Virgin Gorda - The Baths
The site we most wanted to see in the BVIs was the Baths. We enjoyed not only the Baths National Park but also Spring Bay National Park, just north of the Baths. We anchored less than a mile away in nearby Valley Trunk Bay. When we first got there, not a single boat was anchored and as such, we wondered if something was wrong and we weren’t allowed to anchor there. We went in and dropped anchor close to shore and had a beautiful and peaceful morning and afternoon with one of the more unique anchorages we’ve been in.
Within 24 hours though, several other boats came in and filled the anchorage up. It was still very quiet and we loved the few nights we spent there.
We swam to shore and spent an hour or two walking around in Spring Bay National Park. It was amazing, and best of all we had the entire place to ourselves. The only downside was that we didn’t bring a camera so we missed out on recording our adventure.
The next day, we relaxed on the boat and at 4pm when the Baths National Park emptied out, we dinghied over and swam to shore. The rock formations were a lot like nearby Spring Bay, but with several sections containing even larger batholiths.
We spent a couple of hours wandering through the caves formed by the massive batholiths pressing into each other. There are tons of tidal pools that we swam around in, rickety looking stairs, rope handrails and countless caves of every shape and size. Along with Spring Bay, the Baths easily ranks in the top five most beautiful places we’ve been so far on our cruise.
Eustatia Island
After a couple of days on the west side of Virgin Gorda we decided to head over to the northeast side, near Eustatia Island (not to be confused with St Eustatius the country). It was a pretty cool spot. There was only one other boat anchored there so again we had plenty of relaxing time. There is a guy called “Rum Runner” who you can call on the VHF radio and he’ll deliver frozen cocktails right to your boat. It’s the BVIs, so obviously it was expensive, but it seemed to ridiculous to pass up.
We had anticipated the high cost of the BVIs and planned a couple of splurges. So, after an afternoon snorkeling (and seeing the healthiest coral we have seen anywhere in the Caribbean), we dinghied in to the fancy Saba Rock restaurant nearby. OK, we’re not that fancy, so we went upstairs for happy hour at the bar. The views, food, drinks, and just the feel of the place in general were all exquisite. Everyone else there were rich couples on vacation so we kind of stood out, but we really enjoyed it. It was a bit strange because the mooring field right next to Saba Rock was completely packed and a half mile away, right around the corner, we had an entire anchorage to ourselves.
Scrub Island
Our next stop is called Marina Cay, and was a lot more crowded than the other places we’ve been to in the BVIs. It was the worst stop so far as far as comfort went too. Lots of bucking and rolling and tons of little jellyfish that stung us when we went swimming. That said, the snorkeling there was even better than Eustatia Island with loads of healthy, vibrant coral of all types.
Scrub Island was a cool spot that was an easy dinghy ride and offered overpriced groceries, hilly running (my favorite and Grete’s least favorite), and a restaurant with picturesque swimming pools.
In addition to our runs ashore, Fira and I went exploring and even found a scarecrow which was perfect since we were reading The Scarecrow and His Servant for school. We also found a patch of Adirondack chairs on top of a hill with a nice view of the anchorage so we stopped to rest a bit before heading back out to the rolly boat.
Grete had mentioned the pools a week or so before we went and since Mother’s Day was just about here we decided to have an afternoon at the resort on Scrub Island for an early Mother’s Day (I mean, who knows if there would be anything near us on the actual day). The food wasn’t very good but the pools were great and even had a waterslide and two swim-up bars.
Road Town, Tortola
We had planned to go to Jost Van Dyke but a shift in the wind prompted up to go clear out of the BVIs instead and head for the USVIs since the anchorages up at JVD were going to be a bit nasty. So, we went to the capital to clear out and also to refill our food stores aboard since we were running quite low on basically everything. The shopping turned out to be some of the best we’ve had in a long time and was surprisingly inexpensive. Everywhere else in the region is 2-3x as expensive, so we loaded up with everything we could manage to carry.
The anchorage at Road Town was deep and dirty and the ferry drove past with huge wakes constantly. Not our favorite at all, but we slept well, restocked, and had a nice few miles of walking around this colorful, surprisingly clean city. Most Caribbean cities seem to just keep getting dirtier the longer you are ashore, but that didn’t happen here. I think it is what some other largish cities in the region could be with some basic trash cleanup and tree/bush/grass trimming.
So that was our quick week in the BVIs. Next we are headed back to the USVIs and the first time on American soil in over 6 months for all of us but Grete.