Tortola, BVI
Tortola (as told by Laura)
When we got off the ship it was very hot and went to the car rental place and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our car. When we got our car, we drove up mountains and down mountains and there were lots of curves. It was very, very scary and hot.
When we got to the beach, we only saw a couple of fish snorkeling, so we got in the car and went to a different beach. When we got there, we went snorkeling and I saw a bunch of fish and I saw one that looked like a rock only it had whiskers. We moved farther down the beach and there were even more fish and everywhere there was a bunch of schools of fish that had like thousands of fishes. It was a very, very, very fun day.
Tortola (as told by Alex)
When we got to Tortola, I watched them pull down the gangplank from our balcony. Once we had the car we went down this little road and then we started going up. We’d go up a little bit and turn all the way around and go up again. Once we got to the beach, we had lunch. Then, we went in the water. We snorkeled but didn’t see anything but I found a few pieces of coral and lots of pretty rocks. Then we went to a different beach. We kind of got lost on the way. On the way to the 2nd beach we saw a pony standing in the middle of the road and a goat wandering around. There was lots of good snorkeling at the 2nd beach. I saw lots of fish. There wasn’t much coral, but lots of mossy rocks so lots of fish and pelicans. (Laura adds… the pelicans were really funny.) Some pelicans I’ve seen dive really funny, but these ones weren’t very funny. At the 2nd beach, there was a little farm next to it and there were some cows. On the way home, we saw 2 baby goats and some baby mountain goats. There were lots of roosters and chickens.
Tortola (as told by Emily)
After our leisurely breakfast this morning, we packed up our gear and headed out once we docked in Tortola. Dan was off diving (see his notes), so the girls and I rented a car with the Hancocks. It took a bit to get the car, but then we were off and running. Chris had no problems staying on the left side of the road and navigated the hair-pin turns well. There aren’t many signs on Tortola so we ended up on the road that wraps around the west end of the island. Clear turquoise waters made for beautiful views.
Soon, we spotted Cane Garden Bay at the bottom of the hill and slowly made our way down to the long stretch of soft beach and warm, clear waters with almost no waves. We had lunch at this fun little beach place called Stanley’s. It was right on the beach, open air and served up yummy burgers and sandwiches. Then, we were ready to hit the water. It was so refreshing and lovely. We all cooled off and the girls transformed into little fish and were zooming around under water. We really wanted to snorkel and so we returned to the car and headed to the next bay over.
It took some navigating and back tracking, but we finally found our way to Brewer’s Bay which is a stunning bay. There weren’t many people there, but lots of pelicans fishing and from up the hill you could see the rock and coral formations. Sure enough we found terrific snorkeling there. It took a few times to find the best spot, but then you could just float and see hundreds and hundreds of fish. I’ve never seen so much variety in one place. And sea fans of every color. The water was lovely and we snorkeled there for a couple of hours. It made for a fabulous day! We’re back in the room now and Dan just went to put in some laundry and then we’ll figure out the evening plan. I’m going to go and sit on the balcony while we pull out of port.
Tortola (as told by Dan)
Today was my dive day. We dove the wreck site of the RMS Rhone, a Royal Mail Service steaof mer that sank here in October of 1867 due to a hurricane. The dive site was quite large and it took two dives to cover the two halves of the ship. We were able to go into both the forward and aft sections of the ship. This also happens to be the site of filming for the movie, “The Deep”. I was able to go through the open hatchway from the movie and saw the only two intact portholes on the entire sihp. There is a lot of wildlife in the area and large wildlife as it is a marine preserver. Many large tropical fish. I also saw a huge lobster living on one of the boilers of the ship. It was huge. On the second dive I saw a large spotted eagle ray lounging on the bottom. On the first dive I saw very large eel as well. There was an abundance of coral like growth, some in tree branch growths and some that looked like hollow tubes. All of it was very colorful. It was quite cool to be able to go into the ship and see the inside of it. We even saw some of the contents of the ship scattered around the site, things like rum bottles. Overall it was a great dive with good visibility and great things to see. The first dive was to 82 feet for 32 minutes. The second dive was to 71 feet for 35 minutes. Water temp was mid-70’s to 80.
When we got off the ship it was very hot and went to the car rental place and we had to wait about 20 minutes for our car. When we got our car, we drove up mountains and down mountains and there were lots of curves. It was very, very scary and hot.
When we got to the beach, we only saw a couple of fish snorkeling, so we got in the car and went to a different beach. When we got there, we went snorkeling and I saw a bunch of fish and I saw one that looked like a rock only it had whiskers. We moved farther down the beach and there were even more fish and everywhere there was a bunch of schools of fish that had like thousands of fishes. It was a very, very, very fun day.
Tortola (as told by Alex)
When we got to Tortola, I watched them pull down the gangplank from our balcony. Once we had the car we went down this little road and then we started going up. We’d go up a little bit and turn all the way around and go up again. Once we got to the beach, we had lunch. Then, we went in the water. We snorkeled but didn’t see anything but I found a few pieces of coral and lots of pretty rocks. Then we went to a different beach. We kind of got lost on the way. On the way to the 2nd beach we saw a pony standing in the middle of the road and a goat wandering around. There was lots of good snorkeling at the 2nd beach. I saw lots of fish. There wasn’t much coral, but lots of mossy rocks so lots of fish and pelicans. (Laura adds… the pelicans were really funny.) Some pelicans I’ve seen dive really funny, but these ones weren’t very funny. At the 2nd beach, there was a little farm next to it and there were some cows. On the way home, we saw 2 baby goats and some baby mountain goats. There were lots of roosters and chickens.
Tortola (as told by Emily)
After our leisurely breakfast this morning, we packed up our gear and headed out once we docked in Tortola. Dan was off diving (see his notes), so the girls and I rented a car with the Hancocks. It took a bit to get the car, but then we were off and running. Chris had no problems staying on the left side of the road and navigated the hair-pin turns well. There aren’t many signs on Tortola so we ended up on the road that wraps around the west end of the island. Clear turquoise waters made for beautiful views.
Soon, we spotted Cane Garden Bay at the bottom of the hill and slowly made our way down to the long stretch of soft beach and warm, clear waters with almost no waves. We had lunch at this fun little beach place called Stanley’s. It was right on the beach, open air and served up yummy burgers and sandwiches. Then, we were ready to hit the water. It was so refreshing and lovely. We all cooled off and the girls transformed into little fish and were zooming around under water. We really wanted to snorkel and so we returned to the car and headed to the next bay over.
It took some navigating and back tracking, but we finally found our way to Brewer’s Bay which is a stunning bay. There weren’t many people there, but lots of pelicans fishing and from up the hill you could see the rock and coral formations. Sure enough we found terrific snorkeling there. It took a few times to find the best spot, but then you could just float and see hundreds and hundreds of fish. I’ve never seen so much variety in one place. And sea fans of every color. The water was lovely and we snorkeled there for a couple of hours. It made for a fabulous day! We’re back in the room now and Dan just went to put in some laundry and then we’ll figure out the evening plan. I’m going to go and sit on the balcony while we pull out of port.
Tortola (as told by Dan)
Today was my dive day. We dove the wreck site of the RMS Rhone, a Royal Mail Service steaof mer that sank here in October of 1867 due to a hurricane. The dive site was quite large and it took two dives to cover the two halves of the ship. We were able to go into both the forward and aft sections of the ship. This also happens to be the site of filming for the movie, “The Deep”. I was able to go through the open hatchway from the movie and saw the only two intact portholes on the entire sihp. There is a lot of wildlife in the area and large wildlife as it is a marine preserver. Many large tropical fish. I also saw a huge lobster living on one of the boilers of the ship. It was huge. On the second dive I saw a large spotted eagle ray lounging on the bottom. On the first dive I saw very large eel as well. There was an abundance of coral like growth, some in tree branch growths and some that looked like hollow tubes. All of it was very colorful. It was quite cool to be able to go into the ship and see the inside of it. We even saw some of the contents of the ship scattered around the site, things like rum bottles. Overall it was a great dive with good visibility and great things to see. The first dive was to 82 feet for 32 minutes. The second dive was to 71 feet for 35 minutes. Water temp was mid-70’s to 80.
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