This morning we are heading west to Long Beach, a mile long white sand beach and from there we may attempt Smuggler’s Cove although the road is unpaved and is supposedly quite rough.
After coffee in the tropical garden, Jordan and I had lobster mac and cheese for breakfast and the others had breakfast overlooking the water). We ventured north towards Smuggler’s Cove on a road that had a few ruts but wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. It was well worth it.
Smuggler’s Cove
There were three other cars in the small parking area, a portapotty and a flag down the beach that announced the bar was open. The beach is a steep horseshoe of white sand backed by seagrape trees and facing Joss Van Dyke. The snorkeling was better than it had been at Sebastian’s, with lots more coral(including fire coral, orange with white tips) and several schools of blue tangs, iridescent blue when the sun shafts caught them) and yellow drifting in the current beneath an orange moose horne-shaped coral. We checked out the bar that served expensive dishes (6 prawns for $17) but decided to head on up the northeast side of the island. We had a wonderful lunch on the beach in Cane Garden Bay. We had lobster sandwiches for $9 and Steve had the fish ad chips (fantastic blackened mahi with peppers and onions for $15). The bay was full of boats and the beach and water sprinkled with vacationers The eighty-foot luxury yacht (with its own powerboat and dinghy) we saw leaving Tortola pulled in and we had the entertainment of watching it set its anchors. After lunch we headed up the mountain on roads that went up hairpin up so steeply that you lost the horizon. The roads aren’t marked so we ended up at the National Park but back tracked and with directions to take the road by the pink bar, we made our way to Road Town. The streets in Road Town narrow and filled with parked cars and only occasionally signed but by making our way down hill we found the main harbor road which is one way with only one rotary to turn around easily but after a bit we nosed out way to the Moorings (absolutely no signage). Our boat, the Paradox, wouldn’t be ready until five so we hung out at the pool while we waited for JP who got in a few minutes after we were allowed on the Paradox, a thirty-nine foot catamaran.
The Paradox
We loaded our gear and then made a grocery store trip to the Riteway, a large store just a few miles north on the main drag. I was glad I had packed the food I did as everything is imported and therefore quite expensive, except eggs and rum, which were cheap. When we were provisioned, the boys went to dinner and Robin and I were so tired that all we wanted was wine and cheese while we got everything put away. The AC was a blessing that night as it was warm in the harbor with no breeze.