Sailing the British Virgin Islands Part II

On Friday morning 27 April we took the ferry from St Thomas to Tortola to begin the next part of the adventure.  We boarded our catamaran, the "Escape", and after stocking it with groceries, the harbor pilot took us out of the marina.

Our captain, Bonnie, then took over for the rest of the trip.  We spent a week traveling among the British Virgin Islands, sailing each day for a few hours, mooring in a different bay each evening and sampling the fares of some wonderful local restaurants.  Most days we spent a few hours snorkeling as well.  We each took our turn sitting with Bonnie and "navigating" for her, "helping her" drive the boat.

Pat, her husband Bruce, and Bonnie relaxing at the restaurant after a day of travel:

With five Texans as crew, it was important to fly our "colors!"

"Crew members" Jon and Roger:

At a local outdoor cafe we were entertained by Michael Beans, a local "pirate."  Part of his show included a conch-shell horn blowing contest: Roger came in second!  (A real "blow-hard!"  I know everyone is surprised!)

One of the most visited sites in the BVI is "The Baths", a collection of enormous boulders, around and through which the ocean circulates, creating these large pools and tunnels of reflective water.  Quite exciting to wade through them! 

This fellow and two other barracudas joined us in the bay on our last morning aboard.  We didn't swim with them, but by all accounts, they are non-aggressive and mind their own business. (We did the same!)

The second week of our trip was spent on the island of Tortola at the Heritage Inn.  Here's a view from our balcony down to the pool and restaurant area.  

It was a romantic location which allowed us all to recoup and relax after what was a fairly strenuous week aboard our catamaran. 

Jon and Geri made great traveling partners. 

 

Bruce and Pat were the perfect hosts!They literally thought of everything!

We spent time at local beaches on Tortola, often joined there by local fauna.

Beautiful flowers were everywhere! 

A popular local spot is the Bomba Shack, a small bar/eatery on the beach which has been literally put together with whatever was available: flotsam, boards, pieces of metal, etc. 

Grilling burgers by the "hereditary keepers of the flame!"

Finally, after two glorious, romantic weeks it all  came down to our last night, and our last sunset over the islands set the sky ablaze! 

We shared a farewell dinner at the Heritage Inn restaurant, the "Bananaquit", whose food is especially wonderful.

There is truly something magical about the islands!  We had a wonderful and memorable time, learned new skills, made new friends and acquainted ourselves with a previously unknown area of our beautiful world. 

Hope you, too, can experience the Virgin Islands.

Sailing the British Virgin Islands Part I

In April we were able to do something we've dreamed about for years and planned for over a year: sail a small craft through the British Virgin Islands.  We were invited by Bruce and Pat, cousins of our good friends Jon and Geri, to join them as crew of a catamaran.  They've done this trip multiple times; it's one of their "favorite things."  We flew into Charlotte-Amalie, St Thomas, the capitol of the US Virgin Islands, and stayed at a very nice place, the Sunset Gardens, for the next three days.  This is the view from our balcony:

There's a cruise ship to the right; St Thomas is the cruise ship capital of the Caribbean, docking sometimes 5 at a time. 

 We planned the trip without knowing that it was "Carnival" in St Thomas, but that event provided some extra fun.  We shopped a little for T-shirts and ate some local dishes in the cultural fair.  Our favorite? Seafood  Kallaloo! (link to a recipe) It's mixed seafood bits in a soup of greens, like spinach.  Really good!

We hiked all over the downtown area, finding a few geocaches (of course!) as we explored.

This is the entrance to the Hotel 1829, a landmark built that year.  We enjoyed cold drinks on the veranda.  Blackbeard was said to have been in these parts.  There's a distinct "pirate" theme to the islands which adds to the fun, but it's hard to separate fact from lore.

There are beautiful flowers everywhere in the islands, as well as birds that are unique to the Caribbean.  We spent a morning at Magen's Bay Beach, proclaimed by National Geographic to be one of the world's Ten Most Beautiful Beaches.

A couple of the local birds joined us at the beach: a pearly-eyed thrasher and the pretty Bananaquit.

We had a wonderful time at the beach, then went on a taxi tour of the island. 


This is a view of Magen's Bay from the top of the nearby hill:

This is "lobster-claw", a gorgeous tropical plant that is found around the islands.

In downtown Charlotte-Amalie we found an unexpected bit of history: Santa Anna fled from Mexico (one of several times) and lived here in the islands.  This courtyard, along with a well and house, belonged to him and are now a very pleasant outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed some cold drinks and sandwiches.  Next stop: the British Virgin Islands!