Monday, August 13, 2012

Back to reality....

We finally got home to Jacksonville today about 2:30pm.  We had a great time and thank you for reading the blog to learn about our adventure.

We plan to put more pictures on here as we settle in to work-mode again.

Thank you for reading, hopefully there will be more to come.  Maybe planning our next trip?

Friday, August 10, 2012

Foxy's Tamarind Bar

We had drinks at Foxy's at lunch. He is a world famous recording artist who created the bar for visiting yachtsmen decades ago. Due to his late age, he is rarely performing but we were so lucky to meet him in person today. A very rare event!!! I can't believe it!

Our boat... From above

We rented a 4wd vehicle to drive on the mountains of Jost van Dyke. You can see each couple with White Bay in the background and the island of Tortola across the ocean.

Sailing

Sailing before breakfast at Sandy Cay - we enjoyed mimosas this morning while moored at a white sandy beach

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Jost Van Dyke

We headed west to Jost Van Dyke this morning after snorkeling. We didn't have enough wind to sail so Travis was a bit dissapointed. We arrived at Great Harbour about 3pm. We took the dinghy over to White Bay for Painkillers at the original bar that created the drink, the Soggy Dollar Bar- no dock available, you have to beach your dinghy or swim from your boat. Cheers!

Pussers at Marina Cay

We had dinner at Pussers last night. Curry, fresh fish, conch chowder and conch fritters.

Snorkeling

We snorkeled this morning off Guana Island. We saw hundreds of thousands of fish schooling big and small. We saw huge tarpon, flounder and lobsters. We also had a group of yellow and black fishes hanging around our boat (see photo below). We jump off the boat and snorkel right there so it is easy and fun to do.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

See our Yacht Shots!

Open up your web browser and go to http://www.yachtshotsbvi.com/

Click on "View Photos"
Scroll down and click on "Yachts: August 2012"
Scroll down and click on the boat name "Dee Dee & Zeus - 06 AUG 12"

Here you can see all 36 of the photos taken while we were sailing from Virgin Gorda to Anegada!

Sailing to Marina Cay

We sailed this morning from Anegada to Marina Cay, a very small 8 acre island with a huge reef.

The winds were between 12-15 knots and we averaged about 7 knots while sailing. Travis just loved it. This was relatively easy sailing so we made it harder at times to challenge ourselves and he taught us new skills.

Oh captain my captain

Travis is a great captain, teaching us how to sail and planning our itinerary. We are very lucky to have him.

Last day on Anegada

We went snorkeling this morning on Loblolly Beach. No one else on the beach but us. The best part of this island is the seclusion and gorgeous beaches. The island is surrounded by huge coral reefs that are home to multiple species of fish, crabs, turtles, etc. Only 226 people live on the island and tourism is limited because there are less than 30 rooms on the island and about 13 mooring balls.

We relaxed on the beach with our beers and waited for our lunch at the Flash of Beauty restaurant. Everything is made to order so it can take a while for your food to be ready. The wait was worth it. We had Roti, fried conch and Pullony.

This island is gorgeous and we are glad we came to see it. We made some new friends - another charter boat that had trouble mooring and the lady who ran the Flash of Beauty restaurant. Travis and I got in the dinghy and helped the charter boat tie up to a mooring that was damaged. The lady at the restaurant taught Linda and I how to make chicken curry and Roti from scratch so we have a new dish to make when we get back.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Official

This was presented to us before we departed on our charter boat

Lobster

Anegada's specialty is lobster, so of course we had to try it. We enjoyed a grilled lobster dinner at the Anegada Reef Hotel. We enjoyed lobster, painkillers and Santa Margherita Pinot grigio right on the beach at a picnic table. The lobsters were grilled about 20 feet from our table on a barrel grill. They smelled delicious.  We had a view of our boat the entire time and could see so many stars. The lobsters were the biggest any of us had ever seen.

Anegada

We sailed from Virgin Gorda to Anegada today. Travis really enjoyed sailing this boat.
Anegada is a reef (3rd largest barrier reef in the world) that is nothing like the volcanic mountainous islands of the BVI. Absolutely beautiful! A new place for us, we did not go here on our honeymoon.
We rented a car and went to Cow Wreck Beach, an amazing deserted place.

Fat Virgin Cafe

We ate next to the water at a picnic table at the Fat Virgin Cafe at Biras Creek. Best ribs ever with a guava glaze. Chicken Roti, pumpkin soup and conch fritters. Finished off with painkillers.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Rooster... On a beach?

We went to the baths this afternoon on Virgin Gorda - one of the most beautiful places on earth. We climbed through the rocks and grottos of water. We finally made it to Devils Bay, a white coral sandy beach with turquoise water surrounded by huge granite boulders. This place will take your breath away. Seriously.

Linda, Travis and I were relaxing in the waves while Rick sunned himself on the beach next to a mangrove. All of the sudden a rooster trotted out on the beach. Linda said to me "wouldn't it be funny if that rooster walked up to Rick?". About 4 minutes later the rooster emerged from behind a boulder right up to Rick and startled him. We laughed and giggled for quite a long time.

We are having an amazing vacation! Thanks for reading.

Husband

Travis after hiking

2 handsome guys

Rick and Travis posing in front of the 17th century Dutch copper mine ruins. By the way, "handsome bay" is in the background.

Virgin Gorda

A view of the North Sound (bitter end, Saba rock, Biras Creek, richard Branson's Necker Island) from the highest point on the island. We did an awesome hike to the top to get this photo.