In my last post, I left off after our trip to Road Town. With the rental car, our range of travel extended exponentially. Along with the car, we acquired a basic map of Tortola and we set off to explore every corner of it. One memorable drive was out to Smugglers Cove. The road turned out to be what can only be described as a dusty track. We weren’t even 100% sure that we were on the right road, but as there wasn’t anywhere to turn around we just kept going. It was worth the trip when we emerged to a beautiful grassy treed area by the ocean. We had a lovely day playing on the sand and in the water. There was even a bar – can’t remember if it was open or closed, but parked beside it was one of Ernest Hemmingway’s old cars. What history!
I don’t remember the names of all the beaches we visited but mostly they were off the beaten track and mostly fairly isolated. At one beach a local fisherman called us over to see a barracuda swimming in the shallow waters. It was a very nasty looking fish with huge pointed teeth. We didn’t go swimming at that beach.
At another beach, we were very surprised to see a line of cows come wandering down the sand. We spoke with one of the two young men who were leading them. Apparently the beach was a short cut from one field to another and the cows made the trek each day to the greener pasture. We didn’t swim at that beach either.
One of our best days was a trip to Virgin Gorda. We took the inter-island ferry to this neighbouring island. Other tourists on the ferry planned to do an organized bus tour but we had opted for independent travel plans. I’m not sure just how we came up with our own plan but we did. We had arranged for a taxi to meet us when the ferry docked and we took off with our picnic lunch and snorkeling gear for a more secluded beach.
When the taxi driver dropped us off at the side of the road he promised to be back in time for us to catch the last ferry back to Tortola. We waved goodbye and then followed a little bush track at the end of which was the opening to a cave or grotto. This was what we were looking for.
Inside the cave there was a short stretch of sand and an area of shallow water to the back of the cave. We had been told that at the rear of the cave there was a hidden exit around the bend in the rock and if we followed this it would lead us to the ocean and then around to an adjacent beach.
I was a bit hesitant but Lyle and the kids were excited and were soon wading out to the hidden exit and whatever lay beyond it. When the three of them disappeared from sight, I gathered up our dry belongings and headed back through the bush to the beach. It seemed like forever before I saw them coming towards me from the waves. They were even more excited than before and encouraged me to swim the ocean loop back to the cave.
Although I’m a pretty decent swimmer, I’m not one for snorkeling. I don’t like the feel of the mouth piece. Anyway, I was talked into doing the trip in reverse. Jonathan and Jenny stayed on the beach and Lyle led me back into the water.
I am so glad that I got my nerve up to do this. The swim was amazing. I think that I have mentioned that my sight was already diminished, but the goggles seemed to magnify the brilliantly coloured fish and coral formations. Lyle swam beside me to lead me back to the ocean entrance of the cave. It was fantastic. When we finally caught the ferry back to Tortola, while the other tourists were talking about the fish they had eaten for lunch, we were still filled with the remembrance of the fish and coral formations we had seen underwater.
We had another chance to do some snorkeling when we took a sail boat around some of the smaller islands. Because of the cancellation of another family, we ended up being the only passengers on board and we had a gloriously relaxed day. The boat was crewed by the owner/captain, his friend and eight-year-old son. Around noon, the captain dropped anchor near a small, uninhabited island. He invited us to put on our snorkeling gear and explore while he prepared our lunch.
Once we climbed down the boat’s ladder, we found ourselves in the middle of a school of tiny silver fish. It was like swimming in a capsule. The fish would move out of our way as we stroked forward and then swarm in behind us again as we passed. In retrospect, it’s likely a good thing that there weren’t any larger predators – sharks or maybe barracudas around. Fortunately, I didn’t have this thought at the time and was just able to enjoy the underwater experience.
There are lots of little snippets that stand out in memory of this unique family holiday. I am enjoying remembering so if you are also interested in reading of my memories, I will share a couple more in my next post.
There is a picture with this post. The picture is a view of Cane Garden Bay on Tortola. This is the area where we had our cabin. The ocean was really as blue as it shows in the picture.
 |
| Cane Garden Bay on Tortola |
No comments:
Post a Comment