OK I think I have recovered enough to think – well maybe not but I’ll give it a try. I won’t describe the places we were at, you’ve all been there. I will describe what I found in the way of adventures. These involve going somewhere ( BVI could work) and seeing who the people are. I’ll try to keep it long so you can sleep.

The stories are real. We removed all the names, so as to not offend anyone and I can’t remember the names anyway. My grammar and prose are quit exemplar to an engineer’s point of view. I wasn’t a history teacher ya know! I wrote it right before reading Mal’s book so don’t draw any bad thoughts. And by the way thanks for listening.

We teleported right into the west end on a Sunday. Off the dock at noon. We ended up at white’s bay and helped prop up Soggy’s. Soggy’s propped me up. Normal day just checkin things out.

Up in the morning for a dive and a sail. We arrived at the chikuzen after lunch and looked for the grouper ( I didn’t say I saw him). Went to Leverick for bday dinners, Admiral’s and potential daughter in law. Life is good. Still lookin for something else.

Another day opens up and it is wonderful. Maybe wind today? Heading to Deadman’s for the night. Fortunately there is a spinnaker onboard and I’ve never used one before (I know what you are thinking – I did not try this alone)! Capt teaches me how and ‘POP’ we’re off. Pretty sail and it works better for shade than 150% Jenny. In the bay Cayci decides to go snorkel by the point. Whole trip she wants to see a shark. She did and exited the water, she didn’t want to see that particular shark.

Sunrise was not too good for my first try of the trip. I find sunrises better than sunsets, I think the colors have a nicer saturation. Cooper to fill tanks, diving you know. Back for more tanks and I start to wonder what I can do for entertainment (read – ‘I can be the dangerous person’). And there, on the beach, is a man. His coconut fire was going and tinfoil wrapped somethings are on the grill. I decided he was my first victim. I walked right up said good morning and asked him what WE were having for lunch. He took this in stride and we chatted for a time. Didn’t matter what we were talking about and he told me some stories about cooper island. Nice man. Off diving again, two a day, where ever we were – way too little time to plan something. Slept at Marina cay in 4 ½ feet of water, I swam to shore. Coming back I walked to within a few feet of the boat and swam. I wondered latter why was I swimming to the cay when I could have walked.

Back south, we left the tanks alone all night but they don’t recover on there own, Cooper. Drop tanks off and go look for my friend (he said he did not want to play the victim). There on the dock was my best friend and he had lobsters in his bag, now I know what was on the grill yesterday. Delt with tanks and trucked over as he was lighting his fire. Good afternoon … I tell him we just finished lunch and my wife just loves roti’s (SP) but we had trouble when we tried it at home. Arizona must have a law about importing roti wraps so yer on your own here. He said his mother owned Roti Palace in RT. The secret is how you grind the chick peas. Some fine for dough and some coarser for the center. Make a ball with the dough, push your thumb in and make a pocket. Insert some other dough you made with the coarse. Roll it back in the ball like you do when you feed the dog a pill. Roll out with rolling pin (belay pin could be an alternate tool when on a sailboat). Cook like a crape and voila (down island the term is ‘cool mon’). Do chick peas come from chickens? Back to boat and I drop below. Soon I hear ‘Jim your friend is here’. What friend, I told none of my friends where I was. I pop up and it is him, ‘Would you like to buy some lobsters’. We had too much food and declined. As he drove off in a dingy the crew said he came and asked for his friend with the tortuga necklace. Who are these people and how do they find me?

Yea Yea I slept and really well! Diving, diving, always diving – Oh that’s what we promised the kids. Sailed somewhere, but mostly ‘we was just limin’. Back to Deadman’s, crossroad to destiny or maybe just a nice place to break out the grill. After a great boat dinner a walkabout was in order. Walked past the beach bar, which had a steel band, and went to see what night life was at the resort. We found they keep ‘the nightlife’ in rooms at night, maybe a good idea. Bar was, well deadman’s, bartender looked like a lonely man so we moved onward (read – no victim in sight). Beach bar has a steel band and I’m sure they will sell us drinks, Yeh my lucky day - it’s my turn to buy. We sit down at a beach table and look thirsty, not too successfully. SO I took control of the situation and I approached the bar. I thought I needed a neon light to be seen as the only person at the bar without a drink (Not a good idea to let my beer runnith out). I order, a bdrink. She makes a BIG batch and it doesn’t fit in the four cups! She carefully garnishes the four and pours the remaining blender contents into another cup for us. It was about this time she realized that it might not be prudent to let this ‘guy’ carry 5 drinks at once. She said ‘I gotcha, goooo sit down’. In the end we bought 4 Bushwakers for $84 dollars – but we got one free!!!. After 15 min of steel pan the time was up, the band left and they had to lock up the rest of the guests. This is a cool time in the islands.

Bushwackers aided sleep but I did make it up for a nice sunrise. Did some other dives ( what day is it anyway?). Pretty much did nothing but the effort expended by the whole crew added up to pretty much nothing ( Back where we started). But we did make it to the ‘Leverick bay ride in the British Diseny Islands where all the natives are on character’. Madly we pack – off the boat at 6:00 AM tomorrow. Don’t ask why we did this but we asked to be dumped off at ‘the dock’. Off goes the boat and we put the bags in a secure location. We used the marina office lobby at the end of the dock, secure in the event of rain or lemur attacks. I heard that lemurs don’t eat luggage, Richard checked that one out I’m sure. We go up to the rooms and sleep. I am in the office at 7:57, Good morning! We would like to get our bags up near the rooms when ever it is convenient. Fine, this man will help you. So off we go on ‘the cart from hell’ and I think Victim. Racing down the dock I ask ‘Is this the virgin gorda freeway?’. I am not sure he understood the question ( OK it is not a question he gets often I bet). I said it is the straightest road I had seen on VG. Now he understood the question and gave me fearful look. I said something else, he laughed and he did not throw me off the dock. On the way back he turns to me and says ‘You look like Elton John’. Hah, I’ll bet he tells everyone that. BUT I give him a fearful glance back. OK, Bags in room, life chills out (AC). A few days latter the admiral and I were scouting for the ‘morning life’ at the resort and bingo the wild cart driver spots me. He asks if I remember his name, which I did. Then he apologized for forgetting mine. Some people ask me what the locals are like, what more can I say. Then he leans over to my wife and says I look like Elton John (at this rate I could be a pop star in 2 weeks).

OK back at the resort, we get organized and have a water taxi gather us and drop us at Saba. Admirals bday present was found at that spot. A cool little crab with a small doubloon in the center but has only one eye – this is where something gets hurt !!! The eye went missing in transit and we were told they probably sell crab eyes in Tucson. While in Benures bay, a few days previous, my wife and I went looking for the crabs on the flats. So I’m trying to point out this crab but it doesn’t move. I throw a small rock near it to make it move and BONK, right on the head ( eye? ). But alas all is good as they are now both pirate crabs! So we exit the shop and there are a couple hundred people out there. A big swimming race over to Leverick, I’ll water taxi there thanks. Looking at the unusual things arranged about the place I see half boat hulls. You know, that show the hull shape. They cut a model in half and sell it to two people. I looked close and they were carved in Bequia. In Feb we were on Bequia and watched the guy carving a boat. It’s all here

Next off the BEYC for pizza at the Pub. Asked the Saba rock captain when he could take us back to Leverick, Nope I can get ya but I can’t return ya. Oh boy, now I have to go to work on this but first some food. The Pub is closed at 10:30, I shimmi in and the lady says 11:00. I pronounce ‘We’ll just walk over to Biras creek, have a little look around and just pop back’, why do I listen to what I say. The lady says we can get over there and back in just over 20 min. 20 min later we are looking at the restaurant – nice, oh did I mention we’re hot. I ask for a menu for lunch and was informed that lunch was a buffet today. She then proceeded to tell us everything on the buffet down to the truffle sauce. She made a great sales pitch but we were more dressed for limin. She then said there was a ‘café’ down the hill. We find it and wow it’s the fat virgin café! Cheeseburgers, Esters home fries and a beer, good hike but now this is great. A thought interrupts the moment and I remember we need to get to Leverick, plus I’m not walking back to BEYC. After placing the order, I realized I needed not a victim this time but an accomplice. I approached a man working on an outboard attached to a boat. I said good afternoon, how are you and I wish to get to Leverick and I’m not sure how ‘I’m not from around here’. He assured me there was a way and he could help (now an unwitting accomplice). ‘Let me know when you finish lunch and I’ll get you going’. We finish the cheeseburgers and he comes over and says ‘can you be ready in 5-10 min’. I thought immediately ‘’ I should not drink on the boat. I could hold on to my beer on the ride back to Leverick (warm beer )or I could get rid of the beer (lost beer and negative points) or just hide it’’. Logic prevailed and after depositing the empty bottle in the can we were ready. Then I noticed a lady on the dock and I see the Biras creek employee ferry approaching. So let me see, I had no idea how to get back to Leverick. I ask a nice guy what can I do. He lets us eat our burgers then willed that boat to come and return us. Nice round trip eh!

Another night at which time we switched to doing night like things. Next day we are sending the kids off to get back to work. Ok guys you take the 12:30 ferry and it will all work – it did. Food, Food definitely good, My 27 year old eats like a teenager. Ah Bath & Turtle, it’s right by the ferry, just a 3 min car ride to the ferry. Good chow, etc – we would like the bill – we would like to pay the bill. Credit cards are being bitchy right now. T-5 min to leave, son produces cash but I’d take too much cash if he loaned it to me. Time over, so I leave the admiral at the bar as collateral. I rush over to push the kids toward home. When I return, credit card is not bitchy and my wife is chatting with an older man. He was an old delivery captain from Ireland. He told me about the boats he likes and I BS’ed about the boats I wanted. He said go to Ireland and see the palm trees. Are you sure guy? That is unbelievable so the only way I’ll know is to take the admiral there and see for ourselves. Now comes the silly part, It is negotiated mutually that we must have enough money back at the hotel and I don’t need the ATM here. Drive car back to Leverick and run away. Enjoyed a night sans kids. Bothered Nick and Monica the last morning for no good reason, gotta keep em going.

Spent most of the cash so it must be time to move on. We are going to ferry over to Tortola, just like normal people do. Hello. Just enough time, just enough taxi fare, just enough plastic for the ferry. OK, ATM in RT will be just fine. Yeh we can lug 2 scuba bags, 1 large clothes bag and the carry on stuff like fragile shells down the street – note to self, you need to think a plan through. OK, No problem after a quick bank stop in the safari bus we get to the ferry. Friendly looking sales person at the ticket counter, I can’t stop myself. She asks if I want a round trip ticket. I say ‘I wish I could but I’m going home’. After her telling me to come back soon I told her it might not be right away as my wife and I are kinda looking at St Lucia. She tells me she is from St lucia and we talk for a while (no there was no one else in line). I told here we liked a rum we had in Marigot bay, Chairman Reserve and I can’t get it anywhere. And she says ‘anywhere ain’t Buck’s ’! Scurry out the dock dragging bags, I’m on a mission. Give the admiral her ticket and tell her to deal with the carry on stuff. Ferry leaves in 15 min and I have to run to Buck’s for the admiral’s rum. I tell my wife to hold the ferry if I’m not back (what was I thinking). We made it to RT with the bottle of rum and on the same boat even!

RT the last chance to observe the characters and their inventive solutions to every day problems. Like I’m not really sure where our room is on the island. We engage a taxi and go smartly off to CRC. Bad choice of words from me. Dummy, you have money but no beer and we are traveling at breakneck speed to a place I couldn’t tell the driver where it is. I attracted his attention when he slowed for a speed bump. After getting the necessary beer and some munchies we arrive at little apple bay. Go left? Go right? The inventive driver asks directions from several folks talking at the main intersection. Did not think it was going well until I remembered ‘the orange thing’. We arrived shortly after that and unpacked – hide dive bags in closet and open cloth’s bag, close the closet door. For the rest of the day we just napped and beach walked. Great dinner a Sabastian’s and a nice breeze in the bedroom.

Last full day, Tea, desert from Sabastian’s, legs up. Lunch there too, BLT with fries – excellent. Walked to Bomba’s to see it, first time. We both carried a beer when we started the walk. We read the walls at ‘the shack’ and started back. The Admiral slips on a rock and I hear the sound of a breaking bottle. I look back expecting the worst. Amazingly very slight cut no gashes or sprained wrist. Cleaned up the glass and then cleaned up ourselves at CRC. Mal tells me there is a great clinic there at little apple bay but getting stitches from Bomba sounds scary. When you go to CGB look in the glass blowing shop, we got some cool mementos there. Our hosts introduced us to some TTOL’ers and we had an enjoyable time. The evening also included the infamous ginger wine chicken down the road. It tasted just like I imagined it. Slow day but fun times.

Last day (why?). Lunch, how to do before the ferry. We’re on the beach and I see our waitress near a table. I ask from the beach as to when lunch could be ordered – 12:00. Oh man, too late for us. I told her about the wonderful BLT I had the day before. She declared that BLTs were indeed on the breakfast menu and we were back on track.

Time to emigrate. Call taxi, me, I need help. Off to Sabastian’s store to ask the lady to call. ‘We don’t do that here too many people run off before the cab come’. Wait a minute Jim be nice. Soon as I assured her I was a reputable man she called. Danny took us to the ferry and that was our last contact with the beautiful BVI people.

And’ we walked out of paradise’

Some pics http://s784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/BilgeBoss/bvi%20June%202011/

Some underwater pics http://s784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/BilgeBoss/bvi%20June%202011%20diving/