Last year we celebrated our anniversary for the first time on Virgin Gorda and a villa in Nail Bay and fell in love with the BVI. We had felt that what we experienced in BVI, the beauty and the magic of the islands, the unbelievable snorkeling, etc. was something that we wanted to some day share with our son and daughter. When we found out our daughter who is in the army was being shipped to Japan for 2 years, we wanted very much to have a family vacation and share the BVI’s with them before she left. With the help of the TTOL, we put together what was one of the best family vacations we ever had, with beautiful memories for all of us. This time we chose to spend our time in CGB as there would be more night life for the kids, and that proved to be the correct decision. However, next time we go back we would spend more time back in Virgin Gorda definitely. But Tortola was the perfect place for this family vacation and we got to experience a new island.
We flew into St Thomas from Minneapolis and took Smith’s Ferry to West End. One of the best tips I received was Smith’s Ferry. It was wonderful to have someone greeting you when you got off the plane with a “Welcome” sign. It just made everything go so smooth and a great way to start off your trip. I would definitely reserve a round trip next time -- You get a price break. The noon ferry back to St Thomas from Tortola ended up being direct, and we did not have to stop at St. John’s. But even though we did not reserve Smith’s coming back to St. Thomas, Smith’s was still there when we got off the ferry with our welcome sign again to bring us back to the airport.
We stayed at Ole Works Inn. We had one beachview room and one junior suite with the kitchen. The rooms are large and nice. Our balconies were adjoining with a terrace in front of that with beautiful sunsets every evening. We were just about the only people staying there so I think we got lots of special attention. The staff were very wonderful and I enjoyed staying there very much. However, it was not my villa at Nail Bay. And I wish they would have waited on the deck they started building right outside our room until after we left. We were really not much in our rooms, but could have done without waking up some mornings to the hammering and buzzing. .
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/band.gif" alt="" /> We had the opportunity of seeing Quito’s and the Edge play two nights, and also Quito solo on Tuesday and Thursday. This was the first time and we really enjoyed his music. We bought his CD’s which he personally autographed for all of us, and I have been playing his Unplugged CD ever since I got back home. I can close my eyes and imagine still being there…
Scuba Diving: <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drown.gif" alt="" /> We chartered a scuba day with UBS Divers. That was the highlight of the trip – especially for Nick and Christina and her husband Matt. They had never dove before, and were already “blown away” by the snorkeling. They did end up doing the resort course and diving the Rhone. We first started out with a trip to Cooper Island. Scott, our dive instructor, took my husband out for a deep dive, while the rest of us snorkeled. The snorkeling was pretty good there. However, I got seasick and could not do the resort course and scuba dive. We then had lunch on Cooper Island while we listened to the lecture. Then all proceeded to the beach to get on their scuba equipment, learn the basics in shallow water, until Scott felt everyone knew what they were doing. We then went to the Rhone dive site. I got to snorkel above them as they dove the Rhone. The water was so clear that I could see the wreck and watch them below – so kind of felt a part of what was going on. Lots of fish and barracudas and they got to see a nurse shark. Scott was a great instructor and a fun guy to spend the day with. I would recommend them again. He also made sure to give me seasick pills which worked the next day I went out on a boat.
Another highlight was renting our own powerboat and going to the Baths. We were kind of disappointed in the snorkeling at Cane Garden Bay and Brewer’s Bay as it waskind of murky. We remembered snorkeling the Baths and Anegada last year, and nothing can compare to that. So we rented the boat for the day and went to the Baths. We were accompanied by dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the boat which was very cool. I also saw a very large sea turtle come up - I thought it was a rock sticking out. The snorkeling was “Totally Awesome” according to the kids. We had lunch on the beach, snorkeled and climbed through the caves. Then we went and stopped in at Spanish Town to look up Capt. David from Double D – but he was out for the day. We did some souvenir shopping at the Marina. Then we decided to move on to JVD and visit the infamous Soggy Dollar Bar. However, the weather was not quite cooperating at the end of the day and we could see rain coming. We ended up stopping at Sandy Cay and swimming there. What a beautiful beach. We made it into CGB just as the rain came. It was pretty wet coming in, but we made it. It was an absolutely wonderful day again. It rained all the next day – but that was the end of the rain. The Baths is definitely the best snorkeling spot.
We really had great food all week. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> One of my favorites was Palm Delight as everyone recommended - and yes the Ginger Chicken was fantastic – so was the chicken and shrimp roti. We ate at Myett’s and Quito’s BBQ and all the food was very good. Rhymers was great for $3.50 burgers and sandwhiches for lunch. The only bad report was Big Banana where we had our TTOL Party. We had to wait over 2 hours to get our food – which came out one plate at a time very slowly, and then poor Connie and Lance didn’t even get their food at all and that was brought out late after everyone was done. My husband who had not yet had lobster decided to bite the bullet and pay $35 for lobster. We were imagining lobster like we had at Loblolly last year. The plate came out with 2 pounds of shredded lettuce and a small lobster tail cut in half with six small chunks of lobster. It was terrible and he was not happy. He was more mad at himself for not sending it back. “Can I get some lobster with my salad?”
Brandywine was by far the best dinner we had. We went alone to celebrate our anniversary dinner. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> It was wonderful to meet Davide and his wife Cele. What very nice people and fun. The restaurant is beautiful and romantic and the food was absolutely wonderful. Peter had mussels in a sauce which he has not stopped talking about yet. And the tuna was so good, we have never tasted tuna like that. I had grilled portabella mushrooms and Oso Bucco which was also wonderful. It was quite a large portion which Peter did not mind finishing for me. We were also treated to wonderful hospitality from Davide and Cele and were able to have afterdinner drinks with them and conversation on their terrace until we thought we better not keep them up any longer. Davide did lock the gate behind us <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> We look forward to seeing them again.
TTOL Party <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> It was so much fun to meet all these people that you have been chatting with. We met the wonderful honeymooners Sabrina and Mario, Connie and Lance, Phil and Sandy, Murdene and Steve, and the fab boys JD, Stinky and Herve. We all had dinner and then moved over to Quito’s for his music unplugged. Kerry and his daughter Kelly and friend Stewart stopped in. Also met Cyndi (Raven) at the end of the night on my way out. There were more and I honestly can’t remember the names. It may have had to do with the rum punches … It was a good time and I wish we had more time to talk and get to know each other. Whoever would have thought that JD did needlepoint? Sorry if I wasn’t suppose to tell that.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Umbrella.gif" alt="" /> We spent one day at Brewer’s Bay and I really love that beach. It is very beautiful but the snorkeling was not very good when we were there and the current was pretty strong. It really wore us out. We went to the only beach bar there for some lunch (don’t remember the name) and who would have guessed that they had our Vikings on tv and got to watch part of the game.
The road to Smuggler’s Cove which we finally found was quite an experience from Cane Garden Bay. It was like driving on a donkey trail, but again part of the island experience. And the view from Skyworld is something you do not want to miss and bring the camera.
All in all a beautiful vacation, wonderful weather, great memories, and I miss it already. DIF. It was quiet with not a lot of people. CGB was perfect with the beautiful beach, restaurants, and night life. But next time I would like to do a little more laidback time on Virgin Gorda and also Anegada. Actually, we just need to charter a boat next time so we can stop at all the places.
I have pictures but do not have any idea how to put them out on those sites. As soon as I figure it out I will post - unless someone wants to PM me?
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