Anguilla, Pt. 2: A Fashion Emergency

We decided to spend the next day at Ocean Echo.

The day was windy and the waves were bigger than we are used to, but it was too cold for these big babies anyway (March . . . brr!), so we spent most of the day occupying ourselves with other pursuits.

This poor guy. He never knew how close I came to grabbing that pizza and making a run for it.

That evening our friends Diana and Carl had invited us over for cocktails and snacks at their place on Barnes Bay.

Diana is always impeccably dressed like a chic Parisian woman and Carl looks roughly 20 years younger than his actual age, but for some reason we really like them anyway.

In addition, they were fabulous hosts, even kindly arranging to cap off our visit with this spectacular sunset.

We had already made separate dinner plans, so Angel and I headed over to nearby Picante to get our faces melted off.

We tried a few new things on this trip -- Theron's spicy chili, the grilled chipotle prawn burrito, a basil mojito -- as well as Old Faithful, the seafood enchiladas.

The next morning, a disaster of unprecedented proportions befell us: Due to a fender-bender near Four Seasons, the power went out.

No power meant no iron, and no iron meant that I had to scare up an outfit that didn't look like it had been balled up and shoved into the bottom of a hamper (or, you know, into a suitcase too small by half). By some miracle I'd hung up the dress I'd worn to Ferryboat, and so I suffered through the ultimate indignity -- not only did I have to be seen in public in a dress that hadn't been freshly ironed, but I had to be seen in public in a dress I'd just worn two days earlier.

Decked out in my vêtements vulgaires, we headed over to Cap Juluca, where I hoped that my messy bun and artfully rumpled dress gave off an air of "too rich to care," rather than "I just showered in a swimming pool and am wearing yesterday's clothes . . . again."

Oh, did I not mention that no power also meant no water pump for showers? Thank heavens for that very private swimming pool.

Luckily most folks at Cap are too busy looking at the stunning beach and stylish renovation to notice a fashion faux pas.

Or they just dismissed me as some weird picture-taking blogger . . .

Or that nitwit who went for a swim in the decorative pool. Whichever.

Renovated Cap has several new restaurants, including an updated Pimms, a poolside cafe, the casual, waterfront Cip's, and the Cap Shack beach bar.

Eventually we headed back to the villa to see if the power had been restored, and sweet baby Jesus, I was saved! I happily headed out to lunch in a clean, freshly-ironed dress.

Clad, at long last, in clean pressed clothes, we made the short trip across the salt pond for lunch at a longtime favorite, Tratttoria Tramonto.

At our usual corner table, we tucked into penne with basil pesto; a wild boar prosciutto panini with parmigiano, arugula, and white truffle oil; and the most gorgeous tomatoes I think I've ever seen (or tasted).

After lunch, we alternated among reading, napping, swimming, and sipping.

And, you know, ironing everything left in my suitcase . . . just in case.

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