Welcome to our January Edition - The January Gybe. Although there isn't too much sailing involved, at least we are surrounded by yachts and water...Well things are starting to happen. Michelle is currently in Cayman while the rest of the family back in the BVI is keeping the house spotless and going to bed early every night...
There's a bit to get through this month, so you may need to grab an extra coffee or beer, depending on the time of day of course!
We must apolgise for the delay in getting this to you. Even as we write this, the internet seems to be doing it's best to foil us. Also, there are limited photos here as well. The uploading has failed continuously for three days now, so we have given up, but hope to add to the blog later in the week if at all possible.
Without further ado, read on!
Visitor’s Report
Dave’s parents Doug & Lil (Pop & Grandma) came over for a Christmas in the Caribbean. As promised in the last issue, here is their story:
We would call this a unique trip, a holiday with a difference, plus quite a lot of drama sprinkled throughout. First hiccup began one December Monday, when our Quantas plane couldn’t land at Queenstown due to heavy cloud and rain. Luckily an Air NZ plane was on the tarmac preparing to fly out – a hurried re-arrangement at check-in saw us boarding this plane in heavy, cold rain. Thick cloud all the way to Auckland. We Checked our bags thru to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. After an overnight flight to Los Angeles (managed to half sleep) we got thru Customs and delivered our bags for onward check. Then off to Delta domestic for boarding passes. LA to Atlanta was uneventful. We arrived at St Thomas (Wed) and waited and waited but NO LUGGAGE!! We made a baggage claim and were told our bags would be delivered to Road Town Customs in the BVI the next day. So we caught a Taxi to the ferry and boarded by 4.30p.m. Good to have sunshine and fresh air after long flights. There were lovely cruise ships in the harbour. We arrived at Road Town at 6 p.m. We could spot the kids thru the wire on other side of the Customs area. A real hold-up here with only one officer processing two ferry loads of people – who were eventually split into two groups; locals and visitors and this speeded it up somewhat. Hugs and kisses all round with kids then a ‘white knuckle’ drive home to Cooten Bay. Borrowed Dave’s T-shirt for nightwear, Doug and Dave same size, so they could swap clothes.
Next day after breakfast we explored garden with the kids. Lovely view of Francis Drake Channel from courtyard. Come Thurs night, NO LUGGAGE!! Michelle tracked it to Atlanta and was assured luggage would be in on Saturday’s plane and at Road Town Customs. We had discovered it was only checked as far as Atlanta and not on to St Thomas!! We should have looked more closely at our baggage tickets.!!! After work we followed David and kids to Josiah’s for swim/surfing. Doug in the Pajero managed very well on these 4 wheel drive ‘roads’. Lil was terrified most of the time!! Left hand drive on left side of narrow roads. Lots of steep corners.
We watched the Road Town Christmas Light Parade with Calypso Bands, Fire Engines, Police Cars, etc. Starting to feel Christmassy.
On Saturday the bath plughole was blocked and the water was not draining away (more complicated set-up than in N.Z.) but David and Doug between them managed to get it fixed. Called at Customs - NO LUGGAGE!! Pre-Christmas BBQ that night was great.
Monday started to vacuum house in time for Christmas but power went off, so drove kids to Josiah’s for swim. That afternoon David had collected our luggage from Customs, bags had come on different flights and different ferries, BUT THEY HAD COME!! with all the Christmas gifts etc. everything in one piece.
Dave’s parents Doug & Lil (Pop & Grandma) came over for a Christmas in the Caribbean. As promised in the last issue, here is their story:
We would call this a unique trip, a holiday with a difference, plus quite a lot of drama sprinkled throughout. First hiccup began one December Monday, when our Quantas plane couldn’t land at Queenstown due to heavy cloud and rain. Luckily an Air NZ plane was on the tarmac preparing to fly out – a hurried re-arrangement at check-in saw us boarding this plane in heavy, cold rain. Thick cloud all the way to Auckland. We Checked our bags thru to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. After an overnight flight to Los Angeles (managed to half sleep) we got thru Customs and delivered our bags for onward check. Then off to Delta domestic for boarding passes. LA to Atlanta was uneventful. We arrived at St Thomas (Wed) and waited and waited but NO LUGGAGE!! We made a baggage claim and were told our bags would be delivered to Road Town Customs in the BVI the next day. So we caught a Taxi to the ferry and boarded by 4.30p.m. Good to have sunshine and fresh air after long flights. There were lovely cruise ships in the harbour. We arrived at Road Town at 6 p.m. We could spot the kids thru the wire on other side of the Customs area. A real hold-up here with only one officer processing two ferry loads of people – who were eventually split into two groups; locals and visitors and this speeded it up somewhat. Hugs and kisses all round with kids then a ‘white knuckle’ drive home to Cooten Bay. Borrowed Dave’s T-shirt for nightwear, Doug and Dave same size, so they could swap clothes.
Next day after breakfast we explored garden with the kids. Lovely view of Francis Drake Channel from courtyard. Come Thurs night, NO LUGGAGE!! Michelle tracked it to Atlanta and was assured luggage would be in on Saturday’s plane and at Road Town Customs. We had discovered it was only checked as far as Atlanta and not on to St Thomas!! We should have looked more closely at our baggage tickets.!!! After work we followed David and kids to Josiah’s for swim/surfing. Doug in the Pajero managed very well on these 4 wheel drive ‘roads’. Lil was terrified most of the time!! Left hand drive on left side of narrow roads. Lots of steep corners.
We watched the Road Town Christmas Light Parade with Calypso Bands, Fire Engines, Police Cars, etc. Starting to feel Christmassy.
On Saturday the bath plughole was blocked and the water was not draining away (more complicated set-up than in N.Z.) but David and Doug between them managed to get it fixed. Called at Customs - NO LUGGAGE!! Pre-Christmas BBQ that night was great.
Monday started to vacuum house in time for Christmas but power went off, so drove kids to Josiah’s for swim. That afternoon David had collected our luggage from Customs, bags had come on different flights and different ferries, BUT THEY HAD COME!! with all the Christmas gifts etc. everything in one piece.
Sam and Grandma made the Christmas pudding and Doug and Jake finished the housework. We visited Government House and had a conducted tour of the Museum next door. Most enjoyable.
Wed and Christmas Eve: WE ARE OUT OF WATER!!! I glazed Christmas Ham, while Doug and Dave collected a submersible pump and began pumping water from the overflow tank. Christmas table was set for next morning after our trip to the Tamarind Club.
Christmas Day was great. Champagne Breakfast at home with visitors Liz and Steve. Loaded up and off to Marianne and Simon’s for Christmas Dinner. It was a long day but sociable.
Boxing Day was Sam’s birthday with a Pool Party at Nanny Cay. Nice relaxing day for us oldies.
The next drama was POWER OUTAGE on 29 Dec in the evening. Half power still working in the house but no water pump, so no showers etc. NEXT – a FLAT TYRE in the Pajero!! Finally got this and the power fixed by New Year’s Eve. Starting to think we might have a jinx on things.
David had to work day after New Year’s Day as it is not a holiday here. Michelle and kids took us to Virgin Gorda, the old Copper Mine and the Baths for the day.
We cared for the kids when Michelle and Dave were working and really enjoyed our time with them. They are growing up very quickly. We admire their confidence in the water. Were wishing we were 10 years younger and could splash around with them a bit more. During our time here visited most of the Beaches, drove completely round the island, got half-drowned on a boat trip to Norman Island, Doug got into snorkeling and swam alongside a turtle. Lil was useless at it, so just got wet in water and flapped about and gained a suntan. We visited Marina Cay and Pusser’s phone box. New Year’s Eve began at Trellis Bay and ended at the Last Resort. Enjoyed the Steel Drums, jump rope team and the gaiety of the locals. Admired the private jets at Beef Island and the beautiful yachts moored at the Marina’s. Jake’s birthday was a pool party at Lambert Beach – had sat chilly bin on an ants nest!!! Lil accidentally stood on the nest and got bites all round her ankles, but luckily no after effects. We visited Bomba’s shack more than once, went out for meals and were thoroughly spoilt – was sad to leave. We left from West End for St Thomas and were booked into Holiday Inn for a night. Room wasn’t ready so had a late lunch and looked round some shops. Left early next morning in pouring rain, so kind of ended as we started, but temperature a lot different. We have lots of happy memories and hopefully Lil will produce a painting or two from the photos taken. WE JUST NEED TO SAY THANKS A MILLION TO OUR KIDS- and hope everything goes well for them in the Cayman’s.
Yes, he did actually go into the water
Michelle’s Leaving Do’s
Michelle had a couple of leaving do’s. Mainly with the rugby club crowd. The first was here final training session at Capoon’s Bay. The girl’s training night is Wednesday so off she goes and they have a great turnout – about 24! After training they headed off to Bomba’s (as is customary after training) for a few farewell drinks. After a while the dreaded funnel appeared and Michelle was duly presented with a funnel to consume. She did that easily and then made most of the others do the same. They had a lot of fun and Michelle was only slightly seedy the next day…
Unbeknownst to her, one of the girls from the club was organizing a surprise dinner for Michelle in town on the Friday night. Everyone knew about this except Michelle. Even after a Wednesday and a Thursday night at Bomba’s she was still none the wiser. Amazing. Dave’s job was to take her for a drink after work on Friday and ‘casually’ wander over to “The Watering Hole” where she would be greeted by everyone. She didn’t want to go for a drink but instead wanted to go straight to the Watering Hole. This happened and there were a few people there in the know who never said anything. Soon more and more people arrived and Michelle still hadn’t clicked. There was another Birthday party being held there for someone we know and Michelle just thought everyone was going to that.
Eventually the time came for the girls to make a farewell presentation and the penny finally dropped! After a very moving few words from the organizer, Michelle was presented with a little photo album which pictured her as well as most of the other girls. Each one had added her personal comments to the photo which brought a few little tears to Michelle’s (and other’s) eyes.
Then it was off to dinner at Spaghetti Junction which was very nice. All the girls at one end and the boys at the other. In true Captain’s form, Michelle was last to leave after a great evening with her Rugby girls.
Travel Report
Michelle moves to Cayman!
Up to Michelle’s second to last day of work in the BVI, her Cayman work permit had still not come through and she was not sure that she was even going to finish work on the day planned! She was even starting to convince herself that she would get an extra week or two in the BVI with the family and then the news arrives – the permit is approved. Oh dear, the face drops…she is definitely going and within a week. She quickly books her flights and starts telling everyone she is definitely leaving.
She has her work farewell as planned and its then off for a few drinks to celebrate – well, it was actually to celebrate a friend’s birthday but, surprise! The rugby girls had organized a surprise farewell for Michelle, including a really cool album that had a photo and a little message from each of the girls and coaches (including Jess who is now in Canada, and even Max who is now back in the UK) – Michelle loved it so much that it brought tears (floods actually) to her eyes (thanks soooo much guys – I really miss you all and I’ll treasure it forever!). We all then went out for a lovely dinner. It was a wonderful surprise which she never even guessed (she can be a bit thick at times!). Thanks to Liz for organizing it all and to Dave for ensuring I got there, and without figuring it all out!
The weekend passed in a blur of preparing for Jake’s birthday party, packing suitcases, farewelling Dave’s parents, catching up with friends, and more packing!
Wednesday, the day of departure, came and off she went, all alone…
Things went relatively smoothly except for one of the cases not arriving after the first flight – lucky it was on the next flight and there was plenty of time to wait for it. Carried on to Miami but was then delayed for 2 hours. Got to Cayman a bit bleary-eyed at about 11.30pm but with all the luggage – yay! She was met at the airport and taken to her new place of abode – a very nice one bedroom apartment in the same complex as her new work – very convenient. She decided to get straight into it and went to work the next day. It was great to have been there before and to know quite a few of the people – certainly makes it easier in starting a new job. Now she’s just got to figure out what she’s supposed to be doing! She was thrown into the thick of it and is enjoying the new challenges.
The first weekend started with a Fortis social at the local popular pub, then checking out the rugby club – the women and men had some games on so she hung around watching them. She met up with an ex BVI chick who introduced her to some women rugby players who encouraged her to come to training – watch this space! She was also told about touch on a Friday and Sunday evening, and Gaelic football on a Sunday – so with little else to do on Sunday afternoon (after going on a dive in the morning) she went along to check out the Gaelic football – very strange game – a mixture of soccer, volleyball, rugby, netball, and basketball – was fun to try something new so she put her name down for the season. Touch was straight afterwards so she hung around for that – it was a social run about but there was quite a bit of running about and by the end she was exhausted and cramping up – not used to so much exercise in one day! A fun, but very busy, weekend.
Women’s rugby – yes, Michelle went along to women’s rugby training on Wednesday - just for the fitness mind you (she’s a sucker for punishment) and was there 2 minutes and was asked to join the rest of the girls for a photo for the paper – oh no, now she really has to play, she’s going to be in the paper! She joins in with the training but it’s focused on the touring group of girls so she didn’t have to do much more that pass the ball. At the end, they did some fitness work – well, it involved punching tackle bags and jogging around some cones dotted around the field – after a few goes she realized she needed to be at the front of the bunch to get any actual fitness work as many of the girls were not that keen on the fitness part. After the punching part, she ended up really looking the part, with skin off her knuckles – it was very attractive two days later when they started weeping – yuck! A couple of the girls stayed for a drink afterwards in the club rooms – very nice they are too, not quite like the BVI club rooms though (Bombas!).
The following Friday she went to touch rugby then stayed for a surprise birthday function they had for one of the rugby girls – was a very good night and she met lots of people. She even got invited to join one of the touch teams for the upcoming season, which is good (she must have played ok then!). The rest of the weekend was a little more sedate as she realized that the previous weekend was a bit much – she checked out a few potential places to rent, went for another dive, and went to touch on Sunday – pushed it a bit hard too early and managed to pull a muscle trying to step round someone. All would probably have been ok if she had stopped playing but, since she had come all that way to play, she carried on for another hour and a half – by the end she could barely walk and has paid for it ever since – no rugby this week (it’s a good excuse anyway!).
Well, so far, so good – Michelle really misses the family (and is thankful for being able to Skype them) but is sure Dave and the kids will love it in Cayman, despite being different from BVI – there is lots to do, lots of people to get to know and it doesn’t seem to be as difficult settling in as it was in the BVI – we’ll be locals in no time!
Michelle had a couple of leaving do’s. Mainly with the rugby club crowd. The first was here final training session at Capoon’s Bay. The girl’s training night is Wednesday so off she goes and they have a great turnout – about 24! After training they headed off to Bomba’s (as is customary after training) for a few farewell drinks. After a while the dreaded funnel appeared and Michelle was duly presented with a funnel to consume. She did that easily and then made most of the others do the same. They had a lot of fun and Michelle was only slightly seedy the next day…
Unbeknownst to her, one of the girls from the club was organizing a surprise dinner for Michelle in town on the Friday night. Everyone knew about this except Michelle. Even after a Wednesday and a Thursday night at Bomba’s she was still none the wiser. Amazing. Dave’s job was to take her for a drink after work on Friday and ‘casually’ wander over to “The Watering Hole” where she would be greeted by everyone. She didn’t want to go for a drink but instead wanted to go straight to the Watering Hole. This happened and there were a few people there in the know who never said anything. Soon more and more people arrived and Michelle still hadn’t clicked. There was another Birthday party being held there for someone we know and Michelle just thought everyone was going to that.
Eventually the time came for the girls to make a farewell presentation and the penny finally dropped! After a very moving few words from the organizer, Michelle was presented with a little photo album which pictured her as well as most of the other girls. Each one had added her personal comments to the photo which brought a few little tears to Michelle’s (and other’s) eyes.
Then it was off to dinner at Spaghetti Junction which was very nice. All the girls at one end and the boys at the other. In true Captain’s form, Michelle was last to leave after a great evening with her Rugby girls.
Travel Report
Michelle moves to Cayman!
Up to Michelle’s second to last day of work in the BVI, her Cayman work permit had still not come through and she was not sure that she was even going to finish work on the day planned! She was even starting to convince herself that she would get an extra week or two in the BVI with the family and then the news arrives – the permit is approved. Oh dear, the face drops…she is definitely going and within a week. She quickly books her flights and starts telling everyone she is definitely leaving.
She has her work farewell as planned and its then off for a few drinks to celebrate – well, it was actually to celebrate a friend’s birthday but, surprise! The rugby girls had organized a surprise farewell for Michelle, including a really cool album that had a photo and a little message from each of the girls and coaches (including Jess who is now in Canada, and even Max who is now back in the UK) – Michelle loved it so much that it brought tears (floods actually) to her eyes (thanks soooo much guys – I really miss you all and I’ll treasure it forever!). We all then went out for a lovely dinner. It was a wonderful surprise which she never even guessed (she can be a bit thick at times!). Thanks to Liz for organizing it all and to Dave for ensuring I got there, and without figuring it all out!
The weekend passed in a blur of preparing for Jake’s birthday party, packing suitcases, farewelling Dave’s parents, catching up with friends, and more packing!
Wednesday, the day of departure, came and off she went, all alone…
Things went relatively smoothly except for one of the cases not arriving after the first flight – lucky it was on the next flight and there was plenty of time to wait for it. Carried on to Miami but was then delayed for 2 hours. Got to Cayman a bit bleary-eyed at about 11.30pm but with all the luggage – yay! She was met at the airport and taken to her new place of abode – a very nice one bedroom apartment in the same complex as her new work – very convenient. She decided to get straight into it and went to work the next day. It was great to have been there before and to know quite a few of the people – certainly makes it easier in starting a new job. Now she’s just got to figure out what she’s supposed to be doing! She was thrown into the thick of it and is enjoying the new challenges.
The first weekend started with a Fortis social at the local popular pub, then checking out the rugby club – the women and men had some games on so she hung around watching them. She met up with an ex BVI chick who introduced her to some women rugby players who encouraged her to come to training – watch this space! She was also told about touch on a Friday and Sunday evening, and Gaelic football on a Sunday – so with little else to do on Sunday afternoon (after going on a dive in the morning) she went along to check out the Gaelic football – very strange game – a mixture of soccer, volleyball, rugby, netball, and basketball – was fun to try something new so she put her name down for the season. Touch was straight afterwards so she hung around for that – it was a social run about but there was quite a bit of running about and by the end she was exhausted and cramping up – not used to so much exercise in one day! A fun, but very busy, weekend.
Women’s rugby – yes, Michelle went along to women’s rugby training on Wednesday - just for the fitness mind you (she’s a sucker for punishment) and was there 2 minutes and was asked to join the rest of the girls for a photo for the paper – oh no, now she really has to play, she’s going to be in the paper! She joins in with the training but it’s focused on the touring group of girls so she didn’t have to do much more that pass the ball. At the end, they did some fitness work – well, it involved punching tackle bags and jogging around some cones dotted around the field – after a few goes she realized she needed to be at the front of the bunch to get any actual fitness work as many of the girls were not that keen on the fitness part. After the punching part, she ended up really looking the part, with skin off her knuckles – it was very attractive two days later when they started weeping – yuck! A couple of the girls stayed for a drink afterwards in the club rooms – very nice they are too, not quite like the BVI club rooms though (Bombas!).
The following Friday she went to touch rugby then stayed for a surprise birthday function they had for one of the rugby girls – was a very good night and she met lots of people. She even got invited to join one of the touch teams for the upcoming season, which is good (she must have played ok then!). The rest of the weekend was a little more sedate as she realized that the previous weekend was a bit much – she checked out a few potential places to rent, went for another dive, and went to touch on Sunday – pushed it a bit hard too early and managed to pull a muscle trying to step round someone. All would probably have been ok if she had stopped playing but, since she had come all that way to play, she carried on for another hour and a half – by the end she could barely walk and has paid for it ever since – no rugby this week (it’s a good excuse anyway!).
Well, so far, so good – Michelle really misses the family (and is thankful for being able to Skype them) but is sure Dave and the kids will love it in Cayman, despite being different from BVI – there is lots to do, lots of people to get to know and it doesn’t seem to be as difficult settling in as it was in the BVI – we’ll be locals in no time!
The friendly cayman Office Iguana, Barry
More pics:
Jake’s Birthday
We had Jake’s birthday early this year as Grandma and Pop were here and Michelle was going to be away on his actual birthday. Again, Lambert Beach was the venue – same as last year! Only this year it didn’t rain which was a bonus. A bunch of his friends came and they spent the afternoon playing in and around the pool or eating. What more could a six year old want!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57522&l=2b631&id=766998601
We had Jake’s birthday early this year as Grandma and Pop were here and Michelle was going to be away on his actual birthday. Again, Lambert Beach was the venue – same as last year! Only this year it didn’t rain which was a bonus. A bunch of his friends came and they spent the afternoon playing in and around the pool or eating. What more could a six year old want!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57522&l=2b631&id=766998601
Then it was out to dinner to farewell Grandma and Pop. A restaurant was chosen (Skyworld) and off we went. There was one couple dining and another in the bar. Quiet night it seems. After helping the Waitress move some tables about to fit the six of us in (it’s true! And we had booked!) we sat down and tried to order drinks. The ladies wanted a wine. The wine list was requested and a blank look was returned. The waitress then disappeared and the manager returned apologizing for only having half a bottle of red and about the same of white. We thought he was joking but Dave checked their cellar and lo and behold…. Not much! In the end Pop had Whisky, Grandma had some (very average) wine from the half bottle in the fridge, Michelle had Kahlua (Dave had to show the waitress where at what that was!), Dave had beer and the kids were happy with their Shirley Temples. The food was nice enough but the restaurant won’t be getting our custom again. We couldn’t believe that a restaurant such as this couldn’t arrange for at least a few bottles of wine to keep the punters happy. In the end it was an almost embarrassing finale to Grandma and pop’s visit.
Weather Report
The days getting a little longer now and the temp seems to have risen a little during the day. The nights are still relatively cool and there is still a bit of rain about. Generally around 28 during the day now with the occasional cooling breeze.
Surf Report
Sam’s into it now! We popped down to Josiah’s the other week for a surf and one of Sam’s friends was there with her board, which was the same as Jake’s. Sam, not to be outdone, grabbed Jake’s board and headed on out. It was a good day for the kids as the waves were small but nice and really good for them. Sam caught plenty of waves and even managed to get to her feet a couple of times. By the end of the day she was quite confident staying on her knees, so that’s pretty good. Jake had a ball on the boogey board and managed to retrieve his board a few times so he could get out and amongst it as well.
Dave went out a couple of times that day and the surf actually picked up a bit. It was good as there weren’t many people out and it was no struggle to actually paddle back out. We went back the next day for more of the same!
Hopefully we’ll get a few more sessions in before we head off to Cayman, where the surf is not exactly huge, or frequent we understand.
Burn’s Night
The rugby club held a Burn’s night the other night. Dave thought it was some sort of fundraiser for accident victims until someone mentioned Whisky and Haggis and then it all came together. A “Robbie Burns” night.... Gentlemen only.
As luck would have it, Sam was having a sleepover that night and Jake was too! Dave didn't need to worry about having to find Babysitters.
The Kiwi Contingent
Anyway, Dave donned his BVIRU formal attire (Bow Tie, Shirt and Boardies) and headed to Pusser's at Soper's Hole. The were about 30 guests for the dinner and the tables were laid out in a relatively formal horseshoe-type setting with a selection of Whisky's adorning the tables. Don't worry, there was also wine (about three cooler boxes full). The wine was for general enjoyment and the whisky was for the toasts. There seemed to be quite a few of those.
The guests all arrived and sat at their seats. Just before dinner was served the "Oath" (or should that be "Ode"?) was recited by none other than "Fat Bastard" of Austin Powers fame.
Dinner was served. It consisted of a thick soup of some description, Haggis, Beef, Mashed 'taties', Mashed Turnip and trifle. Very tasty! During the dinner there were several toasts and then after the dinner there were a whole lot more. Needless to say the night was a good one!
More pics:
Sssssssssam'sssss SSSSnake
Sam was outside last week and came across a snake. After a torrid tussle she managed to wrestle it into submission and then hoisted it up by the tail before proudly showing everyone her latest achievement. The neighbor wasn't too impressed. Thought it might bite, so he stayed well back.
Next Month:
Visitor’s Report
The Cayman Move - "Are we there yet?"
Visitor’s Report
The Cayman Move - "Are we there yet?"
