Welcome Back!!!The Witches of Nanny Cay at the Halloween PartyIn this month's exciting episode, we have:
- Some talk about facial follicles
- The Visitor's report...(who could it be?)
- Full Moon Parties
- The much talked about "Boating Section"
- and a few other bits and pieces to accompany the usual Sports, Weather and Rat Count sections.
And if you missed a previous issue, just look across to the right (yep -----> that way) and click on a previous post, or scroll wayyyyyyy down the page to view from the start.
Tip:If you don't already know, you can click on the photos to make them bigger.
Lambert BeachMOvember…a hairy tale…"Alas" says Michelle, "MOvember has struck in the Caribbean this year."
The chances of it happening here were similar to those of a Hurricane striking the BVI. Well, we missed the hurricane (or it missed us!) but a bunch of expats here have come down with the MOvember epidemic. Dave is now sporting a magnificent hairy feature beneath his nose. About 50 expats, mainly from the Rugby Club are taking part this year. There are a number of outstanding efforts around, as well as several pre-pubescent schoolboy look-a-likes.
Due to life in the BVI being life in the BVI, we are unable to provide you with the final result and outcome of the “BVI Man of MOvember” contest because MOvember in the BVI doesn’t officially close until 4 December (something to do with the tides and daylight saving apparently). 4 December is when all the Mo Bros gather at “the Dove” for canapés, cocktails and the judging & prize-giving gala event. But fear not! We will update the results right here as soon as we can. But in the interim, here’s a pic of Dave at the Three week stage. What a guy! Michelle has begged him to keep it – as a lot of the women here have done – but no, it’s gotta go.
Da daaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!
The Visitors Report
Book your travel. All visitors welcome!!!We have just welcomed and fare-welled our first official visitors. Horse (alias Ken) and Sharon spent a few days here recently as part of their travels around the US and the like. We have their impressions of life as a tourist in the BVI just below. It was great to have them here and one of the bonuses of Dave not working was that he could show them around all the sights… and help with the major decisions like “What beer shall we have?” and “Should I really have a Bomba rum punch?” The appropriate responses being “Doesn’t matter, but Carib is good.” and “Yes”.
Ken helped keep the bar staff busy and Sharon took more pictures than can be seen at
http://www.murraylloyd.com/So, without further a do, here are the unedited words from the Horse's mouth, so to speak:
BVI trip 24 - 26th Nov 2007 Ken Horspool & Sharon Burke (Horse & Shazza) Hello All,
After reading DB & Michelle's Blog on their adventures to BVI we decided that we would venture forth & check to see if they were true.
After a couple of days relaxing in Miami Florida, we set off on our travels to BVI. We were scheduled to arrive on the 24th Nov 07, but unfortunately American Airlines had other ideas. We landed at St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands & our bags decided they wanted another night in Miami, so we set off for a local hotel (Bolongo) to await the bags. Hallelujah they turned up the next day, so we boarded the ferry to BVI.
After clearing 'HM Customs' behind all the locals who had been shopping in St Thomas, we met a 'Singlet wearing, moustached, tanned, local guy' by the name of David Ross Bailey & his lovely daughter Samantha. DB then proceeded to take us on a short tour around the Island & the local hotspots, one of those was the beautiful beach called 'Smugglers Bay' which was to become our nemisis later in the trip. We also went to the World famous 'Bomba's Shack' and had a local brew called 'Carib' & Sharon had a 'Bomba's Rum punch' which does not really describe the potency of the drink. I liken it too a small Nuclear explosion rather than a punch.
After fighting our way through all the olde nickers & 'R' rated pictures at Bomba's we headed off again on the roads / tracks around the islands.
**Note** Roads / tracks do not begin to describe them. If you picture Fijian roads, with a Solomon Island paving & Mt Everest style slopes you may come close. DB handled the roads like a local ('A Belonga'). Indicators are just decorations & the car horn is the main form of communication. One short blast on the car horn just about covers everything (indicating R/L back front, passing on either side of the road, "Hello....How are you.....get out the F...ing way, nice rack, chicken ahoy" & a multitude of other greetings / profanities). You learn very quickly as a passenger that you will lose a limb (Right arm) if you have it out the window. They drive on the normal side of the road (Left) but in their infinite wisdom have left hand drive vehicles, which puts the passenger on friendly / intimate terms with any & all on coming traffic.
Sharon and Horse in action...and yep, that truck is parked on the roof of a house.With the island tour half out of the way we met Michelle at their house (again think Everest slopes / goat tracks & wild jungle on each side of the road.) DB & Michelle decided we needed a swim, so we headed off to a lovely beach by the Airport (Well Bay). Nice calm waters & Sam & Jake with boundless energy, a couple of Carib's made for a nice evening, apart from the mossies, (who by the way could carry off a small child under each wing) after this we headed back to DB's mansion for a BBQ & a few more Carib's. Late night lies & how we fought back the communist threat rounded out a lovely day.
Next day up at zero early hours (Thanks Sam & Jake) & went to Sam & Jake's school to drop them off. Mrs Bailey went off to work (Poor wee thing....was a lovely day outside) so DB took us to the remaininig beaches, which just got better & better.....and back to Smugglers bay for a swim, snorkel & then the odd drink (read 8 - 10 Caribs each & the same rums for Sharon). With the swimming, snorkelling & the drinks, time seem to whizz by & soon it was time to pick up the billy lids (kids) from school. DB dropped us off in town for the standard T-shirt shopping...................but alas we where too sunburned from the sorkelling, swimming & drinking............so we found a chemist & applied 2 litres of moisturiser, brought a T-shirt & waited in a pub (Pussers / Rum makers.......oh no it's started again) for DB & the kids to turn up. BVI has only 1 set of traffic lights & DB claims it took him 1 & half hours to travel 500 meters in the heavy traffic.......but we think he went home for a nana nap before coming to the pub (Pussers). We had a lovely dinner, then back to DB's for a night cap (1/2 doz caribs).
The next day was travelling / sunburn recovery day..so again we dropped off Sam & Jake at school & Mrs Bailey at work (Bless her), said our farewells to them & off we went to the remaining beaches DB had not yet taken us too. A somewhat slower day than previous.....not sure why??????
We had booked a midday ferry, so was it sad to leave our awesome hosts, DB, Michelle, Sam & Jake......but we had to venture forth to our next adventure & bearing in mind we were the 'Baileys' first visitors we decided to set some 'Visitor Rulz' which I believe should become the standard currency for a visit.
Rule # 1
- Thou shalt obtain a six pack of Speights & personally deliver to David Ross Bailey in BVI (I carted them from Perth across the USA to BVI, so not impossible)
Rule # 2
- Always leave a surprise for the kidz (We left them $10 in an envelope each.....Sam gave up her room & slept in with Jake...good effort).
Anyway apart from that we didn't do much while we were there.........Hahahahahahahahaha! Was real good to see the Baileys & a mighty THANKS to you again........& finally the Island is what it is & all the things about it make the character of the place. You all must visit... & remember the Rulz
Cheers more Beers
Horse & Shazza.
P.S - Couple of pics attached of DB at work & one of us Bailing out the BaileySo it appears that they enjoyed their time in the Caribbean. They seemed to be impressed with the driving (maybe not so much Dave's) and the roads around here, not to mention the beaches, beers, rums and chickens.
One morning, both of them separately said, as they looked out upon the scenic vista from our house, “Ahhhh… another day in paradise…” So we guessed that they liked the place.
Oh yeah, thanks for the Speight's mate. It's been a while...
So, who's up next????
Full Moon Parties
Trellis Bay
Full Moon parties have been going on (or should I say ‘going off!’) here for years. There are two places that run official Full Moon Parties. One is the Bomba Shack (
http://www.bombasurfsideshack.com/ ) which is THE party place to be. The other is at Trellis Bay, at the other end of the island, near the Airport on Beef Island.
We elected to go to the Trellis Bay party on the 24th – since we had the kids. Had Ken and Sharon made it here the day before, we would have gone to Bomba’s and their story may have been a little different... or maybe not!
The Trellis Bay party is a more sedate and family friendly affair. A lot of tourists go to this one. Well, a lot go to the other one as well, but this lot are generally slightly more sober (or is that soberer?) and possibly a little more experienced in life. The arty farty crowd seem to run it – it is adjacent to a couple of galleries so that’s probably why. They have a couple of bands playing, several bars (surprise, surprise!) and resturants. There are also paintings and other art forms on display for the unsuspecting cash-laden tourist. There are Mocko Jumbie dancers (on stilts) and fire jugglers and they also burn some cool-looking
braziers out in the water. It was a fairly quiet affair, but it was a relief to not be pounded by the 65 million decibels that a lot of the music around here seems to emit, and that’s just the car stereos. The kids had fun and it was a nice night for it – after the rain had stopped.
Meanwhile on the other side of the island, one of the guys from the rugby club was being beaten up by a four foot Australian woman at Bomba’s. Must have been something in that Bomba punch!
Mocko Jumbie dancersOne of the braziers - on shoreLeaving Island Sales
Everyone who leaves the island ends up having a “Leaving Island Sale”. That’s where they get rid of all their crap that is no longer needed. We have managed to get a few things through these events, namely lamps, books, TV’s and things. Although Michelle did come home the other week with two sets of water skis (one set Female, the other male) as well as two single skis (again, one Female & one Male) and a couple of ski ropes as well. You may know that we don’t actually own a boat and the sea here doesn’t have a slope but interestingly enough, some friends of ours have just bought a boat and are keen to give the skiing a go. Yippee!
Their boat is a 26 footer with two (Yes 2) Yamaha 200s on the back. It can go a bit fast…more on that later.
TyreSam and Dave went to put some more air in the car tyres the other day and discovered that one of the valves needed replacing. So they toddled on over to the BVI version of Beaurepairs where we met the local version of Vince Martin. Dave pointed out that a new valve was needed. Vince nodded and pointed past a row of cars and said “(something, something).. Bay one..”
Dave tries to decipher what was just said, looks around and says with a blank look, “OK, thanks” and jumps back in the car, backs out and moves the car down to an empty space that looked pretty much like Bay One. Vince stands there and watches for a moment. Dave gets out and looks back at Vince. Nothing. Dave wanders back over to Vince who says in a much slower voice, “You didn’t understand what I said did you?”
Dave replies, “Apparently not.”
Vince: “I said go over there and BUY one.”
Aaaaahhh, thinks Dave as he finally comprehends what was said. There was an auto parts shop just around the corner and Vince was saying to go and Buy One (a valve) not Go to BAY one.
In the end, they got the valve and Vince fitted it.
Michelle and Sam near "The Caves"
Boat Stuff (yep, this is the Boating Section)
They’re into their Boat races here, but unfortunately most of the races involve boats...
There are big boats and small boats,
Fast boats and slow boats
Boats that are upright and some that are not.
Boats that are cool and boats that are hot!
There are working boats and shirking boats
And Boats with big gibs
There’s boats made of fiberglass and then there are RIBs
There are cruise ships and ferries and freighters and yachts
And most of them go to the coolest of spots
The water is blue and the sky is as well
But when it comes winter, watch out for that swell
So check out these pictures and I think you’ll agree
What fun can be had way out on the sea.
db
There are more boats here than the preverbial bull can produce. The tourist industry relies on it through Yacht Charters, Day Sails, Ferries, Cruise Ships, Yacht Racing, Commercial and Sport fishing and pleasure boating generally. There are resorts dotted around the islands and unless you have a boat, you can't get there. The Willy T is a 20 minute boat ride from Road Town, but it is always busy there. The people who come down and charter a yacht for a week or so all seem to pop in there at least once. The Cruise ship season is well and truly under way with two or three ships coming each day - each with about two to three thousand passengers on each.
Most power boats are just that. They have big motors and are made for speed generally. Anyway, enough dribbling from me, I think the pictures say it all.
The Queen Mary II. It's the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world. It is too big to dock here so it uses it's own boats to ferry passengers to and from the dock. It is huge!!!!
A "Gin Palace"
A few Yachts...
Two cruise ships. The small one is about the size of one of the Picton Ferries
Another Gin Palace
Bet this goes fast!!!
Cruise Ship at night
Bet this goes faster!! It's one of Custom's Drug Pursuit boats. There is another and that has FOUR V8's on it! I wonder how it turns?
Freighter
A party boat...
Another Cruise ship docking
Some 'working' boats
Busy day out on the sea
Kids, near the Cruise Ship Dock
An upturned ship, still full of freight. It's been this way for about 8 months, they can't right it.
One of "The Caves" at Norman Island
Friend’s Boat.
As we mentioned above, friends of ours have just purchased a boat. A 26 ft power boat.
So the other Tuesday after dropping our respective kids at school the three of us ‘Daddy Mums’ met at the mooring and took the boat for a test drive over to the Willy T for lunch and a beer…or three. Willy T’s is a boat converted into a bar that is moored just of Norman Island. See http://www.williamthornton.com/about.html for the history (and some interesting pics). This is a popular spot with the tourists too. Mainly those in party mode as it is common to see a bunch of half cut female tourists leaping off the boat naked.
Anyway, back to the story, the boat went so well that we decided to do it again three days later. So on Friday we all went (kids and wives included - it was a holiday) to the Caves at Norman Island first for some snorkeling and then to Willy T for lunch. The Caves are some caves (funnily enough) at Norman Island that you can snorkel into and are pretty popular on the tourist trail. We didn’t get any photos inside the Caves as the swell was a bit rough. Maybe next time! But we did see a massive Barracuda just floating about.
After another nice lunch and a couple of drinks at Willy T's we headed back for Road Town. On the way back the waves were up and we all got soaked. The Queen Mary II was parked up out in the harbour so we had a close up look at her as well. Massive. Pictures above in the Boat Section.
The kids displaying their Willy T tattoos
Rat Count
"I think we’ve got eem!"
After a few months of the monster rat eating the bait and crapping on our trap, Dave came up with a new strategy. The usual peanut butter was placed on the trap but this time a pile of Rat poison was sprinkled liberally around the trap and on the peanut butter.
Upon checking the trap the next morning…. nothing. The trap has not been sprung. The peanut butter is gone, but so is the poison. There is not even a crumb of poison left – and it didn’t rain over night. That rat must have been mighty hungry! We wait…. And we wait. It’s been over a week now. No sign of the rat. No smells of rotting rat carcass either though. So it looks like an unconfirmed point to the good guys this month.
4 Rats and one Bird to Nil.
The kids are alive and well in the social circles of Tortola. One day Sam is having lunch at Government House...
...and the next they're at Bomba's. They are arguably the youngest 'regulars' at Bomba's.
Some of the flags at school. There is a flag for each country represented. They had to buy a New Zealand flag when we arrived! Michelle’s New building
You may be aware that Michelle’s work is moving to a new building (see October issue). The building has only just been completed (well mostly). The building itself has five floors (counting the ground floor). However, the building permit was issued for three floors.
They are all on the 3rd floor (will eventually be on 3 & 4) so are apparently OK. But they are in there and working – although they had to walk down two flights of stairs and cross the street to their old building if they needed the loo (or bathroom as it is referred to here) on the first day! So, still a few ‘issues’ to deal with. Michelle’s office has a nice view of the Marina and hills though. We’ll work on a few photo’s for the next issue.
Weather Watch
A "Hot" dog... at the Halloween party Well, winter cometh it seems. The temperatures are generally a bit cooller than what we have experienced since arriving, although we still get plenty of days when the weather is in the low thirties. There does seem to be more of a breeze about (which is quite pleasant) and the swells have got bigger, especially on the Northern shores. There has been a lot of rain recently, but they say that winter is the dry season. So, we'll see.
We aren't sure whether it is just us or the weather, but we have noticed that the sea these days is almost 'refreshing' as aopposed to the 'warm bath' feel we had when we first arrived. Hmmmmm... it'll be interesting to see who swims in the sea when we are back in NZ over Xmas!!!! Lowest temp so far....
21Sports Section
Tag Rugby Tourny The kids that played, & Jake, on a mission... to somewhereThe rugby club organised a Family Tag/Flag tournament a few weeks back. There was a kids competition and a social adults competition. A lot of people had never played before and it really was a laugh. We tried our best not to be competitive as we were trying to encourage newcomers to the game. The kids had fun. Jake's first touch of the ball saw him do a U-turn and sprint towards his own line being persued by his team mates all waving and yelling trying to turn him a round. He beat them all and scored in the corner while his parents bowed their heads in shame but really doubled up in laughter. It was a sight. But to his credit, he scored at the other end a few minutes later. He spent a lot of time pulling tags off everyone (even his own team mates!) then running around gathering them to return them to their owners - he was one of the youngest & had not played before so he did ok!
Sam, who has had some prior experience also played well and prefers to be more a distributor of the ball rather than running too far. She continues to enjoy the rugby at school and both Sam and Jake even took the field last thursday night at the 'adults' rugby, if just for a short time.
The 2nd race in the 10 k series
Well… it seemed like a cooler day…only about 26 on the clock. Race started. Felt pretty good. After about 20 minutes I thought “Man, it’s cookin again today!” And sure enough, I nearly burst into flames. Managed a 51.19 this time. A little quicker than last time but not much better. A bit disappointed. But maybe some training would have helped. Nuff sed.
Kids sport
Flag (or is it Tag?) rugby & tennis have dominated this month. Dave Coached a session at school one day as he was filling in for the RDO (Rugby Development Officer). He’s
not sure if he would like to do that for a living. But it seemed that the kids had fun!
Both Michelle and Dave also ran a session for the local kids one Saturday morning (as the RDO was still away). It was a scorching seventy million degrees with no wind, and we had a bunch of local kids to try and control for an hour or so. We got there in the end but were pleased when it was over. These kids are a little older (around 8 - 12) and we forever trying it on with us. They even told us that the normal coach gave them a ride home in his car after the practice. We may look like tourists, but we ain't that silly. We wished them well on their walk home.
Womens’ RugbyThe girls are still turning out in force and are improving each week. They now pop over to Bomba’s after their training on a Wednesday night.
The coach has introduced some more physical aspects to their training now, such as mud wrestling and a Sumo competition (not that that's a reflection on any of the girls stature). They all seem to have fun and enjoy it all. The depth of BVI rugby is on the rise.
This is the highlight of the day for the local police. A nose-to-tail at the roundabout. There were actually
seven cops attending this horrific incident where it seems that the lead vehicle's (Red ute) tail light may have actually been broken.
Next Issue
The December edition will be released a little later than usual. The Editor, Sub-editor, Type Setter, Tea Lady and Cleaner have all advised that they will be away from the office, returning around 6 January 2008. With a little bit of luck, the December edition will be out soon after that.
In the next issue you can hear all about:
- Trippin’ ‘round da world…and back. The real behind-the-scenes story of the experience of traveling with two kids on connecting flights using dodgy airlines.
- Rat Count. Is he really dead or just headed north for the winter?
- Winter in the Caribbean. Just how cold does it really get?
- Sports & Weather
- Maybe some flora too
And plenty more half-arsed and barely decipherable stories from the BVI.
We wish you all a Very Happy and Sunny Christmas and maybe we'll even catch up with a few of you.Michelle, Dave, Sam and Jake.