Christmas in the sun and all that jazz....

It has been a very long time since I have written my blog... some two months actually!! This has not been because nothing has been going on here, but because the bite of normality hit. The drive to work, the splat of smacking a mosquito, the gorgeous sunsets, the endless beaches......all of these were no longer new. However, now I guess is as good a time as any to provide a proper update.

Over the past few months I have really settled into life here. We have had the opportunity to attend a lovely dinner reception on Norman Island (supposedly home to many an old pirate in days past) courtesy of a lovely chap Lisa and I met out here. The tickets were not easy to get hold of!! The main highlight of the past few months (save for the past week.... which I will come on to) has been our first visitors - Kim and Alexa. It was so nice to have visitors come so far to see us; this made me appreciate my friends even more than I already do. We had a fantastic time with them - diving, eat out, visiting Virgin Gorda and the baths for a day and generally hanging out with good friends. Bliss. Notable highlights of their trip included a night dive to the wreck of the RMS Rhone where, sadly, I smashed my little toe on the boat; eating at the Secret Garden which is a fantastic little restaurant tucked away in Josiah's Bay; and taking in the deserted Long Bay Beach.

And so went the end of November.... roll on December!

December on Tortola is a funny time..... there is none of the crazy Christmas hustle and bustle that I am used to in Manchester or London. None of the over the top, make you spend your entire wallet in rubbish sales, and (most importantly) none of rain, sleet, wind and cold! The first signs of the approaching festive season were in the first week of December when lovely Christmas lights started appearing on houses, talk of Christmas lunches started and blow up santas appeared on the beach. Lisa and I were invited to the Governor's Christmas party at Old Government House. This is a beautiful old colonial house in Road Town which houses the Governor and his offices. We had a fantastic time eating Caribbean nibbles (especially the coconut shrimp), drinking plenty of rum, listening to Caribbean style carols (something of reggae meets catholic hymns...) and generally getting merry!!!

And then came the holiday.... Lisa and I have spent the past 10 days in Puerto Rico and its sister island Vieques. This was a much needed holiday considering all the stress and general crazyness the past year has wrought. We took the short (30 minute) flight to Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan. There we spent 3 nights in Old San Juan staying in a fab little hotel called 'Da House'. Old San Juan is simply fantastic - a little bit of old Spanish charm here in the Caribbean. Lisa and I made the most of being in a big (for us that is) city - shopping, eating tapas and sushi and generally taking in the chilled atmosphere.

We then took another very short flight (around 20 minutes) to Puerto Rico's sister island of Vieques. Up until 2004 Viques was largely occupied by the US Navy which used it, basically, for bombing practice.... much to the displeasure of the locals. Sadly it took the death of a local from a stray bomb to make the US government see sense and quit the island. The result is both good and bad. The island has a very laid back caribbean feel to it, but with very good infrastucture (especially compared to Tortola) including some of the most wild and beatiful beaches I have ever laid eyes on. Sadly though, much of the island is closed off due to large amounts of toxins in the land from the countless bombs (some of which remain unexploded). Thankfully, there is a clean up operation going on and more of the island is opening up. Needless to say, Lisa and I had a fantastic time chilling on the beaches, eating in some fantastic restaurants (espcially El Quenepo) and exploring the various old military ruins in our 4x4.

Having thoroughly unwound on Vieques, Lisa and I flew back to San Juan and checked into the Conrad hotel in Condada (about 10 minutes in a car from Old San Juan). Condado is a funny place... a mix of old delapidated rotting skeletons of hotels from the 60's and the rich grandeur of the more modern hotels. This area of San Juan is clearly trying to emulate Miami, but is a long way off. That said, we had a great time chilling by the pool (a nice change from the sand and sea), sipping cosmo's and dirty martinis, and eating at (again) fantastic restaurants including the incredible La Perla in the La Concha hotel.

So in summary, the past 10 days have a been a brilliant, relaxing and indulgent holiday... and now we are back to reality. Thankfully, some time away allows for perpsective. Coming back to our home here in Tortola from the glitz of San Juan has allowed me, again, to appreciate what a special place we live in. From the clean air and empty beaches to the slow pace of life and the santas on the beach - home is home and it is good to be back.

Now, my blog would not be the same without some facts:

1) Bio Bay (which we visited by cayak at night) on Viques is home to the world's most concentrated area of bioluminescence caused by the dinoflagellate micro-organisms. A combination of the red mangroves, an enclosed water space and no pollution has lead to this amazing feat of nature. As you cayak and then swim through the water, the water around you lights up as bright as a light. This quite simpy one of the wonders of the natural world!!!

2) Puerto Rico is home to the biggest Jewish population in the whole Caribbean with some 3,000 Jewish inhabitants many of whom escaped from Cuba after the revolution.

3) Although Puerto Rico is a US territory, citizens were granted US citizenship in 1917 and the local currency is the US Dollar, it has its own Olympic team and competes as an independent nation in the Miss Universe competition!!

Well a New Year beckons and I promise to do an update soon and not leave it another 2 months.

One final note - while I was away in San Juan, I received some very happy news - my oldest and best friend Nick has finally taken his cojones in hand and asked his girlfriend to marry him. Thankfully she said yes and they will be getting hitched!! Congratulations to you both!!

Willy T's and Little Dix....

It has been a few weeks since I have posted an update and we have been up to quite a bit!

We have now settled in nicely to our apartment, unpacked all of our stuff and have been enjoying cooking lots at home and generally getting used to the new surroundings. I have been amazed at how quickly I have gotten used to the gorgeous surroundings and, in particular, the breathtaking views I see every day. I promised myself never to take it for granted and I believe I never will... but I must admit that no longer find myself with my chin on the floor at the sight of a big lizard or dive bombing pelicans!

As you might expect for one of the sailing capitals of the world, there is a big boat culture here. In fact, there is a lot of the BVIs that you can only access by boat. It has been fantastic to have been given the opportunity to go out on a few boats already. Having put away more than a few beers last Friday night at the local "tapeball" cricket night (this is basically a bunch of rather drunken expats playing cricket using a ball made up of seltotape!), we were kindly invited out on a boat on Saturday. We found out on Saturday the "virgin's cup" (a race for fun between some of the islands) was being held and the prize party was being held at the Willy T.

For the uninitiated, the Willy T is a floating bar just off the coast of Norman Island. It hold legendary status for debauched parties (e.g. rumour has it that local resident Richard Branson was doing shots of this son's friend's chests the weekend before)... in particular it is known for ladies stripping off and jumping overboard. Now, when we arrived the party was in full swing and the drinks flowed quickly. I can report that, while we were there, there was no nudity or other such debauchery... put simply, we just got wasted! Having been out in the sun all day, the combination of numerous rum and ginger beers (a concoction known as a "dark and stormy") was just a bit too much for us and by the time we got back Tortola around 8, we were both ready for bed!!!! All in all... a great time was had by all.

Last Sunday was duly spent nursing a hangover just in time for Monday morning which heralded another new beginning for me. The firm I work for is very small and, prior to last Monday, occupied a very small office just outside of Road Town. We have totally outgrown the office and have now moved into a lovely new office right in the middle of town. Despite a few teething problems (temporary lack of drinking water and no internet and email) we are settling in well and I am enjoying being in town which is much closer (read 2 minute walk) to where Lisa works.

The past week, as ever, has been fairly mundane. However, we have been really looking forward to this weekend which is a bank holiday weekend (to celebrate St Ursula's day). Lisa and I decided to take trip off the island for two days to neighbouring island Virgin Gorda (which means "the fat virgin"). Virgin Gorda is home to Little Dix Bay a gorgeous bay originally purchased and developed by Rockefeller and now home to a luxury resort. As it is technically still "low season" we were able to get a good rate for the night so we went to enjoy a little luxury for a few days.

Luxury is the understatement!! The bedrooms were incredible (especially as we were upgraded to an ocean view room), the food was gorgeous (and by far the best eaten in the BVI to date) and it was just wonderful to explore a new island. In particular, Virgin Gorda is world famous for the "baths"). These are basically a set of pools formed from unique rock formations right at the tip of the island. We were taken to Devil's bay by the Resort's water taxi service and we then had to take a fun 10/15 minute walk through the various caves and rock formations (including a lot of ducking and squeezing through small gaps) to get to the actual beach at the Baths. This is quite literally one of the most beautiful places in the world I have ever been and any one who comes to visit us will certainly be taken there!!!!!

Having spent Sunday eating a leisurely (and huge) breakfast, we went to chill by the hotel's spa and then, later, on another beach called Savanna. Finally, we enjoyed a spot of afternoon tea (a colonial leftover) and then took the half hour ferry back to Tortola. This past weekend has been one of the most relaxing and enjoyable of my life.

Now, I do not think this post would be complete without some interesting facts:

1) The Willy T is named after William Thornton, who was born on Jost van Dyke (one of the BVI's) in 1759 who taught himself to be an architect and is best known for designing the Capitol building in Washington! The first Willy T was put in place in 1989 but was replaced in 1999 by the second Willy T.

2) The BVI's have recently decided that anyone who holds a foreign drivers license (who previously could just obtain a "temporary local license") had to sit a written drivers test and obtain a full local driving test. Lisa and I obtained the learning book for the test and almost had a fit when we read it. It is full of typing errors (some of which were quite amusing) and much of it just doesn't make sense (including the description of hand signals to be used and the fact that the book wholesale forgets that most people here drive left hand drive cars on the left hand side of the road!!) Having come from the UK which has a reasonably difficult testing regime, to be subjected to the farce of the BVI driving test was just ridiculous considering anyone from the BVI can drive in the UK without any further tests. Oh well... just some more Caribbean craziness!!!

3) The BVIs have some 19,098 employees and out of this number 12,944 are non-nationals. This means that some 60% of the work force are not originally from the BVI. While this figure seems excessively large, I believe it fails to take into consideration the number of "belongers" who do not employee status as they own businesses or otherwise obtain their income from other "sources"!!!

One month in and the sun is still shining!!

This blog post has been a long time in the coming.... things have been go go go since I last posted, so I thought I had best provide an update!! Where to start....

Lisa and I are now the proud owners of a Chevvy Tracker. For those with a motoring mind, it is a V6 2.4 automatic (which comes in handy given the number of hills there are here) which drives like a dream. Well, when we first tried it, it certainly did not drive like a dream. However, once purchased it had a total service and various repairs and it is now our baby! Most importantly though it has a go fast stripe! Cars here are relatively expensive due to the high import duties placed on them (and everything in general). However, they depreciate much slower than in the UK due to the limited supply here. So we should not lose to much come the day we decide to sell it.

The big news is that we are now living in a gorgeous apartment in a place called Ballast Bay. This is on the North coast of the Island in a group of bays that are very popular. Our apartment is one of four and we already know all our neighbours (they are pretty much all lawyers or such other professional type bods). We look out to the North West so we get a lovely view in general and especially at sunset. We have really been enjoying having breakfast on the terrace, having a few cold beers out there and generally loving our new surroundings.

Moving into an apartment here is a bit different from anywhere else, yes you pay the normal deposit/bond when you move in, but here the little things are a bit harder e.g getting a phone line or internet. In a place where you don't really have a physical address (ours would be something along the lines of: the big white apartment blog at the top of ballast bay, number 4) it is pretty hard to get things installed. That said, we have managed to blag free cable tv so that's one less thing to worry about. When I say blag, I should clarify, this just involved me hunting down the block's cable box and plugging in the cables for our apartment number - hardly a challenge!

Other than generally getting into the swing of the work/life balance here, we have just been settling in! We had a BBQ last sunday for our neighbours and friends which was the first time we really got to entertain in our new apartment. This was great fun and we have had enough food (in true jewish style) to last the pretty much most of this week!!

Now that we have been here a month, there are a few general observations that I have been able to make (this is in lieu of my "interesting facts" section for this post)

1) The (mainly) white ex-pat population and the local caribbean population really do not mix very much. While there is always an air of cordiality, some people can be quite rude and abrupt to you. As a "non-belonger" (i.e. not a BVI citizen) you hold a sub-class of status here as the constitution is overtly protectionist. I do not necessarily think this is a particularly bad thing, but it is just odd being on the other side of the coin and being subjected to what could be classed as racism. Coming from the UK, it takes some getting used to! However, I think this is really just something that I think you get used to here and despite this, there are such wonderfully nice and friendly people here it is hard not to make friends no matter what your skin colour or ethnicity is.

2) The BVIs are really very small islands. The local community here is thus very close. This is particularly noticeable as many people have really similar surnames and these are often the same as place names here. Common examples are Hodge, Penn and Creque. There is also then a large concentration of power within particular families which, as we all know, is not necessarily the best for open government. While I do not think the BVI is a particularly corrupt place, it is noticeable that the same people appear to hold the most important positions.

3) Global warming has affected the BVI. Lisa and I went snorkelling with a friend of mine from work last weekend in a place called smugglers cove. While there clearly used to be large coral formations quite close to the shore, these are long since dead. It is really quite startling to see the affects of the rise in water temperature here and the corresponding spread in bleached corral. That said, the diving here is really good. We had a fun time our first weekend and next weekend we're heading to the RMS Rhone which is one of the best wreck dives in the caribbean!!!

Today Lisa and I have been exploring the east end of the island doing some proper off road driving (great fun!!) and we found some gorgeous secluded little bays including one where a few local guys were fishing and caught a massive puffer fish (which thankfully they threw back alive).

Well I think that is probably enough for now. Congratulations to those that have even read this far!!! Once we have internet set up at home (I'm currently writing this from a restaurant called Charlies overlooking one of the marina's in town) I will be able to update this more often.

So for now I say goodbye, ciao and adios!

A brief update...

Just a quick one - I am now legally allowed to reside and work here in the BVI!! Also, Lisa and I have got an apartment - a gorgeous two bedder right at the top of the hill in a place called Ballast Bay. Our balcony has incredible views and (so I am promised by the realtor) is a good spot to watch sunset from. We'll be moving in at the end of next week and I'll put up some photos soon after.

On a more mundane note, I have now set up a local bank account. The only boring thing left to do is to buy a car - not long now I hope! "Mr James" - the local car sales man I have been dealing with is currently trying to negotiate with a somewhat stubborn local lady for me to buy her old car. At the moment this is somewhat similar to trying to get blood out of a stone. Time will tell...

Finally and on a lighter note, while walking from dinner back to our hire car the other night, I was holding the car key in my hand when I "tripped" and saw the key go flying out of my hand right in to the drain!!!! I could not believe it. Thankfully, a helpful bar lady in Pussers Pub (after hearing my dilemma) duly provided me with a coat hanger. Oh what a scene - Dan standing half in the middle of the road trying to fish the key out of the drain with a coat hanger!!!

The joys of Caribbean officials....

While last weekend was spent lapping up the sunshine on boats and beaches, this week has been a bit of a reality check! Both Lisa and I have had to spend hours and hours dealing with what should be a set of relatively simple tasks which have dragged on.....

Our first major task has been to find somewhere to live as we only have one more week at the hotel we are staying in at the moment. There are 4 real estate agents on the island and we have seen pretty much everything in our budget that is available. Our current choice is between 2 apartments - both with sea views! Hopefully we will have nailed this down by the end of the week so we can move in next weekend when the hotel is up.

The more painful tasks this week have involved tackling the beast that is BVI official bureaucracy. As we are new to the island, we have had to get our medicals reviewed. To cut a long story short, as I reacted to a TB test (as I should due to my vaccination) I was sent for further tests. After 5 or so hours later, ten odd mosquito bites and a totally unnecessary bloody test and X-ray later, I was cleared.

Wednesday's task was then to go to the labour and immigration departments to get "processed". This involved yet more waiting, trying to figure out how and when to get served by the officials and generally not have a clue. Finally, by wednesday afternoon we had all our papers taken off us by an immigration official only to be told to come back today, Thursday, by which point all should be sorted. I will be heading their shortly to pick up my papers and then get registered for social security. Once all this is done, we will officially be allowed to work!

In sum, a total nightmare but a valuable lesson in patience.

Next on the list is a car. Everyone drives here and the roads generally don't have pavements so walking is not really an option. Many of the apartments are built up the sides of the ridge that runs along Tortola island. This means that the drive to and from home will involve some pretty steep roads and that a 4x4 is vital. Sadly, as the government here charge 21% duty on all imported cars (whether new or old), the market for second hand cars if very inflated. We are looking at either 4-6 year old cars like a Chevvy Trekker or a Suzuki Vitara for around $8,000!!! Naturally you have to haggle for everything so I hope by next week we will be set up with a set of wheels without breaking the bank too much.

I apologise for a somewhat mundane update, but it has been very cathartic to write about it all after a week of great frustration. However, as I would not want to disappoint I have set out a few more interesting facts below:

1) Around about 22,000 people live on Tortola - and island that is 13 and a bit miles long and about 3 and a bit miles wide!!

2) For such a small island and population, there appear to be more churches than any other type of public building...

3) Even when the cable tv doesn't seem to work properly, you can always get the god channel

4)The big news here and talk of the town is the new set of traffic lights which have been installed at the main roundabout in town. The traffic is apparently much worse now (maybe a 3-4 minute wait!!)... coming from London though that can hardly be bad compared to the traffic you get on the M25 or north circ!

A new start....

Well after so many months of waiting and all the trials and tribulations of dealing with work permits etc we have finally arrived on Tortola Island, BVI!!!

After a marathon 22 hour journey from London Heathrow to Miami, then to Puerto Rico and finally to Tortola, we arrived at 11:30 pm on Thursday evening feeling somewhat dazed and confused. Contrary to what we had thought, the immigration and customs people at the airport were very friendly to us. A colleague of Lisa met us at the airport and kindly took us to where we are currently staying - Prospect Reef Resort - which is about a 5 ish minute drive to Road Town.

Friday was spent being given a tour round the island by a colleague of mine and then having a lovely lunch at "Charlies" (with a good glass of cold chardonnay to wash it down). We drove around a bit in our hire car and then went on to consume some more wine in the comfort of the "watering hole" which is a South African run wine bar here on the island. We have already met a whole bunch of people and realised that the world is indeed a small place as we have met a few people already who knows people back in the UK we know.

After a lovely dinner at "the Cab" or Le Cabannon to give it its full name, Lisa and I finally crashed out again.

We woke up very early and excited this morning as we had our first dives scheduled with Blue Water Divers who are based in Nanny Cay (pronounced Key) which is just a short hop from where we are staying. It was great to be back in the water after a year and give all my new gear a test drive. We did 2 dives - Angel fish reef and then Pelican Rock. The clear highlight was being chased in a circle by a beautiful green turtle - simply unbelievable!!

This evening we have our first party to go to at the Cab. It is supposed to be a 70's party but we have simply not had the time to try and find outfits - oh well!!

It is clearly going to take a while to get used to island life, but even after a few days I think I will fit right in. Living in natures little secret, working in a job I enjoy and being able to live and healthy lifestyle really feels like the right decision to me!

Enough barking on from me though, but I did think I should point out some interesting facts we've learned already:

1) you can drive from one side of the island to the other in pretty much 30 minutes.

2) cars here are left hand drive but you drive on the left hand side of the road!!! All rather confusing...

3) there seem to be more chickens on this island than humans.

4) when ever you walk into a room or meet people you must ALWAYS say good morning, good afternoon or good night (not good evening) depending on the time of day.

I will endeavor to write more soon!!!

The final countdown

Well we have finally got a leaving date - 27th August!!!! I can't quite believe that our tickets are booked and pretty much all of our paper work is now sorted. In almost 2 weeks time, Lisa and I will be sitting on a plane at Heathrow heading to the British Virgin Islands. Unfortunately for us, we are being routed the long way so we have to fly London - Miami - Puerto Rico - Tortola. I reckon that after 18 hours on the go, we will be in much need of a rum cocktail or 3! Thankfully for us, Tortola even has its own rum distillery...... oh joy of joys.

As we now know when we are leaving, we're currently tackling the last hurdle: PACKING! When we first started thinking about what to take with us, we really didn't think that there would be that much. But now we have boxes strewn all over our flat and it really is becoming a bit of a challenge to decide what we want /are able to bring with us on the plane (2x 23kg each) and everything else that has to be shipped. We will get there, eventually, but for now it is back to the growing 'to do' lists and ensuring that we get everything sorted in time. Thank god Lisa is a project manager and used to arranging the seemingly impossible otherwise I think this whole process would be a disaster!!!!!

While things seem totally chaotic now, I believe it will all be worth it once we get there to start the next chapter in our lives......