Tuesday 6/26<br>Left Raleigh Durham 8am on AA flying through Miami with a 3 hour stopover in San Juan. Arrived Beef Island 5.20pm. Flight costs were a total of $27 for 3 of us (Oh yes and a few airmiles too!). No problem in customs or immigration. We had the White Chateau booked in Brewers Bay. This was a 2 bed semi-villa very close to the beach in a lot of grounds. The inside of it was absolutely awesome – very clean, lots of space and facilities and it shares grounds with ICIS villas. Service was unobtrusive but very thorough. I would strongly recommend this accommodation to everyone. We drove by some of our other possible house selections later in the week and in terms of positioning (one was across the road from a graveyard (the dead centre of Tortola?) and another didn't have good proximity to the beach - we made a great choice. We were picked up by taxi at the airport – the driver was a great tour guide, however at $36 for the ride from the airport we thought his price was a little steep - a bit like the descent into Brewers. First big mistake – I had arranged a rental car delivery for Wed. morning – and there is absolutely nothing open in Brewers after 6.30.pm on Tuesdays – we dined on the emergency supplies of cornflakes and leftover airline pretzels we had brought with us.<br><br>Wednesday 6/27<br>Boy, is it warm at night in the BVI? This was the only minor niggle with the villa - the lack of air conditioning. It took a little getting used to sleeping with the noise of the fans on. Also as one guide book suggested (Acheson?) the cockerels will crow "when they bloody well like" not just at dawn.<br><br>Met the ICIS manager Allison – a very pleasant Cheshire lass from our old country. She invited us to use the Icis pool when we wished. She also helped out with a reminder phone call to the rental car people to bring the car to me. Finally we had wheels! Note that there is a $9 per day mandatory charge for insurance by National, no matter what cover you already have. There was no mention of this in the on-line pricing when I signed up. First thing was to get groceries in (I had lost my yearning for cornflakes!). Riteway did the trick – the choice was really excellent and pricing was only a little higher than at home. We got plenty of tasty British stuff too at a cheaper price than the rip off delis back in the US – that Branston pickle tasted good! Drove by Sky Top and loosed off a few rolls of film.<br><br>Went to Brewers Bay in the afternoon – this was my first snorkelling experience and I was hooked despite the ill fitting gear we took with us. Awesome views just offshore – the pelicans were sitting on the rocks above a veritable rush hour of fish about 50 metres out. Dinner was in Pussers Pub and was pretty good and reasonable. <br><br>Thursday 6/28<br>Drove over to Smuggler's Cove. We were really grateful to have the 4WD. The road out of Brewers to the west is unpaved switchbacks in parts – I have a lot of driving experience but admit to being scared at less than 20 mph here! Apart from this driving was not a problem for me – I have been around on both sides of the atlantic. Smugglers was not the "secret" the guide books said it was – I guess because it's in all the guide books? Getting there was easy once out of Brewers. Snorkelling was good (not as awesome as Brewers though) however I did get into some problems in shallow water with rocks and spiky sea urchins below me. Lunched in the chop and pasta place on Carrot bay – it was OK. My teenage daughter was delighted to find "Backstreet Rd." in this bay! – photo call time!<br><br>Friday 6/29<br>Had a lazy morning at the beach, then went for a drive around the West End. The photo taken above Soper's Hole was like a postcard! Dined at C&F – the food was great but there was too much of it. Caribbean lobster seems a little tougher than the Atlantic version, but still very nice.<br><br>Saturday 6/30<br>Took a boat trip to Virgin Gorda. This was a bit of a low spot – the touts were a real pain in the butt, both at Tortola dock and from the taxi guys in VG. Went to the Baths and it was fairly quiet first thing. Snorkelling was again very good – there were two large fish that were coming so close I was starting to get spooked! Lunched at the top of the Baths. The crab salad was excellent. Loosed off another few rolls of film on a perfect sunset at Brewers.<br><br>Sunday 7/1<br>Another lazy day at the beach after power cuts overnight. Boy is it hot at night in the BVI when the fans are switched off!!! I have this strange sun tan shape around my white eye area and my back is peeling – snorkelling for hours at a time has its drawbacks? Had a quick look around the botanical gardens – very pleasant. Dined at Sebastians and was very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting the usual big resort hotel food and atmosphere, however it was good and the Spark Plugs were outstanding entertainment. The view from our dining table over the beach at the sunset was superb.<br><br>Monday 7/2<br>Took a boat trip to JVD – the ferries out of the West End are much more pleasant in terms of no touts, although a little of island time was going on with the schedule ( the MV When was laid up in dock). JVD was how I imagined a typical desert island might be – kids splashing in the sea next to a beautiful deserted beach. Being a public holiday there was no food at Foxy's, we ate at Ali Babas. Food was again great – the jerk chicken roti was the best I've had. The boat trip back was a little wild – there were fairly strong winds. Second big mistake – I had left the lights on the Daihatsu (no idiot beeper) and received a flat battery in exchange. The office managed to find someone on this public holiday to bring a replacement vehicle out. All I wanted was a set of jumper leads! We were charged for the petrol left in the tank as the gauge was on zero due to the flat battery! As for the mileage reading on the electronic odometer....... <br><br>Tuesday 7/3<br>Last full day so we went out to spend the last of our money on souvenirs etc. in Roadtown. What appeared to be quaint little market stalls on the sea front turned out to take credit cards and be quite expensive. I have been playing an Ellmore Stoutt Fungi music CD at home a lot. Had a last dip at Brewers and ran off the last of the underwater film. Dined at Village Cay overlooking the harbour. Lobster again I'm afraid – nice!<br><br>Wednesday 7/4<br>Flew back to RDU via the same route. A further 3.5 hours in San Juan. There must be a better connection but then again who wants to get back in a hurry anyway?<br><br>In summary this was a great low profile, extremely relaxing holiday. Mosquitoes were around, but in substantially fewer numbers than at home in NC. The absence of cruise ships in this low season was a positive advantage. Compared with my only other recent island holiday in Bermuda, the BVI is not as polished (or full of cruise ships and Americans ;<)) and, well, I really like it that way. I shudder to think of the effects of any future "Floridization" of the BVI (How's that for verbalizing nouns American style). The holiday really took our minds off having to move apartments when we got home (hence the delay in this trip report). Overall the trip cost us $2500 including all spending money, but with free flights. Lunches averaged $50 for 3, dinner $100. <br><br>Thanks to everyone on this board who helped me out with information, directly or otherwise. The board is a great help to potential travellers – may it never go away. The recommended book Sunfun Calypso was a great read, however the first place I saw it was at Sunny Caribbee in Road Town. The TTOL board can also offer some opportunities for my favourite pastime – baiting Americans!!!<br><br>[Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image]<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 7/16/01 03:49 PM.</EM></FONT></P>