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Key Bay, Peter Island

Dec. 28

  Our Swiss friends, Esther & Dan introduced us to Key Bay a few weeks ago. We snorkeled around the point during our last visit and found the reef teeming with life.  Shortly after we arrived here today, we went ashore to explore.   No trails were apparent along the beaches, but we were able to weave our way through part of the shady vegetation, finding many hermit crabs underfoot.  We made our way back to the beach and followed it for about a half mile over large deposits of beached corals and huge rocky outcrops, some strikingly tinted rich shades of burgundy or jade.                                     . 

       The cruising guides describe this quiet anchorage as having a small area with good holding for a few boats .  This evening there are eight boats anchored here, as Christmas through New Year’s is the busiest charter week of the year.

Diamond Cay, Jost Van Dyke

Dec. 29

    For years we’ve heard about the annual Old Year’s Day Party extravaganza at Foxy’s.  So we made a plan to attend this year since we’re in the neighborhood.   Our plan entailed us anchoring in a smaller anchorage away from the crazies making their way in and out of Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke, where Foxy’s is located.  Diamond Cay has always been a quiet place to stop to enjoy the best of JVD natural beauty, so we anchored there two days before the party. 

   This trip we took a walk up the steep, steep road (Most roads in the BVI are at a 45% grade!) toward Great Harbor.  We also found a new bakery near Foxy’s Taboo Restaurant and a short trail to follow right on Diamond Cay- sadly there were building materials staged at the point.

SURF’S UP!

Dec. 30

    When a heavy weather system traverses the northern latitudes during this season, (i.e., the states get snow/sleet/rain dumped on them), it sends “Christmas winds” to the Caribbean.  The Christmas winds made the Bubbly Pool and the sandbar path to the Little Jost Van Dyke’s Brothel extra breathtaking! (We only recently learned that there was a brothel nearby when we saw it marked on a map at Taboo’s Bar, but it is no longer operational.)    Our customary trek along the beach, through the mangrove, and up over the rocky island goat path to the Bubbly Pool was well worth it.  The surf rushed in with increasing force while a few tourists bobbed around in its natural Jacuzzi effect.  The sandbar between JVD and Little JVD appeared perfect for surfing and a few kayakers attempted to take advantage of the breakers. 

*Becky, the striped rock pile you left was nowhere in sight.

Sky Blue Pink



Sunset view from the beach at Cane Garden Bay



Dec. 25

       When we were kids our Dziadzia (Grandpa) would sometimes take us to Mass on Sunday mornings.  Whenever he did, he always took us to the soda shop inside the Rexall Drug Store afterwards for ice cream.  One of our favorite flavor choices was Sky Blue Pink.  Today I cannot recall exactly what it tasted like, but I do clearly remember the delicate blend of hues & the way it made us feel. 

      In years past, Dan & I have spent a few Christmases away from home and phone conversations had to suffice. Today we were truly blessed to spend Christmas with our family and friends via Skype video calls.  Our toddler grandchildren (Mino, Lyla, Maya, and Genna) showed us the gifts Santa brought.  We visited screen-to-screen with Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and aunts and it made our Christmas extra special!  

     The sunset today was sky blue pink and was the perfect way to end a Christmas Day spent far from our dearest family & friends.

Wigilia

    When we were boat shopping, one requirement was that the galley would have a counter top suitable for rolling out pierogis, a main staple of our traditional Polish Wigilia (Christmas Eve) dinner.  Our first Wigilia on board Exit Strategy was kept as traditional as possible.  I reviewed my brother Marty's recipes for Mushroom Soup and Fried Fish from our Glista Family's  Cooking From the Heart cookbook to begin preparations. Then we invited our friend Milton to celebrate with us, as his wife Debra had returned to their home in Guyana for the holidays.  Captain Dan's favorite fried well-peppered cabbage pierogis were some of the best I've ever made and Milton enjoyed our traditional meal as much as we enjoyed his company.

The secret to making pierogis is the Polish sweat.

“The Salt of the Earth…

is buried on Salt Island.” 

Dec.23

     We intended to snorkel the Rhone Reef that is just off of Salt Island near the wreck of the Rhone.  But we hiked around the shore a bit instead.  Only one family lived on the island who were caretakers of the salt ponds. We’d heard that the sole survivor passed away a few years ago.  There were deserted buildings, but also were signs of new construction of shaded picnic areas on the beach.  A worn path along the coast led us to small graveyard with burial sites piled with conch and coral and marked with weathered wooden crosses.   Further on was a nicely kept garden spot.  I shook a papaya tree and coaxed a few green ones down and made a spicy green papaya salad.

Full Moon Party

Dec. 22

      Esther & Dan are a young adventurous couple from Switzerland whom we met last month around the midpoint of their 6 WEEK sailing holiday.  They have sailed extensively and we marveled at some of the quiet, out of the way bays they’ve anchored in for the night in the BVI. 

      We met them in Trellis Bay this week and attended the festivities of the Full Moon Party that occurs there at every full moon.  There were bands playing a mix of Christmas songs and fungi (pronounced “foon’-gee”), BBQs, Jumbie Dancers, fireballs and burning structures, and lots of liquid refreshments.  Amidst all of this, there also were artists engaged in their various crafts, such as pottery wheel, raiku, jewelry, or weaving.  The highlight for me was watching the young Mocko Jumbie Dancers hop around effortlessly despite the strong breeze blowing on the uneven sandy shore.  They paused every now and then to pose for pictures among the palm trees.

Anegada

    Barry was the one man welcoming committee when we arrived at Anegada after navigating our way around the reef and shallows safely to anchor off of Setting Point.  In his spoken way, he professed that “Anegada is where the world ends and life begins.”  This BVI island is the only one that is flat with its base stemming from coral that grew along a fault where the Atlantic and Caribbean plates met.  Then over time, the ocean currents deposited sand and voila- Anegada de vida, Baby! 

    We’ve come to understand just what Barry meant over the last few days here as we lazed or walked on the long beaches or wandered through the sleepy one and only settlement, aptly named Settlement.  Only about 300 people live on Anegada whose economy relies solely on tourism and fishing conch, lobsters, and fish.   (We’re working our way down the menu.)

The sands of Cow Wreck Bay, one of Anegada's north shore beaches, are tinted pink by bits of coral. 

Prickly Pear Island

Dec. 9

     The North Sound of Virgin Gorda has been a favorite of ours since we began sailing in the BVI.    We took a mooring near Saba Rock which is really a resort built on a reef in the scant channel between the North and Eustatia Sounds and sandwiched between Virgin Gorda and Prickly Pear Islands.  This spot always provides some pleasant and free entertainment from the vessels that come and go, as mates perform a tenuous ballet while picking up (and dropping) a mooring ball due to the steady, strong current.  Last night near dusk, a young man arrived by boat and seemingly couldn’t wait to break out his kiteboard- so he did and proceeded to amaze us by skimming the board all around Eustatia Sound and over the REEF!

      This morning we were going to snorkel that reef, but there were four kiteboarders flying about, so we headed in another direction to the far side of Prickly Pear Island and beached our dinghy on a deserted stretch of powdery cream colored sand that was soft enough to nap upon.  We were mildly disappointed when we found no reef there to snorkel, but we did find a treasure of many mature conch throughout the grassy bottom just beyond the rippled sand.   We also found a surprise when we returned to the dinghy- it was almost half full of sea water and sand and held minnow captive that looked a little frantic.  We bailed out the fish with the water and sand and returned to our boat happy to have spent yet another nearly perfect morning.

Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda

Dec. 5-7
     During this trip to Spanish Town we ventured farther down the road beyond the seaside restaurants/bars to see what the settlement had to offer.  The walk took us up and down hills past the usual brightly painted homes and shops.  The roadsides are teeming with all sorts of flowering trees and shrubs, reminding me of the tropicals some of my friends and family "adopted" from our house just before we moved onto Exit Strategy.  Those tropicals annoyed the heck out of Dan, especially each autumn when I enlisted his help to shove the large pots onto a sturdy dolly and haul  them upstairs to our sunny loft.
    From our anchorage, we could see a cross high up on a hill near Spanish Town.  When our hike took us that direction we followed the steep single lane up to the top and found St. Ursula's Catholic Church.  The doors were open, so we went in to light a candle and say a prayer for our family and friends.

As the Pelican Flies

             Anchored here in Road Town for a few days, we’ve learned that the world is at our fingertips, so to speak.  From our boat that sits firmly in the muddy sand of Tortola’s main harbor, we can hop in our dinghy and quickly get to all sorts of places.  The road in town snakes along every crook & cranny following the coastline, so walking often requires a longer route and more effort.  The tourists from the cruise ships also tend to clog the sidewalks as they hunt for those unique souvenirs while ashore, but they are what keep the BVI’s economy afloat. They certainly provide lots of people watching entertainment, and we don’t totally begrudge them because, after all on any given day, we are one of them!

The Captain returns from a solo shopping expedition.

The dinghy, though, allows us to zip off in one direction or another as the pelican flies. Nearby, there are two large regular grocery stores, two large stores similar to Sam’s Club (no membership needed), two ample hardware stores, two marine chandleries, countless restaurants (enjoyed oxtails at one and sushi at another), a hospital and medical clinics, and St. William’s Catholic Church.  The Customs and Immigration offices are also easily accessible from our anchorage, and we’re happy to report that we’ve been granted an extension to visit and travel freely within the BVI for two more months.