I am missing the islands and I decided to make a video of White Bay, Jost Van Dyke because I couldn't find one I really liked on YouTube.
I hope you like it.
Showing posts with label Jost Van Dyke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jost Van Dyke. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
JOST VAN DYKE - I LOVE YOU!!!
I arrived at the West End ferry dock at 9:30 to catch the 10:00 ferry to Jost Van Dyke. When I was here two years ago, we stopped at this island on our day sail but only had about an hour and a half there. It was the most beautiful beach I had been to on that trip and so was very loathe to leave. I am excited to be going back!
Just as the boat arrives, two sisters arrive that were at Cane Garden Bay the last time I was there. They are about my age or older and really friendly so I am happy to see them here. We chat about where we're from and where they've traveled (they are beach people so have been to most all of the beautiful beaches in the world) and what they do for a living. While we are waiting, a nice looking island fellow shows up and flashes me a big smile. I smile back and he asks how I am and I say I am great.
We all board the ferry and, although there's seating outside on the back deck, the whole deck is full of cargo; mostly beer and food for the restaurant bars over on the island so we all have to sit inside the stuffy passenger area. Fortunately, the windows are open and once we get underway there is a bit of a breeze.
The island fellow from the dock popped onto the boat so I thought he was traveling with us but I look out of my window and there he is on his own boat!
When we arrive on JVD, he is there on the dock waiting for us. The two sisters and I are talking about where we want to go first - they decide they want to walk over the hill to the Soggy Dollar Bar. I want to go to Foxy's first and the fellow tells me he is Foxy's son and he will drive me there if I like. I tell him I met one of his brothers on Anegada and as we try to figure out which brother it was - as I am useless at names - we get in his battered little Suzuki jeep and head over to the bar. On the way I find out his name is Dean and he shows me where Foxy lives and where he lives and stops to chat to a cousin who is working on a boat.
We pull up to Foxy's bar and I am so happy to finally see the place as we did not get here on our last visit. I have seen lots of pictures though. I ask Dean if his dad is there and he says he is but that he's old now and not always in the mood to visit with the tourists. But as I walk past an open doorway near the gift shop, an older man comes out and smiles at me. "Hi!" I say, "My name's Sandy." I shake his hand and he tells me his name is George. So it's not Foxy. Then some people from a dinghy that just docked walk up and say, "FOXY!!!! SO good to SEE you again, man!" and hug George. I look at them, mouth agape and Foxy laughs at me. "You scoundrel," I say, "you had me completely fooled." He laughs again. I watch and listen as the boaters chat with him and then have their pictures taken with Foxy. So I ask if they'll take mine and they do. Then Foxy sits on a log stump and starts making remarks about Americans being so politically correct and I say I am Canadian. He then launches into a rap/poem about Vancouver that is hilarious. He then does one about Toronto. The guy is amazing. He is in his 70's and yet he can remember all of this... but then he wrote it so I guess that is why. (I have come to realize since writing this that he makes these raps/songs up on the fly... amazing!!)
Eventually I make my way into the huge gift shop with the best selection of clothing I have seen so far. They even have women's T-shirts with a deep V neckline (which I love) that has Foxy designs on them. I buy one. Then I go sit at the bar and order a Carib beer. I don't like beer much but I grew to like Corona when I was in Mexico (it was the only thing to drink at the beach restaurant) and I am dying of heat after being in the stuffy gift shop for so long and need something refreshing. As I sit at the bar, Dean walks up and sits with me. We have an interesting conversation about how he can read people's auras and he read mine as soon as he met me. I ask him what he saw and he says 'a good heart, and some other things'. I ask what 'other things' and he says, not now - maybe later. The aura talk started by him guessing my exact age, which no one ever does; most people think I am a lot younger than I am so it shocks me when he is exactly right. He makes me guess his age and I am way off. I thought he was about 32 but it turns out he's 46. He also tells me that he is single and a musician turned DJ.
He asks if I want to go see the beach and I think he means the one out front so say yes, but then he walks away from that beach and to the car. We get in and he drives over the hill to where Ivan's Stress Free Bar and Campground is. When we get to the beach, I can't believe how gorgeous it is. The color of the water here is unmatched in the rest of the BVI that I have seen. And it's so clear you can see the bottom no matter how deep it is, and it's all sand. We get in the water and just float about for over an hour. It's pure heaven. We meet another woman in the water who is from one of the charter boats. She's really friendly and when we get out of the water to go sit on the beach, we join her friends and have some good laughs. What a fun bunch!!
Dean and I take a walk farther down the beach and go for a swim again. As we float he tells me what else he saw in my 'aura'. One thing he says is that I have had a very stressful life. That's pretty accurate. He also tells me that I haven't had anyone special in my life for a long time and he's right about that as well.
After about another hour in the water we walk back down to Ivan's and gather our stuff to head over to the Soggy Dollar beach. As we leave, Dean introduces me to Ivan. He's so cute! He's obviously old by the way he moves and is eating a sandwich so slow and carefully, but his face is unlined and looks so young. It's amazing how young all of the islanders look - it must be this languid, stress-free life. How I envy them.
We drive over to the Soggy Dollar and wow! it's so crowded today. There's a webcam on top of the bar roof that has live pictures and I visit it almost every day when I am at home and I don't think I have seen it this busy this time of year. (And, by the way, I am really wishing someone I knew was watching the cam and could take a screen shot of me on it. That would be so cool!) Dean needs to go see his brother who has a bar just behind Soggy Dollar up the road, and so he heads off and I go to the beach. It's just as I remember it... the water is the most amazing shade of blue/green and warm! The sand is softer than any other island I have been to. It's heaven. I go in for a swim and see the women we were hanging out with at Ivan's so we stand around in the water and chat some more and I get to meet more of her friends from another boat that they are sort of traveling with. Everyone is so friendly that it has made this whole experience so much richer for me. I am happier than I can ever remember being - and so relaxed it's ridiculous. I have noticed that I even walk like an islander now with that slow, unhurried sway.
It seems way too soon when Dean comes back and says we should think about heading off soon if I want to make the ferry. He had offered to drive me back in his own boat after the party at Foxy's tonight, which he is DJ-ing, and at first I accepted the offer as I knew I wouldn't want to leave at 4:30 like I am now. But then I thought about the trip back on the water in a small power boat in the dark and it scared me. Also, Dean has been making overtures to me that, quite frankly are not unwelcome and - had this been the first day of my stay in the islands instead of my last - I would have returned. But there's nowhere this can go now and I don't want to encourage him. So, after a quick trip into the gift shop where I buy a cute tank top, we climb into his jeep and head back over the mountain to the ferry dock. On the way he takes a detour over a hill on a path that isn't more than two rocky ruts with high grass in the middle and scrub and cacti on either side. He wants to to show me the best view on the island. But, unfortunately, when we get up there, the trees have grown higher since his last visit and obscured the view. There's also a cell tower here and he tells me he wanted to buy this property to build his house on but these guys got it first.
Back at the ferry dock, we say our goodbyes and I thank him for a wonderful day. He drives off and as I walk to the dock I see the two sisters, who I haven't seen since we arrived. Turns out they took the opposite tour of the island from us and so we just missed each other.
I had a fantastic day on the island and I can't think of a better way to have spent my last day here. If I ever come back, I am staying on Jost Van Dyke for half of my trip as it really is paradise.
I just found out from a friend that I am on the front page of the Vancouver Sun today!!!!! UPDATE: The article is gone from The Sun page but it has been reprinted HERE.
Just as the boat arrives, two sisters arrive that were at Cane Garden Bay the last time I was there. They are about my age or older and really friendly so I am happy to see them here. We chat about where we're from and where they've traveled (they are beach people so have been to most all of the beautiful beaches in the world) and what they do for a living. While we are waiting, a nice looking island fellow shows up and flashes me a big smile. I smile back and he asks how I am and I say I am great.
We all board the ferry and, although there's seating outside on the back deck, the whole deck is full of cargo; mostly beer and food for the restaurant bars over on the island so we all have to sit inside the stuffy passenger area. Fortunately, the windows are open and once we get underway there is a bit of a breeze.
The island fellow from the dock popped onto the boat so I thought he was traveling with us but I look out of my window and there he is on his own boat!
When we arrive on JVD, he is there on the dock waiting for us. The two sisters and I are talking about where we want to go first - they decide they want to walk over the hill to the Soggy Dollar Bar. I want to go to Foxy's first and the fellow tells me he is Foxy's son and he will drive me there if I like. I tell him I met one of his brothers on Anegada and as we try to figure out which brother it was - as I am useless at names - we get in his battered little Suzuki jeep and head over to the bar. On the way I find out his name is Dean and he shows me where Foxy lives and where he lives and stops to chat to a cousin who is working on a boat.
We pull up to Foxy's bar and I am so happy to finally see the place as we did not get here on our last visit. I have seen lots of pictures though. I ask Dean if his dad is there and he says he is but that he's old now and not always in the mood to visit with the tourists. But as I walk past an open doorway near the gift shop, an older man comes out and smiles at me. "Hi!" I say, "My name's Sandy." I shake his hand and he tells me his name is George. So it's not Foxy. Then some people from a dinghy that just docked walk up and say, "FOXY!!!! SO good to SEE you again, man!" and hug George. I look at them, mouth agape and Foxy laughs at me. "You scoundrel," I say, "you had me completely fooled." He laughs again. I watch and listen as the boaters chat with him and then have their pictures taken with Foxy. So I ask if they'll take mine and they do. Then Foxy sits on a log stump and starts making remarks about Americans being so politically correct and I say I am Canadian. He then launches into a rap/poem about Vancouver that is hilarious. He then does one about Toronto. The guy is amazing. He is in his 70's and yet he can remember all of this... but then he wrote it so I guess that is why. (I have come to realize since writing this that he makes these raps/songs up on the fly... amazing!!)
Foxy regaling us.
Eventually I make my way into the huge gift shop with the best selection of clothing I have seen so far. They even have women's T-shirts with a deep V neckline (which I love) that has Foxy designs on them. I buy one. Then I go sit at the bar and order a Carib beer. I don't like beer much but I grew to like Corona when I was in Mexico (it was the only thing to drink at the beach restaurant) and I am dying of heat after being in the stuffy gift shop for so long and need something refreshing. As I sit at the bar, Dean walks up and sits with me. We have an interesting conversation about how he can read people's auras and he read mine as soon as he met me. I ask him what he saw and he says 'a good heart, and some other things'. I ask what 'other things' and he says, not now - maybe later. The aura talk started by him guessing my exact age, which no one ever does; most people think I am a lot younger than I am so it shocks me when he is exactly right. He makes me guess his age and I am way off. I thought he was about 32 but it turns out he's 46. He also tells me that he is single and a musician turned DJ.
Foxy's Bar.
He asks if I want to go see the beach and I think he means the one out front so say yes, but then he walks away from that beach and to the car. We get in and he drives over the hill to where Ivan's Stress Free Bar and Campground is. When we get to the beach, I can't believe how gorgeous it is. The color of the water here is unmatched in the rest of the BVI that I have seen. And it's so clear you can see the bottom no matter how deep it is, and it's all sand. We get in the water and just float about for over an hour. It's pure heaven. We meet another woman in the water who is from one of the charter boats. She's really friendly and when we get out of the water to go sit on the beach, we join her friends and have some good laughs. What a fun bunch!!
Beautiful water.
Fun bunch!
Dean and I take a walk farther down the beach and go for a swim again. As we float he tells me what else he saw in my 'aura'. One thing he says is that I have had a very stressful life. That's pretty accurate. He also tells me that I haven't had anyone special in my life for a long time and he's right about that as well.
After about another hour in the water we walk back down to Ivan's and gather our stuff to head over to the Soggy Dollar beach. As we leave, Dean introduces me to Ivan. He's so cute! He's obviously old by the way he moves and is eating a sandwich so slow and carefully, but his face is unlined and looks so young. It's amazing how young all of the islanders look - it must be this languid, stress-free life. How I envy them.
We drive over to the Soggy Dollar and wow! it's so crowded today. There's a webcam on top of the bar roof that has live pictures and I visit it almost every day when I am at home and I don't think I have seen it this busy this time of year. (And, by the way, I am really wishing someone I knew was watching the cam and could take a screen shot of me on it. That would be so cool!) Dean needs to go see his brother who has a bar just behind Soggy Dollar up the road, and so he heads off and I go to the beach. It's just as I remember it... the water is the most amazing shade of blue/green and warm! The sand is softer than any other island I have been to. It's heaven. I go in for a swim and see the women we were hanging out with at Ivan's so we stand around in the water and chat some more and I get to meet more of her friends from another boat that they are sort of traveling with. Everyone is so friendly that it has made this whole experience so much richer for me. I am happier than I can ever remember being - and so relaxed it's ridiculous. I have noticed that I even walk like an islander now with that slow, unhurried sway.
White Bay in front of The Soggy Dollar.
White Bay in front of The Soggy Dollar.
A group of teen girls and their mom's try to get back to their boat without getting the merchandise they bought at the gift shop wet. Funny to watch!
The Soggy Dollar Bar.
It seems way too soon when Dean comes back and says we should think about heading off soon if I want to make the ferry. He had offered to drive me back in his own boat after the party at Foxy's tonight, which he is DJ-ing, and at first I accepted the offer as I knew I wouldn't want to leave at 4:30 like I am now. But then I thought about the trip back on the water in a small power boat in the dark and it scared me. Also, Dean has been making overtures to me that, quite frankly are not unwelcome and - had this been the first day of my stay in the islands instead of my last - I would have returned. But there's nowhere this can go now and I don't want to encourage him. So, after a quick trip into the gift shop where I buy a cute tank top, we climb into his jeep and head back over the mountain to the ferry dock. On the way he takes a detour over a hill on a path that isn't more than two rocky ruts with high grass in the middle and scrub and cacti on either side. He wants to to show me the best view on the island. But, unfortunately, when we get up there, the trees have grown higher since his last visit and obscured the view. There's also a cell tower here and he tells me he wanted to buy this property to build his house on but these guys got it first.
Back at the ferry dock, we say our goodbyes and I thank him for a wonderful day. He drives off and as I walk to the dock I see the two sisters, who I haven't seen since we arrived. Turns out they took the opposite tour of the island from us and so we just missed each other.
I had a fantastic day on the island and I can't think of a better way to have spent my last day here. If I ever come back, I am staying on Jost Van Dyke for half of my trip as it really is paradise.
Leaving. (this is not Jost Van Dyke, just an island on the way)
I just found out from a friend that I am on the front page of the Vancouver Sun today!!!!! UPDATE: The article is gone from The Sun page but it has been reprinted HERE.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
WHAT TO DO, AND WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE
I wake up to more rain, torrents of it. I think that, perhaps, the rainy season has started and it's not going to let up before I go home.
Not sure what to do, I post on TTOL asking what there is to do in the rain here. I don't get any replies before I decide to drive to Soper's Hole - a small marina with some nice shops that I remember visiting when I was here two years ago. There's also a Spa there. Maybe I will go have a body scrub to get rid of all this peeling skin. Sounds like a plan!
When I park and walk across the road, there's a fellow in a white van from a sail charter company. He waves me over, tells me his name is Captain Pete, and asks if I am interested in going for a sail. I tell him I had thought about it but decided not to. He then say's, "Where are you staying? At Sebastian's?" I am taken aback by this and ask how he knows that. He tells me he has seen me there, in the restaurant and outside at the table on my laptop several times. He said he saw me there last night and was going to come over and talk to me but I got up and left before he could do it. He asks if he can take me on a sail now and I lie and say I am meeting someone for coffee. He then asks me what I am doing tonight and my first thought is 'oh no, here we go again', but say "I have no idea, I don't really make plans. I am on vacation." He says he would like to take me out for a meal or to hear some good music. I tell him that's nice of him but I really don't know what I will want to do by this evening. He says he will drop by Sebastian's tonight. Great.
He drives off and I bypass the shops for now and go down to the docks for a look at some of the boats.
I finally get to the shops and go into one or two and then, as I am walking past Pusser's I see a young mom and her 2 year old daughter that I met while at Long Bay yesterday. I say hi and she invites me to sit with them so I do. I guess I am meeting someone after all! The mom is Melissa and the daughter is Stella and she is super cute. They had spent 4 or 5 days on a sailboat with some relatives and are now at Long Bay until tomorrow when they return home to Seattle. As we chat, she tells me that she took a taxi here and needs to go into Road Town because the bank machine here is not working (probably out of cash - as usual). She said that when she went into Road Town yesterday, it cost her $50 in fare. I tell her that I have a car and will take her into town to the bank there. She is very grateful and so, while they finish a bite to eat, I go to the Spa to get a brochure because I think my idea of a body scrub is brilliant and will go another day, and then for a quick look in some of the shops.
We head into Road Town and I park in the big lot by the sea and we walk to the first bank. It won't take her card. Stella is making some noises and pointing and, when we turn to look, there's a huge blueish crab in the corner of the tiled area - he's pressing himself right into the corner like he is terrified. I can't believe he climbed four stairs to get there. When we leave I am wishing I had taken a photo but figure I will on the way back, but when we return, he's gone.
We go to Scotia Bank and she get's what she needs and we head back to the car and then to Long Bay. I stop at Sebastian's on the way to get into a swim suit and then spend a lovely and SUNNY!!! afternoon in the pool with my two new friends. Stella seems to warm up to me and I help her go to the top of the small slide there and her mom waits at the bottom in the pool to catch her. She is fearless and goes straight down and then wants more. She goes for a dozen times or more and then, suddenly, freaks out at the top and needs to be carried down the steps. And that's it for the slide.
There's an outdoor movie night, a Disney film. at 7:00 at Long Bay. Melissa decides to try to get Stella to have a nap before it starts and so I head back to Sebastian's. I am invited to come back for the movie but I decide to stay in. I head down to the restaurant so I can use the wifi - that is the biggest drawback to this place, no wifi in the room, only at the restaurant. As I am sitting there, Pete, the boat captain I met earlier, shows up. I see, now that he is standing, that he has a very bad limp and that his left arm seems useless, curled up into his side. I ask about it and he tells me he had a stroke a couple of years ago. We sit and talk and he says that he wants more business from the internet but can't figure out how to get it. I take a look at his website and instantly see why he's not getting it. The site is dated and amateurish. Also, in a Google search of BVI CHARTERS, he is buried on the 8th page. He asks how he can improve the site and we spend the next hour talking about that.
After a bit he asks what my plans are for the next few days and again, I tell him I don't really have any. I have three or four places I still want to go to and I will go as the fancy hits me. One is Jost Van Dyke and he tells me he will take me there on his sailboat. I know he does this for a living and that he charges $100 for a day sail, but I am not sure if he is offering as a customer or as a friend thing and doesn't expect pay. So I ask; How much will he charge me, and he thinks a moment and says "If there are other people coming, nothing. If just you, $50." It's a good deal but still twice as much as the ferry. But then, I'd have to take a taxi from the ferry dock to White Bay. And I'd have to leave at 5:00 - the last ferry off of the island. This way, there'd be more leeway. But I don't want to give the guy the wrong idea because I am not interested in anything more than friendship.
I am so not used to handling this sort of situation. It's way out of my comfort zone.
Not sure what to do, I post on TTOL asking what there is to do in the rain here. I don't get any replies before I decide to drive to Soper's Hole - a small marina with some nice shops that I remember visiting when I was here two years ago. There's also a Spa there. Maybe I will go have a body scrub to get rid of all this peeling skin. Sounds like a plan!
When I park and walk across the road, there's a fellow in a white van from a sail charter company. He waves me over, tells me his name is Captain Pete, and asks if I am interested in going for a sail. I tell him I had thought about it but decided not to. He then say's, "Where are you staying? At Sebastian's?" I am taken aback by this and ask how he knows that. He tells me he has seen me there, in the restaurant and outside at the table on my laptop several times. He said he saw me there last night and was going to come over and talk to me but I got up and left before he could do it. He asks if he can take me on a sail now and I lie and say I am meeting someone for coffee. He then asks me what I am doing tonight and my first thought is 'oh no, here we go again', but say "I have no idea, I don't really make plans. I am on vacation." He says he would like to take me out for a meal or to hear some good music. I tell him that's nice of him but I really don't know what I will want to do by this evening. He says he will drop by Sebastian's tonight. Great.
He drives off and I bypass the shops for now and go down to the docks for a look at some of the boats.
A really beautiful sailboat.
Love the name of this boat.
I finally get to the shops and go into one or two and then, as I am walking past Pusser's I see a young mom and her 2 year old daughter that I met while at Long Bay yesterday. I say hi and she invites me to sit with them so I do. I guess I am meeting someone after all! The mom is Melissa and the daughter is Stella and she is super cute. They had spent 4 or 5 days on a sailboat with some relatives and are now at Long Bay until tomorrow when they return home to Seattle. As we chat, she tells me that she took a taxi here and needs to go into Road Town because the bank machine here is not working (probably out of cash - as usual). She said that when she went into Road Town yesterday, it cost her $50 in fare. I tell her that I have a car and will take her into town to the bank there. She is very grateful and so, while they finish a bite to eat, I go to the Spa to get a brochure because I think my idea of a body scrub is brilliant and will go another day, and then for a quick look in some of the shops.
We head into Road Town and I park in the big lot by the sea and we walk to the first bank. It won't take her card. Stella is making some noises and pointing and, when we turn to look, there's a huge blueish crab in the corner of the tiled area - he's pressing himself right into the corner like he is terrified. I can't believe he climbed four stairs to get there. When we leave I am wishing I had taken a photo but figure I will on the way back, but when we return, he's gone.
We go to Scotia Bank and she get's what she needs and we head back to the car and then to Long Bay. I stop at Sebastian's on the way to get into a swim suit and then spend a lovely and SUNNY!!! afternoon in the pool with my two new friends. Stella seems to warm up to me and I help her go to the top of the small slide there and her mom waits at the bottom in the pool to catch her. She is fearless and goes straight down and then wants more. She goes for a dozen times or more and then, suddenly, freaks out at the top and needs to be carried down the steps. And that's it for the slide.
Someone just woke up from a very short nap and doesn't want to have her picture taken.
The best we could manage.
There's an outdoor movie night, a Disney film. at 7:00 at Long Bay. Melissa decides to try to get Stella to have a nap before it starts and so I head back to Sebastian's. I am invited to come back for the movie but I decide to stay in. I head down to the restaurant so I can use the wifi - that is the biggest drawback to this place, no wifi in the room, only at the restaurant. As I am sitting there, Pete, the boat captain I met earlier, shows up. I see, now that he is standing, that he has a very bad limp and that his left arm seems useless, curled up into his side. I ask about it and he tells me he had a stroke a couple of years ago. We sit and talk and he says that he wants more business from the internet but can't figure out how to get it. I take a look at his website and instantly see why he's not getting it. The site is dated and amateurish. Also, in a Google search of BVI CHARTERS, he is buried on the 8th page. He asks how he can improve the site and we spend the next hour talking about that.
After a bit he asks what my plans are for the next few days and again, I tell him I don't really have any. I have three or four places I still want to go to and I will go as the fancy hits me. One is Jost Van Dyke and he tells me he will take me there on his sailboat. I know he does this for a living and that he charges $100 for a day sail, but I am not sure if he is offering as a customer or as a friend thing and doesn't expect pay. So I ask; How much will he charge me, and he thinks a moment and says "If there are other people coming, nothing. If just you, $50." It's a good deal but still twice as much as the ferry. But then, I'd have to take a taxi from the ferry dock to White Bay. And I'd have to leave at 5:00 - the last ferry off of the island. This way, there'd be more leeway. But I don't want to give the guy the wrong idea because I am not interested in anything more than friendship.
I am so not used to handling this sort of situation. It's way out of my comfort zone.
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