Our trip report for March 14 – 24th.
Wednesday, March 14 flew from EWR at 6:15 to SJU – we (Lou, Nancy, Bill and Katherine) were an hour late leaving and landed around 11pm. Went straight to the Best Western at the airport. They now have a casino and bar that closes at midnight so straight to the bar for a few drinks and then to bed.
Thursday had the AA 9:15am flight to Tortola – no delay and we rented a car from Hertz – friendly service. Stop at Crandalls in Road Town for the best Beef Patties ever. Bill and Katherine drop us off at Sopers Hole – we are in the Little Bay room above the Voyage Office – nice room and a great staff to work with. Met up with Charlene and Bill that had arrived 2 days earlier. Sad to find out they were at Smugglers when the drowning occurred – they were still quite upset. They had walked from Smugglers the day before and we are not walkers so we walked around to the ferry dock and Bill and Katherine picked us up and off to Smugglers we went. Nice day on the beach for 2 hours and then back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. Met up with 3 more from our group (Cindy, Craig and Scott) who arrived around 1pm and were staying at Maria’s in Road Town for a total of 9 of us at Brandywine and had an awesome dinner. Great cocktails, food and atmosphere. We were all a little tired so we all went back to go to sleep.
Friday the rest arrived – John, Mary, Tara, Andrew, Karen and Rob – we are now 17 going aboard Secret Oasis and Toucan Play out of Voyage in Soper’s Hole. Can’t say enough about that operation – the staff is pleasant and we love the boats – we have sailed with Gareth and Lynsey before and think they are the best. After lunch we sail over to Normal Island with our St. Paddy’s flag flying and boat decorated in green – some snorkel the caves others just hang out. After dinner we head over to the Willy T but after a drink decided to go to Pirates for a more relaxed time and some more drinks. There were some strange characters on Willy T that made a couple of us uncomfortable.
Saturday we woke up and had a great breakfast. We begin our sail to the North South to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day. Unfortunately during the sail Gareth informs us of the missing child and asks us to help in the search. We had a very slow sail up keeping our eyes open for anything we see – as you can imagine it became a very quite time for all knowing that a child was lost. Once we got past the point that we were no longer needed to search Gareth did his best to get us back in the party mood. Gareth let us off at The Sandbox and once we went for drinks we were informed that is was off limits to us since a cruise ship was in and they had rented the entire bar. That was unfortunate since we were a group of 17 that needed drinks. Not a problem for Gareth and Michael – they proceeded to put together a cooler of refreshments for us. Had lots of fun just standing around in the water with our drinks mingling with others – we did that a lot this trip. Back to the boats for dinner and then to The Pub at Bitter End for our night out. We all had on our St. Paddy’s Day shirt and trinkets. We played some games and had a lot of drinks – Bill had some coupons for free drinks that he got at the Boat Show and needed to use them up.
Sunday we went around the back of Prickley Pear and did water sports. Snorkeling from the beach, tubing, water skiing and just had a lot of fun. Later in the day went out a bit and snorkeled to see an anchor and cannons – I think it was actually called that. After dinner we went over to Saba for some drinks – not much going there but after a full day in the water and we were tired and went back to the boats.
Monday we had 2 that wanted to dive so we went over to Mountain Point for their dive – a few others did some snorkeling. Had lunch and then went over to Marina Cay to get ready for Michael Bean. We have seen his show a few times in the past and wanted to make sure we saw him again. We had on our flashing skull necklaces and gave one to Michael. We had way too many drinks – we always do – and then back to the boats for dinner and then hung out together on Secret Oasis.
Tuesday Michael dropped 4 at the airport for their return to the cold northeast. The rest of us stayed on the boats and headed over to Soper’s. Said our goodbyes to our crew – and I met up with Trish from Oceangetaways who helped with this trip (as well as others). Trish was there for a large group from Nestles who would be going out the next day on 12 boats – Gareth would be part of that group. It is always sad to leave Lynsey and Gareth but we know we will see them again. Michael, Nicci and Dane were on Secret Oasis and we hope to see them again too. What a great group of people work for Voyage – they are all so wonderful at what they do – obviously Gareth and Michael and the best captains and we truly enjoyed our time with them.
We ship Scott off to the airport – he is heading back to Dallas. The rest of us go over to Cane Garden Bay for a few days. Bill and Katherine are at Ole Works Inn – John and Mary are at Myetts and the rest are at the Cane Garden Bay Cottages. The cottages are wonderful – the view of the cemetery isn’t the best – but you can find the path to the beach at the end of the cemetery. Across from the path to the beach is a wonderful women named Rose at the Columbus Sunset Bar that sells cans of beer 2 for $3 – how can you beat that price – and you just walk across the street to the beach. A little further is the Callwood Rum Distillery but not really worth the walk. Had lunch at Ryhmers and decided on C & F for dinner – everything was good but too long a drive for dinner after a long day. Service was a little slow – they have huge portions.
Wednesday we hired a boat from Glen at Cane Garden Bay Boat Rentals to take us to Soggy Dollar. A few others joined us on the boat – we were dropped at Soggy and were picked up at Foxy’s at 4pm. Had a great time at Soggy – thought there was a wedding at Gertrudes but didn’t actually see it – had drinks at different places along the beach – 3 of us had the best hot dogs and burgers at Jewell’s – her son Reggie was working and he has the most beautiful eyes – he would not give us the recipe for the hamburgers – just said it was the marinade that made them so good. Picked up a desktop ring toss game from Soggy’s. The rest of the group ate at Soggy’s. Stayed in the water most of the day – something different this year – it poured so hard that a group of us decided to get back in the water – we felt it was drier there. Lots of fun standing in the water while it is pouring. Taxied to Foxy’s for a few more drinks and then on to the boats to return to Cane Garden Bay. Dinner was at Myett’s – it was delicious and our server was wonderful. Great drinks and food. The steel drums were being played – they were loud but did not ruin our dinner.
Thursday was a rest day – we had breakfast at Ryhmer’s and then on to the beach with our floats. Lunch was at Stanleys and then some more beach time. There was a double wedding at Myetts so we got changed and ready for dinner early so we could see the 4:30pm wedding. Very nice job done by Valerie and her staff. Went back to see Rose at the Columbus Bar for a few drinks and to watch the sunset. Headed over to Spaghetti Junction for dinner – I think this was my favorite meal. Had a great time – our server was wonderful – all meals were perfect – what a way to end our stay on Tortola. Stopped at Quitos for a nightcap and then to bed.
Friday we got up early to get the ferry to St. Thomas. Disappointed that we couldn’t get the fast ferry from Road Town since it ran aground near St. Thomas. Took Native Sun – it was a half hour late – we had the time but is not much fun standing on the ferry dock in the sun waiting and waiting. It would have been nice if they let us stay out front longer. Little rough going over – got wet a few times and very noisy up top from the engines. Bet there were over 100 people so it took some time to get through customs. Walked across the street to the Holiday Inn for our last night. Couldn’t check in because we were too early – walked around and had lunch. Met up with the rest at the pool later on and then to Craig and Sallys for dinner. Again we had a great server – service was wonderful and the food was very good. Some better than others. The tapas were a wonderful idea in order to try different items. Back to the Holiday Inn for another drink and off to bed.
Saturday up early to finish up some last minute shopping. Breakfast at Bumpa’s and back to pack and head over to the airport. Of course there is a huge crowd waiting to check in – we get there at 11:30 and the Continental counter does not open up till noon – there are several families in front of us. Check in – bring bags to drop area – there is confusion as to where to drop them – then through security and finally inside to a line of 50 people waiting to get food. Our flight is on time, our gang on AA to Boston is on time but two that are going on Delta to JFK are delayed – due to leave at 1:30 the plane has not even arrived when I leave at 2:15.
This was the longest that we have gone on vacation – sorry it is over but we need to get back to work and family. Lots of calls home to make sure everything was okay – can’t wait to see the phone bill. We had a great time for our entire vacation and can’t wait to go back. Highlights were Trish – Oceangetaways(great trip planning), Voyage Charters(office staff and rooms), boats, Secret Oasis Crew, Toucan Play Crew, meals, drinks, beaches, friends.
Nancy
