From: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP6
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 

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Gorda  Yacht  Harbor,  a stop we had not planned. Am I glad we had to  
stop.  We decided to do our laundry and see a little of Spanish Town.  
The  laundromat  was  among many little shops right in the marina. We  
paid  the  attendant,  Merlyn,  and put our clothes in the washer and  
walked  out to the cafe just outside the door. I was surprised to see  
a  television  set  with CNN. The cafe was advertising a Monday Night  
Football  party. It seemed strange to think that people this far from  
USA,  on  this  beautiful  island,  would  sit and watch TV. However,  
Chris  and  I  sat  down  and ordered a Bushwacker. We also asked our  
waitress  to  go  into the laundromat and give Merlyn a drink. Merlyn  
had a soft drink. After our drink, we went back in to our clothes. 

For  dinner,  we  walked to Chez Michelle, which is 2 blocks from the  
marina.  It  is  owned by a man from Canada. Our waitress, Janis, was  
delightful,  and  I  think we were her entertainment for the evening.  
My  husband  asked  for hot sauce, and she brought it, and watched in  
amazement  as  he put it on his food. "Too much. Too much", she said,  
shaking  her head as she walked away. After our meal, my husband told  
her  she  was  a  good  cook.  She  said, "Oh no, I do not cook. If I  
cooked,  I  would  not have time to serve you", obviously not knowing  
we were joking with her.  

The  next day, we put a reef in the main and set out for Virgin Gorda  
Sound.  It  was an exciting, crazy ride, especially since the passage  
is  tricky  into  Gorda  Sound.  However,  we found the entrance well  
marked.  We chose a buoy at Vixen Point and took the dinghy into Saba  
Rock  (Pirate's Pub) for beverage and sandwich. It is a unique place.  
A  very  small island, with just this pub on it. Again, very friendly  
people,  and  beauty  everywhere. It began to rain, so we headed back  
to the boat for the night.  

The  next  morning,  we took the dinghy in to the Bitter End. This is  
the  type  of  place  you see in movies. What a beautiful resort. The  
first  thing  we saw was a large water pen, with sharks, sea turtles,  
tarpon  and  other  large fish. Like a huge wading pen for fish. They  
were  fun to watch. They had big "castles", where the fish could hide  
to  get  away from the light and sun. We walked through the shops and  
found  one with fresh bakery bread. When back on the boat, along came  
a  garbage  pick  up  boat. He took our garbage for $2.00. That was a  
nice  touch.  We  are  now  off  to Jost Van Dyke. It was a beautiful  
downwind   sail,   and   we  sailed  with  jib  only.  I  felt  great  
anticipation,  since  Jost  Van Dyke and Cane Garden Bay were the two  
places  I  most looked forward to on this trip. I had my video camera  
going,  and  my  Panoramic camera almost all used up. Wish time could  
stand still.  

After  a  beautiful  sail,  we  anchored in Great Harbor. We took the  
dinghy  in  to the famous FOXY'S. The bar was small with only about 5  
chairs  at  the  bar. There was a larger area, with a sand floor, and  
picnic  tables  and  benches.  The  famous  Foxy  was singing. He was  
captivating.  

The  next  day,  we motored to Cane Garden Bay. It was very difficult  
motoring,  as the seas were against us. Although it was only 5 miles,  
it  seemed  like 50. It was cloudy and dark, but as we looked back at  
Sandy  Cay,  it was sunny there. Cane Garden Bay is one of the nicest  
bays  we  visited.  The  homes  scattered among the hills looked very  
well  kept.  We anchored and took the dinghy to shore and had burgers  
and  drinks  at  Paradise  Club. We played darts and visited with the  
other  patrons.  Then  we  walked  up and down the beach and did more  
shopping.  

We  decided  to  go  back to the boat to freshen up before dinner. We  
waited  for  a  break  in the large waves, and pushed the dinghy off.  
This  was  a  mistake,  because the dinghy was swamped with water. My  
video  camera,  with all my precious film and my camera were swimming  
in  water.  My  husband, trying to comfort me, said that this was one  
more  reason  to come back next year. But I was down in the dumps for  
the  rest  of  the  night.  We got back to the boat and dried out our  
wallets,  passports,  travelers  checks,  etc.  We  sat  and  enjoyed  
watching  the  pelicans  diving  for fish in the huge surf. All night  
long,  we  were  serenaded by a steel drum band that was entertaining  
on shore. 

Next  day,  it was time to go back to Nanny Cay and turn in the boat.  
Could  ten  days  have  gone by already. Yes, I guess it had. We were  
all  saying,  "OK, OK", without even thinking. Walk on left, drive on  
left.  Bushwackers. Snorkeling. White Sand. Sleeping Under The Stars.  
Warm,  Smiling Faces of Natives. Cows and Goats in the Street. Is all  
this really over? Time to leave.. 

BVI, Virgin Gorda by David Nussbaum 
----------------------------------- 
We  travelled to Virgin Gorda. with our three young kids in November.  


Upon  our  arrival  we  encountered  some confusion regarding our car  
rental,  but  we  were  quickly accommodated by L&S rental. The 8 day  
cost  for  a  4-door  sedan  was  $350.  Because  it was dark when we  
arrived one of the rental people accompanied us to our villa.  

We  stayed  at Mango Bay Resort in a 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom unit with  
and  outdoor  shower.  The villa slept 6 comfortably. The unit was 50  
feet  from  the  beach. Food was readily available at the two markets  
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