Tortola is a mountainous island and we have always said that we think the BVIs are some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. In addition to Tortola, (which is about 20 square miles and a population of about 20,000) there are more than 50 other islands, rocks and crags in the BVI chain, most fairly small and uninhabited. Tortola is a British Colony, just like Bermuda, with the main commerce being banking, insurance and tourism.
I was up on deck early as we sailed through the BVIs into Tortola, and it brought back memories of arriving on Heat Wave after an overnight sail from St Martin.
We rented a car for the day and, as experts on Tortola, played travel guide to some friends of ours from the ship, stopping at various places around the island including the Bomba Shack:
and Cane Garden Bay, where the children had fun snorkeling.
It was strange to see so few boats (if any) in the bays. Normally this is such a busy place for boaters, but not in hurricane season!! Without the cruise ship in town, a lot of the tourist places would have been shut.
and Cane Garden Bay, where the children had fun snorkeling.
It was strange to see so few boats (if any) in the bays. Normally this is such a busy place for boaters, but not in hurricane season!! Without the cruise ship in town, a lot of the tourist places would have been shut.
We dropped Jimmy at the airport to fly back to NY, hoping that he would soon be back with us, before heading back to the ship and sailing out of the Virgin Islands, minus one passenger. We were getting to be experts at signing Jimmy off cruise ships…….
