Friday, May 5th, 2017
For some crazy, insane reason, Marcus and I were up at 5am! It had to have been our subconscious telling us to get up and enjoy our last full day of this incredible trip. Luckily, Capt Rich wasn’t too far behind us, as the plan was to leave behind The Bight and head over to the Indians bright and early, as there are only a handful of mooring balls available.
Today’s breakfast was our usual, plus some delicious Ham, Egg & Cheese Cups. After breakfast we snorkeled the Indians, which was a pretty good snorkel, but not quite as good as some of our earlier snorkeling.
It wasn’t long before there was, what can only be described as a “line” of other charters waiting for their turn at a mooring ball. We headed back over to Norman Island and dropped anchor at Benure Bay. For those who wanted to do some hiking on Norman Island, Captain was willing to dinghy us to shore. Otherwise, we could swim, float or kayak – once again, our time was ours. Marcus and I decided we wanted to do some hiking, as did 4 of our other boat mates. We were getting much better at getting in the dinghy from the boat, but I nearly KO’d myself getting out of the dinghy when we arrived to shore. If it weren’t for Captain Rich and Ed, I would’ve ended up in the water. (Thanks Ed!!)
We headed away from the beach, following the first trail we could find. Though not officially marked, it was easy to make out the well-worn trails. You had to be up for some adventure though, because you had no way of knowing how long any one trail was going to be, or where exactly, you would end up. We followed this trail to a peak, near the top of the island, and the view was breathtaking – overlooking Money Bay.
From there, we headed West, thinking we would eventually end up at another peak, possibly looking over The Bight and the Willy T. About 10 minutes into this next phase, Marcus and I decided we really weren’t in the mood to hike. It was hot, there was no breeze, and all I was wearing was a semi-wet swimsuit, a cover up and flip flops…not exactly appropriate hiking gear. We headed back down towards the beach, and assumed we would just hang out on the beach and float in the water until someone else came down and was ready to head back. Luckily for us, we ran into Capt Rich on his way back down to the dinghy and we hitched a ride with Richard back to the boat.
Marcus and I spent the afternoon hanging around the swim line, floating from one side of the boat to the other.
Our final lunch was grilled BBQ ribs and a spicy potato salad. I cannot wait to make that potato salad this summer! It was delicious.
We spent as much time as we could floating, reading and swimming, before we had to face the harsh reality that this trip was coming to an end. Reluctantly, and very slowly, we returned to our boat for the sail back to the marina at Nanny Cay.
For our last dinner, we would be dining ashore. Most of us decided we would eat at BananaKeet Café for dinner. As usual, Capt Rich took care of everything for us – dinner reservation and round-trip transportation was arranged. George’s Taxi picked us up on time and we were on our way shortly before sunset. BananaKeet Café is located at The Heritage Inn, just above Carrot Bay on Windy Hill, on the island of Tortola. We were there in time to see the sunset, and while this may be the only place I’ve seen the sunset on the BVI, I can only assume this must be one of the best places to watch the sunset on the entire island of Tortola – – the views were breathtaking. Dinner was amazing – Marcus ordered Seafood Extravaganza, a pasta alfredo dish filled with different seafood, while I went with Almond Crusted Chicken. We simply enjoyed the food and the company, as we talked about the highs and lows of this week, and exchanged stories from vacations past and vacations to come.
Our last night was spent docked at the Marina, but that also meant we could sleep without the vibration of the engine generators and still have A/C! Hard to believe the week is over – we head back to St. Thomas in the morning, and back home on Sunday.
Flip Flops & Time Off - Adventures in Travel & Every Day Life 