APPLE BAY AND BANANAKEET

Note: You can click on the photos to get the full sized version and see all of the detail!

Seeing how my plans to go to Jost Van Dyke were off, I decided to stay at my hotel for the day as the beach here at Apple Bay is really nice, even if the waves are a bit rough, and I haven't spent any time on it yet.

The weather has been iffy. Rain then sun then wind then more rain then sun. I need to keep this tan for when I get home so I can make everyone jealous! I'd like to get about twice as dark, actually. But with this intermittent sunshine, not sure it's going to happen.

I take a walk down the beach a bit to see if I can find Malcolm Boyes' beach-front home and I think I found it but not quite sure. He is someone I was really looking forward to meeting on this trip as he seems like a friendly and fun fellow but, to be honest, I couldn't have timed my days on Tortola better if I was trying to avoid him. He left a couple of days before I got here and arrives back mere hours after I leave.

The waves here are rough and there's a yellow flag out just down the way warning of strong undertows. This beach is a surfing destination when all of the conditions are right, which I think is Jan-Feb. I wade in a bit and the bottom is soft sand with no rocks, there seems to be no fish to nibble at me, and once past the breaking waves it's quite lovely.

Cheryl surprises me and stops by while I am sunning on the beach. She is one half of a couple (Pete is her husband) I met while at Neptune's Treasure. They came the second week I was there and took the room next to mine. They are going to Bananakeet for dinner tonight and want me to join them. We had talked about this before they left Anegada. Her timing is great because I had just been thinking about them and wondering if they'd be there tonight, as it's their last night on the island, or if they'd already gone. So I plan to meet them up on the hill where the restaurant is, at 5:30.

I am really dreading driving that hill again and especially coming back in the dark, and so toy with the idea of getting a taxi. But that seems silly when I have a car and I did drive it in the dark when I was here a couple of years ago, albeit with someone else in the car with me. I have determined that I took a lot of bravado from the people who rode with me back then. Now I am alone and have only my own courage to draw from and, honestly, I don't have that much for driving these roads.

If you look at the first video I posted yesterday of the hill from here to Cane Garden Bay, you'll notice on the 5th hairpin curve there's a yellow sign on the left; that is the driveway for the restaurant. It perches on the side of the mountain with incredible views over Tortola and the water to Jost Van Dyke.

I had asked for restaurant recommendations on TTOL and Bananakeet was one that was mentioned several times; their spring rolls and satay were highly recommended. I order both and the spring rolls were fine, I don't know that I'd order them again but the satay was really delicious. I also ordered the chicken and black bean Pad Thai for the entree and it was very good but I barely ate any as I was quite full from the appetizers. I brought the rest of it home and now I need to find a way to heat it up for dinner tomorrow night.

The restaurant is a great place to watch the sunset but, unfortunately, there isn't much of one tonight as it is very cloudy. The mist covers the top of the hill we are on, just behind us.

The drive home went without incident. It wasn't that difficult really. It's just those hair pin curves that are so hard to stay in your own lane when negotiating. I can't do it so just honk my horn as I approach and pray to God that there's no one coming.


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