Calendar:

17.01.2022 - 27.01.2022
Blue Latitude Garden Suite, Long Bay, West End, BVI

17.01.2022
Flight from St. Martin to British Virgin Islands, Tortola, Car rental

18.01.2022
Tour of Western Tortola, Road Town, Smuggler's Cove beach

19.01.2022
Cane Garden Bay

20.01.2022
East End Tortola, Accident

Highlights:

For the British Virgin Islands (BVI, Tortola), we again needed a COVID test that is up to 48 hours old upon entry. We flew out on Monday afternoon (17.01.2022, 12:30), all pharmacies (that perform Covid tests) in St. Martin are already closed on Saturday afternoon. However, at the airport we found a test center that is also open on Sundays. The result can be obtained immediately on site, it is available after fifteen minutes. Both tests were negative again, we were relieved, as was our wallet (by 220 dollars)...

After the tests, we relaxed by the pool the rest of the day on Sunday. Robert and Bernadette, our apartment neighbors from Normandy, offered to drive us to the airport on Monday, and in return we gave them our leftover groceries and 2 bottles of wine. Robert then followed us to the scooter rental and then drove us to the Juliana Departure Terminal. Vive la France!

At 12:30 we took off with Winair's small propeller plane. Upon takeoff, the pilot performed a perfect wheelie that had been announced with hand signals, he must have practiced that on a motorcycle beforehand. The aircraft had only 29 seats, but there were only 7 passengers plus the pilot and copilot; when the plane is fully booked, it will be really crowded, but this way each passenger had a whole row of seats to themselves. The passage to the cockpit was open. So during the flight, we could watch the two pilots and enjoy the great view. We had just taken off when the descent to the Terrence B. Lettsome airport on Beef island began (flight time 40 minutes).

The entry into the BVI was structured and efficient. However, the car rental companies at the airport are closed due to Corona and no one from Hertz (the rental company) was present when we arrived. In front of the terminal, a few bored taxi drivers were hanging around. After we had unsuccessfully tried to reach Hertz by phone (no one answered the given number), the taxi drivers somehow contacted Hertz through another number and told us that an agent would come in about half an hour...

Indeed, this person showed up after about 40 minutes, and we were finally able to pick up our jeep. By the way, left-hand traffic applies on Tortola, which takes some getting used to, especially when turning right. It is also illogical that most cars are still right-hand drive (including our jeep).

Our accommodation, the Blue Latitude Garden Suite, is located in the far west of the island. So on the way there, we already crossed the entire Tortola, and the drive for the approximately 25 km took a total of about 45 minutes. Pinky, the landlady, was waiting for us in front of the Tropical Fusion Restaurant near the accommodation. After a short greeting, she asked us to follow her with our jeep to the accommodation. When I started the engine, there was total silence, nothing happened. Pinky opened the hood of our jeep, shook the battery around, and lo and behold, the jeep started right up again. Luckily, she was there, so we now knew how to start the car again. We also helped a bit with some WD-40 later on.

After settling into our apartment, we went to the nearest grocery store and stocked up on supplies for the coming days. In the evening, we were too lazy to cook, so we preferred to treat ourselves at the Tropical Fusion, the food there is excellent, by the way. Our apartment is a bit outdated and overcrowded in terms of furnishings, typical English style, which is not really our thing. But at least we are spoiled with a huge terrace and great views with the sound of the deep sea and a grill included. Since we are always outside except for sleeping, it works.

On the second day, we explored the western side all the way to Road Town, the capital of Tortola. Near our apartment, we passed through a small village called Little Carrot Bay. After a curve, my heart almost stopped. In front of us, unmistakably unique, a gigantic Uru towered into the sky. So we had actually found what we were looking for on our search, and we actually found the descendants of the Tahitian Urus in the Caribbean, but it almost made us feel a bit homesick for Tahiti again.

Final conclusion:

Tortola, like Tahiti, is very mountainous. Unlike Tahiti, however, buildings are constructed up into and over the mountains here, and the roads always run straight, so gradients of up to 30 percent are not uncommon. In the western part of the island, the roads are mostly no longer paved. Therefore, we have decided not to rent scooters here and instead prefer to drive with the jeep. This way, we also do not have to worry about the transfer to the airport, as we can return the jeep directly there on 28.01.2022.

Only a few tourists stay on Tortola for a longer period of time, quite different from Aruba or St. Martin. The majority of tourists arrive in Road Town with cruise ships; they are then transported around the island as part of day trips in open tourist buses. So if you are looking for solitude in the Caribbean, you will definitely find it here in Tortola. Overall, Tortola exudes a certain mystique, and the locals are very authentic and friendly.

In Tortola too, Irma left its mark. However, most houses have already been rebuilt. There are no large hotel complexes here, only a few smaller apartment complexes. Really charming!

On 20.01.2022, we explored the eastern side of Tortola. As everywhere on Tortola, steep and narrow mountain roads lead there. Apparently, another one of those floating breeding machines had arrived. Several of the pimped-up and oversized tourist buses came towards us. And then it happened: A reckless driver of one of these driving monstrosities apparently wanted to impress his passengers especially and raced towards us, cutting the curves at excessive speed. When we crossed paths, he simply shaved off our right side mirror. There was a loud bang, and shards flew into the interior of our jeep. Luckily, we were not injured. The bus and we stopped, and the whole mentally disabled tourist mob naturally sided with the arrogant bus driver and loudly stated that we were driving too far to the right. We insisted that the police come by, but the bus driver apparently did not feel like it and fled. Sylvia wanted to take a picture of him, but he stubbornly refused to take part in an in-depth photo shoot.

Except for the broken and destroyed side mirror, our jeep had no further damage. So after exploring the eastern side of Tortola, we went to Road Town and promptly found a Suzuki dealership there (of course thanks to Google Maps). The new side mirror cost us $190, we can handle that, Covid tests are more expensive. In addition, the mechanic also repaired the battery, great service! However, the side mirrors of our jeep now have different colors, I wonder if the landlord will notice anything when we return the car.

Best regards!

Piep, piep... oh non, le soleil, la plage et la mer n'taient qu'un rve?! Non, le stupide rveil a vraiment sonn pendant les vacances. Stephan a dj tir les rideaux et nous avons vu le soleil se battre lentement la surface. Totalement fatigu avec nos affaires prtes, nous avons march vers le buffet de petit-djeuner, o une animation dj rgnait. Je n'ai pas pu manger beaucoup. Au Zebra Bar, c'tait le point de rencontre et beaucoup de gens s'taient dj assembls. Schwgi et Danny sont arrivs un peu plus tard. Peu avant 8 heures, la masse s'est mise en mouvement vers les bateaux de service. Les canots de sauvetage prvus pouvaient transporter 120 personnes et pour pouvoir tous les transporter, ils avaient besoin de deux bateaux. Cependant, d'aprs les autres, il semble que cela se soit droul rapidement et de faon ordonne, contrairement l'Aida en Amrique du Sud. Nous avons mis environ 20 minutes pour atteindre l'le principale, Tortola, avec la capitale Roadtown. L, directement au quai, se trouvaient le NCL Epic et le Disney Fantasy, qui taient beaucoup plus grands que notre navire. J'aurais bien aim essayer les toboggans sur le navire Disney. Ce taient des tubes en verre dans lesquels on pouvait passer avec des rgnes. Malheureusement, notre bateau de service n'offrait pas beaucoup d'espace et nous avons tous t trs contents de pouvoir descendre. Aprs quelques difficults d'amarrage, tout le monde a pu ter sur le quai. Ensuite, nous avons t guids vers le speedboat, qui nous a emmens Virgin Gorda. Nous avons eu un peu de chance et avons dgot les derniers siges l'ombre sur le pont ensoleill. La traverse a dur environ une demi-heure. Nous sommes passs devant notre navire de croisire, qui trnait majestueusement dans l'eau. Une fois arrivs sur l'le, nous avons t chargs dans des camions avec des amnagements assises. Heureusement, le trajet n'a pas dur trop longtemps à travers la fort verte et les mauvaises routes. Devant le parc national, on pouvait choisir entre se dtendre sur la plage ou une visite de la 'Devils Cave'. Les grandes formations rocheuses lisses sur la plage sont appeles 'The Baths'. Nous avons choisi la partie plus difficile et avons suivi le guide jusqu'aux grottes du diable. Les bords du chemin taient denses en cactus, palmiers, aloe vera et beaucoup d'autres plantes vertes. Le chemin descendait progressivement et tait en partie trs glissant. Une dame plus ge a mme gliss et Stephan l'a rattrape. Le couple de Stuttgart derrire nous l'a aussi aide, ce qu'elle a toutefois accept avec rticence. Une fois arrivs en bas, nous nous sommes dcoupls du groupe et nous nous sommes posts devant les rochers. La vue sur la mer et les criques de plage est magnifique. Ce tronon de l'le ne fait pas sans raison partie des plus belles plages des Carabes. Maintenant, nous tions prts pour le tour autour des rochers. Pour cela, nous devions balancer entre les rochers, monter et descendre des escaliers, et avions la plupart du temps de l'eau jusqu'aux genoux autour de nous. Danny a pris plein de photos pendant notre petite randonne. Comme nous devions aussi traner les sacs, on aurait dit que j'tais partie faire du shopping. Donc, la prochaine fois, je devrais prendre un sac dos. Arrivs 'The Baths', nous avons poursuivi notre sance photo avec Danny comme photographe et le temps est pass encore une fois comme un clin d'œil. Aprs mme pas 2 heures de sjour, la dame de MSC agita notre numro de groupe 20. Nous nous sommes rsolus faire le chemin du retour. Alors, nous avons dcouvert un iguane qui nous observait attentivement depuis le bas-cot. Au point de rassemblement, une multitude de gens attendait dj. Nous avons encore fait un petit crochet par le magasin de souvenirs et le restaurant. Ce dernier avait une vue magnifique sur la mer et les plats avaient aussi l'air bons. Malheureusement, il n'y avait pas assez de temps pour une pause. Comme nous étions arrivs, nous devions revenir. Mais cette fois, nous n'avons pas eu de place sur le pont ensoleill. Cependant, dans la zone infrieure, il y avait un punch aux fruits. Un peu ivres, nous avons chang de bateau et sommes rentrs sur notre navire vers 13h30. Cela nous a donn l'occasion de tester le djeuner au restaurant. C'tait tonnamment bon. Ensuite, nous sommes alls sur le pont surcharg. L, j'ai dcouvert un peu, mais le vent tait trs froid et lorsque l'italienne a commenc le bingo, nous avons fui. Stephan s'tait dj retir dans la chambre. A trois, nous nous sommes installs au jacuzzi et avons profit de la reste du soleil. Juste au moment o je voulais retourner la chambre, Stephan est venu en sens inverse. Ensemble, nous nous sommes prpars pour la salle de sport. Schwgi nous attendait dj en tenue de sport, mais a dcid la dernire minute de changer d'avis. Nous avons assidment complt nos exercices. Sur le chemin vers la chambre, nous avons rencontr Danny, qui tait dj un peu enivr en raison du dner du capitaine. Ce soir, c'tait le soir o ma belle robe a t utilise. Nous avons fait des photos avec presque tous les photographes bord et avons pris un cocktail au casino. L, il y avait encore deux anglais (pre et fils) qui jouaient. Un peu plus tard que d'habitude, nous sommes retourns chez Gudrun et Nello la table et avons profit du repas de gala. Avant d'aller au lit, nous sommes tous passs au magasin de bagages en raison des pourcentages. Mais je n'ai rien achet pour le plaisir de Stephan. Nous nous sommes dit au revoir et sommes alls dormir.