Welcome to the Chronicles of
Tortola, BVI
10/29/2006
Today is Sunday, the day we read form your emails. Michael mentions that we still haven't gotten the CD from the Weddingday Sourcebook. What's up with that, Jim???? And now, back to our regularly scheduled dispatch.... It is another beautiful day in the Caribbean. The seas are running about 5'-7', there are scattered clouds, and its 84F at the moment. Humidity is a bit on the high side, but not too bad. The biggest issue I have had with humidity is that it fogs the camera lenses. More to the point, it fogs pretty much every piece of class or flat surface in the camera, so I have to wait about 30 minutes before I can take a picture outdoors. Its worse than shooting in a pool in winter time. Oh well, the things you have to suffer thru as a photographer, eh?
Here is the morning view, by the way: You might notice that there is a breakfast tray sitting on the verandah this morning. Today (actually last night) we decided to do breakfast alfresco (and no, that does not mean sans clothes, for some of you - the balconies are not that private, especially on the stern of the ship!). It was great. Linda and Gayle said they did that yesterday on their balcony, so we figured we'd try it. Very tasty, everything was still hot and crisp when it arrived (neat trick with toast, if you ask me!). We did a pretty continental type breakfast, but you could have all the eggs, hash and bacon you want also. The menus are pretty amazing. If you are ever on a cruise, and you get the feeling that you are being pretty closely observed, all I can say is go with that feeling. In every port you go to, there are the ship's photographers at the end of the brow (or gangplank) waiting to take a picture of you in front of a sign saying where you are, or with one of the shooters dressed up as something appropriate to the island. Yesterday, I got my picture taken with one of the guys, and he says to me as I am walking away, "Excuse me sir, but you own a Canon 20D, don't you?" Now, I do own that camera, but I hadn't talked to this guy at all, and had only walked around the ship with it a couple of times. He told mehe had noticed the camera, and was wondering if I would be willing to charge his batteries for him, as his charger had died. I told him sure, he hooked up with me at dinner last night, and I'll bring him back his batteries today. Just goes to show you that these guys see everything! The next time you guys see Linda, ask her how she felt flashing the ocean (and the nearby submarine with the infra-red periscope). Not a particularly dramatic story, but it did make for some funny dinner conversation last night. Well, its time for me to head up to the Lido deck, and see if I can find some Grape Nuts or Cheerios to feed the fishies with. We pull into Road Town Tortola at noon, and then we are off on the Oil n Water. We'll tell you all about it in the next post. Til then, Keep Smiling!!!
2315 Okay, I am going to make this relatively brief, thanks to the hour, and the fact that we are out on the town once again tomorrow morning early! Tortola was WONDERFUL!!!! Might be the stone cold highlight of our trip. If you ever get the chance to get to Tortola, look up Patouche Charters! You CANNOT go wrong with them. We got into the Sir Francis Drake Channel, which is where the British Virgin Islands pretty much envelopes around 11:45. Got off the boat at noon, and fairly promptly got our group together - something we were a tad worried about. We got to the guard shack at the end of the pier, and our driver, Moses, was waiting for us. Perfect! Took the cab (its a truck with a bunch of covered bench seats on it -- I'll have to take a shot of the next one we take because they are tough to describe) to the marina and office of Patouche Charters. There, we met Julie, who is great about returning emails and getting us information, took care of the bill for the boat, and met Jason and Shane, our drivers for the day. We also found out that the frontal system that came thru a few days back was still making for some really rough waters, and that going to the Baths on Virgin Gorda was not going to be worthwhile on this trip.
A little disappointed, we made a plan of action, and set out on our boat, the Oil n Water back across the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Here we are talking to Jason on the way out:
Of course, Rum Punch (as well as soda and beer) was served.
Our first stop was the floating restaurant William Thornton: I could not believe how busy the place was! Food was good, the staff and customers friendly, and overall a good experience! The bight at Norman Island is really calm, and being on the Willy T is a great way to see some fantastic sailboats and motor yachts of the Caribbean.
Karla even made a new friend at the Willy T! Of course, we are not here to eat, we came to see some fish! So, we bid our new friends at the restaurant goodbye (had to go back so someone who shall remain nameless (Gayle) could pay her tab), and headed for the Caves, the only place in the BVI where it has been certified that Pirate Treasure has been found (of course, that was back at the early part of the last century).
We learned something educational today. Fish love Cheerios. That's right - its not a typo. I brought a sports bottle full of Cheerios, and I had hundreds of aqautic friends! It took a little bit to get the technique down, but we had swarms of Jacks, some striped fish, and a plethora of other coming by to say hello. Here is Linda, then Carol with the fish:
We were in the water for an hour or two, under Gayle's watchful eye (she even touched my camera!):
Before we decided to get out and see some sights. No, I didn't take this picture, but this is for those who want to see more of me in the shots (you should all have your heads examined!). Its one of Gayle's unauthorized shots!
Here is a shot I took of the Oil n Water just before I got out:
Shane took the wheel as we headed over to see some of the other islands in the area (he even found some Buffett music for me!):
As I mentioned earlier, there are an amazing array of sailboats out in these waters, and today they were showcased for us!
Of coruse, we had to get the group shot before we headed back to the barn! All in all, the day ended way too quickly. I can't say it enough - this is the way to go if you want to have a really great snorkeling adventure in the BVI! The evening show tonite onboard was Michael Zigfeld - a comedic ventriloquist. At one point I was wondering if Linda was going to make it, she was laughing so hard. If you ever get the chance to see him, do it. He is very versatile, and doesn't need his dummies to do a ventriloquist act (he gets volunteers from the audience - and I think the live dummies are funnier - as are their family members in the audience. Okay, its late, and as I said before, the tomorrow is another early day! Jan, if you are reading this, I love your camera. Thanks for lending it to me! Be well, Keep Smiling!!!
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All Images and Accounts of this Adventure are strictly the doings of the Author, and have Nothing to do with the Official Positions or Opinions of Timethief Photography, its affiliated divisions, or anyone associated with the company. If you have any issues with the accounts, how people or places are portrayed, or with any statements of fact, take it up with him! Of course, he'll probably be off on another adventure!
Copyright 2000-2006, Timethief Photography
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