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The first few months of 2004 were
absolutely crazy, but not in a good way. I worked every day,
including nights and weekends, and often in my sleep. So when
it was finally over, Andy suggested a long weekend somewhere
warm. So on Tuesday I called American Airlines attempting
to get frequent flyer tickets. "It has to be warm, it
can't be a spring break destination, and no more than one
connection." Amazingly enough, three days later, with
a carry-on bag full of bathing suits and sunscreen, we were
on our way to Tortola :) THIS is why we have cats instead
of children :))
We'd never been in high season, and in fact we'd only been
to Tortola as a starting point for bareboat
charters. A quick search on Expedia
and the Traveltalk
bulletin board led us to Sebastian's.
Located in Little Apple Bay, this 26 room hotel is about as
far away from our hectic life as we could get - without going
to Jost Van Dyke :) It was a bit of a hoof from the Beef Island
airport, and the cab driver wasn't that happy about taking
us all the way out there, but it was worth it.
Our room (#6) was literally 10 feet from the water meaning
we slept to the sound of the waves. And about the waves...there
actually were some - complete with surfers and all. Little
Apple Bay is also home to the Sugar
Mill hotel and the Bomba
shack (although we missed the full moon party by 3 days).
We never saw more than a few other people - this is definitely
what I needed to recover from the craziness.
Although we had everything we needed within 100 feet (beach,
bar, restaurant serving lobsters as big as your torso, and
a "superette" for supplies such as rum and bug repellent),
we did actually leave our little beach a few times. One afternoon
we hiked over the hill to Long Bay and Smugglers Cove (great
beach and enough waves to be fun but not dangerous), and another
afternoon we took a taxi to Cane Garden Bay. We now know why
it's not the best overnight anchorage - there's actually surf!
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| The Baths, Virgin Gorda |
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We also spent a day at the Baths on Virgin Gorda. Yeah, yeah-
we've been there before (in 1997
and in 2001)
but we still love it. This time we hiked past Devils Bay and
were surprised to find that there are 2 or 3 more nice secluded
coves. We wonder how many people just stop at the bottom of
the trail and never even see the grottos in the boulders on
the trail to Devils Bay. We had the place to ourselves until
about noon, when a group of obvious CSP's (cruise ship passengers)
arrived. Lots of hairy men and women smoking cigarettes, wearing
brightly colored speedos...what the heck type of cruise is
this?? It's the "sailing ship" (air quotes because
we're not sure if this boat ever sails) Club Med II. We quickly
retreated to the Top of the Baths restaurant, which still
serves fantastic bushwackers.
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