DAY FIVE – Off we go to Virgin Gorda and Leverick Bay!

Wednesday we are up and at it early again. Weather appears to be GREAT for the long trip to VG. Ruth pulls the lines and we are off and underway! As we leave JVD I could see the “I got it and I am going to miss it” look in Ruth’s eyes….she was going to truly miss JVD…..I simply said….”we’ll be back” and she smiled!

The weather was incredible – low winds and waves. We had a GREAT ride to VG. So comfortable….I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it was. As we got near Iguana Island …Ruth was below getting something (probably that pesky Captain asking the beer wench for a beer…but I digress!) I made sure I got her topside to see what I have always said looks like the namesake of the island….the rock formation what sticks out from the south west corner of the island that looks like an iguana’s head. Other than that, we just enjoyed the ride, the scenery and the company. We got to Virgin Gorda sound and hailed the crew on the dock “Fenders starboard side” was the reply. We got the fenders ready and headed in. Now, mind you, I’ve never pulled into a slip with a Cat before…..I have to tell you, I was a little concerned! All of that went away as we arrived and the guy on the dock guided us in with no hassle. I was so relieved…..things went great…..we got shore power hooked up, topped off the water and went to see Nick and Monica!

Again, much like our experience with Bridget and Brian and Evan and Nina….it seemed like I knew Nick. He welcomed me, hugged Ruth, went and got his lovely bride and introduced her. We learned that Nick’s mum is/was visiting and her name is Ruth as well. Nick made arrangements for us to have a car for 24 hours and by the time I turned the key, it was about 2 or 2:30. So, we decided to just do a quick run to the end of the island to get familiar with the route and get up early tomorrow and do the main tourist things. We wanted to ensure we’d be back for the Michael Bean show at 5. We asked Nick to get us a table reserved at the show….and he did! We took a lot of pictures both headed to and coming from the Baths. We arrived at the Top of the Baths and had a drink (I guess you are seeing a thread with the drinks huh??....hey….I am in the islands!!!) FYI: We are approximately 8 hours behind of Afghanistan so I always tell folks….I have a drink to the troops as it is 5 O’clock in Afghanistan….so set’em up!! While at the Baths, it was about 3 to 3:30 and Speedy’s had multiple buses/taxis’s taking hordes of tourist back to the docks.

We got back to the show in time and had a GREAT quick trip down and back from the Baths! On the way down to the boat to get ready for the show we met Nick's mum on the dock (she and Nick were relaxing down on the dock). We got to our table and I am we shared a basket of fish and chips! Wow, these were good! And there was plenty for the two of us! Michael had me blow the conch at the beginning of the show - didn’t know I had that in me!

The show was great. Michael said it was a small crowd – but it seemed like all of the seats were full. Towards the end of the show there was a couple that Michael introduced and said “this is the first time in (I think he said) 37 years that I am going to have a wedding at my show!! And, with that a couple stood up, came forward and they had a member of their crew perform the ceremony (I suspect he had some type of credentials to do this….) And then the dancing started! And we all danced and had a great time. There was a couple there that is/was 82 years old and this was the um-teenth time to the islands and their 60th wedding anniversary and they were dancing their butts off!!

NOTE/Prayer: Dear God….please let me arrive at 82 years old as healthy as these two folks and still able to get my butt to Virgin Gorda to enjoy all that it has to offer…Amen….(again I digress)

So the night draws to and end with anticipation of our next adventure! (I’m not leaving it here though….let’s continue on!!)

Sunrise comes and it’s time to get in the car and head to the Baths. We head to the Baths and you can’t help but stop and enjoy the scenery on the way! If you make this same trek….remember to take your Park Pass with you or you’ll pay money you’ve already paid. Granted, I think it is only $3.00 per person but hey…that is money I didn’t need to spend when all we had to do it pack it and show it to the gal at the booth. We packed a wet back that my son had gotten for me from West Marine. That back fit both of our snorkel gear, towels and many other things. I was so looking forward to showing Ruth the Baths…..by the way…..did you read the first report on this journey? If you’ve been following along, I may have mentioned that Ruth is claustrophobic……and that is why she hates to fly. Now, back to the Baths…..if you’ve crawled the boulders at the Baths….can you IMAGINE what that does to someone that is claustrophobic? I played heck a couple of times getting her to crawl from one cave to the next…….but…she is a trooper and she made it from the Baths to Devils Bay! I promised her we’d take the path back to the car!

We didn’t pull the gear out till we got to Devils Bay. When we got there I was quite surprised….when in the h – e – double hockey sticks did they start letting full-size tour boats all the way up into the bay. Maybe I’m just not remembering that but….I had planned a nice snorkel and good Lord…there were tour boats packing into that little bay! So, we snorkeled for a short time….it’s not that great of a place to snorkel anyways….but….we did none-the-less.
We packed everything up and headed up the path. We got just about back to the car and I had Ruth take come pictures of me standing in from of the sign for “Stoney Bay”!!

We headed back toward Leverick and stopped at Hog Heaven and had another cold one and took some GREAT shots. I discovered earlier in the day that my camera phone does panorama shots!! I will load these somewhere soon for all to see.

We got back to the slip and stopped into see Nick. He wasn’t there but we told Monica goodbye and headed towards the boat. We got our free bag of ice that is given to those that get a slip and cast off and set our eyes on Scrub Island and the Full Moon Party!

I will do a more thorough review of the Cat in one of the final reports but….I want to admit something now…..I LOVE THIS BOAT!!! And, we are already planning our next trip and…it will be on the same boat! That trip from JVD to VG absolutely converted me!! I love my mono….but….wow what a wonderful ride!! I will leave you with that and see you in Scrub….where things didn’t go quite as smooth at the next slip!!