Departing St John. Our downstairs neighbors, Kathy and Sandy, from Balboa Island. They are also going on the cross Atlantic cruise on the new ship next year.
Tortola, BVI
We back-tracked a little
for this stop at Tortola which is actually only 12 miles across the sea from
Virgin Gorda, our first stop. Road Harbor, our port, is the capitol of the
British Virgin Islands. The city is more prosperous looking than some of
our ports, with lots of new construction and major businesses. Only ships
in our size can dock at Wickham Cay so we were not surrounded by the huge ships.
There was only one other, a European ship about our size. It made it easier to
get around. First we walked around the harbor to see the pleasure boats
and then we hired a cab to take us up to Skyworld, which is one of the highest
points and has views of the whole island. Then we went to Cane Garden Bay
which is a very popular beach. Our driver was an elderly gentleman who had
lived in New York for a few years, then moved back to St Thomas and worked in a
pilot boat for 35 years. He thought he would retire back home on Tortola,
but ended up having to drive a cab to make ends meet. He was a slow and
cautious driver, but on those steep and narrow roads, maybe not such a bad idea.
The ship departed early today, 4pm rather than 6pm. There was a cocktail
party for repeat clients and 400 of the 680 on board were included. This
line has built their business on loyalty and repeat customers and it seems to
have worked. They said that they had been able to survive the last couple
of years and indeed, have built one new, larger ship and are building another
for use in June 2012. Our friends from IL and IA were honored for having
done 5 cruises and got to have dinner with the captain. Since this ship
line is all open-dining (no formal nights, no specific dinner seatings), eating
with the captain is not a common event.
Departing St John. Our downstairs neighbors, Kathy and Sandy, from Balboa
Island. They are also going on the cross Atlantic cruise on the new ship
next year.
The harbor in Road Town, Tortola.
Shots on the way to Skyworld and down towards Cane Garden Bay.
Cane Garden Bay. There were danger warnings and the tide was in.
On the road back to the harbor.
Back aboard ship and preparing to leave.
Casting off, the pilots leaving and motoring through the islands on
to the next stop, the Dominican Republic.