Maggi

Instead of writing one long trip report when we get home, it might be easier and fresher in my mind to do it on a daily basis, since we have wi-fi here at the villa.

Today was a travel day, so there won't be too much to report. We were blessed with smooth sailing the entire day. No traffic or construction problems on the way to the airport, we were able to stretch out in a three seat row with only the two of us and our luggage arrived in SJU on time and with nothing missing. Thanks to someone's advice on this forum a long time ago, we hired a "blue cap" to wheel our bags and lead us all the way to the other side of the terminal to Air Sunshine. Here again, we were blessed because an earlier flight to Virgin Gorda was available.

I have to say that Air Sunshine struck me as kind of a fly-by-night operation. We waited at the gate and there was no one at the counter. Cape Air at the next counter seemed supremely professional by comparison. As our departure time loomed, a young guy came in and gathered us up and led us to the aircraft. It was a tiny plane with one pilot and eight of us crammed in there. The pilot was cracking jokes about his pet iguana on the runway and pointed out several huge iguana making their way across the tarmac. Once in the air, there were some moments of sweaty palms on my part as we were being buffeted by the air currents. But, all's well that ends well, and we arrived in one piece. Ah, the smell and feel of the balmy sea air is so wonderful. I can never wait to get back to it.

I had called ahead from SJU with our amended arrival time and our car rental agent and villa agent were waiting for us. We followed the villa rep in our 4wd Jeep (driving on the left side!) and in ten minutes we arrived at our rental, Open Deck in Mahoe Bay. It was everything we hoped and more. As they say, the photos really don't do it justice. It is like having your own 5 star hotel all to yourself.

We wasted no time getting into our suits and pouring our first beverage as we watched the sun set from our pool. Since I had requested that the fridge be stocked with a few groceries, we wouldn't have to go out for dinner or breakfast supplies. We grilled delicious ($13.99/lb!) steaks, and made baked potatoes and stir fried peapods. The villa has satellite TV, but we couldn't get the "Survivor" finale. I have it recording at home anyway, but was so curious as to the outcome. I read about it just now on the web and now I'm glad I didn't see it - I would have been furious.

We won't be doing as many activities as some on this board, but I will be happy to post about anything we do experience. This trip is really more about relaxation than anything else. The way I feel tonight, I may never leave this house!

All the best, Maggi

cawhite

Thanks for the mini-report Maggi!

Our family of 4 will be on Virgin Gorda next month (1st time visitors) so I'd love to hear any recommendations.

We'll also be taking Air Sunshine. I think that will be a blast.

Let us know how the mosquito situation is... I hear they are out in force in the VI right now! Stocked up on insect repellent yesterday for the trip.

Carole

owa

Maggi, I'm glad you are there and love your villa.

cawhite, I'm going to try and wite my final thoughts on our trip and Biras today. I'll give you my take on the "bugs". Owa

kellybeaches

Dear Maggi,
Thanks for the day to day trip report! AH, I sure do miss Mahoe Bay. We stayed at the Caribbean Wind villa there last memorial day-it was wonderful (caribbean wind is the villa on the beach all the way at the end with the hotel). How great is Mahoe Bay?? I don’t blame you for not wanting to leave the villa. I would try to get to the baths while there though-definitely worth checking out-get there around 8:30am if you can to avoid all the other island day trippers. By 10am it was packed. Also, check out “Dog and Dolphin” restaurant. To get there, take the dirt road behind the mahoe bay villas (the road you come in on) and go away from the baths. It’s all the way at the end of that road (about 5 minute drive) and it’s really neat. The couple who went with us went for dinner and said it was really nice. We went for lunch. I would skip Georgios if you’re planning on going there. Food was good, but WAY expensive for what it is.

Good to hear you had an okay experience w/Air “Sometimes”. We had the hands down worst experience w/them than I’ve ever had with any airline. But maybe we just had bad karma w/them or something. Both going there and coming home was a nightmare-always a great time when you have 2 babies with you too. Anyway, glad it worked out for you.

Keep us posted! VG is the best

iamq

Thanks Maggi. As your trip unfolds I'd love to hear as much about Open Deck villa as you're willing to tell us.

Have a great trip!

Bill

cawhite

Thanks owa.... will look for the "bug update" under your Biras report!!

Carole

joan

Maggi girl! So happy that your vacation is everything you dreamed about. Say hello to Georg for us!

Keep it comin'!

xyz99

Maggi,
Thanks for the report – looking forward for more (beaches, snorkeling, good restaurants, etc). We’ll be there in February, also taking Air Sunshine from San Juan.

Any idea about a grocery store on VG? Where did the steaks come from?

Maggi

Hi all, we're at Leverick Bay Resort having lunch and because they have free wi-fi. Ours at the villa ceased working shortly after I last posted. So I'll keep this short until we get back up and running at the house.

To cawhite: The bug situation is is not bad at all where we are slightly up on a hill on Mahoe Bay. There is a breeze the the villa has ceiling fans even on the veranda. I haven't used bug repellent yet. I have a few bites, but nothing uncomfortable.

Owa, we're having dinner at Biras tomorrow night I think. Any recommendations?

Kellybeaches, we'll check out Dog and Dolphin - thanks for the reco.

Bill, I will fill you in completely when I get home. The short version is 100% positive.

Joan, nice to hear from you! Hope you are all well.

Xyz99, so far we have shopped at Rosy's and Bucks. We thought Bucks had more selection, although I've heard some like Rosy's better. The steaks were thin, but really good. I didn't see anything like them at either of the above stores. Perhaps they were purchased in Tortola? Our maid shops there instead of on VG. Keep your eye on this thread for more information on restaurants, etc.

I guess I'll do what Owa did and keep adding to this post instead of adding separate posts for subsequent days. Lunch is here! Talk to you guys later.

Best, Maggi

ejcrowe

maggi, glad to hear all is well with your mahoe bay villa--i'm counting down the weeks until I can be there for myself in july.

Thanks for checking in here whilst on vacation!

cawhite

Maggi - glad to hear the bug situation is getting better... thanks.

owa

Maggie, Biras rotates the menu weekly. Ask for one of Ellory's table if she is working, and tell her "hi" from the lady that gave her a black shirt. Also, if Mike comes around at dinner as he usually does, tell him hello from Larry and Sharon. I hope you enjoy it, and I'm glad the bugs aren't so bad. Owa

Maggi

Day two: since we had just arrived the night before, our first order of business was to get the lay of the land. Mahoe Bay was just a few steps down a beach path from our villa. You can walk from one end to the other in 5-10 minutes. The water was calm, clear and turquoise. I was the only one on the beach. The edges are framed with some palms and seagrapes and I could see that we would have some shade there in the morning, since it is facing west with the hills behind us. Back at the villa, we met our maid Betsy for the first time. She's chatty, friendly, laid back and willing to help in any way. I noticed later that almost every entry in the guestbook mentioned how great she is.

After breakfast we got in the car to explore. After a few nervous reminders from me, driving on the left was no big deal for my hubby on this little island. You can drive as slowly as you want. Locals beep politely when they are passing you. Finding our way to Spanish Town and the Baths was pretty easy, unlike the next day when we drove in circles trying to find Leverick Bay Resort. There don't seem to be many street name signs and some of the roads seem like private driveways. At Leverick Bay, we accidentally turned toward the villas and ended up at the bottom of a hill at water's edge with no room to turn around. Many of the roads are deeply rutted. We were glad to have 4 wheel drive on one particularly bad stretch north of Mahoe Bay coming back from Nail Bay.

Maggi

When we arrived at the Top of the Baths we were immediately awestruck, despite the fact that we had seen hundreds of photos before the fact. The enormity of some of the boulders within our limited beginning view is something that just can't be captured on film. I was delighted with the adorable bar area and the surreal painting on the wall of the grotto. We wasted no time having our first painkiller of the trip (it was 12:01, after all!) after which we stumbled our way down the path to the water. It wasn't hard at all, not even coming up and we aren't the hardiest physical specimens on the block. The path to Secret Beach on Kauai was much more difficult. There were some people here, but it wasn't crowded by any means. However, we will be back to "do" the Baths another day, preferably at daybreak. It was too hot to do it now. The weather has been great, but hotter than usual, according to the locals. We are grateful for our pool and bedroom air conditioning at the villa. The large sliding screen doors help as well. It is our experience that many of the villas on various islands do not have screens.

It was time to do our weekly shopping and we went to three different stores to check them out. Our first stop was RTW, which had been recommended to us. This is a warehouse style store - good for large groups sharing a villa. Prices were great on wine, rum, water, pop. You have to buy two of some and three of some other items. We bought two bottles of a concentrated tropical punch called SunQuick which was a phenominal value. We found out later that one bottle, mixed with water, makes at least 40 cups! Our next stop was Rosy's Market, a little hard to find. It's in the opposite direction of Rock Cafe. We weren't too enthused and only bought a few items here. Then on to Bucks in Yacht Harbor. Although it's a bigger building, there is no sign, so we missed it the first time around. You gotta ask! Here the selection was better and we spent about $100. We compared prices on the rum, water, pop and RTW was much better. We raced home to refrigerate our stuff and realized, oops, that Betsy will probably end up being able to feed her family with what we leave behind. WHY do we always do this.

Ok, enough for now. The water beckons. If the wi-fi gods smile on me I'll post more later/tomorrow.

poss

Really great of you to do these posts, Maggi. And I'm glad you're having such a good time.
Question: Is Betsy's cat still hanging around all the time? We rented Open Deck in the past and I have very bad cat allergies and was pretty miserable. We're scheduled to rent again this December, but only if I can be absolutely sure she'll keep that cat away. (Do either of you happen to have cat allergies?)

Maggi

Poss, guess you won't be coming to my house! I have three at home. We have seen Tango a couple times outside. Betsy asked if we minded the cat and we said not at all. But she was very willing to keep her away if we didn't like it. I can ask Betsy if she has some way of keeping the cat away for your entire stay and report back to you. Was the cat in the house while you were here? We've only seen her one time and that was outside. She came to the screen door and meowed. If you don't want a cat around bring an empty pump spray bottle and fill it with water. A few sprays of water will discourage it from coming back.

Maggi

What day is this? I guess you know you're on vacation when you lose track of the days. They have flown by! Let's see, the last time I wrote we were having lunch at Leverick Bay Resort. It was just "OK" and pricey for what we got, I think. It looks to me like this may be a place for younger folks or partying? My first plan was to come here for the Friday night BBQ, but we may go to Rock Cafe Friday night instead. It's easier to get to from our villa at night, especially if we've had a drink.

We experienced some camera problems, so Wednesday morning we decided to go to Tortola to a camera shop. Our first experience with the ferry was funny. By the time we figured out where to park and got to the ferry dock, it had just left and was quite a ways out. Some guys on the dock started screaming and yelling and waving at the ferry, to no avail. The next one was not for 1-1/2 hours so we turned and walked back to our car. We were just pulling out when a guy came running toward us, yelling that the ferry was coming back for us. Where else would that happen? Sure enough, we were able to board, to some glares from the locals. I don't blame them. Our maid told us that them coming back for us was not an uncommon occurrence.

In Tortola we walked around until we found someone who could look at our camera (Variety Electronice) across from Bobby's. (The guy who gave us directions told me to look for "Babeez", with the accent on the second syllable. So I'm looking everywhere for "Babeez". Duh.) I looked in a few shops, but wasn't in a shopping mood and it was really hot, so we decided to have a small pizza and painkillers at Pussers across from the ferry dock. The best painkillers we've had anywhere! And the pizza was good too. Loved the cool dark interior. We each had two drinks and we slept all the way back to VG.

Our modus operandi has been to go out in the morning and evening and spend the middle of the day at the villa, chilling at the pool and in the A/C. So that evening we had dinner at the Bath and Turtle. It was cute when I noticed it during the day, but it has a nicer ambiance at night. We got there a little too early for the entertainment, but the food was good and it was 2 for 1 painkiller night.

The next morning we got up early and got to the Baths by 8:00. Wow. I got what I hope are some wonderful photos. I was worried to take my camera in there, but it was not a problem at all. I don't know what I was expecting...that we might have to swim in some spots or something. It was much easier to do than I had read. We couldn't go in the water at Devil's Bay because the water was quite rough, so we spent some time at Spring Bay instead.

The weather was absolutely sparkling today. The colors just pop out at you. I feel like Dorothy stepping out her house in Oz. There's a lot going on on Mahoe Bay this weekend. Two weddings on the beach tomorrow. Should be interesting. Tata for now, Maggi

brenandg

Thanks for the update Maggi, sounds divine. I love the real time installments that have graced the forum lately.

joan

Maggi, did you catch sight of Guavaberry Spring Bay? I have been dreaming about those rental cottages for years, would love to know your opinion (distance to beach, view etc).

Have another painkiller for us!8-)

Maggi

Greetings, Joan. We explored the Guavaberry site yesterday in fact. I went in their rental office and talked to the rep. The beach, of course, is beautiful. It does have some of the boulders that are found at the Baths. You can't walk to the Baths along the beach from here though. You have to go out to the road. I would only want to rent a house with air in the bedrooms. The only one that would fill those qualifications is

The Beach House, www.puzzlepiece.net/villas/beachhouse

I talked to a lady on the beach who was staying in one of the Guavaberry houses. She said they were sweltering during the day. Most of the homes are down low and surrounded by vegetation. By comparison, where we are, slightly up the hill at Open Deck on Mahoe Bay, we get breezes all day long that keep the rest of the house tolerable and when we get hot we take a dip in the pool. I didn't see any pools at Guavaberry. That said, it is a beautiful area. But so is Mahoe Bay. Based upon our exploration of the island so far, I feel we made the right decision to stay on Mahoe Bay. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know while I am here. I'd be glad to scope it out for you. We leave Sunday.