A summary trip report of our May experience on Virgin Gorda. I posted some info and pics while we were down there.

Travel--after feeling smug about travel on the flight down, indeed the flight back was not a lot of fun. We left EIS on schedule , had carry ons only so thought the connection of 1 hr plus in San Juan would be just fine. Well it would have been, except the plane that was to take us to Miami was 3hrs late. There was never an explanation for the delay. The 777 arrived about 5:30 pm rather than the 2:30 scheduled. The only way to get to St. Louis that night took off from Miami shortly after we were in the air from San Juan to Miami. They gave us accommodations and some meal tickets. The instructions were "You can use the meal tickets at the hotel or the airport and there will be a shuttle for Hyatt Summerfield Suites every 15 minutes outside the second floor of the terminal."

So we go stand where the shuttles come by--every shuttle in the world goes by of course except the one we're looking for. After a half hour, I call Summerfield Suites--"No we don't automatically come by--we'll send someone and they will pick you up in 10-15 minutes". Another half hour and no van. I call the hotel. "I talked to him and he is at the airport. If he doesn't come in another 15 minutes take a taxi"---No van--go upstairs and get a taxi. So now it's around 11 PM. They have us on a flight departing at 6:15 and say we have to be at the airport at 5:15 am. To AA's credit although the service desk in San Juan could care less-when I called AA and explained that I had to be in St. Louis to make an appointment for a medical proceedure at noon on Friday, she went to work and searched for a seat on another airline that would get us there that night. Failing that she assured me that we could take the early flight to Dallas and make it in time. Now it would not have been difficult for the "SERVICE" desk to have given the same reassurance.

Check into the hotel--are told that the food vouchers are no good there-- "You have to use those at the airport"-and they really don't have a restaurant, just the breakfast deal which is free and starts at 6 am."

Alrighty we spend the short night, get on the first shuttle at 5 am that is late and we arrive closer to 5:30 at the airport. For some reason the lines are long for that time of morning but we make our flight--still no food. We made it to St. Louis on schedule (changed out of my "flowerdy shirt" clothes into the ones we left in the car thinking we would be staying at a St Louis hotel the night before and made it to the hospital ahead of schedule.

Moral of the story, don't believe a word of it if they tell you the voucher is good at the hotel. Don't believe em if they tell you -"Go stand outside and the van will be there"--we call that "snipe hunting" back home. Anyway be on your toes in the air travel wars. And call the airline when the service desk people slough off your legitimate concerns with "Check after you are in Miami".

Ft. Burt Hotel.
A very nice surprise. We arrived too late for the ferry service on the way down and I had waited too long to get reservations at Marias. Tamarind was sold out. Ft. Burt was very nice. Very clean huge room with good A/c and a nice view over road harbor. It made it very handy because we wanted to pick up some stuff from our locker at TMM. The entire crew at TMM is always friendly in our experience. Penny holds the office together and I'm sure knows which boats are out and which are at the dock all the time. We had to go into the office and get the keys to the locker area and we got the usual welcome and friendly smile. I could see however there wheels were clicking as in "What are they doing here?"

I couldn't resist. "Hi Penny, where's our boat?" The brief look was priceless as I'm certain she briefly thought there was a total lack of communication and we had showed up expecting to take the boat out and it was on charter. Alas I couldn't keep a poker face and the laughing gave it away. The boat was out on charter and I knew it was booked all through our stay, just needed some snorkel stuff from the locker.

Virgin Gorda,
This was the first chance we had to stay on the island without a boat and without having an agenda such as setting up furniture. I had high expectations for the island and they were more than met. The people are just great. Oh there is a sourpuss or two anywhere you go, but up and down the line we have not found a friendlier or more accommodating group of folks. It makes all the difference in a vacation to feel not just safe but not detect that your presence is a burden to be tolerated rather than as a part of the island life.

The island was much dryer than in the winter and the false sense of lush greenery was gone. Virgin Gorda is a little dryer than Tortola it seems, like the East end of St. John is dryer than the Cruz Bay area-very strange microclimates. But it is a stunningly beautiful island at any time. The narrow long axis of the island with ocean views nearly anywhere you go is unique. From Savannah Bay north on North Sound Road the high ocean views are among the most spectacular to be seen all the way up to the descent into North Sound. There is really no residential or business development along the entire stretch (which is just a few miles) and it is a wonderful feeling to glimpse the various views of the Atlantic. Then depending whether you are going North or South see the whole end of the island--either North Sound --Necker and beyond or Savannah Bay separated by the Atlantic with Spanishtown and the Drake Channel stretching beyond.



Beaches:
The small island is blessed with many fine strips of sand. By far my favorite beach is Savannah Bay. Just a perfect stretch of sand with no rocks. Between the reefs there are large areas to swim and you can walk out at least a hundred yards in many places because the bottom slopes very very gradually. And the best thing in the world is that I have not found it crowded either winter or summer. A huge plus is that it is less than 4 minutes from closing to door on the condo to being in the water with most of that time used going down the sandy lane to Savannah bay from North Sound Road. Parking is a few feet from the beach.

Pond Bay--is the next strip of sand and it is essentially Savannah Bay North--with just an outcropping of rocks separating them. Like Savannah the government has put up some shade papillas (sp). A smaller but equally perfect piece of sand that requires a walk down from the road above.

Mahoe,-- We never got down to the beach there but is home to many of the high end villas on the island. We met some people at the Fat Virgin who were staying at Aqua Mare, one of the new beachfront villas at Mahoe and they were extremely happy with the location. I did catch a glimpse of Adiago that belongs to Gordaguy who is a sponsor here. Beautiful doesn't even describe it.

We stopped at the restaurant at Nail Bay one day and took our snorkel gear down to Mountain Trunk beach. A pretty little beach and we did find lots of fish. There was no one on the beach and we sat in the loungers for a little while but there was no breeze that day and the no see-ems were at work. A warning is that the hill back up is pretty steep.

Long Bay--just beyond the Nail Bay restaurant the road forks and the lower one takes you down to Long Bay. We really liked long bay--getting there it seems (and you are) off the beaten path. It is not a great sandy or swimming beach--lots of rock and coral washed up and have to be careful on entry because of rocks and urchins. But just a short way from shore is some really pretty coral and very good snorkeling. Lots of tiny shells of unique colors on the beach as well.

Spring Bay--Ah such a pretty spot. Like Pond Bay you have to walk down a ways from parking area and for those of us who like to take beach chairs/cooler etc it is a little vacation "work" (a bad bad word on vacation) so we only did the trip once . But the boulders and palms and sea make this unique place one not to miss.

Our days often began or ended or both with a trip to Savannah Bay. Walking the long deserted stretch of sand as the sun sank over one of the Dog Islands was pretty special.

Watching and listening to the surf roll in on the more active side of the road from Savannah Bay was also fun. Listening to the surf come through the rocks and then the low rattle of the coral pieces as the water receded to the ocean was soothing in a different way than the placid ocean just on the other side of a tiny stretch of land. A caveat is that the ocean was very calm and the west coast beaches of VG almost lake-like during this trip but that is not to mean that any beach on Virgin Gorda or anywhere else in the Virgin Islands cannot be a really "kickin" if not dangerous spot under the right conditions of sea and swells.

Olde Yard Village: We had done quite a bit of homework before purchasing there. Our partners in the condo had given us a thumbs up from their first stay earlier in the month. But since this is a substantial financial investment for us and a long term commitment you are apprehensive if you had done the right thing as we approached the trip. Any doubts were quickly erased. For us it is "pefect". While not needing a concierge or a chocolate on the pillow or some weird towel sculpture, we have come to like very comfortable and nice accommodations when we travel. I want at least the comforts at home if at all possible and I'd rather not look at run down fixtures or sit on uncomfortable furniture. The latter was always a particular sticking point of ours when we rented villas or condos on St. John over many trips. So many times you would find that a desire to look "Islandy" resulted in furnishings that were not much more comfortable than medieval torture devices. Similarly "soggy" mattresses that would nearly envelope you when you were spending nearly a grand a night (as a group) were inexcusable. For that reason we picked furnishings that cost a bit more initially but are terribly comfortable and you don't need a chiropractor after watching a movie from the couches or chairs or sleeping overnight. It was important since we figure at some point to stay at the condo for extended visits that the kitchen be more than window dressing. I can whip up a mean meal in that kitchen and the dishwasher doesn't complain and doesn't make much noise at all. Almost makes one wish there was a GE dishwasher rather than a two legged one on the boat. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

The other necessity for sharing a living space with cable is that there are two cable boxes. We do just fine if there is no cable to watch and indeed on the boat or at the condo end the day with a DVD, which we usually agree on and if not I fall asleep more quickly. But we never agree as to what to watch otherwise so there is a box in the living area and a separate one in the master bedroom. I confess that we never used the cable much--but we were safe from conflict should it have come up.

We wanted as much as anything else to have a great breeze. Facing east with the constant wind off the Atlantic filled that bill. Since being home I've missed the constant feel of that breeze more than anything else (well maybe Carib). We wanted A/c and the entire 1300 sq ft of the unit is air conditioned -- with 3 split units --one in each bedroom and on for the kitchen/dining/living area. We used the one in the master bedroom twice during our 10 days and never used the other two at all.

Peace and Privacy. Since we live in an area so remote that I'm certain the hoot owls likely make love to chickens at night --nearest neighbor is a half mile away, we were concerned about a condo. I'm certain my wife and I would be arrested for disturbing the peace on a regular basis for "hollerin" for or 'at' our critters in nearly any urban setting.



It was nothing to be concerned about. Fortunately, when we walk into the back door of our unit, the rest of the complex disappears. With the concrete floors and walls you hear 'nuttin'. To the North there is the undeveloped land leading up to Gorda Peak. To the east there is the Atlantic Ocean a quarter mile away --albeit with North Sound road between you and the shore. We worried about that but found it was no issue. Goats and chicken sounds attracted my attention more than anything else.

Handy: We really liked the location because on the small island it was perfect. As mentioned our favorite beach, Savannah Bay was right next door. Spanishtown is a few minute walk or a 3 minute drive. North Sound--about 10-15 minutes and about the same for the Baths. We found that shopping is a little different on VG than even at Bobby's on Tortola. It's more "what have you got today"? For instance Bucks was totally out of ice cream of any kind for several days. Also out of cream. You found yourself checking regularly to see what showed up. Indeed the Pantry up at Nick's place above the dock at Leverick was the place my wife hit the "jackpot"--a brand new supply of Ben and Jerrys (her two favorite fellows I am certain) had arrived as we were there.

Twice during our stay Buck's counter was loaded up with fresh catch. One time we had some great fresh Mahi and another delicious Wahoo for about 6 bucks a pound from their case. It would be there and then quickly disappear. You just don't plan on everything being there at all times. By Olde Yard Village being so handy to the yacht harbor or for that matter Rosies or the Wholesale spot, you could "check" easily.

The pool at Olde Yard is great. It is very large, beautifully designed among boulders. It is also the site of the bar/restaurant, Barracuda. Late afternoons we often had the pool to ourselves and found it very relaxing. There is a large jacuzzi there as well.

The best part of it was for us was the total convenience--we left all the snorkel stuff, umbrellas, and beach chairs-suntan stuff etc etc in the back of the Vitara for the entire time and only changed the ice packs/ice in the cooler and restocked it. It made going to the beach totally trouble free and you had all the niceties handy with very little schlepping.

Going to dinner at some of our favorite places required --a short walk across the pretty grounds to Barracuda Restaurant. A very short drive to Chez Bamboo, Bath and Turtle/marina dock or Little Dix Bay. Five minutes will get you to the Rock Cafe, M&M or Island Pot with great roads and easy parking at all times.

While perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, it's just a very nice place to stay. There are no activity directors, or daily lists of resort happenings. Fun there is a do-it-yourself proposition. For St. John regulars it's like the villa or condo experience, except you have a restaurant on premises and housekeeping. You are totally free to go and do or stay and vege. You can go to town and get provisions and the drink makings and the beer/wine of your choice to save bucks or swill the sweet concoctions at the bar/pool. Sandra and the rest of the staff in the office will fix you up with what you need to play tennis. I saw some folks playing most mornings I walked over to the restaurant. Seemed more tiring than walking to the bar so I avoided it. The air conditioned exercise room is full of brand new machines and you can use them at your leisure but there will be no personal fitness coach. I took pictures of the place--that nearly wore me out. They will tell you where to get a jeep, even get you a discount on it. They will tell you about and give you brochures on daytrips and help you book them and recommend places not to miss or that you might enjoy. They will visit with you. They won't be packing you a lunch (though I'm sure the restaurant would) or escorting you about the island. They are unobtrusive, but available and quick to help if something breaks or doesn't work (water pressure varies a lot on Virgin Gorda and popped a line during our stay).

Dining Out:
Barracuda. The restaurant at Olde Yard Inn was always our favorite for breakfast and lunch but now is open nights and is a great dinner spot. We went there on the first night and the last night of our stays and were exceedingly happy with it.

From the breakfast menu this is the only place my spouse will eat Eggs Benedict. I've always liked the dish almost anywhere but they do it with a pancetta and a freshly made sauce that is just plain outstanding. Their banana pancakes with bacon are just wonderful and indeed on several mornings it was mix and match between those two items from the menu for us.

Their lunch includes what I seriously believe is the world's best cheeseburger--their "kobe beef hamburger". It is simply outstanding, never had anything quite like it in the states, the beef is seriously tasty. It's pricey for a burger but not I spose in the islands but it's at least a half a pound and quite large enough to share. Amazingly good!! Their pizza's are just plain super. Nothing has changed in their lunch and breakfast service since the evening restaurant opened I am happy to report.

The Colada's at the bar are simply the freshest, best tasting we've tried.

This was the first time we have tried the evening restaurant at Barracuda. The first night I had a ribeye with a parsnip puree sorta dish that looked like mashed potatoes but tasted better -and my wife had a lobster pasta dish. Both were great. We split a salad --they have some very creative and tasty combinations that are 'way above average' The creme brule was as good as you could ask for.

Our last evening we again split a salad and I had their seabass. Wow--a more than two inch thick piece of fish, perfectly done in a broth that was heavenly with thin pasta. It's a special art to cook a thick delicate piece of fish and get it just right. Brenda had a pasta dish that had pancetta and all kinds of stuff in a cream sauce. Delicious. I recall the taste to this very moment of the "churros" that were obviously freshly prepared and dusted with cinnamon and sugar along with a great chocolate dipping sauce. AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. On both occasions there was a course brought out compliments from the kitchen to whet your appetite for things to come--both creative and tasty. They blend flavors and textures to make some very interesting and exceedingly tasty dishes. Their wine list seems extensive but my designated driver/walker in this case is a tee-toteler and I get no farther than their Gin Martinis. I did from memory of lunch at olde yard with some friends last winner to try their prosecco, which is very very good. The prices for most entrees are in the 20-35$ range, about the same as most of the better BVI places.

The entire staff from breakfast through dinner always treated us like valued customers/friends and went out of their way to be both friendly and accommodating. The ladies at the bar really enjoy making their creative drinks and they are GREAT.

I think the effort they make to be sure that every dish is "special" and perfectly prepared shows as well as customer service.

The Monday Night Buffet at Little Dix Bay:

We walked over the hill from Olde yard to Little Dix one morning to put in reservations for the Monday night Buffet. It's more of a short pleasant walk than a hike with beautiful views of the Atlantic, Spanishtown and Little Dix Bay. The bartender said "Now be sure to come at 6:30 for the manager's cocktail party". We told him we were not staying at the resort. He talked with someone else--they shrugged some shoulders and said. "I don't think it matters, just go".

We knew we were going to the buffet and opted not to go to the manager's cocktail party, but after parking walked around the resort a bit-- still unsure whether at the managers cocktail party attendance is truly welcomed or not for those not staying at the resort. I will say that everyone we met on the staff were anxious to make you feel at ease and enjoy the resort even when they knew we were not guests. The buffet was awesome, outstanding fresh fish selections, split king crab legs, great prime rib. The dessert buffet was simply the best I've ever seen --both to look at and to sample. I don't see how in the world they were going to get through that mountain of dessert that night--we did our part and I'm glad we were driving and not walking back to Olde Yard Village. The price is 85.00/pp which is the same price for the fixed price menu at Brias Creek that a couple we ran into said was very very good. Our anniversary came and went during our stay. Being tired, we picked up some M& M chicken and had dinner on our balcony that particular night, which we figured gave us license to live it up on a few others.

The Rock Cafe was it's usual good dining experience. We sat next to the waterfall and had the Spaghetti Ala Rock -my wife's favorite pasta and a Lobster dish with pasta.

I really like Chez Bamboo and though it gets mixed reviews we've had mostly positive experiences except for one . I really like the "short ribs of beef" they do and some sort of appetizer that has dates and almonds and cream cheese. Anyway it was excellent our stop there this trip and I've promised my wife not to say one more time "Those are the best short ribs of beef I have ever had". But she doesn't read this site.

We cooked at home twice with the fresh seafood from Bucks. Outstanding and budget helping.

M&M bakery. Their broasted chicken is as good as advertised by others on the board. --- Getting there. If you are headed toward the baths -go past the Yacht harbor--when you see "Grandma's kitchen" and a big multicolored boat along side--look to your left for a one way street . Up that street about 3 blocks on the right is the unmarked but unmistakable bakery. The coconut bread and brownies were great as well.

The Island Pot -- diagonally across from The Rock Cafe on the way to the baths, the Island Pot is sort of an island bbq pit. It is a popular take out spot for many local folks. They do very good BBQ ribs chicken and we enjoyed their Kingfish as well. It comes with a variety of sides including some more traditional island selections. They open about 5 or 5:30 I think. Really good value to take home and sit on the balcony and enjoy.

We enjoyed the bar right in front of the Bath and Turtle at the Spanishtown Yacht harbor. -- Great place to spend some time at lunch or watching sunset. I really like their fish and chips and the grouper sandwich. It gets a great variety of tourists, old salts, and bareboaters. A great place to nurse a beer--or swill several.

Leverick bay,
Unfortunately we never made it to one of our most favorite restaurants anywhere--upstairs at Leverick Bay this time but did make it for Chicken Nachos at their downstairs cafe. They were great as always.

The Fat Virgin Cafe--Whether bareboating or landbased, this is a really fun and delicious stop. You simply go to the Gun Creek ferry dock and get aboard the ferry. It runs about every hour and a half. Their conch fritters are delicious and I've never had anything on their menu that I didn't like.

Dixies Fried Chicken. Everybody agreed that it was really good fried chicken when we got it for meeting some friends on a charter boat at Savannah Bay. The ladies fixing it up for us were super nice and threw in a bottle of hot sauce and ketchup.

Daytrips:

Our partners in the condo took a day with http://snorkelbvi.com/ during their stay with a fellow we know well. They enjoyed it as the highlight of their stay and got over to Sandy Spit and Monkey point to snorkel and saw a huge nurse shark at the Dogs and I don't remember what all else. Simon who runs the outfit was in the water pointing out what the novice snorkelers were seeing.. I highly recommend it. A day out with this outfit is a snorkler's dream.

We went by Dive BVI and found that nearly every afternoon they have opening for snorklers to go to the Dogs. We signed up and went one afternoon. Great people and really enjoyable. That day they only had one diver that we picked up in Little Dix Bay that was making her first dive. It was only $30.00 and you had about an hour and a half at the snorkel site. The crew was great and the boat was very comfortable.

We snorkeled several times at Savannah bay. Once each at Pond Bay and the rocks around and outside Spring Bay. Once at Mountain Trunk Bay and twice off of Long Bay Beach. We took only the one off beach trip with Dive BVI.

Snorkeling was very good overall. The water was very calm and clear through our stay. I got a housing for our cannon camera but chickened out of using it after having sand in the camera bag. Next time.

Over all it was a great and very relaxing trip. We were more than pleased with our choice of Virgin Gorda and of Olde Yard Village to set up housekeeping. We hope to be able to enjoy both for many years to come. We also hope to make it down next June if there is a TTOL flotilla/party.