Three months gone, three more to go.

It is the half-way point of my secondment to the BVI.  I have reached the point where it is now possible to count down to the 26th June (90 days if you are wondering!)

So what next?  The story so far has been great.  The first month was tough.  The second month was fine and looking forward to the arrival of my partner made the month go by quickly.  Month three has been superb.  With my partner being on the island and me having taken the month off work I have really had the time of my life both enjoying the island to the fullest as well as taking the opportunity to get off-island.  It's been one long holiday (or should I say vacation?).  It has also been a much needed holiday as it has been some time since I had the opportunity to unwind and totally relax and to do all of this in what must be one of the best locations in the world.

Although I have lived here for three months I am still able to discover new things, enjoy new experiences and yet still be able to have a comfortableness (is that a word?) that living in a place provides.  Showing Nadia around the islands helps to bring all those experiences into play and it has been great.

So now I have three months on my own to look forward to.  Although there is nothing to look forward to in that respect as I don’t fancy living a single life again.  I hope that I have got over the crest of being in a new place and that with my daily routine already in place those three months will go by as quickly as March has and in no time it will be time to pack my bags for my return to Gibraltar.  Don’t get me wrong it is not that I am disliking it in the BVI, far from it… but I think that I could be back home in my normal surroundings getting on with my life.  I also feel a bit of a cheat being here.  Yes I am putting in work to earn my keep but I am also enjoying it so much after work that there is a guilty feeling about it.  It is almost like having the fun taken out.

It also helps that I already know a good number of people on the island so there isn't the awkwardness of walking into a bar or restaurant and not knowing anyone.  In fact,, this is a very small island and people know you very quickly.  This weekend, for example we were in Virgin Gorda (this is another out-island of the BVI) which is a quiet island, not too many people.  At a marina at the far end, to which you have to get a ferry to get to if you don’t have a boat, I got called by a friend and his wife who I had met in Tortola.  The last people you expect to come across in such a remote location.  When I got back to the flat this morning I was asked by my landlord if I had a good time dancing at the Easter Parade in Virgin Gorda.. How did he know I was dancing?  He spotted me there!  It is that small a place that everyone really knows you.  There is a local saying which goes "If you take a shit here, everyone smells it!" it IS THAT SMALL, but that is what makes it so easy to fit in.

So I shall soon book to sit for the Advanced Open Water diving course, take the Advanced Sailing Course (yes so that I can skipper a yacht… if you dare), go back to yoga, (try to loose some weight, eating out every night has taken its toll on my waistline), maybe even try surfing, and make the best of my three months left in the BVI so keep reading the blog to find out how I get on.

David

Baptism

An unusual event on Good Friday, to see people being baptised in the Ocean.

Mrs Scatliffe's

An institution in the BVI is dinner at Mrs. Scatliffe's. This is a formidable woman who built a restaurant business for herself. In days gone buy people used to come to her house (it is her house not a restaurant that you go to) to sample her famous chicken in a coconut and to hear her sing. She is now getting on in life but you can still hear her sing in the kitchen whilst she prepares that same recipes that made her famous. A charming lady who will preach to you the word of the Lord whilst you are eating. At the end of the dinner she will put on a video of herself for a local TV channel when she was in her prime. A great experience of the BVI to have.

New Beach

A major storm has hit the BVI over the last few days wiping out all the beaches on the North side of the Island with record surf and high tides.  This means we had to be resourceful and find another beach... fortunately local knowledge pointed us towards this one located at the end of the runway on Beef Island....

Beef Island Airport

Love the BVI Airport at Beef Island.  You get to drive around the end of the runway so you can watch the aircraft landing and taking off including this vintage DC3!

Last Resort

Funny thing the BVI... how many places in the world do you have to call a boat to get to the restaurant?... Well here is one!  You basically turn up at a pier, pick up a phone and ask for the boat to pick you up.... two minutes later you are having dinner in a great location and on given days, the chef comes out to sing to the guests!

Anegada

Anegada is the most unspoilt of the BVI.  With little over 300 people and 170 flamingoes this is island is peace and tranquility defined.  There is little by way of development on the island and apart from a few restaurants and a few hotels the island depends on tourism and fishing to earn its keep.  What also sets Anegada apart is that it is flat, unlike its sister islands, Anegada is is a reef not a volcanic island.  The island is simply beautiful and a must see if you are visiting the BVI.