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

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Part 15: The Baths at Virgin Gorda

 

Friday, 25 February 2011

We awoke outside of Marina Cay this morning to the wonderful smell of eggs and bacon. We enjoyed yet another great breakfast prepared by Kristian and Marianne.

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After we were done eating, we got the boat ready and headed towards Virgin Gorda. The wind was too strong, so the captains decided to motor all the way over. After a rough ride, and a close call with our brand new video camera getting splashed, we arrived in Virgin Gorda.

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We were in our cabin getting our stuff ready for the day, when I looked out the port hole and saw a large ferry going by much faster than it should have been. I then said to Tiffany, "That wave looks higher than our port hole..." In a quick second it was upon our boat, and I held the port hold window closed while it hit our boat. If I hadn't noticed it, the wave would've entered our cabin and covered all of our electronics, which were sitting just under the port hole. We were quite lucky. When we got back on top of the boat, we could see that neighboring boats were not so lucky, and people had their clothes hanging outside to dry. A couple of the boats seemed to have gotten soaked pretty bad. After everyone was ready, we dinghied over to the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, where we would be boarding a taxi for The Baths.

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The taxi ride to The Baths wasn't too long. Along the way there were huge boulders strewn amongst the houses and schools. It was only a preview of what were about to see.

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The view from the top of the baths trail was very nice. You could see most of the islands down the Drake Channel, all the way to St. John. The trail itself was about 350 yards down rough terrain.

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At the bottom, there was a nice beach and a small bar. It was the entrance to the Trail to Devil's Bay.

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From there, there was a winding trail through, above, and under the largest boulders we've ever seen. Some were the size of a house. At some points, the trail was so narrow, we had to wait for others to pass before we could continue. At the half way point, we stopped to take a dip in the ocean.

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After more climbing up and down, we finally reached our destination - Devils Bay at The Baths.

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The snorkeling was pretty good. It was amazing to see how large the boulders were underneath the surface of the water. We spotted a school of Caribbean Reef Squid hanging out together.

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There was a pretty good crowd on the beach, and many boats anchored just offshore. We were all getting hungry and thirsty, and it was hot out, so we decided to make our way back. After retracing our steps we stopped at the beach bar for a drink before going back up the 350-yard long uphill trail.

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Located at the top of the trail, the Top of the Baths is a resort and restaurant with a pool and sweeping views of the Drake Channel and the Virgin Islands. It is the perfect spot to take a breather and get some food and drinks after the long hike back up the hill.

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Sure enough, by the time we reached the top, we were all hungry and thirsty, so we ordered lunch and some drinks. We weren't really in a hurry to get to the boat, since we would be staying near Virgin Gorda tonight anyway, so we took our time and just admired and took in the wonderful views.

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After lunch we waited a little while for a taxi and took a few more pictures. There were a few little shops, so we browsed a bit until our ride arrived.

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Since we were going all the way to the other end of Virgin Gorda, we opted for the "scenic tour." We all gathered our beach bags and hopped in the back of the open air "safari" taxi and sped away...

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

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