Back to the BVI
Friday and Saturday
You don’t so much travel to the Caribbean as stumble there, and yesterday this fact was on full display. Deckhand Zack missed his flight (which left 15 minutes early, surprise!!) from Portland and swim guide John barely made it, while Heather, chef Miriam, and I spent 6+ hours in the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, waiting for a delayed flight. Don’t worry there was rum and potato chips for dinner. We picked up Laura, a solo traveler who appeared to be in need of a travel family (Laura if you’re out there, we are sorry we didn’t get to say goodbye, please drop us an email!). Our skipper Jason glided to the Islands effortlessly, arriving in St. Thomas then taking the ferry to Tortola. Our steady driver Albert picked us up and delivered us to the Hummingbird House, which is where I am writing now, overlooking Road Harbour, Tortola and the outer Islands. I highly recommend this BnB to any BVI travelers.
After our 4 hour delay in San Juan, we had a rare night time landing on Tortola. John started the day with an early morning sweaty run, and Jason got some low aerials of him in the pool cooling off. It’s good to be out of New England in December!
While this travel tale may sound like a hassle, I’ve come to approach it as part of the whole Caribbean charm and adventure thing. Rum helps, yes, but so do the wonderful people of the islands like the flight attendant who smiles through her 16th hour of work (as she confided in me), getting us to our tropical destination.
Some of my favorite times on any SwimVacation are those moments when the crew is taking a quick break from our tasks at hand, and we kick back and enjoy our collective friendship. We stole a few minutes for this today, and for some of us, a cat nap.
Napping to beat the heat in between errands…
You might think the grocery store on a Caribbean island would be a lot different from those in the U.S., but Tortola’s main grocery store, as well as their bulk cash and carry store, are great. It tends to be a gathering place, as well, with neighbors greeting one another, and a charity booth often set up in the parking lot. We are treated better than I often see tourists back home in Maine treated at our local grocery store. The shelves are well stocked, and the produce is fresh and plentiful. We decide to do only non-perishables today, as we’re not sure when we can board our yacht and it’s over 90 degrees.
Albert had left his van in the grocery store parking lot so we could fill it up over the course of a few hours. When it was just about full, we headed to lunch, but not before being stopped by 2 adorable kids that told us they had each written a book, and asked if we’d like to buy one. Of course! The girl, 12, wrote a book about her experiences during and after Hurricane Irma, which destroyed much of the island, but definitely not the spirit of these resilient people. The boy, 7, wrote about his favorite beaches around the islands, and that he was very thankful they are still there for him to enjoy after the hurricane. Their pastor wrote the introductions to both books, and it’s apparent that he is a very influential person in their lives and the community.
Buying books from two young local authors, Jason catching snowflakes on his tongue at our lunch stop, and headed to the marina with an insanely loaded van…
Hot and sweaty, in a holding pattern with our non-perishable provisions stacked on the dock behind our yacht at Scrub Island Marina, we jumped in the ocean. Ahhhhhhh. The resort attached to the marina is pretty swanky, and the bartender actually delivered a beer to me at the beach. Not too shabby. Our yacht, Barlow, was soon ready and we unpacked our bags and the provisions. Zack appeared after a 24 hour delay, and we headed to dinner at Trellis Bay, a quick ferry ride away. All 6 of us, Jason, Miriam, John, Heather, Zack, and me, at a beachside table under the stars. A discombobulated waiter, but lots of beers on ice in a bucket. Back on the yacht, hammocks strung, rocked to sleep in the breeze. Guests tomorrow!
Hopper
Jason had a bounce on the water trampoline during our ocean break. We loaded all of our stuff onto our pristine boat and immediately trashed it…Don’t worry we cleaned it up again…. Dinner on the beach at Trellis and a quick foot dip for Zack and his travel weary feet.