Have settled into an island routine. Coffee and bagels on the porch overlooking the water to start the day. Not sure what day it is, and care even less. Cell phone has been off since arriving with the exception of about 5 minutes toward the end of each day to see if any disasters had struck my labs (my people were warned, call only in a real disaster). Most of the time, the cell phone, like my watch, reside in the safe in the closet.

Following breakfast, we head for Salt Pond Bay. We are usually the only ones there when we arrive, excluding the pelicans and the brown booties whom are fishing for their breakfast. Sometimes there will be a couple of people hiking our to Ram’s Head or across to Drunken Bay. We did neither on this trip. The water was too tempting to go any farther. Around noon, a few more people would show up which served as a clue to us that it was time for us to go. Not that we are that anti-social, but 2-3 hours of the Caribbean sun is enough even for Floridians.

One day we stopped at Skinny Legs for a beer and burger and then proceeded on to the East End road. This is a double laned paved road with numerous turns and a lot of up and down hill driving. Along the way are some great views of the BVIs. We stopped at the top of the last hill that is still in the National Park area and watched a rain storm move across one of them (Tortola, maybe). There are a number of beaches along the way that supposedly are good if you like mangrove snorkeling. At one place the land gets very narrow with water on each side coming up pretty much to the road. This is Haulover Bay. Supposely, the name comes from fisherman that would haul their boats across here to go from south to north without having to go all the way around the east end. One of the better stories is that pirates would haul their smaller boats across to avoid the larger British man-o-wars. There, to my mind anyway, is not a lot of interest along this road except for the scenery. There are some fantastic views of the BVIs from some of the hills.

Usually had dinner at Aqua Bistro. Food continued to be very good. On Fri and Sat, they offer a very good BBQ from around noon to 8 PM. However, they may run out well before 8 PM. I guess we were seen there frequently enough that the locals at the bar would greet us as we came in. Even if they don’t, make it a point to say hello as you go by. The bar is sit toward the front of the shopping center and seems to be a local gathering place in the evenings. If you want to know anything about the area, someone there will know. If not, they will know someone who probably knows and will get back to you the next time you are in. The restaurant itself consists of a small covered area with a kitchen along with several tables scattered outside under the trees. As I said before, the food is very good. Like most places around Corel Bay, you don’t want to be in hurry. Eventually someone will be by to take your order. While waiting, go up to the bar, get a beer or a pain killer, catch up on the local news, and chill. If you still don’t see any signs of the server, tell the bartender that you would like to get dinner. I’m sure it is vastly different during high season but I enjoyed the informality of it all.

In the picture above, the bar area is the open covered area in the center. The market is upstairs behind the bar. The restaurant area is in the center between the two sections of the shopping area. I think this shopping area is fairly new since I have not seen it mentioned in any of the St John books which are very inclusive.

One day after we spent the morning at Salt Pond, my wife said lets get dressed up and see what the Westin is like. I should mention ‘dressed up’ means shorts with maybe a Tommy Bahamas shirt rather than a cut off tee shirt. Back on Centerline road and then took Gift Hill Road to the south. This area of the island seems a lot more built up. The Westin is ok, nicely landscaped grounds, some good shops for browsing. There is no beach there to speak of, but they do have a large pool. From there, drove back into Cruz Bay, did some idle shopping and browsing. Stopped at the Starfish Market to replenish supplies. This market is well stocked and offers a very good place to pick up groceries for breakfast and lunch. Prices are higher than mainland prices but not excessive so.

The rest of our time was spent in a total lazy state of being. Think we did have rain on one afternoon. Like all good things, our time came to an end. Several things that we didn’t do that we want to do when we go back. A couple of days sails would be in order. Maybe one around St John and another over to the BVIs We had intended to do a day sail this time but most captains take the month of October off. A day trip to St Thomas for shopping might be fun too. We pretty much covered most of the island and now know the places we would want to see again.

Reflections. I would definitely stay in the same general area if not in the same villa again. I liked this side of the island, particularly the beaches and Coral Bay. Cruz Bay offers more restaurants, bars, etc. but seems a bit more congested than we wanted. I think I would try to stay at least 10 days rather than just a week. A week wasn’t long enough to fully decompress.
Clothing. The advice of packing and then taking out half of what was packed is good advice. Since most restaurants were closed, we didn’t need much more than shorts and tee shirts.
People. Maybe it was because it was off off season, but I found everyone to be very friendly and outgoing. Do make it a point to greet your wait person and whenever you enter a shop. Saying good-bye or thank you when you leave doesn’t hurt either.

One final thing. This web site was a fantastic source of information and I have enjoyed and still enjoy reading the postings. Islander does a great job.

This concludes my postings. I hope they were somewhat enjoyable and maybe even a little helpful.

BTW. Someone asked for me to post our picture. Both of us tend to be camera shy. I have good reason to be but my wife is still drop dead gorgeous after all of these years. Anyway, I think it is kind of fun to see the person. The one of myself below was taken in the Red Rock Canyon area outside of Las Vegas a few weeks after returning from St John.