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"!!!
