Forward: It's our tradition to have our friends write a blog entry when they visit ... so over to the Andersons ...
Hello readers!
We are the Andersalmons! This blog post is brought to you by
Lizzy and Julie on behalf of the family (Kathy, Dave, Lizzy and Julie
Anderson). Leading up to this trip, our plans were thrown into confusion
multiple times with flight cancellations and the concerns about visiting a hurricane-devastated
country. Dave had previously brought the boat down from Norfolk with Mike, and
he had spoken with some locals and was reassured that the islands were working
hard to get their tourism industry up and running and would welcome tourists. Our
trip spanned the week before Christmas in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Kathy, Dave, and Julie flew in on an 8-passenger plane, so Julie was bumped up
to the co-pilot position in the full flight. Lizzy made the lonely journey from
Chicago. We took a ferry from the airport to the BVI where we would spend the
majority of our time – we passed through customs under a tent and messed up the
order of the dates on our customs forms – whoops! We spent the first night on a
dock at Nanny Cay, Mike and Gloria eased us into our journey with wifi and a
hot shower that first night – knowing we wouldn’t have such luxuries for the
next week. We slept about 13 hours that night, while the rest of the crew was
up at a bright and early hour – don’t worry, we watched our sleep schedules for
the rest of our trip! We were told by multiple people that boaters midnight is
9 p.m., so 9 a.m. is not an appropriate time to wake up. So far our days look
like something you would pull out of a travel magazine. We have spent the days
snorkeling, sailing, and eating surprisingly good food. No Pop-tarts or
Twinkies allowed on this boat.
The first day we sailed toward the
bite, and anchored in a cove nearby. We snorkeled in the Caves, but none of us
ventured far into the light-less cave. Our personal favorite was a forked cave
in which waves would float you over a few rocks and up onto a worn shore (the
other fork led to a deep dark death). We did something that evening. The next
day was our diving day! The whole crew abandoned ship for a dive-boat that came
to pick us up and take us out for two dives. The first dive course actually
left from the cove we had been in the night before (Norman Island, Dad says it
was Kelly’s Cove). And the second dive was at Angel’s Reef, on the other side
of the Bite. That dive took us through some canyons, which was an incredible
reminder of your ability to move through all dimensions in the water. There
were so many things, of so many different sizes, living in so many different
ways. You are reminded of infinity when you are squinting at a seemingly
microscopic coral and fish, but when you look forward the ocean is limitless.
It is an incredible density of life. Back to the main feature, we washed our
hair and off we went. We sailed some distance in some direction for some amount
of time (hey – we’re on vacation) to get to the spot we spent the next night.
(Mom just noted that it was Jost van Dyke.) We ate dinner at the infamous
Foxy’s Bar and Grill. As we were motoring to shore from the boat, the double
story restaurant was completely black. We considered revising our dinner plan
and turning around, but we saw a bobbing light and followed the light. Turns
out they had lost power. Our waitress led us around with an iPhone light and
told us about the limitations of their menu (all considered..) The six of us
ended up sharing 2 lobsters, 2 salads, pasta and the catch-of-the-day. The next
day we walked on shore for a bit, then motored to the next bay on the island,
to spend some time at the beach. We accidentally picked the bounciest mooring,
and the Cotinga was swaying an enormous amount. Note to future sailors, the
moorings in the middle of White bay are bouncy, head further up (East?). The
beach was incredible, and Dad, Julie, and Lizzy got in some snorkeling in the
reef. We tried the original Painkillers from the Soggy Dollar, which was
looking spick and span after its hurricane repairs. We spent the evening in
Soper’s Hole, and went out to breakfast in the morning. In terms of hurricane
damage, we learned that, while the restaurant was currently water front
property, it was not always so. Hurricane Irma had taken out a whole role of
buildings in front of it. Everywhere we encountered land, we saw how hard the
hurricane hit these islands. Huge catamarans turned upside down, houses that
are still missing roofs, and, even 3 months later, electricity poles were still
missing or in the process of being replaced. On a brighter note, when the six
of us went snorkeling at Cinnamon Bay on St. John’s today, we saw a baracuda,
some huge sea urchins, and, Julie’s favorite – a turtle! Liz and Dad
encountered the turtle first, and while Lizzy marked its path, Dad alerted the
rest of us, so we all got to see it!
We are spending our last night in
Christmas Cove, and we will fly out tomorrow, airport lines permitting (Dad
missed his last flight because of a TSA protest). All in all, this has been an
absolutely incredible trip for the four of us, and we feel undeservingly lucky
to be able to spend time with good friends.
Great Harbor, Peter Island 18
21.4 N, 64 34.9 W
Kelly’s Cove, Normans Island 18
19.3 N, 64 37.2 W
Normans Bight 18
19.3 N, 64 37.0 W
Great Harbor, Jost van Dyke 18
26.5 N, 64 45.1 W
Soper’s Hole 18
23.1 N, 64 42.2 W
Christmas Cove 18
18.5 N, 64 50.0 W
Kathy, Dave, Julie and Lizzy (left to right) ready to head under water in Kelly's Cove
Dave and Julie hanging out on deck on route to Jost van Dyke
Lizzy, Dave, Kathy and Julie sailing back from Jost van Dyke to Soper's Hole
Dave at the helm
A passing shower generates a rainbow over Soper's Hole / Frenchman's Cay
Gloria, Dave Lizzy, Julie, Kathy, Mike - an excellent breakfast on Frenchman's Cay
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