Our son and his girlfriend chartered a catamaran in Tortola and invited us along. The bedroom was a bit cozy and the toilets, which cannot accept toilet paper, reminded us we were ‘roughing it’. But a boat in the Caribbean? How rough a week is that?
We started our visit in White Bay on Jost Van Dyke Island at the Soggy Dollar bar, which sells colorful t-shirts and serves a famous rum drink known as a Pain Killer. I don’t know as it lived up to its name, but it went down really easy. We had dinner at Foxy’s, well known for college banners including UT, A&M and Baylor, as well as sea food and ribs. Another rum drink accompanied our meal. And of course, another t-shirt found its way into our luggage.
The next day we visited Sandy Split and Sandy Cay, two very tiny reefs nearby. Sandy Split has only four palm trees and reminds of the typical cast-away island. The snorkeling was good with many colorful varieties of fish. That night, dinner was at Sydney’s Peace and Love Bar and Grill. We had encountered on the reefs a sailing school of high school aged kids (approximately 60 of them in six boats) and they were all dancing up a storm. We watched them and ate spiny lobsters, which were the largest tails I ever had. Sydney’s has a self-serve bar where you mix your own drinks and serve an interesting cole slaw, cold pasta and rice. An ice cream cone finished the evening along with a “Sail Naked” t-shirt.
Day three took us to Anegada Reef. This was the longest sail, of almost five hours, This, however, is where the spiny lobsters are caught and the freshness gave the lobster a sweeter flavor. Tipsey’s serves it with a garlic butter as opposed to the simple melted butter at Sydney’s. Just down the beach is Cow Wreck, another bar/restaurant serving similar drinks and food.
Day Four we moored at and visited Necker Island, owned by Sir Richard Branson. The private estate includes over four hundred flamingos, four Galapagos Tortoises including only the second born in captivity, Lemurs and miniature deer which we fed by hand. A staff of twelve care just for the animals. The island has guest houses, including one where Princess Diana used to stay, and conference and sporting facilities. We snorkeled along a Necker Island reef after the prearranged tour.
The next day on Virgin Gorda, we had a rum drink at the Bitter End Yacht Club, located between Branson’s, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Google’s Eric Schmidt’s estates. We left with more t-shirts and that night had an Asian-fusion dinner at Nova, across the bay. The wine was French Chenin Blanc, but the meal was not inspired.
Overnight on Virgin Gorda, then we visited the Baths, which are huge rocks along the coast where water, sometimes up to our waist, ran through. Light came through in odd places making it seem we were in a cathedral. After, we stopped for a frozen rum drink where we had a view across the straight between islands that stretched for miles. Dinner was at Cocomaya, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant, where we shared interesting small plates while looking out over the shimmering bay.
Our final day in the BVI, as they are known, included a stop at Cooper Island for more snorkeling, purchase of wine for dinner aboard our boat, and of course a t-shirt. There was little at Cooper Island, although we did see a barracuda and some star fish.
A great experience we will long remember.
