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
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
|