That wasn't too big of a problem. Did I mention there was an international airport across the street from the dinghy dock? Airports have car rental counters, which allowed us to convert unstructured leisure time loafing in the cockpit into an odyssey of steep roads, thick traffic and heavy provisioning.
Actually, that was only about half of it. Since it was the one day this week when Tortola didn't have a cruise ship, we were also able to get personal tours of both the J.R O'Neal Botanical Gardens and the Old Government House. We also found a delicious Jamaican (Ital/Vegan) restaurant perched high up in the hills above Road Town.
Road Town - The small, but enjoyable, J.R. O'Neal Botanical Garden
Road Town - Old Government House small, but grand, was filled with beautiful nooks to get comfortable and enjoy a book.
Road Town - Main Street felt like we'd gone back in time
Lunch with a view of Road Town at a Jamaican 'Ital restaurant
Mount Sage National Park trails proved to be mud-slides so we kept to the road
Then, in a failed attempt to walk to Tortola's highest point, we got ensnared by the charms of Jim, who runs a gift shop and restaurant at the trail head. We were still full from our big Jamaican lunch, but he convinced us to at least try a couple of his banana smoothies. They were VERY good. Jim clearly has a flair. As we sipped our smoothies, we learned that he was once the chef on the Royal Yacht Brittania. He then spent two years cooking at a British Antarctic base before eventually making his way to Tortola, where he is now on his fourth restaurant as owner.
We were having so much fun chatting with Jim that the tail end of our provisioning expedition ended up being pushed until after dark. That and the poor-quality roads, and a detour due to road-works, made for a few white-knuckle miles home. We were glad to return to the peace and quiet of the still mostly deserted anchorage.
The murals of Fahie Hill
We had a relatively restful recovery day afterwards, with just us and a handful of other boats in Trellis Bay. We went for a low-effort stroll along the beach, which we completely overcompensated for, calorie wise, with a Happy Hour stop at the place with the dinghy dock. I mean, it would have been rude to walk right through.
Most of our days, we got ashore and took a stroll around the trails of Trellis Bay
... and possibly partook in the odd cocktail at one of the several bars/restaurants at Trellis Bay and nearby Long Bay
Maryanne took sime time to snorkel about the rubble of Bellamy Cay (ruined in Hurricane Irma)
Late the next morning, the mooring field started filling up fast. There were the usual crewed boats, who were stopping for an hour or so to meet guests from the airport, but their moorings were quickly snatched up by overnight guests. It's been a while, but I see Cruiser's TV is still on the air in Trellis Bay, where one can watch all manner of charter boats get into wacky hijinks as they struggle to navigate the bay and pick up moorings.
Today's winner was a SunSail catamaran that got on the wrong side of a buoy and quickly ran aground. After freeing themselves in a cloud of sand, they turned ninety degrees the wrong way and then promptly did it again. With more effort, and even more churned up sand, they managed to free themselves a second time. By then, one of the company's paid captains raced up to their boat in her dinghy, checking for damage and then following them to their mooring so closely she could have been a tugboat. I imagine some of that boat's next bottom paint job will be coming out of their deposit.
A little later on, just after sunset, which is about eleven pm to us cruising types, Maryanne said she fancied going ashore for a drink. C'mon, Maryanne! We have drinks on the boat and we can be safely tucked in half an hour later.
She wasn't having it, and insisted I would have fun, too. Well, I'm not a big fan of fun, but I was willing to give it a go for her sake.
Kyle's birthday conveniently coincided with the regular "Full Moon" party in the bay
... And a Raku Pottery Firing Demonstration was another attraction of the night
It turned out Maryanne had much more planned than mere fancy drinks. There was also a delicious dinner, flaming artwork, Fire dancers, a pottery demonstration, music, and dancing, including a performance by a troupe of Moko Jumbie stilt dancers. Most of the charterers in the area were in attendance, as well as what seemed like a third of Tortola. How Maryanne managed to arrange all of this while being rarely more than arm's length away from me is a minor miracle. She is my little dynamo!
Mooring location >> On google maps
No comments:
Post a Comment