Part 18 - B.V.I. Sailing Trip - 18 Feb 2011 to 27 Feb 2011

B.V.I. Sailing Trip
18 Feb 2011 to 27 Feb 2011

Part 18: Trellis Bay, Beef Island to Tortola to St. Thomas, USVI

Sunday, 27 February 2011

We awoke in Trellis Bay, Beef Island on the last day of our trip. It was sad to have to start packing our bags in preparation for our departure back to the U.S. After we managed to get everything back into our suitcases and put our room back in order, we went out on the top of Breanker and took some pictures with Kristian and Marianne and the whole group.

Each couple had to leave at different times. Some of us flew out of Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island, just a short distance from the boat, but Tiffany and I were flying out of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. When it was finally time for us to depart, we said our goodbyes - sad and depressing as always - and Kristian dinghied us over to the dock. We rolled our suitcases to the road, and a taxi van was waiting to pick us up. He drove us to Road Town on Tortola and let us off at the ferry terminal, where we had a short wait for our ferry to Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas.

On our first leg of the ferry ride, we were on top of the ferry. There was a light rain off and on, and the spray from the ferry was flying way above our heads. For some reason, we had to switch ferries at Soper's Hole on the west end of Tortola.

On the second ferry we were forced to sit inside, which was a bit unnerving to begin with. Once we finally left for St. Thomas, we realized why we couldn't sit on top. Apparently there are several ferry companies who believe they have the fastest ferry, so each run becomes a friendly race. It may have been fun for the ferry pilots, but not so much for the passengers. As we went between St. John and St. Thomas, the pilot made his move to overtake the competing ferry, and exited his wake. As the ferry got out of the wake, it seemed to us that it came close to rolling over. That was not a very fun experience. After another grueling half hour, we finally made it to Charlotte Amalie. After waiting in line for about 30 minutes in a hectic, unorganized mess that is Customs and Immigration, we grabbed a taxi to Yacht Haven Grande. We hoped we would have enough time to stop at the Fat Turtle for lunch, and our hopes came true. It was such a great feeling to be back.

Just as soon as we arrived, it seemed, it was time to head to the airport. We grabbed another taxi and a couple Presidentes and hit the road. The driver took a route through downtown Charlotte Amalie, so we got to do a bit of sight seeing in the historic part of the town.

Soon we approached the turn at the end of the runway, and made our way along Lindbergh Beach. Twenty minutes later, we were sitting in the terminal, waiting for our flight to arrive.

Our flight finally arrived. We walked out onto the runway, and climbed the stairs to our plane (a Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-132, N524NK). We turned around for one last glimpse and took in as much as we could. The humid air, the green mountains, the houses on the hill, and that smell of fresh Caribbean air. Until next time. Until next time. Goodbye St. Thomas. Goodbye Virgin Islands.