Monday, January 30, 2017

Hurry up and Wait

We have made the decision to make the leap over to St. Martin / Sint Maarten. Now we have to wait for a weather window. Waiting for the Christmas Winds to abate.

It turned out it was  a two week wait. So what do we do while we are waiting? Check things off our BVI/Virgin Gorda bucket list.

We have had Rhapsody for two years now, and the vast majority of that time she has been in the BVI. We have been able to see and do many things here, but there have been some things that we either still had on our list, or wanted to experience again. There were several dive sites that we wanted to return to, but the high winds and waves prevented that, so those will have to remain on the list for another visit here.

We were fortunate to have friends here to wait with, sharing the need to get off the boat and explore. Robin and Mike on Mermaid are also in North Sound,
North Sound, Virgin Gorda , BVI

 waiting to make the passage to St. Martin.
Official North Sound Welcoming Committee with Mermaid to the right



 North Sound is the home of the famous "Bitter End Yacht Club" (BEYC)  and we have taken advantage of their grounds and their restaurants. We spent an afternoon watching kite boarders skim over the reefs, jumping and twirling, turning and scooting. Kite boards are the evolution of the sail boarding that Bob and I used to do. I wonder if we would have transitioned to kites if we had continued.


We had the chance to do several hikes in the area. We hiked behind the BEYC
The trail goes up and around this hill

and also on Prickly Pear Island.



 We rented a car for the day and toured much of Virgin Gorda. Hiking Gorda Peak has been on our to do list ever since we started coming to the BVI, but it has eluded us until now. The hike itself is not very long (half an hour to the top) but the views are spectacular. There is a viewing platform at the summit that raises you above the tree tops. On a clear day you can see all of the islands of the BVI and as far as St. Croix. We did not have that clarity, but we still enjoyed what we could see.

We climbed around the rocks at The Baths
and visited the ruins of the Copper Mines and the Sugar Mill.

We have now "done" Virgin Gorda and are ready to move on.

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