Forests flowers & friends

After a busy month completely the cottages and then spending days getting internet sites organised for them, I decided to give myself a day off and go hiking up to Gorda Peak. Our island is a long elongated shape with winding roads and a mountain peak in the middle. Actually not a mountain but not a hill either. It's a National Park and it was glorious to smell the dampness of the clean earth and the forest floor beneath my feet. The path was rough, rocky and totally primitive. All the foliage was rich and green. The air was sweet with new buds and droplets from the last rainfall hung heavily on the over sized leaves. I felt I was in a magical rainforest treading on virgin ground unknown to man. The forest teemed with life. I almost trod on a long narrow brown snake; it slid away, grateful for the shady undergrowth to camoflage its shiny body. The path was full of moving shells. Small crabs had made forsaken shells their home and somehow found their way up here, so far from the beach. I moved many of them off the path and hid them amongst the leaves for safety.
The panorama from the top of the viewing platform was breathtaking. I could see for miles over to the islands near our house. Necker, Mosquito, Eustasia, Saba Rock in one direction and then across to Tortola and the other Virgin Islands in the other. Periodically I could feel tiny spider webs across my face as I continued down hill again. The webs were thin and almost invisible to the naked eye, but you could feel them. The foliage unusual and lush made a great subject for a painting, but alas, I was without paint or canvas.

The next day I visited Tortola to meet with friends Mike and Richard. Unfortunately Hanna couldn't make it. We visited museums, wandered down the old main st from years ago with its quaint buildings and gardens to once again experience the awesome beauty and lush offerings of the tropics. We discovered a bread fruit tree, giant avocados, a 'sausage tree' and yes, the hanging fruit REALLY look like sausages. I picked up an unusual spotted fruit that looked like a potato only to find it stank. We called it the smelly fruit. There were exotic flowers including my favourite the 'bird of paradise' plant. They were all so fabulous and such island plants with colours one could only dream of. It was totally magical and I felt like I was in fairyland. I could see why artists like Gauguin were mesmerized by the lure of the islands and lived in paradise forever........

There are new plans for tomorrow. I will return to Tortola and we will go sailing for the day and then to a full moon party on the beach at Trellis Bay. It's a big occasion from what I hear with bon fires and Caribbean bands playing - all under the full moon! After that we will all sail back to Virgin Gorda and perhaps even Anegada for a few days. I have a week left here before I head off for the Florida Keys and Mexico. Plenty of time for more stories and meeting more friends...........