This is How We Get Ants– Day Four Trip Report 4/15-4/23
Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:09 pm
Link to Day One: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=26974
Link to Day Two: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/virgi ... =1&t=26978
Link to Day Three: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=26985
Day Four
When I open my eyes, the first thing I think is “I can hear waves. I haven’t heard waves from our villa yet. ” I put in a call to Calypso Charters to find out if they will still travel in this weather, but no answer. No problemo. We fly to town (you know, at 20 mph) because today we’re traveling to the BVIs with Bad Kitty! I’m still a little nervous that the day will be canceled, because the seas look rough, but everything appears to be business as usual.
We get to the dock and meet our fellow travelers. A hen with a little tribe of babies pass by, and she jumps up on the bench to get a better view of them. I snap her picture, it looks like she’s waiting for the bus:
Our boat arrives, and off we go.
The captain explains that it’s going to be a rough ride, and asks us to hang on tight. I realize at this point that I have not taken or brought Dramamine. Uh oh. One of the crew members hands me a ginger ale. For the next hour, I stare stoically at the horizon while my friends have the ride of their life. I barely manage to keep the ginger ale down. Or even in the can. In fact, drinks and breakfast foods of all types are flying about the cabin. Mike tries to take my picture and I freak out. No photos, please, this is embarrassing.
We make it to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, and I run through the shops searching for meds. Tony and Beth find me some chewables. Thank goodness for friends. We get back on the boat and head to the Baths. Here, we swim to shore (a pretty long swim, I thought. At least one woman had to be brought in to shore on a board) and begin our tour. It is so very pretty here, but it is SWAMPED with tourists. Tony manages to make it look like it’s not.
Mike does a pretty good job too.
We actually become stuck in one of the small rooms in the baths because the tourists won’t stop streaming down the stairs into the next room, even though our crew repeatedly begs them to stop. Beth and I take a deep breath and pretend not to be claustrophobic. Finally, the crew member jumps over someone, and marches up the stairs, forcing the never ending stream of tourists to stop and allowing us to move to the next room.
We make it to the beach on the other end….gorgeous. Picture time! Tony grabs a nice panorama and a group shot.
Mike and I grab a nice couples selfie.
It’s absolutely amazing here, even if you do have to fight for your spot in paradise. Mike gets a bunch of beautiful photos.
We swim back to the boat and head to Cooper Island for lunch. Mike has a roti that looks amazing, but I’m not thrilled with the choices or the salad I end up with. It’s not a big deal, but the place next door has amazing looking sandwiches that I’m sure I would have enjoyed more – something I’ll consider if I ever do this trip again. I get a kick out of eating lunch in a restaurant in my swimsuit – not something I’d ever do on St. John.
Next stop: Norman Island to explore the caves. The last time I took this trip, we went to the Indians, so I’m excited to see something new. And the caves do not disappoint. There are large groups here as well, but I managed to time my snorkeling so that I had each cave almost to myself. Lovely.
Final stop is Jost Van Dyke for the Soggy Dollar Bar. I’m bummed to discover that since it’s Good Friday, no alcoholic drinks will be served until after 6pm. Oh well, a quick swim back to the boat will fix that. We still enjoy the vibe – maybe more so. There aren’t a lot of people here right now. Please ignore our horrific sunburns.
We head back to St. John, and back to the villa for aloe vera and showers. Then, out for a special dinner – ponzu tuna at Aqua Bistro! A while back, I had polled forumites about their favorite dinners, and this did not disappoint. Mike and I split entrees – he ordered the ponzu tuna, and I ordered the chicken piccata. We get our plates, we eat half of what’s in front of us…..and I don’t want to trade! This is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. But a deal is a deal, so we trade. And the other entrée is just as good!
It rains a bit while we eat, but the umbrellas keep most the water off us and our food. What an amazing meal – I will definitely be back.
Link to Day Two: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/virgi ... =1&t=26978
Link to Day Three: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=26985
Day Four
When I open my eyes, the first thing I think is “I can hear waves. I haven’t heard waves from our villa yet. ” I put in a call to Calypso Charters to find out if they will still travel in this weather, but no answer. No problemo. We fly to town (you know, at 20 mph) because today we’re traveling to the BVIs with Bad Kitty! I’m still a little nervous that the day will be canceled, because the seas look rough, but everything appears to be business as usual.
We get to the dock and meet our fellow travelers. A hen with a little tribe of babies pass by, and she jumps up on the bench to get a better view of them. I snap her picture, it looks like she’s waiting for the bus:
Our boat arrives, and off we go.
The captain explains that it’s going to be a rough ride, and asks us to hang on tight. I realize at this point that I have not taken or brought Dramamine. Uh oh. One of the crew members hands me a ginger ale. For the next hour, I stare stoically at the horizon while my friends have the ride of their life. I barely manage to keep the ginger ale down. Or even in the can. In fact, drinks and breakfast foods of all types are flying about the cabin. Mike tries to take my picture and I freak out. No photos, please, this is embarrassing.
We make it to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, and I run through the shops searching for meds. Tony and Beth find me some chewables. Thank goodness for friends. We get back on the boat and head to the Baths. Here, we swim to shore (a pretty long swim, I thought. At least one woman had to be brought in to shore on a board) and begin our tour. It is so very pretty here, but it is SWAMPED with tourists. Tony manages to make it look like it’s not.
Mike does a pretty good job too.
We actually become stuck in one of the small rooms in the baths because the tourists won’t stop streaming down the stairs into the next room, even though our crew repeatedly begs them to stop. Beth and I take a deep breath and pretend not to be claustrophobic. Finally, the crew member jumps over someone, and marches up the stairs, forcing the never ending stream of tourists to stop and allowing us to move to the next room.
We make it to the beach on the other end….gorgeous. Picture time! Tony grabs a nice panorama and a group shot.
Mike and I grab a nice couples selfie.
It’s absolutely amazing here, even if you do have to fight for your spot in paradise. Mike gets a bunch of beautiful photos.
We swim back to the boat and head to Cooper Island for lunch. Mike has a roti that looks amazing, but I’m not thrilled with the choices or the salad I end up with. It’s not a big deal, but the place next door has amazing looking sandwiches that I’m sure I would have enjoyed more – something I’ll consider if I ever do this trip again. I get a kick out of eating lunch in a restaurant in my swimsuit – not something I’d ever do on St. John.
Next stop: Norman Island to explore the caves. The last time I took this trip, we went to the Indians, so I’m excited to see something new. And the caves do not disappoint. There are large groups here as well, but I managed to time my snorkeling so that I had each cave almost to myself. Lovely.
Final stop is Jost Van Dyke for the Soggy Dollar Bar. I’m bummed to discover that since it’s Good Friday, no alcoholic drinks will be served until after 6pm. Oh well, a quick swim back to the boat will fix that. We still enjoy the vibe – maybe more so. There aren’t a lot of people here right now. Please ignore our horrific sunburns.
We head back to St. John, and back to the villa for aloe vera and showers. Then, out for a special dinner – ponzu tuna at Aqua Bistro! A while back, I had polled forumites about their favorite dinners, and this did not disappoint. Mike and I split entrees – he ordered the ponzu tuna, and I ordered the chicken piccata. We get our plates, we eat half of what’s in front of us…..and I don’t want to trade! This is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. But a deal is a deal, so we trade. And the other entrée is just as good!
It rains a bit while we eat, but the umbrellas keep most the water off us and our food. What an amazing meal – I will definitely be back.