British Virgin Islands - Part 2

The BVIs have way too many activities to do in one trip alone. While sailing is key in the BVIs, scuba, hiking, snorkeling, power-boating, and kite surfing are also what attract its nearly 1,000,000 visitors annually.

Since people who visit the BVIs view sailing more as a religion than a sport, there was no chance of us saying no when we were offered by a friend to join him on the boat that he rented for the day. For the sport of it, we will call this friend Skipper. The Skipper has a pretty impressive resume for someone who no longer sails the wide open seas. When we boarded our ocean tamer which was perfectly named the Cosmic Warlord, the Skipper told us about his time learning how to sail with a master sailor around the islands of Fiji (I know... Holy crap that is cool). We got a quick lesson in how to trim the sails, jibe, and tack before heading below deck to make some Dark and Stormies. Without warning, we were off the dock and heading for open water. When I heard the word "sailing" in the past, it conjured up thoughts of fit men and women wearing Nautica clothes and lounging on the perfectly-clean wooden deck of a sailboat. Maybe having a cocktail, definitely wearing sunglasses. This is not how sailing is. It is far more erratic and wild than we were lead to believe. Once our boat started to come out from the cove and into open water, the wind curled around the mountain beside us and caught our sails. We took off and I nearly fell overboard. When the wind takes you, the boat tilts sideways, to an almost 90 degree angle and I was not armed with this knowledge. Thankfully I caught my awkward self just before slamming my face into the guard rails.

We sailed around Virgin Gorda for a couple of hours until we arrived in paradise. Paradise in this case was a massive beach that no one else was on (or could get to). This beach was beside a cliff and under the road that takes you from one side of the island to the other. Pretty much the only access to this beach was by boat or by a horrifying fall from the road above. A combination of sailing and arriving to a stunning private beach made for my favorite moment of the whole trip. Please refer to the pictures as I don't have anymore words to describe its (wait, one more word) awesomeness.

Another Virgin Gorda original that we had the pleasure of visiting is know as The Baths. Massive mounds of limestone and volcanic rock have eroded into a natural grotto after years of ocean water rushing up onto it from the beach. This unique rock formation and its narrow tunnels through pure blue water can seem claustrophobic if you are scared of that sorta thing. We got there around 10am, which was right before the hordes of tourists showed up. The Baths can easily be appreciated as one of the rare wonders of the world, until you get caught in a large crowd of tourists. Then The Baths become a tourist trap... Literally! Maneuvering around and sometimes over large boulders is tricky, but throw in 25 Alabama tourists and you immediately want to leave, but cannot. Luckily we were tipped off about this and got there before the rush. It is worth a visit, but make sure you get there in the morning.

After the hustle of careful maneuvering between massive rocks, we were all looking for something a bit more peaceful for our last adventure in the Caribbean. Even though I had never been scuba diving, it sounded like a good idea to give it a try. I was able to get a quick certification from the Bitter End Yacht Club that took less than an hour. I was a little nervous to go at first, but the thought of how many people go scuba diving set my mind at ease. If all f these people go and love it, why wouldn't I? I did love it and cant wait to go scuba diving again. Not only is it a peaceful experience, but you get to see so much wildlife. Sea turtles, lobster, parrot fish, clown fish, and angel fish were some of the things we saw during our 40 minute dive.

All in all, Virgin Gorda was a fantastic time. If you ever decide to go see it for yourself, I would recommend trying something new. Be it sailing, scuba, or getting drunk at Foxy's the British Virgin Islands is loaded with good times.