Trip report: 2/4/01 - 3/20/01<br><br>This was my first time back to the BVI after an 11 year absence, way too long! The first noticeable thing of course was more traffic in Road Town, and this time traffic jams were because of cars rather than cows and goats. Of course this is early morning when everyone is going to work and school. It seemed to thin out after the day went on. <br>I found the people very friendly and had no problem hitching a ride into Brewers Bay. Everyone at the campground remembered me well after 11 years. Lou and Carl greeted me and made me feel at home once again.<br><br>I basically want to focus on the campground so here we go: It's a rather large area to keep maintained but even though there are only few people to work it, I found the place to be clean and functional. The showers are still cold...unless you grab the first one of the day! Sun showers rule! What really impressed me was how friendly the other campers were this year. 11 years ago everyone was friendly but this year it was really different, perhaps it is myself who has changed but I've never been invited to dinner so many times in my life. About 4 dinner invitations a week for the first 5 weeks! I'm not much of a cook so lucky me eh? <br>I discovered many of the old donkey trails that lead up the ghuts of the mountains. A camper I met had spent several weeks clearing the trails for other people to enjoy. I also discovered the "Lava Bubble" or "Bat Cave" as some call it. Take Brewer's Bay Road east until you see the sign with the five wooden fish on the left side of the road. Follow the road past the white steel fence on the right....about another 200 feet you take the dirt road/path to the left and this leads you to the bat cave. A great view of Brewer's & Shark Bay are seen from here, also many unusual types of plants. It's an easy walk from Brewer's Bay. Mt. Healthy Windmill was another place that the trails were cleared. Take the trail behind the windmill (mind the spiders)! and it leads to some giant bamboo clusters. Roughly a half mile.<br><br>Bamboo bar served dinner some weeknights, Fridays were the famous fish fry nights which also include chicken....sundays were barbecue chicken and ribs...hmm hmm...good! Nicole's beach bar served the usual cheeseburgers, (excellent) hot-dogs, fishburgers, and salad. Getting a ride out of Brewer's Bay is no problem...patience is the key.....or of course start walking! I'll sum up Brewer's Bay by saying it was great, the people were great, it hasn't changed that much at all!<br><br>Places I ate.....Cool Breeze....just up the hill from Brewer's Bay, a great local place. Cool place to hang out and watch Charlie and friends play dominoes! Food is great and very inexpensive.....best johnny cakes on the island! Cool breeze is well named too, it has a great view of the North side as well as Road Town and a cool breeze is always blowing up there! Not many tourists go here but I say it's a must visit! Pusser's west end and Road Town: Had the hot chicken wings, a reuben sandwich, and pizza during 3 visits. Of course what trip to the BVI is complete without a stop at "Roti Palace"??? Once again the food was great, the company was great! Oh yeah...try Bobbies supermarket for some great and inexpensive deli take-out foods!<br><br>Didn't visit too many place as I was happy hanging out in the jungle this year. I did visit Elisabeth beach, the small hidden one right before you get to Beef Is. No waves at all....it was like a giant swimming pool...this I enjoyed! I attended Farmer's Week at Parakeetta bay. A real blast! So many displays to look at, so much food, lots of gift shops to browse, and some great music to boot! Bomba's was dead both nights I went, (not full moon) thank goodness for that, I hate crowds. Basically I did a great deal of hiking this year to get my health back in check. Mission Accomplished!<br><br>Anegada-Da-Vida: The last five days of my vacation were spent in Anegada. I had dreamed of going there for 14 years now. This year so many people I knew had been or were going yet I just kept putting it off. Mainly because I had heard stories of how hot it is there. Finally a friend talked me into going for my last 5 days. WOW, what a great place, 100% different than the other islands. The people there are so friendly, all 150 of them! I stayed at Mac's Place camping in Loblolly Bay north of the airport. A great place to camp and Mac is a very cool guy! He even gave me a free ride to the airport! Try Dotsys bakery in the settlement as she makes some great brownies, bread, etc! Snorkeling at Loblolly was fantastic! The current is a bit strong so flippers are a must have here! But the amount of fish was overwhelming...and I mean some BIG fish too! We had a barracuda swim right up to us before turning left...he did this twice checking us out...got some photos too! Sea turtles, southern rays, tarpon, etc. Also great snorkeling at Loblolly east in front of Flash Of Beauty Bar. I hated to leave Anegada and next trip I'll divide between Tortola and Anegada. <br><br>I found the BVI and the people even more friendly & beautiful than I had remembered. Can't wait till next year! I know this trip report was sort of unconventional but I hope it lent some insight to the place and the people. I'll have a bunch of photos online in about a week, I'll post the address in case anyone wants to see them! <br>Dave W [Linked Image]<br><br>Dave W<br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 4/13/01 04:34 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Dave Williams