Let's Go Sailing...

Friday we had to get a very early start because we had to be at a dock in Road Town by 8:45am for our first sailing trip. We booked two day trips on The White Squall II, an 80-foot schooner built in 1929 that was owned by a Greek princess, has sailed around the world multiple times, and contributed to WWII efforts. It was a beautiful boat with a lot of character, and the Captain (Chris) and first mate (Kate) were awesome.

Our Friday trip was to Virgin Gorda and Cooper Island – Virgin Gorda is where the infamous baths are – the giant rocks and pools of water that collect around/between them. It's definitely a major tourist spot (and our captain HATES going there), but it's SO beautiful. We went there two years ago on our cruise, but we were both excited about going again. We explored the baths and made our way through to Devil's Beach on the other side. We only had an hour here (our captain dropped us off and picked us up in the ships's dinghy), and then we were off to Cooper Island.

When we got back on the ship, lunch was waiting for us. Chris had grilled hot dogs and chicken for us with salad and rice for sides (they also served unlimited sodas, beer, and rum punch for the duration of the trip). Since I'd already broken the vegetarian seal, and since they were so delicious, I ate TWO hot dogs (but Tom ate THREE)!

We had a great lunch and then made our way to Cooper Island for a snorkeling tour. I was a little nervous about snorkeling – Tom loves it, and I do enjoy it, but my fear of getting stung/bitten/killed/salt water up my nose & in my mouth tend to take away from the fun significantly. There were some cool fish along Cooper Island, but there were also a few barracuda and jelly fish that made me uneasy. Tom knows how afraid I get, so he stayed right with me and stayed on the side that opened up to the depths of the ocean while I was in the more shallow water. I feel bad that it makes me so nervous, especially because Tom loves it so much and wants me to come with him. The more I do it, though, the easier it is. Kate, the first mate, led our snorkeling tour, and she dove down to the bottom to grab a conch to show us – it was actually kind of cute! It had little beady eyes and was peering out at us from the back of its shell. After snorkeling here, we got back on the ship and headed back to Road Town. We had so much fun, and we were really glad we'd be coming back the next day to sail to some other islands on the White Squall.

Friday night is when we asked Dian to come cook for us, and when we got home from sailing (after a quick stop at Smuggler's Cove), she was already there with rum punch and snacks ready for us. She had Bob Marley playing over the sound system and a smile on her face – what a great way to be greeted after a long day at sea! We chatted with her for a while as we drank some (very strong) rum punch, and then we took showers while she cooked dinner.

Everything smelled delicious, and we were really looking forward to the meal after reading all the accolades from other visitors to Casa Luna. She baked us snapper with some sort of tomato-based sauce, fried rice, fried plantains, and a delicious salad. It was delicious, but she served us such heaping servings that we couldn't finish it all. Her meal was one of the best we had on the island, and it was so nice to have her come cook it at our villa! She served us strawberry ice cream from St. Thomas' creamery – even though it was just straight out of the carton, it was SO good. I don't think I've ever had strawberry ice cream, but Tom and I both ate as much as we could physically fit into our stomachs, and we both felt uncomfortably full and happy at the end of the meal.

Dian is one of the nicest people I think either of us has ever met, and when her ride couldn't come get her after dinner, we were happy to drive her home to show our appreciation of such a great meal and friendly company. She asked us to send her the photos we took, and when we dropped her off at home, she declared that she needed a “ug” from both of us, so we hugged, said our goodbyes, and promised to email her the photos. After a long day and a big meal, we were done for the day (especially since we had to be at the Road Town dock again the next morning at the same time).