BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS - A DAY OF EXPLORATION
A quick note: All of this footage was taken prior to hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaking havoc across the Caribbean. The islands of Tortola (BVI), St John and St Thomas (USVI) took major damage from Irma, and many of the locals were devastated by the destruction caused. We were lucky enough to "live" on St Thomas and some it's surrounding waters for about seven months, so we have a small bit of a personal connection to the area, and the people who populate it. It is our hope that all of these islands will come together to re-establish themselves as some of the top vacation destinations in the Caribbean.
The islands are a wonder of God's creation, and it would be heartbreaking if generations to come are not drawn to see their beauty. If you are interested in donating to the relief fund for the Virgin Islands, there are many options. Just be sure to do your due diligence to determine the legitimacy before sending your hard earned dollars.
Before leaving St Thomas in mid-June, we were blessed with the opportunity to visit some areas of the BVI (British Virgin Islands) with our good friends Kevin and September, who operate As You Wish Adventures. One of the charter boats that they manage, Island Gypsy, was the perfect platform for us to get out and visit several different locations on the British side of the archipelago.
The Adventure Begins
When we scheduled the day long adventure over to the BVI, we were still moored in Christmas Cove, off of Great St James. Lucky for us, this was on the way from Island Gypsies dockage to Soper's Hole on Tortola, where British customs are located. Kevin and September stopped by our boat and picked us up. It was like Uber of the sea! We piled on board and started toward Tortola.
Our route took us along the northern shores of St John as we headed east. It was a gorgeous day, with white puffy clouds throughout the intensely blue sky. I struggled to operate my camera, as my eyes wanted to take in the view themselves. St John was one our favorite islands that we visited, and the view from off shore did not disappoint one bit. Fun fact: approximately 60% of the island is protected as Virgin Islands National Park, administered by the United States National Park Service.
We weaved in and out of the surrounding islands, and eventually approached Tortola. This would be our first journey into a non-US country on a boat smaller than a cruise ship (we've cruised to the Bahamas and Mexico in the past). Kevin skillfully landed us at the customs dock in Soper's Hole on the west end of Tortola. The variance of colors was astonishing. Pink buildings contrasting the blue water were dotted along the green hillsides, making for a gorgeous view from across the bay.
Kevin took our passports, customs forms, and cash inside and got us processed so we could venture about legally for the day. As we waited, we enjoyed watching a gull that continued to pester a pelican as it fished. Each time the pelican dove and surfaced, the gull would come and land on it's head. The pelican didn't seem even a little bit annoyed. A strange friendship indeed!
Kevin finally made it out of the customs dungeon, let us know we were all accepted as guests, and pulled us away from the dock. We headed back east out of the bay, and on to Virgin Gorda to see The Baths.
The Baths at Virgin Gorda
"The Baths." We heard this term from people we met on St Thomas practically from day one. "Have you been to The Baths?", "Are you going to visit The Baths?", "You guys need to visit The Baths before you leave!". These were all phrases we heard many times. For a number of months, I had no idea what they were talking about. Finally, we were on our way to this mystical place of beauty.
As we motored towards shore on the south west end of Virgin Gorda, the size of the granite boulders that comprise The Baths became apparent. The shoreline was littered with nearly house-sized boulders. Ok, maybe bus-sized, but at minimum, Greyhound buses.
Kevin grabbed a mooring ball and got us tied off. We all donned our snorkel gear, jumped in the water, and swam to shore. Once on the beach, we could see how truly massive some of the boulders were. We followed the path into the natural stone structures. There were many paths to take, each revealing a different view of the ocean, sky, or sand. What a remarkable place!
We walked through to the gorgeous swimming bay and lingered for a few minutes admiring it's beauty. Once we realized there was still much to see at different islands and we had only so much sunlight to guide us, we trekked back to the boat.
The Caves at Norman Island
We climbed back aboard Island Gypsy, and headed south west towards Norman Island. We sped past Water Point and Bight Bay, and as we rounded Treasure Point, The Caves came into view. These are natural caves that dip down into the shallow seabed. We picked up another mooring ball and were all eager to jump in and check things out.
I was astonished at the number of fish in the water as I looked below the surface. We were in about twenty feet of water, and there were fish to be seen from the bottom to the surface. Kevin and September stayed aboard for a few minutes, and tossed breadcrumbs on the surface of the water, exciting the swarming schools of reef fish.
We swam over to two of the larger caves, and explored the inside of each. They seemed to almost have their own unique ecosystem, differing from the open reef outside. There was limited light which seemed to have an effect on what plants and animals were present. There was even a small school of a silver colored fish that I have never seen before.
Once we had explored every nook and cranny of the caves we snorkeled back out to Island Gypsy and climbed aboard. The sun was beginning to drop lower in the sky, but Kevin knew we had just enough daylight for one more stop before heading back to Christmas Cove.
Fish Bowl at The Indians
Kevin had pointed out The Indians on our way to The Caves, and I was eager to get back over to this small cluster of rock islands and get in the water. We went to the east side of the rock formation and found a mooring ball about 100 yards from what Kevin called the Fish Bowl. As we got into the water and swam toward the Fish Bowl, the sun was beginning to descend behind them, creating a truly spectacular vision of coral, fish, and dancing sun rays.
The Fish Bowl is so named due to the bowl-like formation created by The Indians, and the reef the extends to the east. Between is a massive hole which creates a natural bowl. The depth of the bowl is probably about twenty feet, and the reef to the east, which is where the baby sea turtle footage was from, is less than two feet.
This little crop of rock and coral reminded me of Fish Cay in Christmas Cove, only on a grand scale. We could have easily spent an entire day at this one location exploring all sides of The Indians. If you ever get out that way, be sure to have this spot on your short list of must-sees.
Lauren and I stayed in the water the longest, as is the norm, and as the sun was getting closer to the horizon, we swam together back to Island Gypsy. As we approached the boat, Lauren noticed a barracuda making it's way toward the boat. She started filming on her camera and pointed the sea-torpedo out to me. I started filming as it settled in under the boat, right next to the swim ladder we needed to get to. Great. Another giant barracuda encounter. If you missed our last post with our barracuda sighting, check it out in this post.
As Lauren and I approached the boat, the barracuda had made it clear he wasn't going anywhere and wasn't even a little intimidated by us. I've learned along the way, and hardly ever adhere to the rule, to always keep your camera rolling. I didn't, and missed a great show of speed and elegance from this giant toothy predator.
When we were about fifteen feet from the boat, I put my GoPro away, as to not give the fish a flashy, silvery target to hone in on. As we approached the swim ladder the barracuda darted to the sea floor, at what seemed to be about 30 miles per hour, after a reef fish. He missed his target and nearly as quickly as he dove he rose back up under the boat, hovering motionless.
Lauren and I waited patiently for him to move on, but he wouldn't. I tucked Lauren behind my left shoulder and we slowly approached the boat. I kept my face in the water as Lauren climbed up the ladder to keep an eye on our new friend. Once she was clear, I scurried up and into the boat. Whew!!
We slowly motored away from The Indians and headed back towards Christmas Cove with the sun setting from a golden sky to our starboard. We skipped along the water around the south side of St John as the sun eventually fell into the horizon. We continued on to By Faith through Current Cut and into Christmas Cove. What a spectacular day! Thank you Kevin and September for showcasing some of the Virgin Islands most precious gems!
