last night

            Some time yesterday I had been bitten by ants, didn't think anything of it. My feet and ankles began to swell and I had some trouble breathing. We went to the store and got some antihistamine. This seemed to work. Some time during the night I was walking home by my self from, I guess, a bar. As I walked, I felt that my ankle was burning. I reached down to scratch and I ended up tearing a hand full of flesh from the bone, I had never experienced anything quite like this. I sat down and held the exposed ankle with both hands trying to contain the bleeding. I wished my friends and family were here. As I sat slipping into a state of shock, an islander came to me , I thought, to help me. He asked me my name and where I was from. The next thing I remember I had been offered a job to cook on boats that were visiting, paying me good money to make sure everyone was having a great time. As I was negotiating my pay, a rooster started to crow. I thought for a minute that I recognized that rooster, he was making quite a ruckus. I wanted to throw a rock at him. I could not concentrate on what they said the agreement was. Shut the fuck up I yelled as I sat up in my bed in this dark room awaken again by that mother fucking rooster
            Today is our last day in Tortola BVI, we made no plans except to go to our favorite beach to snorkel and lay in the sun. We did just that then had lunch from a little bar shack down a piece from where we were set up. We were at that beach from about ten am to four thirty pm. That's almost a full work day.

Happy Hour

feeling we had enough we headed back to get cleaned up for dinner. We had a cocktail or to and loaded into the car and headed for Cruzin, a great little restaurant road side. We ordered apps and entrees. My sister said I wasn't allowed dessert tonight. I said fine but that she had to go to the Bomba Shack after. She agree and I stuck to the deal. I don't know what the apps were that we ordered, but they were killer. I ordered my usual Caesar salad and the entree was a stuffed pepper.

My friend had a mushroom pizza



My sister had the Creole Mahi

My brother in law had the local lobster, his meal came out several minutes after ours, we could hear them out behind the kitchen beating the shit outta that poor lobster. I didn't get a picture but he said it was very good. At this point dinner was over. I held to the bargain. We now had to head to the bomba shack. They are known throughout the BVI for their Bomba Punch.

we went in to the sandy floored joint and asked the girl behind the bar for a round of bomba punches. She smiled big and said "good good" she took a container from under the bamboo bar and poured a little into each glass then she added 151 rum topped with fruit juice. My friend asked what that was she put in the drink, she said rum and juice, my friend said "the first stuff you put in" and the girl just smiled and said " you feel good, you feel good". She was right. As I stood in amazement by this place I noticed that there was nothing but panties hanging from the ceiling. This was the perfect end to an awesome retreat. We made it home, everyone got them selves organized for the full day of travel tomorrow. I'm counting on that fucking rooster to make sure I'm up in time. See you tomorrow USA.

Friday

            Once again, that mother fucking rooster woke my ass up at five thirty am. That's cool though because I got plans for him before I leave this Island. We didn't really have anything planned we each kinda had a couple things left to do on our "bucket list' My last thing to do was to visit the Callwood Rum Distillery.

As we pulled in you could smell the rum. We parked in one of the couple spaces available and went inside, we were greeted by the son of the Callwood family. The Callwoods have owned the distillery that was four hundred years old for the past two hundred. He was a sharp kid with the history of the distillery. At the end of his speech the bastard talked me into a twenty dollar bottle of ten year old rum. He told us that they make a special rum using extra sugar cane for the ladies. He said they call it the pantie dropper. This kid was good, thought he would sell me one of those too. Cant see me dropping my panties so that ain't happening.

We left there did a little swimming and laid in the sun. For the most part it was an uneventfully day. It was getting to be late afternoon, we all were hungry so we went to this swim club that had a swim up bar and decided that this was where we were to have lunch. We dove in the pool without paying attention and there was no water, don't be dumb, there was water, but there was a captains safety course going on. It didn't slow us from swimming up to the bar. After a couple vodka and Tings we were ready to go sit at a table to eat. I ordered a bacon cheese burger, The waiter said "no Bacon" ok I'll have the chili cheese burger. That was the move because when we stuff all five of us in that car to head on the roller coaster of a road home, I was going to win that round of Gas Chamber. The streets were crowded both rush hour and Carnival. Carnival is the two week long festival that celebrates the emancipation of slavery in 1838. we actually saw Miss BVI drive by in a convertible waving to every one. Anyway we get home and we have a after a hard day at the beach drink. We all had some me time We all showered up and got ready to head out to Pussers Landing for dinner. The place was very nice, our table and surroundings were beautiful all up in the marina.

We ordered drinks and took a look at the menu. There was lots to choose from and with this crew it was going to be while before we would be ready to order. My sister decided to go for a walk on the docks and check out the shops. When she returned She said Ooo you got a Presidente, at first I was going to thank her for noticing then I thought "gross, that's my sister" then I realized she was talking about the beer I had ordered. Now its time to order the food.

I ordered a house Caesar salad then fish and chips. It was killer.

I forgot to get pictures of all the entree

Fish and Chips

You will just have to take my word for it , it was goooood. After we finished the waitress brought over a view finder to look at our choice of desserts in 3D.

Now this was a cruel move, your going to end up ordering something. We thought it would be smart to order  some to share. We got a key Lime pie, Mud Slide pie and a Crazy Coconut.

Feeling sick from all our choices, we needed to get on home. Tomorrow is our last full day, I will try to make it more eventful than today. Then back to the states we come. 

Yesterday and today

                     I apologize for yesterday, when we got back our Internet was down and it just came back on a little while ago. we also loose power once a day. Neither you really need but I sure like filling you in.

Yesterday

               Got up early, had coffee and headed into Road Town to meet a sailboat, The White Squall, that was going to take us to Virgin Gorda where the Baths are and to Cooper Island for some awesome snorkeling. On our way to our first stop was an intense rain squall right in our path, we knew that we were in for a wet time when we saw the captain and the first mate donning foul weather gear. The rain came on us so fast and hard that it stung like I was on my motorcycle. It washed away any remnants of my hangover. As fast as it hit us, it was gone.

The Baths are a unique, a natural phenomenon, of pools and grottoes formed by enormous boulders scattered around on the sandy white beaches. This place was awesome, I know I've used awesome a lot, but if the shoe fits. We spent some time exploring this place. I think we all came out with a skin elbow or a bump on the head. But it was worth it.

We headed back to the beach, caught our ride back to where the White Squall was anchored. The first mate had made lunch, BBQ chicken, saffron rice with chunks of apple and pineapple tossed with peanuts, a garden salad and beer or rum punch. After lunch we set sail and headed for Cooper Island for the best snorkeling yet. We were greeted by a territorial barracuda that stayed deep for us to pass. School of yellow fin tuna swam across our heading. The sea floor changed from deep and grassy to a shallow reef that was full of life and color. Sea anemones, sea urchins, parrot fish in full color were all apart of this amazing show. Water logged we returned to the White Squall.

 After getting everyone back in one piece we set sail back to Tortola. I was exhausted and passed out.

I woke up as we pulled into the marina. It was busy with four large sail boats doing a sailing school for high school students. They were having the time of their life, what a cool school to go to as a kid!. We got home, it was late and we were all tired from the long day of vacationing. I grilled us cheddar burgers topped with lettuce, onion, tomato and avocado, made home fried potatoes with onion, garlic and orange bell pepper and served with cold Heineken. After we ate the sounds of the night once again entranced us, one by one we stumbled off to bed.

Today

              We got up early, had our coffee. I did not wake to the rooster this morning. I was up before that loud bastard. He makes me miss my BB gun. We packed up the car with provisions needed for the trip today. Headed down to a little marina where we rented a power boat. We were headed to Norman Island for a day of hiking, snorkeling and then lunch on the Willie T then more snorkeling. 

               Crossing was choppy and we stayed wet from the water coming over our bow. It was not miserable like you would think, it just got us excited for all the things to come. We made it to Norman Island where we found a beautiful cove that had a bar on the beach but no one was there, no one. A rain squall come over the ridge towards where we were hanging out, we took shelter under the roof of this abandoned bar. Once again the rain stopped as fast as it had started. As the rain cleared we saw several boats coming into the lagoon where we were. Suddenly the beach was full of activities. We found the trails we wanted to hike and left the ruckus behind. We trudged up the side till we reached the top of the ridge where the rain squall had come over earlier. We were surprised at the views and the beauty that was there. Flowers, caterpillars, butterflies and birds. It was all overwhelming.

We made our way back down from the ridge, dove in the water to cool off, then back to the boat to head around the point just past the caves. We tied off to a mooring buoy  and headed out to what now is the best dive that we have done. It seem that each dive is more intense with sea life. after about an hour or so, it was time for Lunch. We are heading to the Willie T.

The Willie T is a steel hulled barge that was made into a restaurant and bar that boats would come from all over to tie up to her, climb up over the side, to be indulged in food and drink. After a couple of margaritas we ordered our lunch. Started with conch fritters as an app, I had the grilled mahi caesar salad.

After this perfect lunch another storm rolled through, we used that time to have another drink and to purchase some t shirts. At this point we are called into the bar where the bartender had made us a shot ski.

A shot ski is a water ski with four shot glasses attached to it. We are feeling good now. Good music, good food, good drink, what more could we ask for, um how about my sister dancing causing captains of boats to change their destination. It was time to leave the Willie T, we will not soon forget this outstanding stop. We headed for home when another storm rolled through. This one had some lightening. I was heading for Tortola so we thought that we would get one more dive in before returning home. The Indians are a rock formation off Pelican Island. We were told that this was a great spot to snorkel. We found a mooring buoy and tied off waiting for the storm to pass far enough away to not be a threat with that lightening. We donned our equipment and went over the side into the deep blue water. We swam towards the Indians and once again the shallower waters came to life. It wasn't long till we rounded the first turn, our boat was now out of sight. We had to swim hard through a current that was fatiguing. At some point i took in some water and it caused me to choke. I pulled my mask off and coughed the water out of my lungs. Panic started to set in and my team was not around, Not sure how we got separated but now I was scared shitless. I have never been afraid of the water until this day. I found a slippery rock to stand on surrounded by large black sea urchins. I just need to catch my breath. My brother in law spotted that I was in trouble, my sister and my friend were swept off around the far end of the Indians. My brother in law made it back to me, he said to follow him back to the boat. He didn't fully understand the fear and fatigue that I had just gone through. We made it about fifty feet when I realized I could not breath, I was done. I looked up one last time out of the water and behold there was another mooring buoy within a few strokes from where I was. I latched on with all I had as my buddy went for help. It seemed like I had hung on there for an hour. I was so happy to see that boat come around the corner, I quickly swam as though my life depended on it, to meet it. I was safe. We headed home to Tortola and told our stories from each perspective, It was scary how ever you looked at it. We followed a rain squall in to Tortola, I was glad to be back on land.

Im heading to bed now thankful to be able to blog.

day three

        

             AWESOME FUCKING DAY! Here's the deal people, in order to have an awesome vacation a couple of thing are key. First and for most you need to deserve it. Second you need the right people to go, family and tight friends are key. Finally the destination is critical. Work your ass off with little or no recognition, get blamed for everything negative and get credit for nothing that may be positive. Only people worthy in you circle and OMG the place!

            
            We got up this morning had our coffee, packed lunches, beer and the car. We had our beaching area set up by ten o'clock am. We were there before Steve (the bartender). Floated around for a bit, laid in the sun, snorkeled, that was the whole day. The tide was low and the water was for the most part flat, this made for a great day of snorkeling, animals in abundance with great visibility. Pelicans diving to feed all around us. Large fish were coming in to feed which kinda sketched me. Around 1230 we sat in some shade under the trees and had lunch. Tuna salad sandwiches with chips and beer. We hiked, swam and layed in the sun some more..

               So many things have different meanings here, Caribbean TV is snorkeling, happy hour is all day and time doesn't matter.

                With beauty comes ugly. A local swam out past where we were snorkeling, he was out for a while. We had gone to shore and were packing up camp, when he worked his way to shore. He had his catch, a lobster and a sea turtle. The lobster I didn't care about , but that beautiful turtle was more than I needed to see. My sister went to them and asked "how much to put the turtle back?" The local said that he didn't know, it was a lot of meat. Where I am proud of my sisters intentions, probably not the place to tree hug. The animal was killed there. The sunset was the same tonight, just not as care free.

              We returned home, unpacked the car, showered and had dinner (dry rubbed ribs, acorn squash, cole slaw and a mango avocado salad). Its ten o'clock and I need to go to bed now, sailing to snorkel spots in the morning. 

day two

          Another intense day, Man I needed some R & R and today I got some. Started out a little ruff, but it ended correctly. Once again everyone is in the bed, but me. I needed to fill you in on the VAY KAY.  I got a little buzz so bear with me.

          We got up early, had some coffee and planed out the day. We needed to get supplies, in order to survive out here, some food but mostly beer and Ice. Ice ain't easy or cheap to come by, but we prioritized and found we could get it. The local grocery store was about 40 minutes away. The roads are steep, narrow and full of pot holes. Worse yet is everyone here drives on the wrong side of the road. Along the way we stopped at the highest point of the island to take a break and check out the view. Man this is some breath taking views, wish the pictures did it justice. We needed to forge on to town.

          Downtown Road Town is the capital of the B V I. Coming from the west end you would not have imagined a city with two traffic signals, yes they have two. We were able to hook up with everything we needed. We got sunglasses, beach towels, Island spices and some Island herb. : )   We managed to track down everything we needed so now it was time to head out of town. There was some construction going on at one of the two traffic circles which caused grid lock in this little coastal city. Finally we made it out of traffic and the terror ride continued.

              We made it back to west end without a scratch but a round of nausea had filled the car as we brought it to an end. We emptied the car of supplies and reloaded it for the beach, you know swim gear, snorkel stuff and got back in the car to go to a beach to spend the rest of the afternoon.

Amazing beach, amazing snorkeling, the only thing missing was a bar. We found a guy, Steve, that had a set up similar to a child's lemonade stand with liquor. We became great friends with Steve. He hooked us on Pain Killers, an awesome rum drink.

             we stayed here till sunset, loaded back into the car and headed home. I made dinner for the five of us. One whole chicken cut up and browned in butter yellow pepper, an Island onion, garlic and jerk seasoning ( that I got from town earlier ) Steamed off some brussel sprouts, don't judge me, not a big variety of vegetables here, tossed in a hot pan with butter, salt, pepper and vinegar. MMMMmmmmmm. Made a salad with Romaine tossed with a tomato , basil, garlic vinaigrette, which I made fresh. For dessert I simmered sliced plantains in a whiskey sauce which again I made. Everyone in bed now completed for the day. Nothing else was needed.

Take a second and close your eyes. Imagine a pitch black tropical forest and the sounds of the frogs, birds and insects loud with their song. Breath in deep the Caribbean air thick with sea and floral aromas, exhale and repeat. For that instant you are here with me. Next year come with me for real.