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!