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: 

August Monday Parade

It is Festival time here in the BVI.  Yesterday we attended the August Monday Parade, held in Road Town on the first Monday of August every year as part of the country’s emancipation celebrations.  Slavery was officially abolished in the territory on August 1, 1834, which is said to have been on a Monday.  The parade is one of the highlights of Festival.  This year, the theme also centers on remembering the community’s cultural history and traditions.  Many of the floats and groups that participated in the parade highlighted BVI’s culture. 

We arrived early in the afternoon, not sure what time the parade was supposed to start.  It is never know year to year when the start time will be, but many thought it would be close to 4:00 pm.  We started the afternoon upstairs at Origin, with an informal wager as to exactly what time the start would be.  Everyone was surprised when the first contingent crossed in front of the Ferry terminal shortly after 2:00 pm. 

For the next four hours we watched floats, bands, marching troups perform their way down Waterfront Drive, entertaining all in attendance.  The boys and I loved the Moko Jumbies. 

I took over a hundred photos during the parade, weeded them down to fifty and below are my favorite ten. 

We're Back!

Last Fall I gave up blogging.  After a series of technological challenges (which included losing our internet connection) and a bad case of island fever, I was done.  Unfortunately, once we got the internet back, it was much slower and I was not ready to deal with trying to blog with it.  My island fever also lasted through the New Year.  Then in February, the boys and I went back to California. 

We had a much-needed 4 month break from island living.  I took the time to work on readjusting my attitude and catch up with family and friends.  Unfortunately, I could have used more time to see friends!  While at home, the boys took off the training wheels on their bikes and became expert riders.  (Well, as expert as one can be as a 5 year old!)  Reagan also became a much better swimmer thanks to all of the pool time we had. 

As we were packing up and getting ready to return to Tortola, my mom made one request.  Please bring back the blog.  For her, I hope I am able to keep up better this time around!

Since we have been back we have been busy catching up on things here.  We have spent a few afternoons playing at Nanny Cay and a few boogie boarding at our favorite beach, Long Bay Tortola.  We have been to lunch and celebrated the boys' 6th birthday at our favorite restaurant, Brandywine. The boys have learned to snorkel and Reilly is now swimming on his own!  We’ve had sushi at Origin and been introduced to a new restaurant that Chris likes called Fish ’N Lime Inn.  Overall, we seem to have picked up right where we left off, only with a better attitude this time around!

So, I hope to get at least one post up a week for my mom.  I will do a separate post about the boys' birthday, but for now, here are a few of my favorite shots from our first few weeks back:

Reagan back on his favorite mode of transport, a ferry!

Reilly limin at Watering Hole.

Sunset at West End.

Reagan is right at home at Long Bay Tortola.

Reilly is as well!

St. Thomas, Solo!

I have been neglecting this blog.  I hope to get better about posting, hopefully I will be more diligent in the coming weeks/months!  I really do want to have this time in the BVI documented for the boys to look back on, since they will most likely not remember much due to their young age!

Ferry terminal at Charlotte Amalie.

Ticket purchased in February!

The weekend before the boys’ birthday, I went to St. Thomas to shop for birthday gifts.  After spending so much time at home the previous weeks taking care of Reilly’s chicken pox, it was nice to be out of the house, and to be by myself.  I am innately a private person.  I relish my time alone and do not get very much.   I was happy to have the chance to go shop for the boys’ birthday gifts, and to have a night away from Tortola, on my own! 

My ferry to St. Thomas was on Smith’s Tortola Fast Ferry.  I was also surprised at how crowded the ferry was, more people at the West End ferry terminal than any of my other trips off island.  I met a couple from Boston and another from Sacramento.  It was nice to have a conversation with people from California, you do not meet too many West Coast folks here.  On my arrival in Charlotte Amalie, I stopped at the hotel (right across the street from the ferry terminal), to stash my luggage.  My plan was to go to K-Mart (the only big box choice on St. Thomas) to get the birthday shopping out of the way, before doing any exploring.  I was happy that the safari taxi stand was right in front of the hotel. I was able to hop right on and go to the Tutu Mall very easily.  I also could not believe how quickly I was able to spend my budget on birthday gifts for the boys, I just love shopping for them! 

Random building.

The synagogue is a national historic landmark.

I like the mixture of old and new in this shot.

After returning to the hotel to stash my shopping bags, I wandered around downtown Charlotte Amelia.  I loved that it was not a cruise ship day, it was not crazy, but there was still so much happening.  I went to an open air market then wandered up to the synagogue.  Unfortunately, being a Saturday, there were no tours. There is so much history here in Charlotte Amalie.  I loved the ambiance and the feeling of the downtown area.  There are so many jewelry stores, I was surprised.  Every store I passed had someone in the doorway inviting me in.  If I was a jewelry person, I would have been in Heaven!

I realized that I had not eaten lunch and it was getting close to 3, so I walked back to the hotel and asked about nearby late lunch/early dinner options.  I was directed to French Town, on the other side of the ferry terminal, and walked over to see if there were any options.  Being a California girl, the first place that caught my eye was a Mexican place, so I stepped in and was happy with the choice.  Although not the best I’ve eaten, it was nice to have a chicken tostada salad, a few margaritas and good company!

I was happy with my room at Windward Passage.



The view from my room, of course I would have a view of a Native Son ferry!



Once I was done with my late lunch, I walked back to the hotel and met a woman checking in at the same time who lives on Virgin Gorda.  She was happy to chat with me about life as an American in the BVI and invited me to meet up with her and friends later that evening.  That was the best thing about my day away.  I meet her later that evening, met a few of her friends and enjoyed an evening on St. Thomas with great people.

Yes, I really ate McDonalds.

 

Sea plan taxi for take off!

Sunday morning I had a breakfast of champions, i.e. McDonalds, something I have not eaten in years.  I watched the sea plane take off and headed over to Red Hook to catch my ferry back to Tortola!

Wordless Wednesday

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!

Wordless Wednesday