Confessions

I have a few confessions to make!  We have lived in the BVI now for a year and a half and I went snorkeling for the very first time (in my life) earlier this month.  Yes, I have also been to Hawaii six times and never snorkeled there either.  I have a fear of the water.  I have some issues with claustrophobia and I was held under the water a little too long once as a child.  Growing up on the Northern California coast, the water temp requires that if you are in the water you wear a wet suit to stay warm.  Not my idea of a fun swim.  Yes, I didn’t even swim in the ocean until we moved down here last year! 

The boys really wanted snorkels for their birthday.  I thought they were a perfect gift so we got them a starter set with masks and snorkels.  They took to it immediately, even Reilly who was not even putting his face in the water yet.  We have taken them to a few spots and they have loved every trip.  A few weeks ago, we went to Brewers Bay at the suggestion of our favorite chef, Regis at Brandywine.   There is a nice reef to the left side of the bay and you do not have to go very far out to start seeing all kinds of colorful fish.  Chris and the boys snorkeled for a while, then Reilly got out to play on the beach.  Something hit me and I asked to borrow his mask and I was hooked!!  Half an hour later, all four of us were several yards out from the beach and really having a blast!

My second confession is that I am not driving here.  I have a strange fear of getting behind the wheel.  It has made it difficult to get around, especially since we live about 10 minutes from town and there are no regular busses.  I have not been able to get past it for some reason.  It is not my driving abilities, I drove a manual transmission in San Francisco for years.  Drivers here will just stop in the middle of the road to pick someone up or drop them off.  Cars regularly pass on blind corners.  Many of the “two-lane” roads and streets have enough room for one car, if you are lucky.  It makes it less appealing to me.  There are also regular occurrences like these: 

Catch a Wave!

Last Saturday afternoon we loaded the kids into the Jeep and headed out for the beach.  Driving over the hill, we were amazed to see the size of the waves on the northwest side of the island.   There were surfers in Capoons Bay, too many to count.    All I could think is that we finally see real surfing and I didn’t bring a camera.  We were still determined to go to the beach so we went to Long Bay and it also had really big waves.  Since it was later in the afternoon and we all hate the sand flea bites we get in the early evening, we only got in to cool off and then headed home.

We also decided to head back to Long Bay on Sunday to play at the beach.  The conditions were exactly the same as the day before and I brought my camera this time!  Some of the Sunday regulars at Long Bay were there and I asked one of them if these conditions were normal at this time of the year.   She said that when big storms pass north of the islands, conditions like these are usual.  That said, she said that this time of the year it is usually really calm there.  Thanks to tropical storms Leslie and Michael churning to our north, this was the result!

Chris had a blast body surfing these super-sized waves.  The boys and I stayed very close to shore as the waves were big and the under-tow (rip currents) were bigger.  We made a game of letting a wave wash over us as close to the beach as possible and then float out a few feet with the current.  It was a good lesson for the boys to be able to recognize just how strong under-tow can be.  We also found a sea kayak that must have come off a boat, stuck in the water.  Chris and I tried to lift it out, but it was just too deep in the sand bank.

Finally, as we headed home we drove by the beach at Capoons so that I could take some photos of the surfers and the waves.  No, this surfing is certainly not Mavericks or North Shore Oahu, but it was great to see and watch for a bit.  Happy Friday!