Escape from Humanity.

Tuesday

We were just finishing a lovely veggie and egg casserole as Promenade weighed anchor and made a bumpy but enjoyable trip heading north.

The Baths is a beautiful place on Virgin Gorda. Massive granite boulders line the shore, creating other-worldly places to hike and swim. We try to get there every trip, squeezing between boulders on land and in the water. Unfortunately, lots of other people think this place is great, too. As we led our guests from the north end of the hike through the boulders, about 200 cruise ship passengers were entering from the south. This kind of situation doesn’t exactly fit with our sometimes used tagline “We do Special”. So we got out of there as quickly as possible, swam back to Promenade, and sailed off for someplace private, wild, away from the crowds. To Mountain Point!

Surrounded by turquoise waters and a lovely mountainside, we lunched on a spinach salad with pulled chicken and cranberries, and memories of the chaos of the Baths quickly faded.

You know you’re in the right place when Richard Branson’s yacht Necker Belle anchors in the same bay. We plotted an hour-long timed swim, taking advantage of the coral reef circling the bay here. We lingered in the water at the stern, swapping stories about the swim.

Plates of fancy sausages and charcuterie appeared. Ice cold Carib lager quenched thirsty swimmers. Latin music, conversation, a brilliant sunset. Grilled steaks, potatoes, very bright orange roasted carrots. We capped the night with a clothing-optional swim around the yacht. No crowds, just a calm breeze and a star studded sky. That’s more like it.   

Hopper