My land-base report.
May 19-21
We left Baltimore at 4:30am and were on the beach at CGB by 3:00pm. Upon arriving at the Ole Works Inn we found there was some confusion over our arrival date. The girls behind the counter seemed a little defensive as though they were ready for an argument (which they weren’t going to get from me) so I just smiled and said, “Do you have any room available?” and they said “yes”. So I said, “Than we’ll take whatever you have” which seemed to make her very happy because she then offered us the honeymoon suite at no additional charge. But there was a problem with the honeymoon suite. It had one queen-size bed and my boyfriend (who says I move around way too much to share a queen size bed with me for a whole week) and I had agreed on two queens or one king for the duration of the trip. So I looked at him and said “Do you think you can handle me for two nights?” This statement must have sounded pretty funny because both women started to giggle. He said he thought he could handle two nights in the same bed with me and we accepted the room. Shortly after entering the suite we were sent a very large bottle of rum and all sorts of goodies, which was different than any other time I’d stayed there. I think they thought if I liquored him up enough he might be able to better “handle” me. Something we found very interesting was the oddly placed double swing hanging in the middle of the room. Cute idea I guess but I’m not quite sure the need for a large swing strategically placed between the bed and the bathroom. I don’t think I want to know what it’s been used for. But what I do know is that it squeaks when you sit on it at 6:30 am, which made light sleeping boyfriend very grumpy.
The first few days we drank painkillers and beer, vegged on the beach and watched Quito play solo, which I must admit, was really cool. I find that for the first 48hrs I’m on decompression mode and I don’t want to do a darn thing but absorb the warmth of the sun and the rum into my mind, body and soul.
I don’t remember what we had for dinner. Actually the only meals that really stood out the two days we spent at CGB were the Barbeque dinner we had at the Elm on Friday night and breakfast at Myetts.
We met a great dog. Fluffy. A black something or other who seemed to think he owned the beach. We decided he must be young because he seemed to bark only when the other dogs found a reason to bark as if he were in training or something. At other times he seemed to be barking at nothing at all. And when he wasn’t barking at nothing, he spent time under our chairs hiding from the sun and sharing his fleas. Cute dog. (See pixs if I can figure out how to attach them) (Sorry no pix of very large swing in bedroom)
May 21 - 26
We checked out after breakfast and caught the 11:15 ferry to the BEYC. Every year I spend two nights on Tortola at CGB just getting into island mode (and saving a few dollars off the cost of the trip) and then head over to the BEYC on VG for the remainder. That way I get a little bit of both the island flavor, which I love, and the pampering, which I so deserve (if I don’t say myself), combined into one perfectly wonderful trip. Upon reaching the Bitter End we were greeted by a woman who handed us face clothes soaked in some sort of lavender solution to freshen up with. Nice touch. After checking in, we were sent directly over to the clubhouse for lunch. I’ve never had a problem with the food at the Bitter End. The fruit and veggies are almost always fresh and the entrees very tasty. I find it’s nice to not worry about where our next meal is coming from or whether it will be good or not. I can pretty much rely on the Bitter End having something scrumptious. We spent the next five days swimming and reading at the pool, snorkeling and exploring. One day we walked over to Biras Creek. That was interesting but I still prefer the BEYC. Our only complaint at the BEYC was a very annoying bird who lived in a tree just outside our room. I have never in my life met a bird who squawked all night long non-stop. I hate to admit this but one night I got so frustrated I went out onto the front porch and threw a coconut at the tree in hopes that the noise might scare him enough to shut him up for a while. No such luck. He continued to squawk for 5 days! I kept trying to ease my frustration by telling myself he was some sort of exotic bird with a lovely voice and maybe if I could convince myself of this I’d be lulled to sleep. But no matter how hard I tried, his voice continued to sound like a piercing SQUAWK. No one at the resort seemed to know of this bird or what we were talking about, so when I got home I looked him up on the Internet. After searching for some time I found the name and a picture of my lovely neighbor. The infamous pearly-eyed thrasher.
Let’s see. What else.
We went on a champagne sunset cruise one night with my friend Kinto.
Overall it was a little buggier than other years and we only had one morning of rain. Everything seemed much greener than in past years I guess this was do to of all of the rain they’ve had. This year’s trip was extra special because I got to see my boyfriend (it seems when your 41 years old there should be another word to describe your partner/significant other) experience the BVI for the first time. I tried not to spoil it for him by pointing out everything I loved and saying things like "just wait until you see this or that". He had never been to the Caribbean and I wanted him to have his own experience. I think sometimes people who have been to a place before you can ruin your experience by trying to describe every last thing before you even get there. In the end he described it as "perfect". You have no idea how pleased I was to hear this one descriptive word from him. Let’s just say he’s not overly demonstrative in expressing himself. I know he loved his first BVI experience just as much as I did.
Now I will just sit and daydream until my next trip.
May 06 is looking good.
http://community.webshots.com/album/359608493iIcUhz