Virgin Gorda

Dave, Kevin, and I went to Virgin Gorda, one of the British Virgin Islands, for the weekend of September 16-17. This was the first time Dave and I had taken the ferry to the BVI, as opposed to hopping on a day trip with a charter company. Because it's the low season and we're Caribbean residents, we got a very nice deal on a room at Fischer's Cove which is on the beach. (We opted for the garden view with air conditioning rather than a beachfront room though.) There is only a non-stop ferry between St. Thomas and Virgin Gorda on Thursdays and Sundays (although as Derek and Suzanne discovered last December, sometimes the ferry company might just decide not to go to work on the day you plan to make the trip), so we had to change ferries in Tortola, another BVI. The trip takes about 2.5 hours, with about an hour on Tortola. We spent the time in Tortola buying postage stamps - it's the only place you can buy British stamps (with the Queen on them even) in U.S. currency! The official currency in the BVI is U.S. dollars.

Once on Virgin Gorda, we rented a jeep and went to Virgin Gorda Peak National Park - the island's highest point, at 1359 feet. As our guidebook says, "small signs on the road mark both entrances; sometimes, however the signs are missing" so you have to find it by looking for a "set of stairs that disappears into the trees." The 20 minute hike was warm though mostly through trees so we had some shade. At the top, we had to climb ladders to reach the viewpoint platform. We found a nice breeze there though it was in the sun, it was the coolest part of the hike. We stood there for awhile letting the breeze dry and cool our skin. The air has been a bit hazy lately so unfortunately the view wasn't spectacular, but we could still see a lot of the nearby islands.

After leaving the Peak, we went to the old copper mine ruins, also a national park. The history of it seems to vary depending on what you're reading, but it's probably around 400 years old. Apparently they were a photographer's dream though, as Dave returned two more times during our overnight trip to take photos of them (including waking up early for sunrise photos!).

Finally, we made it to the Baths. I say finally because we were getting hungry and grumpy and the Top of the Baths restaurant seemed to be one of the few that was open on this Saturday afternoon. Kevin enjoyed his first flying fish sandwich while Dave and I tasted their chicken rotis. Then we ventured through the boulders, encountering very few people along the way. We've posted before about the Baths, so I'll just refer any new readers to that post for background information. Dave had brought along the underwater housing for the camera, and he happily took photos of Kevin and me by this one neat bit of coral we found. This may sound easy, but consider that we'd like multiple pictures to choose a good one from, and remember that each time we take a photo, we all have to hold our breaths and swim about five feet down to where the coral was. Good thing Dave can hold his breath a long time! He'd go down first, then when we thought he was ready, we'd try to get right by the coral the right way before the current and our natural buoyance in the salt water moved us too far.

Dave had really wanted to see the Peak, the copper mine, and the Baths. I was mostly interested in the Baths, and Kevin is so easy to please, he was happy to do anything. Because we knew most of the charter trips take tourists to the Baths around lunchtime, we wanted to reach the Baths later in the day. While we have no idea how many people were at the Baths before we got there, I'm guessing that a weekend in September is one of the best times to go. We had the Baths all to ourselves within about 10 minutes of arriving there after lunch. It was really awesome and pretty and we plan on going back again!




We ate dinner and breakfast at the hotel restaurant - which was right on the beach. The hotel was as empty as the Baths had been. We all enjoyed some painkillers - a BVI drink that includes pineapple juice, orange juice, coconut cream, and, of course, Pusser's rum. (Pusser's rum in the BVI is like Cruzan rum in the USVI, or Bicardi in Puerto Rico. It's THE rum.) The painkiller recipes vary, but we like 4 pineapple to 1 of everything else (add more rum if you want). Dave and I have decided they taste much more refreshing than the USVI bushwackers.


The next day we went swimming at a pretty nice beach. There were only four other people there, and there was plenty of space to share. Kevin liked this beach the best because there was so much neat coral. Dave and I had been complaining most of his time here because the water hasn't been super clear, largely in part to the recent hurricanes in the Atlantic - even though they haven't been near us at all. The water at this beach was fairly clear, so we enjoyed it more too. (Of course, Kevin says it looks clear even when Dave and I complain - I guess we've been spoiled!) At this beach, we could walk out in the water probably 20 feet and still be able to stand easily. It was pretty neat how shallow it was.

By the time we finished snorkeling, it was time to head back to the ferry dock. We caught the boat to Tortola - along with some chickens in boxes that were placed right by our feet. In Tortola, we went to Pusser's Pub (webcam here). Kevin ordered some grog to drink and we all enjoyed our lunches after a long morning. We got back to St. Thomas and immediately went to the grocery store to buy some pineapple juice, orange juice, and coconut cream. You can guess what we made when we got home! More pictures from our trip are online here.