Thursday, March 19, 2009

Update with photos



Adding some photos to this post from last week.

We just got back to JVD, after a couple of days of visiting other places, and getting our visa extensions in Road Town-- that was a classical West Indian experience that took plenty of time. Nest time, we'll know to ask for the full 30 days or whatever it is. We found a harbor with no other boats where the snorkelling was outstanding.

Albert visited with Erol at his cabin on the north end of JVD one night, and we plan to visit again for a cookout on Sunday and get some photos.

Jenny's going to the school tomorrow to do a dog training presentation. Erol's playing at Foxy's on Friday night, and there's a big reggae concert there on Saturday. Then it'll be west to Culebra next week sometime.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Cruising at last

Just a quick update-
We left Salinas on Monday night, March 9 and anchored where we could leave at night. At about midnight on Tuesday, we were getting ready to leave, and got stopped by the Marine Policia, but no issues. Once we were underway, we learned that the autopilot worked like a charm, and we got into Vieques in the morning, after a bumpy ride all night long. We got chased out of a really nice harbor by some official guys doing ordinance removal operations, but found another nice spot at Isla Chiva. We took a day to rest, and left at about 1:00 am on Thursday morning, getting into Cruz Bay at 10 am or so. We stayed for a few hours, but it was hot and touristy. We then left for Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke, BVI, arrived at 3:30, and cleared Customs.



















This little town and the island are very nice and interesting. A guy offered to hold Tiger’s leash as we walked into the Customs office. At first we declined, but then the Customs office made it clear that dogs were not allowed, so we took him up on it. His name was Gregory, and he was one of Foxy’s sons. We listened to the music from Foxy’s bar that night, but went to bed early. First thing the next morning, we went into Foxy’s dock and met Foxy. He had a couple of good jokes, and we did some other business around town. We’ve decided to stay here for awhile. Jenny has an appointment to do a dog class at the school at the end of this week, and we want to stay for the big Reggae show at Foxy’s next Saturday. We may take a couple of day’s to visit some other BVI places, but it’s great to get to know this place.


I can’t begin to mention all of the people we’ve met, but they include Errol who has lived here since 1987, from Montserrat, after the volcano eruption. He’s an old friend of Foxy’s and played in his band for years. Foxy has now stopped playing, but he played the role of band leader when Errol and Jenny jammed at the bar on Saturday afternoon. There was another jam Sunday afternoon, with some of the other cruising people, but Erol never made it.


This morning, that would be Monday, we met Wendell, another of Foxy's sons, and listened to him play guitar on the beach for awhile. And we finally found this internet connection at another bar down the beach. For more photos and info, check out Jenny's blog.



And we learned about the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society/ Environmental Group/ Sloop project, and met the executive director person, Susan. Check out link