<< Previous

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

Next >>

Part 2: Flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Beef Island, British Virgin Islands

 

Saturday, 19 February 2011 (continued)

American Eagle's check-in desk was located right outside of our hotel's main office. We also saw a sign that they would soon be building a new Margaritaville restaurant and bar in the same general area. We were departing from gate 15, so we headed there to make sure our flight was still on-time. We then stopped at nearby Waves Sports Bar for bagel, egg, & bacon sandwiches. I got my first Presidente Light of the trip (my favorite beer - when it is cold anyway) and a Bloody Mary, and Tiff got a Mango Tango (rum & mango).

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

At one point, close to our boarding time, we noticed there weren't too many people at our gate, so we headed there to check it out and found out we had a gate change to gate 18. Ever since the Spirit Airlines mishap on our way to the Dominican Republic, we've learned to always keep tabs on our gate.

To board our plane, we had to exit the terminal and walk outside. There it was again - the humidity that we love so much! This time our plane was an American Eagle ATR-72-212 prop plane (N369AT). It was similar to the one we flew in from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas a while back. There were two seats per side. We were seated in seats 5C and 5D. Although the prop was immediately outside our window, it was much less noisy than our Miami to Nassau flight.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The view of the mountains and coast line of Puerto Rico was amazing. We could even see a rain storm and rainbow in the distance.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Before I even had a chance to steal a bite of Tiffany's breakfast bagel (I ate mine before we got on the plane), we were out over the ocean, headed for the Virgin Islands. Flying over the islands during the daytime gave us wonderful bird's eye views of them all. The first islands we went over were the small islands east of Puerto Rico, including Vieques, Culebra, and Culebrita.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Just a short time after passing over Culebrita, St. Thomas, Jeremy's favorite island, came into view. We flew along the northern edge, which gave us a great view of Cyril E. King Airport, Magens Bay, and we were even high enough to see St. Thomas Harbor and the cruise ships on the other side of the hill.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

As the plane banked and turned around the islands, St. John, Jost Van Dyke, and eventually Tortola came into view. We flew along the entire northern edge of Tortola and had a great view of Cane Garden Bay, Road Town, and many other sights. Some of the roads were so steep that they had to cross back and forth numerous times to go from the top of the mountain down to sea level.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Before we knew it, we were on the ground at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, Beef Island, British Virgin Islands. After a beautiful flight, we were now just a few feet above sea level, and ready for the next leg of our trip.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

We would not be boarding our sailboat, Breanker, until the next day, so we booked a night at Agapé Cottages, a small set of cottages overlooking Cane Garden Bay, which was on the opposite end of Tortola. We weren't however, getting there without first surviving B.V.I. Customs and Immigration...

<< Previous

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

Next >>