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... 哦不，阳光、沙滩和大海真的是一个梦吗？不，那个该死的闹钟在假期里真的响了。Stephan已经拉开了窗帘，我们看到太阳缓缓地挣扎着浮出水面。满身疲惫，行李打包完毕，我们走向自助早餐区，那里已经热闹非凡。我吃得不多。在斑马酒吧集合，已经有很多人聚集在那里。Schwägi 和 Danny 稍晚也来了。在早上八点前，人群开始朝着登船的小艇移动。提供的救生艇容纳120人，为了能够运输所有人，他们需要两艘船。然而，根据另外两位的说法，这次登船似乎进行得相当迅速和有序，与在南美的Aida截然不同。我们大约花了20分钟到达主岛托尔托拉，首府罗德城。NCL Epic 和 Disney Fantasy直接停靠在码头，它们比我们的船大得多。我真的想试试Disney船上的滑梯。那是可以通过轮胎滑过的玻璃管。我们的登船小艇可惜并没多少空间，大家都很高兴能够下船。经过短暂的靠岸困难后，我们都大步走上了码头。接下来，我们被引导上快艇，前往维尔京戈尔达。我们运气不错，坐到了阳光甲板上最后的阴凉座位。渡船行驶了将近半个小时。途中我们经过了我们的邮轮，它雄伟地屹立在水中。抵达岛屿后，我们被装载到卡车上。幸运的是，沿着绿色森林和糟糕的道路的旅程并没有太长。在国家公园前，可以选择在沙滩上放松或参加“魔鬼洞”的旅行。沙滩上的大光滑岩石结构被称为“浴室”。我们选择了更辛苦的部分，跟随导游前往魔鬼洞。小路的两旁密布着仙人掌、棕榈树、芦荟和许多其他绿色植物。小路持续向下移动，有时也非常滑。一位年长的女士甚至滑倒了，Stephan接住了她。我们身后的斯图加特夫妇也帮了她，但她却勉强接受。到底后，我们四个和团体分开，站在岩石前。俯瞰海洋和海滩的景色令人陶醉。这一段岛屿毫无疑问地被认为是加勒比海最美丽的海滩之一。现在我们准备好了在岩石间进行环游。为了这个，我们需要在岩石间走动，上上下下楼梯，周围通常都是到膝盖深的水。Danny 在我们的小徒步旅行期间拍了很多照片。由于我们也需要带着包包，看起来我像是在购物。所以下次我应该带个背包。到达'浴室'后，我们继续进行Danny担任摄影师的拍照，时间在飞逝。不到两个小时后，MSC的女士挥舞着我们的旅行小组号码20。我们开始返回。这时我们发现一只蜥蜴正专注地观察我们。集合地点已经有很多人在等候。我们顺便去了纪念品店和餐厅。这里有个美丽的景色，可以俯瞰大海，食物看起来也不错。可惜时间不够，无法在这里小憩。就像我们来时一样，我们必须返回。只不过这次我们没有在阳光甲板上找到座位。但在下层区域有一种水果朗姆酒。当我们稍微喝醉时，我们换了船，下午1:30回到了我们的船上。因此，我们有了机会在餐厅测试午餐。这是令人惊讶的好。随后我们去了拥挤的阳光甲板。我在那里小憩了一会儿，但风很冷，当意大利女郎开始玩宾果时，我们逃走了。Stephan已经提前逃回房间。我们三个人躺在按摩浴缸里，享受剩余的阳光。正当我想回房时，Stephan迎面而来。我们一起为健身房做好准备。Schwägi已经穿着运动服在等我们，但在最后一刻又改变了主意。我们认真地完成了我们的锻炼。回房的路上，我们遇到了Danny，他由于船长晚宴已经微微醉了。今天晚上是我漂亮的裙子大展身手的时刻。我们与几乎所有船上的摄影师拍照，还在赌场喝了一杯鸡尾酒。这里再一次出现了那两位英格兰人（父子）在打牌。稍微晚于平时，我们再次返回到Gudrun和Nello的桌子，享受了华丽的晚餐。在上床之前，我们还因着折扣在商店逛了一圈。但我没买任何东西，让Stephan感到欣慰。我们互相道别，然后上床睡觉。