I have a new challenge for you this week. As I was sitting here today in a beautiful bay in the BVIs painting my fingernails, I became cognizant of the odd questions I ask myself now that I live on a boat. “Which direction will the wind be blowing tomorrow?” “Where is the multimeter so I can test these triple A batteries?” or “How did this stranger’s glove get into my folded laundry?” However, today, I think I had the oddest question yet and it is one that I can pretty much guarantee you will never need to ask yourself….. “Which nail polish will a barracuda like the least?” Now, for people who do not dive or snorkel, this question may seem odd but given that barracuda love shiny, bright things to bite, wearing hot pink or neon orange nail polish equals a literal finger food lost to a fish. So, I settled on a light lavender….I figure my nails will blend in with the water this week! Prior to these very important Saturday ponderings, we spent several days on Tortola. We pulled into a marina for a night so we could restock supplies and get our laundry done but we were so comfortable, we ended up staying a couple of nights. The marina had a pool which is always a plus! We went to dinner at the marina restaurant the first night and she handed us a single page menu. We are used to limited menus so that was not a problem. She then began to list things on the menu that were not available. “No lobster, no chicken breast….but we have wings.” As we tried to order, we found that no chicken breast meant no chicken related dishes….only wings. Evidently, shredding a chicken wing to add to pasta or on a pizza was not a thing. The next night, we headed back to the restaurant to meet some friends from Grenada that had pulled into the marina earlier that day. The waitress handed us the menu and said, “No chicken breast. No shrimp” though grilled chicken breast was listed as the special of the day. We decided to make it easy on her and just ordered the chicken wings. When the plate arrived, it had wings and sauce. I asked about the celery, carrots and blue cheese that were listed on the menu. She came back with blue cheese. I am guessing celery and carrots were on the no-go list as well!
When we left Tortola, we chugged our way over to Cooper Island for some snorkeling. Good news, we finally found some fish! We parked the dinghy on the beach and swam out to a large outcropping of rocks where we saw schools of small fish and quite a few delicious looking snapper! Swimming back to the dinghy involved going against a stout current so we were definitely fully exercised for the day. For Bill’s birthday, we made our way over to the restaurant that was part of the resort on the island. The restaurant had it’s own brewery so Bill enjoyed his birthday beer very much! We will spend the next week island hopping our way through the remainder of the BVIs and hopefully doing some more snorkeling. The week will end with a trip to the party island of Yost Van Dyke which will finish up Bill’s birthday week and he can mark Yost off his bucket list. Enjoy your week and ponder those daily questions you ask yourself that might seem curious to someone not living your life….it will make you smile! PS: for those of you that have been concerned about Bill’s footwear, he found a pair of sandals on Tortola that should do the job for a while! No more duct tape shoes!
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You just never know what is going to happen when you live on a boat. This week was one of those weeks where unforeseen things turned into great memories. We began the week by moving Galt over to the North Sound on Virgin Gorda. We anchored just off Prickly Pear Island which was made up of a salt pond that was supposed to have some bird life. The only life we saw was one heron and a family of goats. You all know how much goats freak me out so I made sure Galt did not drift too close to the beach! We dinghied over to Saba Rock Resort which was a really cool resort isolated on a small island near the reefs. We had a delicious, yet overpriced, pizza for lunch and then headed out for a snorkel. Unfortunately, the reefs are still recuperating from Hurricane Irma which demolished the BVIs a few years ago so the only marine life we saw was a huge sea slug. I am guessing he ate all the other marine life but that is just a theory. The next day, we took a rough dinghy ride over to Leverick Marina and Resort to check out Michael Bean’s Pirate Show. We were not sure what to expect but the cool stage set some high expectations. Pirate Michael had lived in the BVIs for fifty years and he fit the mold perfectly. He sang jaunty pirate songs and some trop rock songs (aka Jimmy Buffet type music) and had the crowd engaged immediately. On stage, he had a prize box for the kids and a bottle of rum for the adults. The teenagers were a bit stuck in between both but were certainly eyeing the bottle of rum more than the prize box! The night ended with a conch blowing contest which was really fun to watch. We had such a good time, we were even out past dark! The last day in North Sound, we spent getting a few VERY overpriced supplies including $10 eggs, $8 Philadelphia cream cheese, $7 bagels, $2.50 muffins (each) and some candy. The eggs made Bill’s $22.00 a case (10 oz beers) look like a bargain!
Our next stop in the BVIs was the island of Anegada. Anegada was about a 3 hour trip and well worth it. Anegada was a coral island surrounded by a reef so we had to be very careful to follow the markers when coming into the anchorage. We grabbed a mooring ball while only mildly entertaining the neighbors this time. We are finally getting the hang of the mooring balls! We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging about being bums. I was napping on the deck when a neighboring boat called out to me, “Hey, would you be willing to come over in a few minutes and take pictures of our wedding? Free cocktails!” I did not even bother to ask Bill whether he wanted to go or not because with free cocktails, who would not want to go? The family was from Montana and Mom was getting married again. Both of her college age kids read the vows and they had friends for the maid of honor and the best man. Their charter boat was much smaller than Galt so I had to sit down on the deck in order to take the pictures without falling into the water. After the wedding, we all got to know each other over Dark and Stormys (Ginger Beer mixed with rum) and just enjoyed one of those crazy moments we get to have living this life. Our newfound friends left the next morning to head back to icy Montana but we enjoyed sharing their special time with them. On Friday, we scooted over to explore Anegada. We rented a small vehicle called a Moke which we named Shitty Shitty Bang Bang. Shitty made it about an hour before it started reeking of gasoline and dropping out of gear. We drove Shitty back to the car rental place and told them it was having fuel issues. The guy nodded and said, “Just take that white SUV there. The keys are in it.” Can you imagine switching rental vehicles that easily in the States? It would have taken a thousand pieces of paper! Back on our way, we went in search of the famous Anegada flamingos. We found them but unfortunately, the flamingos hang out on the far side of the salt pond so we could only see them through the viewing telescope. Without the telescope, they just looked like a lovely pink blob. Besides the flamingos, Anegada boasted a museum, a botanical garden and an iguana refuge. Hmmmm. The museum was closed, the botanical garden was a park about the size of an average US front lawn with nothing in it except swings and an Anegada sign and the iguana refuge was some unmanned cages behind a rusty chain link fence. So, we gave up on the manmade attractions of Anegada and headed to the beach for some snorkeling. When we arrived at the beach, the water was so rough we voted snorkeling would not be an enjoyable day so we opted for bar hopping instead. We ate conch fritters at the Flash of Beauty beach bar, had a drink at Tipsy’s which sported a huge UGA flag and ate a late lunch at the Lobster Trap. It was amazing to see the water on the lee side of the island versus the windward side. When we returned to Galt, the seas were completely flat which made for a wonderful night’s sleep. As we leave Anegada tomorrow, we will be heading back to the main islands of the BVIs for another week of exploring and hopefully some excellent snorkeling near Norman Island. Until then, I hope you get a few unexpected good surprises this week! Pirate Michael supports the following charity which makes sure children in Haiti get to go to school. You can send any amount but for only $75.00, a child can attend school for a year with books, supplies and uniforms. Check it out if you are looking for a small but high impact charity: www.goodsamaritanofhaiti.com We made it to the BVIs! After three years of trying, we finally made it! We left St. Kitts without too much ado and made our way over to the island of Saba to anchor for the night. We decided not to stop at Statia because checking into a country for only one day can sometimes take your entire day and we had an amazing weather window we did not want to miss. We spent a bouncy night in Saba but it calmed a bit on Tuesday so we could rest and prepare for our overnight jaunt to the BVIs. We left at 8pm and the further we went, the more amazing the trip became. The water was like glass and Galt chugged along beautifully with just a little encouragement from Bill every so often (we still can’t figure out the air bubble that causes the engine to bog down but Bill has figured out a system that is working for us). Bill went to nap around 1am and I sat up on watch. A large cruise ship passed a few hundred yards off our port bow which was exciting! I also spotted what I thought was a UFO. Bill popped up to check on me and he said, “It’s a plane” to which I responded, “Just watch it.” As the object began to dart side to side and up and down, he said, “Not a plane. Just call me if they come for you.” After a few minutes, I looked behind the boat and there were dozens of the UFOs in the sky….like an invasion on War of the Worlds! It was at that time I realized I was witnessing the eighth wonder of the modern world….Starlink! It was quite the sight to see! Bill then took over watch while I slept for a few hours. I am not usually one that is up for a sunrise, at least not happily, but it was a beautiful morning. We had sunrise to the back of the boat and a full moon setting to the front of the boat. The water reflections were absolutely beautiful. To finish off the trip, a whale surfaced and rolled just as we were entering the main channel into Virgin Gorda. Bill expertly pulled Galt into the marina and we both happily crawled into bed for a few hours rest.
We decided to stay in the marina a few days due to the evil westerly winds. Every anchorage in the Caribbean is set up for the usual easterly trade winds. Therefore, west winds tend to wreak havoc on anchorages and wave patterns. Rather than fight the rolling, we just stayed tucked into the marina all nice and cozy. The main event on our list for Virgin Gorda was a national park called The Baths. The Baths are huge rocks that line the shore and you can swim and snorkel along a path in the rocks. The first day we were going, it rained a bit so we decided to go get some provisions instead. We walked into “town” which consisted of two grocery stores, a few restaurants, a school and a broken ATM. The entire island has a population of only 4000 people so not much action here. After dealing with getting yet another SIM card for internet at our not so favorite Digicel provider, we headed to eat lunch at a place recommended by the Digicel gal. We approached the restaurant to find at least 30 teenagers taking over the restaurant. Evidently, the restaurant provides lunch for the school kids if they need it at discounted rates. As the door opened, the smell of marijuana flooded over us and we figured the kids would definitely have the munchies! The owner walked us out to the deck into another cloud of weed and as he gave the kids a menacing “I am going to kill you” look, they all scattered inside. We aren’t sure what age they start smoking but I am guessing the afternoon classes are pretty quiet at the school. Since we have not been able to locate the air bubble in the engine, Bill wanted a diesel mechanic to take another look. We had two guys show up to look at Larry and both of them said the set up should work. Neither saw an air bubble in the filter area and all the fasteners seemed snug but the both agreed, “You have an air bubble”. So, the mystery remains but the guys gave us a few ideas to try to determine possible areas where an air bubble may be lurking so at some point, we will try some of those ideas. Until then, Bill will continue to sweet talk Larry and we will chug right along. The next day, we were going to head toward The Baths. Then, we were told they were “red flagged” due to rough waters so no swimming was allowed. They were red flagged the next day so we figured by Saturday, things would have calmed. When we arrived, the Baths were red flagged again so we hiked down to the water which was very rough and definitely ‘red flag worthy’ and then made our way along a trail that was a combination of crevices, wading in shallow water and sand paths. Bill slipped and tore up his only pair of shoes so now he has duct taped them back together until he can find a new pair. Quite the fashion statement! The winds are supposed to shift back to a more normal pattern on Sunday so we will head out of the marina to explore the islands. This week’s current plan is a bay on the north side of Virgin Gorda for some nature and snorkeling and then on to Anegada Island which has flamingos! Until next week, figure out which of your shoes will look the best with duct tape added…..Bill is starting a trend! **All pics from St. Kitts and Nevis posted on pictures tab...finally! We have now followed the highlights of Horatio Nelson’s life from beginning to end. He was born in England and when we were in Portsmouth, England, we toured his ship Victory which he commanded when he was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar in Spain. We visited Nelson’s Boatyard in Antigua where he spent a portion of his navy career and we now visited Nevis where he was married and served in the Navy for several years. St. Kitts and Nevis were quite the hotbed of activity back in the day. Samuel Jefferson, great-great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, lived and died on St. Kitts. Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis. The Jamestown settlers stopped on Nevis for a week to get supplies and rest and Cecily Tyson was born on Nevis. Today, Nevis is a quiet island with a population of 11,000 people. We headed over to Nevis via a short ferry ride and were met at the port by Sam. Sam was a self-proclaimed tour guide and he gave us a fair price so we climbed into his taxi. Upon further inspection, Sam had to have been at least 104 years old. He drove an average speed of 15 mph. At top speed, he reached 40 mph but we were going downhill so that was probably by accident. When other drivers would blow their horns behind him, he would say, “Not sure what their problem is today!” His daughters lived in New York City and he told me, “I call them several times a day. It costs 25 cents a minute so I only talk for two minutes. Then, I call them for two minutes later in the day….at least a few times.” I could just imagine his daughters trying to explain to him that 25 cents a minute was all the same whether it was in two minute increments or not! Bill and I nicknamed him Sam the Sloth. When we zipped past the local drag racing strip at a blazing 20 mph, Bill jokingly asked Sam if he raced there on the weekends. Sam responded, “No, that’s for the youngsters” as he totally missed the irony and humor of the situation. At his own speed, Sam took us to all the places we wanted to see including the botanical gardens, the first church in the Caribbean, Nelson’s places and a haunted ruin (that’s what happens when the groom gets into a duel on his wedding day and dies….it tends to piss off the bride!)
We spent our other two days of exploring seeing the rest of the sites on St. Kitts. Our first stop was the Eco Park which was built by the government of Taiwan….do not ask us why, we just knew we had to see what it was. The park will forever remain a mystery as it had not reopened since the Stupid. The Eco Park employee handed us a brochure but she would not let us walk around the property. There was more than likely a hidden nuclear facility hiding under the guise of wind vanes and solar panels but who knows! After our Eco Park disappointment, we drove over to Fort Brimstone which was an amazingly restored British fort. The views were incredible and other than a few tourists and about 30 elementary school children, we had the place to ourselves. Another site we visited was a plantation that featured Old Road Rum and batik cloth making. The property had a 400 year old tree that was spectacular! I also got to hold some baby Vervet monkeys that were so sweet. We spent the night at an Airbnb which, once again, featured a rooster outside the window with the added joy of a barking dog. I believe all Caribbean Airbnbs should just be called “The Farmyard”. That way, our expectations would be set accordingly prior to arrival. Our final day with the rental car, we drove to the south end of the island to investigate our next anchorage. We have decided the best anchorage will be the one next to the Shipwreck Beach Bar….our kind of place! It featured ocean views, a beach, beer and more monkeys! After a few days at anchor seeing more monkeys and doing some snorkeling, we will be crossing over to the BVIs where we will jaunt about the islands for the next month. We are both looking forward to the beauty and party atmosphere of the BVIs as our “last new first stop in the Eastern Caribbean”. I have lots of pictures this week but the internet is not currently cooperating. I will upload as soon as I can. |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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