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Trip Report: Family of 4, Part 3
Trip Report: Family of 4, Part 3
Thursday, July 8, 2010: Today, we were taking the Inter Island ferry to Virgin Gorda. For those of you who do not know this, the ferry to Virgin Gorda does not leave from the same place as the ferry to St. Thomas. The ferry to Virgin Gorda leaves from a place across the street from the little Market called ‘Our Market’. There is a black rod iron fence that is open when there are ferries coming and going. Anyway, we arrived in town about 8:00. We parked and went to buy our tickets. The ferry left pretty much right on time I think at 8:30 (it had come from Red Hook). We had a quick stop at West End Tortola and then on to Virgin Gorda. We cleared customs and caught a taxi to the Baths. Even though you are kind of on your own on the ferry, there was a very nice lady from Inter Island who told us what to do (ie. We were supposed to take Speedy’s taxi, what time to be ready to leave the Baths etc). As we were walking down to The Baths, we noticed that there were no mosquitoes. We loved Virgin Gorda already! We ate our lunch and then walked among the rocks and caves of The Baths. This is fun and beautiful, and the girls liked this a lot. Then we snorkeled over to Devils Bay. There is not that much to see, but the underwater topography is very interesting with the deep water and the rocks. We all enjoyed it! We had just enough time to change clothes (the showers were broken, and don’t think the irony was lost on us that the showers at The Baths were not working). We got some ice cream at Mad Dogs and got on the taxi back to Spanishtown to get the ferry. One thing I noticed about Virgin Gorda is that there did not seem to be anyone around. During the taxi ride, we passed a few restaurants etc. and they looked like they were open but they were empty. Also, there was nobody walking around on the streets. Maybe Virgin Gorda still has a slow season whereas St. John’s low season seems pretty busy. Anyway, the ferry left right on time (five minutes early, I think). The ride back was hot. Since we were travelling with the wind, there was hardly any breeze. We stopped at West End, Tortola again, and then made our way back to St. John. All in all it was a very enjoyable day. I recommend it. When we got off the ferry, we were all hot and hungry. We found Deli Grotto, and soaked up the air conditioning and had some delicious sandwiches and a piece of chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum! Then it was home and to bed for us.
Friday, July 9, 2010: today we went out to Vie’s. It is a beautiful drive out to the East End, very peaceful (I can say that because I was not doing the driving. We arrived around 11:00. We ordered some garlic chicken and Johnny cakes. Vie said they would not be ready until around noon. Greg played some dominoes with a little boy who beat him three times (Greg won once). Then we headed to the beach. There were quite a few people already there, but we found some chairs. We read on the beach for awhile and then went back to pick up our food. It was as good as I remember. After lunch, we snorkeled for awhile. We saw lots of sea cucumbers, a large trunkfish, and a large sea star along with lots of coral and other fish. We read on the beach for awhile longer and then headed home around 4:00 I think. We stopped at Colombo’s for smoothies again. The guy said it was nice to see us again. I guess we have been there several times by now. Then it was home to the pool and pizza from the Donkey Diner for dinner.
Saturday, July 10, 2010: today we went back to Trunk Bay. We arrived at 9:20 hoping to get a spot in the parking lot. There were only two cars in the lot and one of them was leaving. We set up our stuff, and the beach was beautiful. There were only a few people there. In fact, all day it was less crowded than the first time we came to Trunk. We must have hit a very busy day when we were there the first time. We got in the water to float, but pretty soon I decided that I should snorkel before it got crowded. The girls did not really want to snorkel today, so they swam with us for awhile, then they went in to play in the sand while Greg and I snorkeled. We snorkeled around the little island. I guess I was hoping the backside of the island would be like the back side of Waterlemon Cay. It wasn’t. However, we did see two pretty good size barracuda and four huge tarpon. They were probably six feet long and one of them opened it mouth very wide as it swam by. We also saw some large parrot fish. After our snorkel, we ate lunch and floated some more. The girls got some ice cream at the snack bar (they are getting spoiled by the daily smoothie or ice cream). After reading for awhile longer, we headed home. That night we ate at Sweet Plantains. This is easily my favorite restaurant. We have not eaten at Zozo’s or Asolare, or any of the other fancier restaurants, so I cannot compare, but I love Sweet Plantains. We had the pork tenderloin and a chicken curry dish. Both were delicious.
Sunday July 11, 2010: for our last day, we decided to return to Honeymoon. We were thinking about going back to Waterlemon, but the girls weren’t up for the hike. We saw the octopus again. We watched it for quite a long time. It was interesting to watch it change colors. As it swam over the sand, it was sand-colored. As it rested on the rocks, it was the same color as the rocks. Very cool. After lunch, we walked over to Solomon Bay and stayed there for awhile. Then we packed up and walked back to the car. We changed clothes in the lovely air conditioned restroom at Caneel and had a drink at the bar. We stopped at Colombo’s one last time for smoothies for the girls.
Monday July 12, 2010: We left the house at 9:30, stopped at Deli Grotto for sandwiches, took the car barge, returned the car, and had plenty of time before our 2:25 pm flight. Arrived home on the west coast at 12:15am. It was a very long day.
The Wrap Up: we loved our second trip to St. John. To me the snorkeling is the best. We stayed at a house called Luna Vista. The owners live upstairs, and they rent the downstairs. It is located on Bordeaux Mountain, so it is a drive to wherever you want to go, but it is also centrally located, and we think it is perfect. The owners also have two dogs who keep our girls from missing their dog too much.
Friday, July 9, 2010: today we went out to Vie’s. It is a beautiful drive out to the East End, very peaceful (I can say that because I was not doing the driving. We arrived around 11:00. We ordered some garlic chicken and Johnny cakes. Vie said they would not be ready until around noon. Greg played some dominoes with a little boy who beat him three times (Greg won once). Then we headed to the beach. There were quite a few people already there, but we found some chairs. We read on the beach for awhile and then went back to pick up our food. It was as good as I remember. After lunch, we snorkeled for awhile. We saw lots of sea cucumbers, a large trunkfish, and a large sea star along with lots of coral and other fish. We read on the beach for awhile longer and then headed home around 4:00 I think. We stopped at Colombo’s for smoothies again. The guy said it was nice to see us again. I guess we have been there several times by now. Then it was home to the pool and pizza from the Donkey Diner for dinner.
Saturday, July 10, 2010: today we went back to Trunk Bay. We arrived at 9:20 hoping to get a spot in the parking lot. There were only two cars in the lot and one of them was leaving. We set up our stuff, and the beach was beautiful. There were only a few people there. In fact, all day it was less crowded than the first time we came to Trunk. We must have hit a very busy day when we were there the first time. We got in the water to float, but pretty soon I decided that I should snorkel before it got crowded. The girls did not really want to snorkel today, so they swam with us for awhile, then they went in to play in the sand while Greg and I snorkeled. We snorkeled around the little island. I guess I was hoping the backside of the island would be like the back side of Waterlemon Cay. It wasn’t. However, we did see two pretty good size barracuda and four huge tarpon. They were probably six feet long and one of them opened it mouth very wide as it swam by. We also saw some large parrot fish. After our snorkel, we ate lunch and floated some more. The girls got some ice cream at the snack bar (they are getting spoiled by the daily smoothie or ice cream). After reading for awhile longer, we headed home. That night we ate at Sweet Plantains. This is easily my favorite restaurant. We have not eaten at Zozo’s or Asolare, or any of the other fancier restaurants, so I cannot compare, but I love Sweet Plantains. We had the pork tenderloin and a chicken curry dish. Both were delicious.
Sunday July 11, 2010: for our last day, we decided to return to Honeymoon. We were thinking about going back to Waterlemon, but the girls weren’t up for the hike. We saw the octopus again. We watched it for quite a long time. It was interesting to watch it change colors. As it swam over the sand, it was sand-colored. As it rested on the rocks, it was the same color as the rocks. Very cool. After lunch, we walked over to Solomon Bay and stayed there for awhile. Then we packed up and walked back to the car. We changed clothes in the lovely air conditioned restroom at Caneel and had a drink at the bar. We stopped at Colombo’s one last time for smoothies for the girls.
Monday July 12, 2010: We left the house at 9:30, stopped at Deli Grotto for sandwiches, took the car barge, returned the car, and had plenty of time before our 2:25 pm flight. Arrived home on the west coast at 12:15am. It was a very long day.
The Wrap Up: we loved our second trip to St. John. To me the snorkeling is the best. We stayed at a house called Luna Vista. The owners live upstairs, and they rent the downstairs. It is located on Bordeaux Mountain, so it is a drive to wherever you want to go, but it is also centrally located, and we think it is perfect. The owners also have two dogs who keep our girls from missing their dog too much.
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msgcolleen
- Posts: 1497
- Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:33 am
- Location: Allen, Texas
Great report! Sounds like you all had a fabulous time! The Baths are too cool. Got any pics to post?
I've got 2 tickets to paradise~Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!
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Thanks for the great report. I would love to see some pictures.
When it comes to Virgin Gorda, it is in general much slower than STJ. But lately it's been slower than normal and one of the reasons is that the airport is closed. That makes it harder to get to. We noticed how slow it was, when we were there in June. But it's totally unbelieavable to have Devils bay or Spring bay just to yourself for 2 hours.
I think the airport is planned to reopen in November.
When it comes to Virgin Gorda, it is in general much slower than STJ. But lately it's been slower than normal and one of the reasons is that the airport is closed. That makes it harder to get to. We noticed how slow it was, when we were there in June. But it's totally unbelieavable to have Devils bay or Spring bay just to yourself for 2 hours.
I think the airport is planned to reopen in November.