Advertisement
Published: September 6th 2008
Edit Blog Post
White Bay, Jost Van Dyke, BVI
A scene so pretty, that even I could take a good photo of it. Hello there, and thanks for checking in on me. I'll consider this the starting point for my round-the-world trip. First stop was Tortola, the main island of the British Virgin Islands, and pretty much the hub from which getting to the other islands, as well as the U.S. islands, is made possible. Tortola is a pretty good place to really develop some hiking stamina as taxi cabs are really expensive (over $20 for a 4-mile transit) and I don't think there's more than 100 meters of flat surface on that entire island, except for the main road along the south shore. It's also a good place to go on a starvation diet as even a cheeseburger will cost you at least $12. I was walking about 10-miles per day for the three days that I was there, much of it against my will. Some highlights: Sabastian's Inn on West End's north shore is a clean, friendly, and relatively inexpensive place to stay, with frontage on a nice, little beach, and it's only a 100-meters stumble away from the Bomba Shack where the Full Moon Parties are a must-do. It's also only about 1.5 miles from Smuggler's Cove, a very cool and
Virgin Gorda, Spring Bay
Near The Baths of Virgin Gorda off-the-beaten-path sort of place to spend an afternoon and knock back a couple of frozen drinks from the little tiki bar there (bring cash!). While in Tortola, I met two really cool couples who were there to have a good time: Sam and Marsha from Alabama, and Mike and Amber from NYC... very fun and down-to-earth people indeed.
From Tortola I took a day trip out to the island of
Jost Van Dyke, a couple miles north. Jost Van Dyke is a really pretty spot accessible only by boat. On the way out to the island, I met two sisters, Emily and Lisa, physician's assistants from Michigan. Bouncing through the Caribbean themselves, they were cute and also a lot of fun to hang with. I enjoyed chillin' out with them at White Bay, an exceptionally beautiful spot on the island, and home to the famed Soggy Dollar Bar where they tout the best frozen pain killer in BVI. I have no idea what's in a pain killer - maybe morphene - but after having put away a couple of them, I can say that they are appropriately named. Emily's specialty, as I learned, was oncology. I suppose having her
Going for a Swim
Me, acting like a fool, as usual. treating you would be perhaps the upside of having cancer. Speaking of cancer, respect the sun! As with all the Caribbean islands, the sun is very strong, so if you have pasty, white, gringo skin like me, I recommend a sunscreen of at least SPF-50. Better yet, just wear coveralls or a beekeeper's outfit, or something like that. I was lucky enough to get there pretty early when it was quiet and serene, but by noon time, it became pretty crowded... so by 2 pm, I left. Regardless Jost Van Dyke is a really pretty island which I would highly recommend trying to get to if you're ever in that neck of the woods.
Back to Tortola, I set my sights on
Virgin Gorda, a few miles to the east of Tortola. After a "relaxing" 11-mile forced hike with full pack in 95-degree heat from Smuggler's Bay to Road Town - a hike characterized by mild sunstroke, delerium and intermittent sobbing - I mercifully staggered into the Road Town ferry terminal where I took a 45-minute boat ride to Virgin Gorda, where I stayed for a few days. I can't say enough about Virgin Gorda; it's truly one of
Virgin Gorda,The Baths
Looking northwest in the morning. the most majestic, unspoiled, naturally beautiful places that I've ever been it'a also out of range to most cruise ships, so that preserves the sense of remoteness that makes it so attractive to travellers like me. I was fortunate to spend my time there with a very special friend of mine with whom I was able to share this experience with. Upon her suggestion, we stayed at a place called the Guavaberry Inn, a collection of cabins, all within walking distance of the spectacular Baths and all with a gorgeous westward view of the sea and Tortola. Virgin Gorda is easily the most laid back of the BVIs/USVIs, and the people who live there know that they have a very special place in the world to call home. To put it into perspective, there is one small, unpaved airstrip there where (I'm told) bush pilots routinely fly low over the landing strip to scare the goats away before doubling back to actually land. I didn't see this practice occur, but I did see the goats not too far away which leads me to think that this isn't entirely BS. Side note: The Flying Iguana is a small restaurant next to
the airstrip that serves a fantastic club sandwich! Any visit to Virgin Gorda should include a swimming/snorkeling trip to the Baths & Devil's Garden, and viewing sunset at the Mine Shaft restaurant (near an existing copper mine). We rented a car there. Important note: even though the steering wheels are on the left side of the cars(i.e. "American" side), you must drive ON THE LEFT! I would periodically forget this and would be alarmingly reminded of my mistake, usually when driving around a blind corner to meet oncoming traffic. Interestingly, all people regardless of gender, age, culture, etc., make remarkably similar facial expresssions when faced with a pending head-on (and surely fatal) crash. The post-near-death verbal expressions that I recieved seemed to vary widely though. To my fellow BVI motorists whom I nearly obliterated, please accept my humble apologies.
Finally, I left BVI altogether to spend a few days in
St. John, USVI. St. John's was a lot of fun, kind of what Key West was probably like 30 years ago (before the corporations and t-shirt shops pushed out the local vibe and turned it into another Disney-like attraction). St. John is a party spot, pure and simple, and
Virgin Gorda, Looking East
Most of Virgin Gorda is undeveloped and very arid. Unlike Tortola or St. John, cactus is a common sight when exploring the central hills. I did my best to fit in with the local scene. I stayed at the Tamarind Inn, where the staff is friendly, the rooms aren't outrageously expensive, and the kitchen serves up perhaps the best breakfast on the island. If you have only one day to spend on St. John, snorkeling at Trunk Bay is a must-do. About 3-miles from Cruz Bay, it's about a 5-dollar taxi ride and $3 snorkel gear rental for gin-clear water, coral and rock formations teeming with tropical fish and even a sea turtle or two. For a change of pace, there are some very nice hikes in St. John also, and the U.S. Park Service visitor's center in Cruz Bay hands out trail maps for free. I took a couple of hikes myself this way. It's a nice way for you to spend an afternoon on foot, intimately experiencing the abundent natural resouces of the Caribbean Islands. Just remember that among those natural resources are millions of mosquitos, as I learned. Here I rented a scooter to head out to Coral Bay, about 8-miles from Cruz Bay. Leave it to me to choose the only rainy day in two weeks to rent a rickety
Trunk Bay, St. John, USVI
A must-do on any visit to St. John. Snorkeling around the little island in the middle of the cove (seen in photo) is spectacular! scooter with tires as bald as Kojak's head. Nice. On the brighter side, I had finally gotten that drive-on-the-left thing sorted out.
I returned to San Juan, PR via
St. Thomas. I suppose St. Thomas is nice, and to be fair, I only spent a day there, but it's a little too built-up for me. If I were heading back to USVI, I would probably try to bypass it althogether and spend more time on St. John and Virgin Gorda (BVI).
Well there it is, my first blog entry from my first stop on my round-the world trip. If you've managed to plow through this relatively uneventful saga, you should be commended, so go out and buy yourself a cookie or some other small reward. Next stop is Bali, Indonesia on Sep 10th, where I'll probably spend a week or two, depending on the surf there. I'll try to keep these entries as concise as possible, and will do my best to entertain. Thanks for coming along vicariously for the ride.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0318s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
emily and lisa
non-member comment
rum is the answer, what is the question?!?
YEAH, we made the blog!!! once again it was nice to meet you. thanks for the link, now we can check up on you during your travels. have fun and good luck!! emily and lisa