mouth directions.
• 🐍An 'eel' island — European explorers named the island Anguilla, meaning 'eel' in Italian and Spanish, because of its long, narrow shape.