Our fifth trip was end of May. Stayed in Coral Bay for the first time. Our villa "One Particular Harbour" was gorgeous, almost at the top of the hill looking down over Coral Bay. Arrangements handled perfectly by Caribbean Villas. Sweeping view of Bay and of BVIs and the villa even has a decent telescope. Well equipped kitchen, bedrooms, pretty pool. Lots of DVDs and CDs. Perfect for us. Not perfect if you don't like stairs or steep driveways or if you want to be near Cruz Bay.

Coral Bay- great, much more laid back than the "big city" (Cruz Bay) Ample supplies at Love City MiniMart and Lily's Gourmet, although fresh meat and fish are hard to find here. Also a little more pricey than Starfish, so you may want to also shop there.

Had the first night provisioned by Katilady (her link is on this Board) Excellent and worth every penny to open a well-stocked refrig upon arrival. We got the first night basics, snacks, juice, breakfast stuff, beer, wine. Well worth the convenience, especially given the location of the villa, off the beaten path, so to speak.

Not much in the way of diving or boat rental in Coral Bay at this time, due to high costs of fuel. Both Larry the Dive Guy and Crabby were very helpful, but simply not able to do diving or dinghys due to costs at this time. Hope it will change eventually.

Island Blues had its last night under old management while we were there. Will be interested to see the new iteration.

Miss Lucy's was drop dead delicious food, served under a huge tree on the water. Grouper was abundant that week and hers was fabulous, as was the West Indian style paella. Nice wine list. By the way, wonderful Miss Lucy passed away last summer, but her spirit is obviously active and present.

Shipwreck Bar (may have gotten the name wrong, past Miss Lucy's on right toward Salt Pond.) Also gorgeous delicious food. Grouper again, prepared differently (batter-fried sandwich). Forget what my husband had, but I was definitely making a lot of appreciative noises during the meal. Still thinking about it! Buy the Island Girl hot sauce if you are there. The curry flavor was amazing, as was the hot, if you like hot.

Of course, Skinny Legs, burgers, beer, ymmmmmmm. Bushwhacker tasty too. Nice crowd.

Please note, the wonderful Syzygy Art Studio, formerly at Skinny Legs, is now located in the Cocoloba Mall, same location as Lily's. Lots of good stuff in the mall, including a restaurant, a deli and internet.

Sad news, "Tigger" of Low Key Dive Shop ended his wonderful life a couple of weeks before we arrived. You can buy Tshirt in Cruz Bay with a great picture of him to benefit the Animal Care Center. (I forget the name of the store at the moment.)

Snorkeled all over. Lots of turtles in Salt Pond and Maho Bay. Just look for the grassy spots. Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay both gorgeous, and if crowds of cruise ship folk show up at Trunk, be aware that they will often go away again in less than two hours.

My husband swam in the Beach to Beach Power Swim and did well. Nicely planned event to benefit Friends of VI.

Hey, amazing ferry terminal at Red Hook! Nice and convenient (although I kind of miss the exotic paradise feeling of the old one.)

USAir flights, no problems.

As usual, a perfect trip. Questions or corrections are welcome. As mentioned, this is Stream of Consciousness. Not as good a writer as James Joyce, but am hopeful this was a bit easier to understand.