Here is our trip report…sorry it is so long, but I love lots of details…hope you all do! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />
Saturday, December 2, 06
Flew Calgary, AB – Dallas – San Juan – Beef Island, good flights, arrived 9:20 pm. Great cab ride with Riko arranged through Cheryl at Purple Pineapple. We met Cheryl at Sebastians and she had our rental vehicle. She drove us the rest of the way to our villa, Sugar Plum. The villa was incredible! Sugar Plum has an open living room with just a railing between us and the incredible view of Apple Bay below. We pulled up the chaise lounges and enjoyed a cold carib, the lights below and the sound of the surf. We had arranged for Bobby’s to delivery beer, snacks etc. to our villa that day and Cheryl met them and put the beer in the fridge. Cheryl’s service was outstanding! Four of us in the upper villa (my husband Ron & myself, friends Edgar & Glenys) and a family of 3 (Dan, Donna and their son Ian) in the suite below us. Awesome!
Sunday, December 3rd.
Woke to a really noisy rooster in the neighborhood below us. The sun was shinning, we truly were in paradise! After breakfast we all piled into the Mitsubishi Montero, off the Jerry’s Car Rental to sign the car rental papers. Oh my God, first just to get down the driveway and then we all yell as Dan drives on the wrong side of the road! He swerves to the left, we calm down and away we go. We square up at Jerry’s and head down the road the Soper’s Hole. We sat at Pusser’s Landing Patio and ordered our first ever Painkillers! We had a great lunch and wandered the shops, hit the cyber café with Ian (wrote to my girls back home, ages 22 & 24) and then stalked the gecko’s along the walk back to Pusser’s. Boy, the things you do when you are with a 15 year old boy. We then piled into the car and headed back the way we came, over Zion Hill and on to Cane Garden Bay. Past Bomba’s we came upon a detour because of a funeral. The detour was very rough, tight, and full of horn honking laughs when we met other vehicles. We parked at the close end of CGB and walked the beach. We didn’t walk far before the lure of the water pulled us in. We splashed and wandered on to Rhymer’s for a cold beer and Ian and I were back in the water. We had so much fun in the waves. We tried to ignore the “beer drinking adults” but they made us get out after a bit and back to the Villa. We had 5:00 reservations at Bananakeet and it lived up to everything we had heard and hoped for. The view of JVD and the USVI was breathtaking. Most of us had the large Anegada lobster dinner and it was beyond description. A slightly cloudy sunset but still awesome. Met a great couple, Neil from Montreal and Lorraine from Vancouver. Neil sails charters and was very interesting. We ate and drank for 3 hours! Wonderful 1st day on Tortola.
Monday, December 4th
Up early, people and cars bustling below our villa. People going off to work and children in their uniforms going off to school. Finally heading out at 10:00. Stopped at Nans at the corner and Glenys bought a print. Then to David Thrasher’s Studio and we all bought prints. David is a very cool, talented Canadian artist living on Tortola. Over Zion Hill and on to the Jolly Roger but we didn’t plan well and no one was hungry. We kept on going and to the right and up a really sketchy dirt trail. Narrow and bumpy but with great vistas. We were trying to find Smugglers Cove and lo and behold there it was. We drove right into the parking lot. We had a great afternoon at Smugglers. Too rough for snorkeling but we had fun in the water. Had jerk chicken and wings with Carib’s for lunch, heaven. We headed back to Sugar Plum about 2:30 so Donna could rest. The rest of us headed out to Callwood Distillery for a tour. Kelvin the tour guide was great. We learned a lot and had lots of laughs. Don’t know if that operation would pass Government Inspection (Safety or Health) in Canada? Ha We bought rum and sour sap wine and headed to Brewer’s Bay. That was some drive. Had a beer on the patio. Headed home and took goat and cow photos on the way. Stopped at Bobby’s in CGB on the way and found some Canadian Club Rye. Ron was in heaven. Back to the villa and to Coco Plums for dinner. Blackened Mahi Mahi, Jerk Chicken Sandwiches, onion rings and skillet mushrooms all topped off with Banana’s Foster! Yum. Next we hit Bomba’s Full Moon Party. We had a punch, a dance and a good look around. Back to the Villa and had drinks and listened to Bomba’s party till bedtime. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
Tuesday, December 5th
Up and had a hairy, hysterical drive up to Sage Mountain. A great gift shop and fabulous views. To Myett’s for lunch. It was very good, burgers, Caesar salad etc, all good. On to Brewer’s Bay for a fun afternoon of snorkeling and swimming. Ian and I stuck together and saw a sting ray. Cool. The water was quite murky but we were happy to be snorkeling. We headed back to the Villa and got ready to go for dinner. Cheryl and her husband Wakumba came by with a traditional Christmas drink made from Guavaberries that Wakumba had grown. It was very good, and what a nice festive gesture to share it with us. We ended up at the Big Banana, but didn’t care for the menu so just finished our strong drinks (Yahoo) and headed back to Myett’s for an amazing dinner. (I love their round tables for good conversation.) The meal and waitresses were wonderful. Ron had baby back ribs and I had the Mahi Mahi special, delicious. We all shared Mango Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie. Then on to Quito’s to listen to him unplugged. Cranky waitress and slow service but Quito’s was very good. Back to the Villa, another great day.
Wednesday, December 6th
Up early, packed and out the door. Sad to leave Sugar Plum but we were ready for a new adventure. Our TMM taxi driver drove us right to the cat Matou, driving on the lawn! Took a good hour for the orientation and the same to unpack the provisions. Where were we going to put everything? We managed and away we went. We sailed Sir Frances Drake Channel to Norman Island. Moored in “The Bight” and took the dingy to the Caves where we threw ourselves into the ocean. The snorkeling was great, but what a chore being pulled back into the dinghy! Almost ripped my boobs off and it hurt Donna’s lower back! God, Donna and I hated it and said we wouldn’t do that again. Back to Matou and friends on Midori (Donna’s brother, his wife & another couple) came over for a drink. We BBQ’d burgers and they tasted great. We cleaned up, had drinks and off to bed early.
Thursday, December 7th
Up early and off to the Indians. The sea was rough, we made breakfast once we found a mooring ball and by the time we cleaned up the seas had calmed down a bit. We were off the back of the cat and started snorkeling. Incredible fish and coral. Donna was tired from fighting the waves and we headed back. Ian had lots of fun jumping off the boat while we got ready to sail and off we went. We were going to Jost Van Dyke. It was windy and we had a great sail. Past Soper’s Hole at the end of Tortola, around Great Thatch and eventually into White Bay. Ian and I swam to shore, walked beautiful white sand beach and saved a table in the shade at The Soggy Dollar until the rest of them arrived. We had rum punches and margaritas. Ed and Gleny’s stayed with the cat as we were anchored and Ed didn’t feel it was holding well. We headed out for a mooring ball at Diamond Cay. By the time we got there Midori had already layed anchor as the balls were taken. We motored back to Little Harbour and grabbed a ball there. The potatoes had been baking in the oven, we made a salad and the guys bbq’d shish kabobs. It was another great meal. Some went to bed after drinks and others went for more drinks over at Midori (they had joined us after their anchor didn’t hold). It was a hot night and I was restless. I heard their noisy rum asses come home at 1:30! I was sorry I had chosen bed over drinks.
Friday, December 8th
Up at 7:00 as we arranged the night before, but you can imagine that the partiers had to be roused! Motored over to Sandy Spit and Dan took us to shore in the dinghy. Walked around, marveling that we were there, sat down and tried to put on our flippers but the waves kept knocking us over and we were laughing so hard it was hopeless, ended up with a ton of sand in my ying yang. It was too rough, so we swam back to the Matou and then took the dinghy over to another beach. Had a good time snorkeling. Back to Matou and as I was dog paddling a bit away from the boat, trying to get the sand out of my bathing suit, a brown racing cat went flying by and almost hit me. Scary but cool to watch this sleek craft skimming across the water. Our guys yelled at them to get out of the swimming area, but they were gone! We had a wonderful day sailing past the north side of Tortola on our way to Trellis Bay. Went to shore and shopped a bit, found computers and wrote to our girls. Dinner on board and Ian went off with the Midori crowd to a bar! Off to bed after boat drinks. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
Saturday, December 9th
Up at 7:30 and motored to Monkey Point on Guana Island. As we ate breakfast Ron saw a turtle. That was all we needed, in the water we went. What a beautiful spot. We saw beautiful fish, coral and turtles. Hooray! I used up my film on this Hawksbill turtle swimming along the bottom and as my film was rewinding in my camera, he came right up beside me. Ughhh Oh well, quite an experience, just not on film. Just as we got to the cat we saw a huge barracuda, time to get out! Had a good laugh at how fast everyone moved. We headed out around Guana Island and on to Virgin Gorda. We were racing Midori and they conceded, giving Edgar the “We’re not worthy bow”. Ed took off his ball cap, took a bow and his hat caught on the rail coming back up. It was gone! We had a “Man Overboard” drill, but lost the cap. Donna had been resting in her berth and we forgot to say “Drill” and she came flying up thinking someone had gone overboard. She was not happy with us when she found out it was a “hat” and not a “human” as she had really flown up the stairs and it was hard for her to move, let alone that fast. We felt terrible. We had an awesome rest of the day of sailing and into Leverick Bay about 4:00. Midori came for a beer and then off to shore for a real shower. Phoned our girls, it was good to hear their voices. Midori invited us for “Mexican Night”. They had a cook on their cat, “Trish the Dish”. She was wonderful. Fajitas, chicken, steak and shrimp, guacamole and salsa with chips, margaritas and mud slides, Triple key lime pie, (are you drooling yet)? We were late getting home, another hot night for sleeping.
Sunday, December 10th
French toast, coffee and off we go. Two dinghy loads (11 of us) into Leverick Bay and we met our open air taxi driver Nat. Beautiful drive to Spanish Town. Found a clinic for Donna as she was using more morphine than she had budgeted for and was hoping to get more. The clinic called a doctor in (Donna said he was hot) and he wrote a prescription for her to fill when we got back to Road Town. Off to the Baths. Took the long path down to Devil’s Bay per Trish’s instructions. The climb through, over, under etc the baths was great. Finished off at the Top of the Baths, a swim and a great lunch. Nat came back for us at 1:00 and continued our tour. BBQ’d a good dinner and then Midori came over for drinks. They also brought left over Thai with them in trade for our pancake mix, syrup and bacon, then invited us for breakfast. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" />
Monday, December 11th
Motored over to fill with water and have showers. Back to Midori for breakfast before they headed to Anegada. We headed for the dogs to snorkel. It was very windy and there were huge swells. The mooring balls were taken everywhere we tried so we ended up just outside the Virgin Gorda Yacht Club but it was too rough to snorkel. We kept going and it was cool to see the Baths from the sea side. We floated around, had a light lunch and off to Cooper Island. We found a great ball in Manchioneel Bay. The water was calm and it was a pretty spot. Just as we were about to stop our starboard engine failed. Phoned TMM and they were there shortly. Blew up the air mattresses that I had lugged all the way from home! Ian and I splashed around and had fun. We all went snorkeling at the south end of the beach and then snorkeled all the way back to the cat. For dinner we had left over Thai, BBQ’d chicken and swordfish and vege skewers. Delicious. We then had drinks and lots of laughs. Off to bed.
Tuesday, December 12th
Woke to rain pouring down, stormy morning. Double rainbows that ended in our dinghy. We motored to Salt Island and the “Wreck of the Rhone”. It was too stormy to snorkel so Ed made a great breakfast of McEds. The water calmed down and Dan drove us over in the dinghy to snorkel and we spilled out. It was still pretty rough but it was amazing to see the ship on the bottom of the sea. We swam around and back to Matou and right under our boat was the anchor from the Rhone. Pretty cool. We were off to Norman Island, rounded up into the wind and hoisted the sails. We sailed right into the Indians, dropped the sails and picked up a mooring ball, just like we knew what we were doing! The snorkeling was wonderful. Huge schools of fish and the coral was amazing. We motored into the Bight and got a mooring ball. Took the dinghy over to the Willy T for lunch at 2:30. Great Mahi Mahi sandwiches, Caesar salad, Fish and Chips and Vege Burgers, YUM. We had beer and chatted with Howard and Simon and then headed back to Matou. It was an afternoon for naps. Ian spotted a “huge” barracuda from his window in the head. We lured it out with a flashlight and sure enough it was huge. Our last dinner aboard was hot dogs and chips. It just didn’t matter what we were eating…it tasted wonderful. Deliverance came by so we had coke for our rye drinks and brownies! It was another hot night for sleeping.
Wednesday, December 13th
Up early, no breakfast, Ed motored us out of the Bight, around the corner past the Caves and to a place the TMM repair man called “Angel Fish” We saw some new fish and really enjoyed our snorkel until a dive boat came along and said the mooring balls were for them. We apologized and hauled [censored] out of there! We set sail for Road Town. A sad time as we hated to see our sail end. We sailed into the harbor, gassed up and into TMM. They had instructed us to come into the slip closest to the building. It was an almost impossible parallel park. Dan and Ron were on deck as Ed eased it in. Dan went to jump the 3 feet from the cat to the dock and slipped. He went down between the dock and the boat, hitting his thigh on the dock as he went. He was bruised, mad and covered in oily water when he got out. It was a scary moment. We finished unloading and cleaning and then off to Maria’s by the Sea. Donna and Glenys went off to the Peebles Hospital Pharmacy to get her morphine. They didn’t have what she needed, so the doctor did some substituting. We had lunch at Maria’s, it was a great hotel. Nice rooms with great views of the Road Town Harbor. Then off to see the town and to do a bit of shopping. We bough really great Christmas decorations at Huskers and then headed towards Village Cay. Donna went back to have a nap and about a block later we lost Ron as well. The rest of us had a cold drink at the Village Cay Marina. Back to Maria’s and into the pool. Spent the afternoon there. Wandered over to Pussers for dinner. Donna couldn’t join us. Road Town is so much busier with so much more traffic than the north side of the island. Pusser’s was packed but the manager found us a great table. Our waitress Bridgit was a hoot. We had fancy rum drinks, took pics and had lots of laughs. We mostly ate appetizers and ribs. Yum. We took pictures of the Government buildings with their Christmas lights before having night caps on our balcony at Maria’s and watched to the cruise ships go off into the night.
Thursday, December 14th
We slept in a bit and then met everyone (except Donna) at the Bakery at 10:00. We wandered around shopping and Edgar went off to check out “The Moorings”. We met him for lunch at Village Cay. Unbelievable roasted shrimp and avocado wraps. The only down side was the service. Terrible! I’m not talking island time, I’m talking bad! We wandered back to Maria’s shopping a bit as we went. Couldn’t wait to get into the pool. We had trouble coming to a consensus about dinner, so ended up back at Pusser’s. It was very good again. More fancy rum drinks, but alas it was Bridgit’s night off. More night caps on our balcony and then put in a 6:30 am wake up call.
Friday, December 15th.
Up early, good to see Donna again. She was moving pretty slow. To the airport, good flights home with just a slight delay in Dallas, back to Calgary by 10:00 pm. We drove the three hours home after we landed in Calgary. Our girls were waiting up for us and did they have a surprise. They had done a “While you were out” on our bedroom and ensuite as a Christmas surprise. It was gorgeous! Painted walls, new bedding, new lamps and great artistic touches. God, I missed them. Good to be home…but it was an unforgettable trip, we are already planning our return!
Countless thank-you’s to all the TTOL’ers that offered endless advice and information on this website. You all made our trip memorable!
Thank you for sticking with me and reading this whole thing! Photo link below!
