Week 3 - We are SO Spoiled Now!May 1 - Our last breakfast at Sandcastle. Barb and Tony are leaving today as well. The 4 of us share tearful hugs and farewells with Alison and Jim, Donna, Bruce and Debbie and the remaining guests (most notably John from California and Jim and Leslie from Canada). Winds are up and it's too rough for Jim to run us over to Tortola in the Sandcastle launch, so we load the luggage into the truck and ride in to catch the ferry. The ferry ride to West End is rough enough that we are all asked to sit inside. At West End the 4 of us share Darkie's Taxi to the Sugar Mill where we say a hasty farewell (with promises to keep in touch) to Tony and Barb who are off to the Beef Island Airport and home to Chicago.
May 1 - Check in at Sugar Mill (apparently no hotels in the BVI actually have a lobby and check-in desk - we love it!) at the bar (where else?) and get shown to our room by Conrad. (Note - we are really early, it's not even noon, but our room is ready!) We have the lower level 1-room Plantation Suite and it is gorgeous! Loved Sandcastle to death, but it's also great to get into a place that oozes luxury by comparison! The room is exactly as pictured on their web site (no exaggeration of size with special lenses) and the bathroom is sumptuous! There's a bottle of Sugar Mill rum in the room for us (we've got 2 bottles of Pusser's - what the heck are we going to do with all this rum?) His and hers sinks, all the towels one could want and a shower area you could host a cocktail party in. The sitting area has a kitchenette with toaster, microwave, mini-fridge and coffee maker. There's packets of coffee, lots of paper towels, fresh flowers on the table. The room is filled with windows which are shuttered on the inside for privacy. The king size bed is soooo comfortable. We have a large tiled terrace whose walls are part of the original sugar mill wall enclosure. At one time, I'm sure that the view of the sea would have
been great. However, the greenery around the lower units has grown now so you get a secluded terrace with bougainvillea dripping everywhere. I'm totally in love with this place! We unpack and change into swimwear and go across the road to the beach. The beach is hardly White Bay, but it's a good swimming beach and we enjoy ourselves. We've booked supper here as we don't have a car yet. We shower and dress for supper and get to the bar early enough to grab the best sunset view possible. Supper is a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, supper was perfectly adequate - it just didn't "shine" and I was expecting unbelievable food here. I had an appetizer of crab stuffed mushrooms followed by the breast of duck. Bob had lobster linguine. All of it was OK. The duck breast was ho-hum and could have been pork masquerading as duck, the lobster was plentiful, but over-cooked while the linguine was under-cooked to the point that it was way too slippery to get on a fork. None of it was outstanding. However,
we're so impressed with the service and the surroundings that we don't much care! Back to bed and fall asleep to the co-mingled sound of AC and waves! Nice.
Sugar Mill Review:
I can't say enough good things about this place! The rooms are beautiful, the grounds and the pool charming, the landscaping lovely and the service superb. Beach towels were replaced constantly, there was always plenty of paper towels in the kitchenette, fresh packets of really good coffee daily. A nice little boutique with decent prices. A lovely sweet pool. True, the beach is across the road (but it's
such a narrow road, with almost no traffic). But the beach is swimmable and rovides some low-key, decent and easy snorkeling right from shore. And the location is really great for getting to Cane Garden Bay, Smuggler's Cove and Brewer's Bay in minutes. We truly loved our stay here.
- Up early and walk down the road as far as Sebastian's Villas. See Manpot's place from the road. Stop at Sebastian's on the way back and ask about the supper specials. Breakfast at SM, which is not bad. I start a 1 week culinary breakfast adventure, trying something different every day. Every day is OK - not great - OK. At 10 AM we get a call that our rental car is here. Super. Takes about « hour to review all the existing damage to the vehicle, there are so many dings and dents from previous rentals. After the rental car lady is gone, we discover that the "Check Engine" light is on in the GEO Tracker we have rented. We are already all set to go to Smuggler's Cove, so we decide to call Hertz back after we return. On the way to Smuggler's we drive through Long Bay. The beach here is astoundingly lovely, but no-one appears to be swimming. Hmmm. We pass people dressed to the nines heading into church for Sunday morning service at 11:00 AM. Now, I've seen pics of the road to Smugglers, but truthfully they don't do
the potholes justice! What a ride. I've so looked forward to visiting Smuggler's that it is a bit of a letdown. There is trash everywhere off the beach, there are some vendors set up on the beach (including an enterprising chap who has a table, coolers and a series of blenders for mixing bar drinks all running of an inverter from his truck) and it's actually quite crowded. It's getting way too popular to be an unserviced beach (no bathrooms or trash cans) anymore. Still, the sand and water are lovely. I pass on the snorkelling, but hubby goes out for an hour or so. Not good - dead coral and few remarkable fish. Then I am treated to a perfectly obscene display of bad behaviour. A group of 4 people walks onto the beach
(presumably from a villa in Belmont Estates) with a huge black labrador on a leash. They stop for drinks and a chat at the makeshift bar and let the dog off the leash. They spend about an hour talking loudly and drinking while the dog chases everything in sight, including swimmers and finally amuse the dog by tossing sticks into the water amid the swimmers for the dog to chase. The dog gets a sudden call from Mother Nature and squats in the waves curling on shore to do his business. All 4 see the results and totally ignore the huge resulting "log" now floating in the water! Few swimmers have caught this and those of us on shore who have are aghast as the "log" drifts westward and out among the swimmers and
noodlers. OK - that's quite enough of Smuggler's Cove for me, thanks. Back to M. Passing through Long Bay, we see our earlier church-goers departing the church. It's now 2:00 PM. A three hour church service? Yikes! Back to SM and place a call to Hertz about the "check engine" light on the car. For some reason, I can't dial them directly and have to ask Penny at SM to place the call for me, so now she knows we are having car problems. We wait over an hour for the call back from Hertz. The response from Hertz is laid-back to say the least. "Oh - don't worry - that happens with all our cars! We could give you another car, but it would be the same. Don't worry, if you break down we will come and get you." And I'm
thinking - "OK, yeah. We have no cell phone, so if we break down, just how far is the nearest phone and will we wait for hours for a call-back?" But, in true island fashion, I hang up, shrug and we decide to carry on. What the heck? Hop in the car and go for an island tour. Carrot Bay, Cane Garden Bay and supposedly on to Brewer's. Somehow, we miss both the turn-offs to Brewer's and end up in oadtown (a practice to be repeated often during our stay). Continue on to Beef Island and check out Long Bay there. Lovely beach, well-used by locals on a Sunday afternoon. Notice during the tour that the brakes are shot as are the rear springs and shocks. Stop at D's Caf‚ and Bar in Trellis Bay for a rum punch (the best) and a quick pit stop in the bathroom there. Amazed to find a beautifully clean bathroom with silk flowers and a full bathtub-sized shower, complete with frilly shower curtain. Didn't think to ask if there was a charge for using the shower, but I would assume so. Back to Apple Bay (missing the Ridge Road turn off) and do the now obligatory Roadtown tour.
Rental Cars and Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road:
This was amazingly easy (except for 4-lane traffic in Roadtown and right hand turns). Only had to scream "Get Over!!!!" once at hubby. There are signs absolutely everywhere reminding you to "keep left". The mirrors on some of the more severe switchbacks would be great if 90% of them weren't broken. (Mirror Baseball?) I don't think we saved much money by renting as opposed to taking cabs, but the convenience of having a car was great. Tortola is really an island where you want to go out and explore and a car is the only way to go! It's also a nice touch that open alcoholic beverages are permitted in cars in the BVI. I'm sure this is for the express purpose of calming the nerves of car passengers (also known by some as "back seat drivers"). Next year though, I will get a overed "sippy cup" for my "to go" drinks. Spilled so much rum punch down the chest of my T-shirt on the speed bumps and switch backs! The rental rules are hilarious too. You can drink and drive but there are hideous fines for smoking in the car or getting sand in the car or getting the seats wet. Hellooo? This is a beach location. Sand and wet bathing suits! Before leaving home in Canada, I called my auto insurer to let them know where we were going. For the first time ever, I was told that they would not cover PLPD on the rental. When the car was delivered to us on Tortola, Hertz also did not provide an option to purchase PLPD - so we drove the whole week without liability coverage. Although, it's probably pretty hard to inflict major damage on someone else when you never get over 30 MPH!
Walk down to Sebastian's for dinner. BBQ Rib Special for me (very good, huge portions) and Garlic Shrimp for HD (also very good). Casual atmosphere, warm, friendly and efficient service and great ambiance if you are sitting right at the edge of the water. Great rum shooters (free) after the meal.
Service and Bills and Drinks in the BVI:
Read too many trip reports about service problems in the BVI. Our experience was just the opposite. Service was either very much OK or, more likely, excellent everywhere we went - bar none! Not even any evidence of "Ilons Time". Most waitstaff were very very prompt, friendly and out-going (2 exceptions were Pusser's Bar at Leverick and the Fat Virgin where service was prompt but surly). Mostly, we encountered delightful people who seem to like what they do and are prepared to like the people they serve. Being called "Darlin' and Hon" reminded me of being in the US south and my home province of Newfoundland in Canada. We never once encountered a bill with a gratuity or service charge hidden as a "tax". Most places added a 10 or 15 percent service charge, but we tipped as well because the service was truly excellent.
Bartenders may or may not use a pouring jigger. Most pour by eyesight. As their eyesight deteriorates ("And it was late in the evening, when I blew that room away") the drinks get much stronger. One thing we did notice though (and this may be coincidental) is that buying things from tourist-type shops with Travellers' Checks elicited a response of "I don't have enough change" (generally about $20 out of $100). I normally said "That's OK - We'll come back.". Well, as it turns out, we didn't often make it back - so there's a few extra bucks made.
After dinner, move over to the dance floor area to be entertained by "Lover Boys". This is a local "Fungi" band, although I don't see much evidence of scratch-type instruments. But, these guys are great! The ukelele player is 80 some odd years old. They get better as we (and they) drink more. The wait and kitchen staff comes out to dance, dancers snag locals off the street and a great time is had by all. Too
soon (10 PM) they fold up tents and close down for the night. This is a onsideration that we will appreciate tomorrow morning when we awaken early and only slightly hung over.
May 3 - Wake up to black skies and pouring rain! Breakfast at SM and back to suite to plan the day. After much soul-searching and deliberation, call Brandywine to cancel our dinner with BillH, Fran and Beachbound from TTOL for tonight. I'm totally freaked at the idea of driving Ridge Road (which we still haven't found) in the dark and the rain in a car that has the "check engine" light on. I have visions of breaking down somewhere at 2 AM after huge amounts of Davide's Grappa! We are also totally succumbing to Ilon's Time. Learn that "Clem's" in Carrot Bay has a steel pan band on Monday nights, so that's the plan! Get a call from Hertz saying that Penny has been on their case and they now have a new
car for us. 10 minutes later, the "new" Tracker is delivered. The "check engine" light is, mercifully, not lit. The brakes don't scream and the shocks and springs seem to be OK. Takes another 30 minutes to note all the exterior damage for the new car on yet another piece of paper. The windshield is cracked and the oil dipstick is broken off so that you can't check the oil. The steering wheel is loose (probably from tourists hanging on with a "death grip"), but it's still an improvement over the first Tracker. We head to the "Caribbean Landscape Art" gallery in Long Bay. David Thrasher is the owner and is busy getting ready for a show, so we tell him we'll come back in a day or 2. We saw him last night at Sebastian's and we are immeasurably cheered by the fact that he looks worse than we feel and he's working and we're not! Off to Cane Garden Bay.
Cane Garden Bay and Crowds:
We were in CGB at least 4 times in our 6 days on Tortola and never saw more than a handful of people on the beach. Lots (and I mean lots) of sailboats in the bay but absolutely no crowds at all on the beach.
Stop at a small gallery (Popo's, I believe). Mostly Haitian art, but I buy a couple of lovely and primitive palm leaf collages that I figure are way underpriced. Check out
Bobby's at CGB for my buds at TTOL. Not bad, not great. Produce looking a little long in the tooth and not a good selection of fresh meat choices. But, that's walk in - I'm sure ordering is better. Back to SM for warmed up ribs from last night and a noon cocktail. NO more rum for me! I don't want to see rum ever again. Did I mention that they brought us rum shooters at Sebastian's last night? Swim at SM beach in between showers. Off to Palm's Delight in Carrot Bay for supper. HD cocks an eyebrow at me when we walk in ("Where the heck are you taking me?"). We both order the Chicken in Ginger Wine Sauce. When supper comes, it's an immense plate of chicken, rice and veggies! The chicken breast is divine! We do
our best, but can't come close to finishing (another doggy bag lunch). Supper is only marred by a stray cat who hangs "leroy-like" from his front claws off the restaurant wall beside us, howling to get at our plates. I love cats, but am afraid to drop tidbits over the wall for fear that the cat will launch itself onto the table and run away with everything in sight - or, rip my hand right off. Supper over and doggy-bag deposited in the car, we walk over to Clem's. Sorry, no music tonight- times are slow. However, Clem tells us that they will be playing at Myett's on Wednesday the 5th. Back to SM and another super night's sleep.
May 4 - Up early. Breakfast at SM, then off to Long Bay, which HD has fallen in love with. What a beautiful, picture-perfect beach! What an awful beach to swim at! There are coral rock out-croppings everywhere. The waves are huge, which I normally love, but you have to be careful that the next wave won't dump you onto a rockpile under the water. This is way too much like work! Exhausted, I wait for HD to come back from a snorkel. He's also exhausted and bruised when he returns. Back to SM for last night's leftovers and a siesta. Off to CGB and stop at Myett's for a late afternoon burger as we know that we are going to Bomba's for the Full Moon Party tonight. Burger is OK, service is excellent. We also ask about the steel pan ban tomorrow night. "Nope", the waitress says, "It's Lover Boys". Not that we don't like Lover Boys, but I really would like to hear a steel pan band. Again, CGB beach is deserted. I'm looking all over the bay trying to spot Mike Kneafsey's Aristocat II with no luck. I know that Rick (Sailorick from TTOL) will be at Bomba's tonight, and I'm looking for him, figuring that he's likely to anchor here overnight. Most of the boats are stern-away from shore so I can't spot any names. See a couple of space age looking cats that might well be candidates for Mike's boat., but can't be sure. Talk briefly to a fellow from Sacramento CA who looks a bit like Rick, but by now, every guy in a baseball hat, glasses and a
beard looks the same and the resemblance is only a passing one. While we eat our burgers, I'm delighted and amused to watch a couple of chickens wander through Myett's. Since the staff are firing up the huge BBQ pit for tonight's dinner, this doesn't seem to be a smart venue for a casual poultry stroll. Back to SM to rest and read and at 9:30 PM get duded up for Bomba's (clean shorts and T-shirt).
What I wish We Had Brought:
After Bite.
Small pair of birding binoculars (more for spying the boat names than anything else, though I'm a big birder at home).
A better fish identification book.
A tropical vegetation and bird identification book.
An international flag identification book.
Bomba's Full Moon:
We discussed this at home and I preferred to do Trellis Bay, but since there's an old "frat boy" in every grown man, and since I planned pretty much all of this trip, I graciously went along with the choice of Bomba's for Full Moon. This is one of the things everyone should do once, just to say they've been. It's a lot of fun for awhile, but it gets old fast. Very, very crowded. No place to sit and long long line-
ups for everything. Line up for drink tickets, line up for drinks and line up to pee in an unspeakable bathroom with no latch. (Hey guys, if you think you qualify for "Ladies Only", please sit down to pee. Trust me when I tell you that your aim is not all that good after 4 punches!). The bands were good, but non-stop reggae got tired after a few hours of it. The imported "hate whitey" lyrics of one of the bands seemed really out of place with the relaxed and decidedly non-racial atmosphere that we'd so far been exposed to in the BVI. Gotta admire Bomba though - this is one very smart entrepreneur! Next visit though - Trellis Bay for sure.
As we line up for tickets, we are greatly entertained by all the middle aged folk ( like us) togged out in their retro psychedelic '60s garb (unlike us - our daughter confiscated all that stuff). Particularly amused by the very, very stoned guy behind us who is lecturing everyone in line on the evils of drugs. His credibility is rather undermined by his state of mind and his battery-operated flashing ear rings though.
After milling about for a while, we wend our way inside the shack itself and finally grab a seat near the band. After sitting for a while, I spot yet another bearded guy who looks somewhat familiar. I lean to hubby and say "You know, this one really could be Rick". Yeah right! Like I'm gonna make a good call on this after multiple Bomba punches and the doobie haze in the shack! HD yells out "Hey Rick!!". Bearded guy (and about 8 other guys) look around. Well, holy hannah! It really is Rick! Screaming above the band, we exchange hugs and introduce spouses. Rick then introduces his brother who is also with them on Aristocat II. Surprise! Bro turns out to be the guy we talked to at Myett's earlier in the day. I guess he really did look familiar after all! We can't have much of a conversation as the noise level is way too high. Rick calls me outside for a quick photo op. (Great - one more fat, drunken snap in the BVI! I knew I should have done Betty Ford for all those addictions before I came down here!) Considering the number of people here and that we've never met though, it's totally amazing that we've managed to run into each other. I finally drag hubby away from the non-stop "shake your bootie" competition about 2 AM and we stumble back down the road to SM, where I am exceedingly glad that they have old-fashioned keys that don't lock you out of your room after three failures like some electronic key cards do.
May 5 - Wake up at 6 AM with major headache and heartburn and Willie Nelson's "mouth like kerosene". Drink a gallon of water, pop 2 ibuprophen and a zantac and wake up an hour later marginally improved. Lots and lots of grease and protein for breakfast. Decide on another Tortola tour. Take the "low road" to
Roadtown. Wow! If we'd known about this earlier, we would have been less reticent about driving to Brandywine on May 3. We stop at Rite Way for some supplies. Great store, with excellent produce and fresh meat selection. My store at home should be so good! Only problem is that I can't find a pen to buy anywhere on Tortola. My daily diary pen has run out of ink and the pencil provided by SM keeps snapping off. Back to Trellis Bay. Stop at Aragorn's. Anything there that I can afford, I'm not interested in. What I really like (huge metal sculptures and mirrors), I can't afford to buy or have shipped home.
Darn! Back to D's for more rum punch (hey - it's gotta be 5 o'clock somewhere) and some gift stuff. Buy some nice tote bags and an applique T-shirt. This time when we leave Beef Island, we actually do find the Ridge Road turn-off (and it ain't easy). Return trip gives us amazing island views of both sides of the island, many many goats, donkeys and chickens and a wonderful mural of what I take to be a black history of Tortola on a retaining wall. Back through Apple Bay to Caribbean Landscapes and another visit with David Thrasher. Buy 2 prints entitled "House at Brewer's Bay" and an oil painting. Have a nice conversation with David who turns out to be an ex-pat Canadian from Toronto who played the blues circuit with David Wilcox here. Back to SM. Pick up copy of Limin Times in the bar, which says, like
Clem, that there is a steel pan band at Myett's tonight. OK! Off to Myett's. Bob as lobster (best of the trip), I have coconut shrimp (just OK). Service is very good again. Band turns out to be Lover Boys. They are just as good as before, but the venue at Myett's is a little less funky for dancing than Sebastian's was (or are we just a tad hungover?), so back to SM and bed.
May 6 - Oh my God! This is our last day here! Decide to head off to Brewer's Bay. When we get there (a quick drive from SM), we are in awe. Beautiful beach, with no more than 20 people on it all day. Lots of trash cans, kept beautifully clean (who does that?) with wonderful snorkelling. Almost everyone we run into on the beach is from Sugar Mill. Great punches from Nicole's Beach Bar. Supper at SM. Again a disappointment. Just OK lamb, truly disappointing filet.
Tortola:
Unlike some previous posters on TTOL who commented on "cold, unfriendly" people and garbage strewn country-side, we found just the opposite. Yes, there was garbage, but for the most part the effort of locals to clean up the island was obvious in the extreme. And virtually all of our interaction with all local residents and service people was great. Friendly, warm and wonderful people who made our stay a true delight!
And the Winner Is:
Best Painkiller: As previously stated - the last one, or the next one!
Best Lobster: Myett's, CGB
Best Food: Hands down, no contest - Oliver, Oliver, Oliver at Sandcastle, JVD
Best Snorkelling: Not telling on a public forum - PM me.
- Sad, sad day. Up very early to catch the 7:30 AM ferry to STT from West End. Fly Cape Air to SJU on a 6-seater, which does not inspire a high-level of confidence when the pilot has to coax the port engine into starting, ccompanied by much muttering "c'mon baby, c'mon!" and the cracked windshield reminds us (unfortunately) of our rental car. But the flight gives us superb vistas of the Virgin Islands and PR and Culebra. Uneventful flight home (except the delay on the tarmac at Newark for 2 hours while airport staff try to find the guy whose luggage is on board without him. Finally have to off load all the luggage to get rid of his). Back to the sad reality of home. Arrive to find that the cats are still alive and well and the house is pretty disgusting (nobody ever said a 15 year old male house-sitter was a good candidate for housekeeper of the year") Back to the 9-5 job and planning for next year!
