Leaving Virgin Gorda

This amazing visit to our beloved Virgin Gorda is almost at its end. Almost 3 months in sheer paradise has been spent with friends, completing more renovations and delighting in a visit from my dear friend Michelle who took up my offer for anyone to come and visit me! We are having a ball! I am not too sad this visit as I will return later on this year!
In the light of all the world tragedy in previous weeks I thought we need to read and see something light hearted and fun! So I am sharing the past weeks here with you, the photos are a mix and overview for your enjoyment!

This island with its "island time" has its quirks and when you let go of the fast city life pace in your head you can fall into its ideal and relaxing rhythm! I have learnt that things can be left for tomorrow, and sometimes much to my disdain the day after. But somehow it all manages to get done - eventually!

Michelle and I fly out of here on Monday for a few 'gurly' days in the big apple - NYC! We can't wait and then head home for Australia where I will be catching up with beloved friends for a month before heading back to Europe and my sweet cottage in France.

Virgin Gorda has so much to offer! This is where Richard Branson and his wife Joan decided to make their home on Necker Island across the sound. I had the privilege of meeting them both and chatting with them in their Great room on Necker after a guided tour of the island with his GM who is just a darling! The island has 7 beaches and 2 lakes with flamingos brought in from Miami. This is where Robbie Williams sails in and wants to look around. This is where Kate Winslett has a picnic breakfast on the perfect beach on Moskito, Richard's other private island and we were lucky enough to visit it some hours later! (Photos below) where Catherine Zeta Jones & Michael Douglas had a private beach party on the same beach the week before, I didn't meet the latter but the area buzzes with celebs!

This is also an island where the maintenance man is called "Jingaling" and turns up when he feels like it; where the man you hire a car from is called "Stinky" and pay him cash without a car hire contract! Where old Joe floats up to the Leverick Bay dock to sell divine and large conch shells to tourists for $15 and I help him sell them! Where you and a bunch of friends jump on someone's boat and head for Cooper Island for a dart tournament and a puppy named Coconut steals your heart.

Where the locals meet at the Jumbies bar and you listen to great music with a few rums or pina coladas (pic at top) or you drool over a lobster lunch in Anegada, an island surrounded by turquoise waters and shipwrecks! A place famous for The Baths, huge rock formations and you take your friend through the grottoes and caves! Where you walk into your lounge room which looks out over the water and you see a huge tall ship coming into the North Sound and you gasp with delight running for your camera! Our view here is like constantly watching a moving television screen with the yachts, boats and the island's breathtaking sights!
Yes, it can be frustrating when the power goes off or the salt air constantly rusts things but the life here and the magical quality of this little corner of paradise is worth it all. I hope you enjoy the photos below to match my text........must go now to enjoy the breakfast of avocado and scrambled eggs that Michelle just made on our front terrace and soak in the morning sun, the water views and warm breezes that blow off the beach swaying our coconut palms.

Renovation time

It is Sunday afternoon here in Virgin Gorda. I woke up to the rare sound of heavy rain beating on our stone patio, the sea was a grey reflection of the dark cloudy skies and a cool wind blew the coconut palms that surround our house. It whistles among those tall floppy branches and competes with the sound of the small waves crashing on our beach. The small waves repeat their journey with a repetitive monotony that soothes your mind, constant and reliable. As I lay in bed I watched a number of yachts sailing across the North Sound knowing the crew would be soaked from the tropical rain but at least not too cold. There is something really special about seeing the ocean from every room, I feel blessed to be here.

It is the first day I had a chance to lie in and rest, the first day in a fortnight without workers coming to continue the renovation of this grand old home or late night phone calls to Australia to sort out my flooded home. Within a week of my departure unusually heavy rains blocked city drains and flowed across my front lawn like a river into my home. Water marks on windows showed it reached 10cm. All my carpets are ruined and have been ripped out. It is getting sorted out but a strain that was not needed, that is for sure!!

I have already been here over two weeks and cannot believe how the time has flown. In choosing to help my father with the upkeep of the house, the task has become larger than expected with some cracked concrete walls that needed jack hammering out and unfortunately revealing corroded electrical wiring. Twelve sections of the concrete roof also need cutting out to repair the leaking downpipes and wood paneling under the eaves replaced. All heavy duty restorations and of course unexpected expense! The evidence of the labour sits in piles of broken rocks and concrete around the house. So before I can concentrate on sanding parquetry, re varnishing floors, furniture and benches, or decorating the basics must be seen to!
I feel rather tired - constant decisions of what to do and overseeing the workers is taxing but this grand ol' lady is worth it. So stately she sits on this small cove overlooking the protected waters of the sound, she deserves all the upkeep to restore her beauty. It will all start up again at 8am tomorrow morning with the electrician!

But for today I am treating myself to do nothing! A group of us were sailing today but I woke feeling like lead and the weather was not conducive to a relaxing day on the water. I am guessing it was canceled. After writing my first post in weeks I will endeavor to do some exercise by either walking up the steep hill behind us or swim my regular pattern around the buoys in front of the house. If I can find the energy I 'may' do both, but doubt it! A little afternoon sun is peeping out from behind the clouds. I hear the sound of another coconut palm thudding on the ground and will drag it over to my collection. Shortly we will have enough to build a palapa on the beach.....
I have had breakfast in bed with a good novel, spoken to my dearest Robert on Skype, indulged in a sleep-in and much needed rest. It is a good day!

Loving this island

I love this island!

Leaving Virgin Gorda has not been an easy task. I have been made so welcome in that tight knit community. My ears have become accustomed to the sound of the lapping water and rustling palm fronds lulling me to sleep each night. My eyes will miss the blue water view from every part of our house. The warm air that envelopes my body throughout the day misses the tropical waters so crystal clear. There is no doubt that this island is special.

My heart is always with Australia but it will also miss the new friends I have made, and will hopefully be there when I go back again. I will return; I always do. I have left some clothing, shoes there this time, my fins and some other personal items. The lure is too great. Thank you Ed for your lovely help and friendship on so many occasions and for making me feel so welcome. The girls in the ‘sisterhood’ are special and you have created a wonderful circle of people around you.
In the last days I visited the pristine Trunk Bay with its white sand and clear water.
The bay is very close to the Baths and is surrounded with huge granite boulders. The effect is stunning. I snorkeled in water so crystal clear it was like floating in nothing……..the fish looked like they were suspended in space. Their little faces calm and contented as they fossicked around for food. If you listened really intently you can actually hear the larger fish chomping off the rocks. They were so busy, feeding off algae and other delicacies. Other fish, big and small, brightly coloured or just plain, just swam around in their small communities; I wondered where they were going! Did fish meet each other for lunch or decide where they were going to rest that night? Do they look for a new hole to hide in and share that with a scaly friend?
My body just floated above them and they seemed undisturbed by my presence, just accepting me. Periodically I would dive down to pick up a shell and be part of their domain. I would skim along the bottom finning like a mermaid but the need for air forced me to surface and I came back to my own world.
Returning home that night I had a craving for fresh coconut but had no idea how to crack one. Believe me, it's hard to do and the guys usually do it. I found a machete and cut and banged it until I got through, it took almost half an hour! But the reward was great. The clear coconut water ran down my chin and the chunks of coconut flesh were thick and delicious. You can see my handy work (a bit rough) in the photo! Me! Big coconut hunter!! My last day was spent at the Bitterend, I lounged under a palapa built over the water and lay there munching blueberries which Tiina had left in my fridge with chunks of the coconut. Good bye beautiful British Virgin Islands, until my feet touch your pristine sands again!

I am now in Miami after spending four glorious days exploring the Florida Keys. A new post from that area will come shortly. The flight to Cancun Mexico has been delayed, so we all sit and wait patiently…….

Pictures to Music

Two days ago our dear friend Ed took us girls all out for an afternoon to lunch at the Mad Dog and snorkel around the famous Baths. We swam in Devil's Bay and then climbed through the Baths and its incredible rock formations! This shot is inside one of the caves!! Perfect swimming on a very hot day!
He has set the pictures to music!

Click on this link.....http://www.onlinebvi.net/play.php?vid=517 HINT!! Allow the music to load to HALF WAY along the bar line and then click on the play line and PULL it back to the beginning, that way the music doesn't keep stopping to load which breaks the flow of the great song!

Have a look and a listen to local Caribbean music that Ed set to these great pictures of our day around Virgin Gorda.........Enjoy!

PS - In case you can't pick it!
I am the one wearing the black singlet top and white skirt.
I also borrowed his camera and took all the underwater shots before swimming towards him under water with mask & snorkel. (lime green mask and pink snorkel)