Sometimes what you expect doesn’t happen, but the reality is just as good. We flew into STT Jan 21 with winds at 40 knots! The ferry ride I envisioned involved sipping beers on the top deck of a large ferry boat taking in the incredible views. What I got was an interior ride that was so incredibly choppy, we almost (almost) spilled our beers! It was quite an adventure! The heavy plastic window tarps would occasionally suck out from the boat, causing a spray of saturating sea water. The delight was in that wonderful salty taste on our lips. Arriving at West End, late on a Saturday, the customs process went very quickly for “island time”: “Anything to declare? (waiting for no response) Good! I want to go home!” The first thing that struck me was the unbelievable beauty of this place. We arrived at around 6:00 p.m. and everything was drenched in the colors of dusk. As we began the ride to CGB, I was awe-struck as we’d crest a hill and BAM! Amazing view. Then we’d drive 30 more feet down the road and a break in the foliage would show us BAM! Another astounding view. The second thing that struck me was the sweet, sweet smell of the island. How could a whole island smell like air freshener? It did, only better. And the occasional mix of open fire BBQ was delightful. The third surprise was that I was expecting hills, not mountains. The steepness of the roads really was a shock…I was thinking more “rolling Alleghenies.” These hills were a little more abrupt, changing elevation quickly. This was evident in the views. You’d drive maybe half a mile from the beach and already have a bird’s eye view of it.
Myett’s was a great place to stay. The rooms were very clean and private with comfy beds (too soft for Dave, but oh, so snuggly for me). The rooms were also very spacious. Sometimes rooms look great until your luggage takes them over, but they were very airy and open. We stayed in a garden room then moved to the ocean-front room when it opened. Both were great. The restaurant was very busy that night. We sat in the garden, feet in the sand, for our first meal on Tortola. Walking the beach, we notice that St. Thomas was lit up like a Christmas tree while a crescent of seven enviable lights marked Jost. I wonder what Tortola looks like at night from the other islands.
Sunday we were a bit lost…our first full day on the island, and we got rained on nearly all morning and afternoon. We did venture down the beach and were surprised at the different sand on one beach. Some was very fine and hard. Another spot was coarser, and you’d sink right in. (I had intentions of collecting the different sands. I did the last day we were there, but Mother Nature had shaken it all up and deposited it equally across the bay.) We decided to stay at Myett’s and watch some football, but the cable was out so a helpful man named “Pusher” said he’d already called West End and the Jolly Roger had cable. A short taxi ride later, we watched my Steelers win and met some great people in the mean time. We taxied back to CGB remembering that the second game was a blowout, but not quite sure who won…
Monday we sailed with Patouche. Clive and Faye were great…as is anyone when you take the time to get to know them. We snorkeled at the Caves and Angel Reef at Norman and Great Harbor(I think) at Peter. The swells were too much to stop at the Indians. It was a beautiful day, and at age 34, Dave just recently learned how to swim so this was quite a mind-blowing experience for him. He has still not come down from his high. This was also our first time on a sailboat and fell in love immediately. Dave sailed the boat most of the way back! We are already thinking about a second trip down sometime on a captained boat. We’ve decided learning to sail is a very real goal for us.
Tuesday we rented a car from Denzil Clyne. No problems at all. Mental note: the road map does little to help you navigate. Just use the road signs. Our first stop was Smuggler’s Cove. The ride there was half the fun. “Is this the road or a villa drive?” “Should we be going uphill to get to a beach?” My personal favorite was idling in front of a huge mud puddle much wider than the road, leaving us to wonder if this was just another pothole or a four feet deep washout. We had quite a conversation before going for it! It was beautiful. Only one other couple was there. We really didn’t take the time to thoroughly enjoy it as there were other parts of the island we wanted to explore. We headed to the North Shore Shell Museum. This is where we found out that not only is there “island time” but “island timing”: After trying to figure where/how to park for about ten minutes, we finally parked, got out, and the older gentleman that had been tending the property, watching this whole ordeal said, “She’s not here.” You could almost hear the rim shot. We then headed to Mount Sage. Our first attempt brought us to the other mountain…the one with all the towers (ok, we could have used the map here). Well, we persevered and found Mount Sage. Because of the heavy rains, most of the trails were closed, but this worked out ok because it left us a bunch of extra time to visit Brewer’s Bay. We stopped at Rudy’s for a quick pick-me-up and then headed downhill. We loved it here. Yes, it was beautiful, but also was quiet (even though there were probably 40-50 people here), especially compared to CGB and the cruise ship crowd. Nicole’s was a great facility in general and very friendly! We stayed for about three hours. It was really a perfect beach day. We ate at Bananakeet’s that evening. This really is a great stop…even if it’s just for sunset cocktails. The seafood extravaganza, although way too creamy and salty to be good for you, is delicious! We ended our evening with a real moment-of-being: watching Quito.
The first few days of vacation were a whirlwind of activity so we relaxed and rehydrated for a couple days. We decided that we should only go on one more “outing.” Originally we planned JVD for one day and The Baths for another. We decided on the Baths this time and maybe actually sailing to Jost some other trip. We took the 7 a.m. ferry to VG, saw a beautiful sunrise over SFDC, and got to the Baths around 8:00 (I think). The Baths didn’t take any time to navigate. I started looking at my map of the Baths and found this map also to be quite ineffective. Don’t get me wrong…it was really wonderful…I just didn’t need a map and 45 minutes to point out all these things. Devil’s Bay was breathtaking! When we arrived there was another couple there and a family that dinghied in. We had the place to ourselves for about an hour before the cruise ship people started coming in. Fortunately, it did not get too crowded (but crowded enough). We thought about venturing to Spring Bay from land, but did not want to leave this area because taxis were readily available. Next time I would rent a car so we could explore on our own.
Long story short, it was a great trip, and I wouldn't change a thing!