Anegada When we started reading up about the Virgin Islands, and where sailors go, it quickly became clear that a) it is an extremely busy place swarming with hundreds of boats and b) most people treat it like an aquatic bar crawl. All people talked about was the best places to eat, get a drink or go shopping. We usually choose the road less travelled and head for the empty places, but we realised that would not be possible here so we decided to embrace the whole BVI experience and do what everyone else does - pick up a resort mooring, go ashore for dinner and enjoy the noise and bustle of a busy tourist centre. It is not without irony, then, that for our first two nights afloat we are the only boat in sight and virtually have entire islands to ourselves (touristically speaking), and we couldnt get dinner on shore even if we wanted to! Hilarious. And so to todays adventure. An early morning kayak, a swim, french toast with fried banana, and lots of coffee, and we are off for the open water sail to Anegada, the outermost island in the Virgins - nothing between it and Africa. It is only 11 miles from Virgin Gorda, but is little more than a dead flat coral sand bank (highest point 28 ft), so invisble until you are almost upon it. The wind was blowing 20 knots and there was a good swell rolling in, so good conditions to learn more about the boat. A great 2 1/2 hours on the water. Anegada - popn less than 300 - is really a collection of restaurants and a couple of hotels built around the very shallow lagoon anchorage on the south side of the long skinny island. This is the lobster capital of the Virgin Islands, with a lobster dinner setting you back more than $50! The locals live in The Settlement at the east end, and there are a few resorts and accommodation cottages scattered along the north side, which is the open ocean. They all remind us so much of the local resorts we knew in Tonga. We went ashore late afternoon looking for the place to pay our mooring fee, and wandered into the street behind the resorts. On the spur of the moment, we hired a scooter for two hours and did the full tour of the island. What an adventure and lots of fun! On our return to the boat we were visited by Duffy, who came to collect the $30 mooring fee. We asked him if he had always lived on the island. He said he was born here but moved to Virgin Gorda (11 miles away) and lived there for 31 years before coming home. We blinked. The way he said it made it sound like he had gone to America (which is what lots do) rather than across the water to an island we can see from here. We did hear, before we came, that some people have never left the island and it is talked about in Duelling Banjos tones ie complete inbred backwater. I took heaps of photos. I can only post a few as phone reception is a bit ordinary. Will post more later, including some of an amazing pimped purple Suzuki Vitara, with backseat sound system!
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 01:10:44 +0000
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