Hi all<br>I am now going to continue our first-timers trip report for our best vacation ever.....By the way, I forgot to mention that the weather was terrific, I think it rained once and that was in the very early morning and it cleared up by 10 am!!<br><br>March 21st-Day Four<br>Today, we hung out at our private pool all day, which was a great treat for us Manhattanites. It was very secluded and peaceful and again I can not stress how unbelievable the views of the North Sound were from our pool deck. We made pina coladas and had some snacks- we did not want to eat too much because we had reservations at Biras Creek for dinner.<br>However, most importantly, on our way to Gun Creek (to catch the Biras ferry) we met Cyril of Cyril's Taxi & Tours. Do any TTOLer's out there know Cyril? He lives in Gun Creek with his wife and five children and works as a taxi driver/tour guide, he is a native of Virgin Gorda and he is very kind, gentle and reliable. Kimmers, he did say that he knew you from Spyglass Villa. We sort of commissioned him as our personal tour guide/taxi driver for the rest of the trip, as we were not really into renting a car.<br>What can we say about Biras? Great views and beautiful atmosphere-the food was very good, not the best meal I have ever had, but very good none the less.<br>We caught the 9:00 ferry back to Gun Creek and Cyril was right there to pick us up and deliver us safely back to Leverick Bay.<br><br>March 22-Day Five<br>Cyril picked us up promptly at 9:00 am and delivered us to the Baths. He also gave us a little tour of the island while on our way there. We hiked down to the Baths and I was surprised to see a small crowd already there, even though it was still pretty early. The Baths were very interesting, but way to rough to snorkel or actually even swim in (we are average swimmers, so we did not really feel comfortable). We then latched onto two other couples and together did the hike to Devil's Bay. Very cool. We stopped along the way and took pictures. We really enjoyed Devil's Bay and found we were able to swim and enjoy the water there more so than at the Baths. We layed our towels out and hung out there for a couple of hours. It also was not as crowded as the Baths. We then hiked up to the parking lot and landed at Mad Dog's for pina coladas- they were good, but I was a little disappointed because I felt they would be really unforgetable. We ate lunch at the Top of the Baths- the views were incredible and the coconut shrimp was to die for. The bushwackers were great too. We took a dip in their pool, which was fun and we took some great pictures up there. Cyril picked us up promptly at 2:00 and it was back to the villa for a dip and a nap.<br>Dinner was Prime Rib night and Morris Mark entertainment at Leverick Bay. Again, the meal did not disappoint-Prime Rib was comparable to a NY steakhouse and the Ahi Tuna was so fresh it was slapping me. Very fun night, singing along to Morris and eating good food.<br><br>March 23rd-Day Six<br>We wanted to take advantage of our great villa, so we lounged around again and enjoyed a beautiful lazy day in the pool. We had drinks at home and stocked up at the Chef's Pantry.<br>We decided to go back to Saba Rock for dinner, because we enjoyed it so much the first time. This time, we did have the buffet and it was surprisingly pretty good. They had roast beef with creamy horseradish sauce (which is my favorite), turkey, stuffing, lamb, mashed potatoes, etc.. A very hearty feast to say the least. We bought some t-shirts from the gift shop and took the ferry back home. My only disappointment with the evening was that it seemed a lot of young pre-teenage kids were coming over unsupervised on the ferry from the Bitter End. It did not seem that they were eating dinner, but just there to hang around which was fine, however, their manners were appalling and they were loud and rude. They cut in front of this very sweet older couple trying to board the ferry, without even acknowledging their presence. I was just disappointed that their behavior was so poor and that such young children were left alone to "island hop" at night. But, c'est la vie, we certainly did not let it ruin our evening.<br><br>March 24th-Day Seven<br>Getting dangerously close to the end [Linked Image]. Today, we decided to explore some more. We had the North Sound Express pick us up at 8:45 at Leverick and take us to Beef Island. I was able to make a couple of collect calls to the states on BI-for some reason I was unable to get a long distance line from the villa all weekend. We then took the 10:30 free ferry to Marina Cay. What a beautiful little place. We snorkled all around the calm reef. We set up camp on the beach and floated on rafts in the ocean-what a great way to spend an afternoon. We had Pusser's Painkillers and a very good lunch. We napped on the beach and stayed here pretty much all afternoon. What a cool little place, I had researched it a bit online and really wanted to see it in person, in part because of the romantic love story that is linked to the cay. We got the 5:30 North Sound Express home.<br>We had dinner at our old standby-Leverick Bay and again, it did not disappoint- I had lobster ravioli and my husband had the tuna again- fabulous and great service (thanks Neil, Lucy, Kushma!!)<br><br>March 25th-Day Eight- Last full day<br>Today, we again had bagels and coffee at home and lounged around our pool in the morning. Cyril picked us up and got us to Gun Creek for the 12:30 ferry to the Bitter End. We got a couple of cold beers at the Last Stop- what a great little bar (2 dollar ice cold beers-my kind of place)- they were watching Jerry Springer of all things on the TV. We had lunch at Bitter End- the salad bar and desserts were very good, however, the lunch entrees were very average. I really liked the free grog. We took the 2:30 Snorkling trip with Kinto (Cyril's cousin). It was a wonderfully enjoyable afternoon, we snorkled at Eustasia Reef and Necker Island- two very beautiful places. It was fun to be out on the water and Kinto makes it very memorable with all of his music and dance moves.<br>We got a couple of Bitter End t-shirts and then back to Gun Creek were Cyril was waiting to bring us back to Leverick. We decided for our last night to do something special- we wanted to go to the Mineshaft-what a disapointment. I think it was partially our fault and partially their fault. I think we ended up getting there too late. I know it is a great sunset place and we were way too late for that (8:00) and I think we ordered the wrong thing. The food was not good at all-nachos and chicken fajitas. They ended up closing about an hour after we got there and frowned when we asked for a last round of beers. For the most part, the staff was prettty nice, but it was easily the worst meal of our trip. Need less to say, Cyril was there in 5 minutes to pick us up and bring us safely back to Leverick Bay.<br><br>March 26th- Our last day[Linked Image]<br>We woke up and enjoyed our last day at the pool. We settled up whatever we needed to with the office at Leverick Bay. Donna was wonderful and helpful. We went down to the shops and got a bushwacker recipe magnet and had a couple of drinks for the road. Cyril picked us up at 2:00 and off we went to the airport. We took pictures with Cyril, said our goodbyes, and checked our bags with Air Sunsine for the trip back to SJU. We had lunch with Puck at the Flying Iguana- the BEST Conch and Lobster fritters that I have ever tasted. They had just the right amounts of spice, batter, etc.. They were great and Puck was very interesting to talk to- he told us that the Bitter End was closing this July and August for construction purposes. Has anyone else heard this? <br>Anyway, John and I and one other couple were the only people on the 4:00 AS flight. We stopped in St. Thomas to clear customs ( a breeze) and to drop the other passengers off. The remainder of the flight was uneventful and again offered stunning views. The flight from SJU to JFK was also uneventful, on time and empty to we were really able to spread out.<br><br>Again, thank you to all of my new friends from the board. Our trip would not have been half as successful without you all. I know there are many things that were on our list that we simply did not have the time to do. I am hoping we can do them next time. As I mentioned earlier, I have been to many tropical locales and the BVI are very special and unique. I instantly wanted to return and that rarely happens to me. The people of the BVI are great people and I felt very safe there.<br>I am thinking Sandcastle, Marina Cay, Bitter End next year. Any thoughts? I know you all love your boats, but we are land lubbers (is that the right term?) and prefer to stay in hotels and such. Please sound in with any advice, questions about the report, etc...<br>Best to you all<br>MaryandJohn<br><br>PS Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors. It is getting late here and I am still on island time.