The thrills of the Pirates of the Caribbean......in paradise!

Tortola, British Virgin Islands - Monday 25/04/2011

The thrills of the Pirates of the Caribbean........in paradise!

How beautiful was the early morning cruise ( set the alarm for 6am so we could be up on deck! ) through the islands of the United States Virgin Islands of St Thomas and St John , and then on to Tortola, the largest island in the British Virgin Islands, docking at Road Town at 9.30am. Tortola has a population of 17,000. Road Town is the territory’s commercial centre and the seat of its government. The BVI’s boasts the most islands in the Caribbean with 50 stunning isles, islets and cays dotting the crystal clear waters, grouped together in such close proximity that it’s easy to visit more than one BVI in one relaxed day. 

Our object today was to explore Tortola and what an exciting exploration it was aboard our trusty open sided bus,“The Pirates of the Caribbean”, which took us on a wild ride around the narrow, steep roads viewing the islands unique natural beauty and the charm of its village communities (and they drive on the right side of the road! - being British!). Breathtaking mountains rise from the sea and soft strips of land cling to its shore. Even though the BVI is British territory the island has a more West Indian flavour and many of the homes and buildings are Caribbean style.

Come and enjoy the ride and see the sights with us ........

We were entertained tonight by the very talented Norwegian Dawn Show Band and Ariel Jacobe with a “Tribute to Frank Sinatra”. 

Heading into the Sir Francis Drake Channel towards the British Virgin Islands
Passing St Thomas, the United States Virgin Islands

Sunrise and Tortola!
Doing my morning walk - 8 times around the Promenade deck = 5 klms
Lovely watching the islands glide by and the sun sparkling on the water!

Passing St John, BVI's

Approaching Tortola - Great Thatch, Little Thatch and Frenchman's Cay in foreground
off the west end of the island. Sage Mountain sits behind.

Tortola showing of her stunning mountainous terrain

What fantastic views!

St John is left behind as we churn up the channel to dock at Tortola

Peter Island across the Channel from Tortola

Catamaran enjoying the beautiful morning sailing across the Channel from Peter Island to Tortola

Docking in Road Harbour, Road Town hugging the shore
The colour of the water was amazing!

Greeted by a local songster!

Tortola is famous for its spices - the most popular shop in town!

The memorial to commemorate the end of slavery takes pride of place in Road Town.
Slavery was abolished in 1834 in the British West Indies. 

View of Guana Island from Mt Healthy

White Bay and beach on Guana Island

Great Camanoe Island in background

White Bay is a popular spot for day tripping on boats and yachts

Homes and hotels overlooking Lambert and Josiah's Bay on the north side of Tortola

Road Town from Sage Mountain
The end of St John Is in background
The Dawn looks very tiny from way up here! 

Brewer's Bay

Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay is the most popular beach on Tortola

Descending the mountain to Cane Garden Bay

Enjoying the sun and the water at Cane Garden Bay

A very relaxing scene!

Strolling along the beach

Enjoying a Strawberry Daiquiri on the beach 

"Pain Killer" is the famous drink of Tortola .
It's title is self explanatory!  

Local beach markets

Our trusty steed for the day - the Pirate of the Caribbean!
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Our driver liked scraping along the mountain sides and squeezing past other
vehicles on the very narrow mountainous roads!  Thrills but no spills luckily!

The famous Callwood Rum Distillery, housed in a stone plantation era building.
The distillery still produces rum in much the same fashion that it did over two centuries ago.
Google it and watch the UTube film showing how they do it! Very interesting!

The tasting room - boy, it packs a punch!

The origin still is still used

The beautiful stone plantation building

A Breadfruit tree.
These were grown to feed the slaves.

West End of the island

The coast road heading back to Road Town

Apple Bay Hotel beach

Nature's art along Long Bay!

The Bomba Shack
"Bomba built his shack on the beach in Cappoons Bay, (beside Apple Bay and often misspelled as Capoon's Bay) Tortola in 1976. Not having a lot of money for building supplies, he used driftwood, pieces of tin roofing, broken surf boards and anything else he was able to scrounge or which happened to wash up on the beach. The end result is a distinctly eclectic, ever changing, collage of trash ... which somehow works!"

"Bomba's Shack quickly became a popular hangout for surfers and hosts various surfing competitions. In 1989, he decided to hold full moon parties, a tradition which continues today. Much like an island style tailgate party, the full moon party takes place on the road between Bomba's two buildings and provides an excellent opportunity for people watching, limin' and having a great time!"

Pusser's Landing at Soper's Hole

Yachts moored at Pusser's Landing

The British Virgin Islands
Columbus in 1493 encountered these dozens of virtually untouched islands and he called them
Las Once Mil Las Virgine  after the legendary St Ursula and the 11,000 virgins.
The Dutch settled on the western end of Tortola in the mid 17th century, and later they were supplanted
by the British who annexed the small archipelago to the Leeward Islands in 1672.
These early settlers built cotton and sugar plantations and used slave labour brought from Africa.

Some of the locals homes - a lot very poor

Famous Caribbean musician! - T-Shirts everywhere

Quaint house

The main street in Road Town

Colourful Caribbean style shops

The homes of the more affluent perched high on the hill

Sunset over Road Town

Leaving Tortola and heading back out into the Channel

Peter Island at sunset

Sunset and Sea Cows Bay - beautiful sight as we glided away from lovely Tortola

Tribute to Frank Sinatra in the Atrium