Excitement abounded as we readied the boat for our first visitors of the season. Lindsay and Katie (our son and new daughter in law) were joining us for a week long honeymoon. They were married in June of last year and we gifted them a trip on Blue Sky in the Caribbean as a wedding gift. They picked the dates January 5-12 and we booked the tickets.
They were due to arrive into St Thomas and told to go catch the ferry from Charlotte Amalie to West End Tortola. Unfortunately, that ferry was cancelled, so they were advised that their next option was to get the ferry from Red Hook. Low and behold, there was a traffic accident and although that ferry waited for them an additional 25 minutes, they missed that one as well. Luckily, they had befriended some people from Tortola who had these experiences before and they arranged for a private cigarette boat to ferry them across the water (at a good price of course). They finally arrived about an hour and a half later than planned but feeling pretty good after the trip. We fed them and sat up chatting quite late.
The next morning we did a little walk around Soper’s Hole and then headed out to snorkel the caves at Norman Island. It was mainly a motor due to wind direction, but we got there in time for a snorkel before lunch. We next motored through the Bight so they could see Norman Island and Willy T’s famous bar.
Then on to Little Harbor on Peter Island. Here we hiked the ruins of a house and tobacco grower. We also snorkeled, paddle boarded and swam. This is such a beautiful bay, it’s hard to leave, but we had plans to get them to as many places as possible.
The next day we made a brief stop at Cooper Island so Katie could get pictures of herself on her name sake island (her last name is Cooper). From there we were able to sail on to North Sound.
We walked Bitter End for pastries. Then Katie and Lins decided on an afternoon at the beach, so being close, a swim was called for. In the evening, we visited Saba Rock bar where they watched the tarpon feeding and got an introduction to happy hour Painkillers. They taught us to play Dutch Blitz, a fun and fast card game which we became addicted to.
After Virgin Gorda we headed to Anegada. Here we took a taxi to Cow Wreck beach then went to Potters for lobster dinner. Katie, Lindsay and I all tried the limbo dance while Paul waited to pay for our dinner (the only flaw with eating there). The food was delicious and we’d recommend it to anyone.
From Anegada we sailed to Monkey Bay for a snorkel, but there was a bit of a swell causing low visibility. From there we continued on for an evening in Cane Garden Bay. Here we played games late into the evening again. Up early the next day we headed to Sandy Spit, but due to big swells, we would not be able to land the dinghy, so we didn’t stop. We made our way from there over to the bay nearest the Bubbly Pool. We made the hike and enjoyed the pool to ourselves for nearly an hour. It was fun and with the big swell we really got the full bubbly pool experience. Here the swell comes in through a narrow channel of high rocks and smashes down in on the pool sometimes knocking you over. We had a blast. What a way to end the trip.
And for a video view of the bubbly pool, courtesy of Lindsay and Katie:
Back to Sopers Hole for the evening, more card games, chatting and fun. The next morning the week was up and we dropped them back at the ferry for noon. They had a long gruelling trek home (3 flights including a Red Eye). Sorry Katie, we heard it was rough on you and the babe.
I enjoyed cooking up many of my vegan favorites for them as we travelled around. Paul enjoyed the sailing. We all enjoyed the company and agreed it went by like a dream. Happy honeymoon, Lindsay and Katie. Thanks for letting us share our travels with you for such a special occasion.
