Our Tortola driving tour was similar to those on St. Thomas - rode to the main town (Road Town) for 30 minutes shopping and a short visit to Pusser's, followed by a winding trek up to the top of Tortola's highest hill, where we all snapped photos of Jost Van Dyke and the Atlantic Ocean on the north side and the Caribbean on the south from the roof of the Skyworld Restaurant. We could see most of the islands we would visit during the week--Norman Island, Peter Island, Virgin Gorda, St. John, and Jost van Dyke. The tour continued down the mountain and to famous Cane Garden Bay beach. It's always fun to get a different perspective of these lovely islands in the Caribbean. We had a photo stop at Bomba's Bar Shack, which is the beach bar with the women's underwear hanging from the ceiling and the sign that says "nude women drink free". We senior-age women wondered if they would pay us to NOT get naked.
Our final stop was at the Callwood Rum distillery. I loved the gorgeous old building, and they were "cooking" rum while we were there. This distillery was not as large as the Cruzan Rum factory on St. Croix and was much more rustic.
We returned to the Arabella for lunch, and I was delighted to find it was Mexican food day--burritos and tacos, with ground beef, chicken, guacamole, and delicious salsas--both tomato and a fruit one. Chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Yummy!
Tortola in the British Virgin Islands - A day on Tortola from the Arabella sailing ship
Next Page > > Peter Island in the BVI > >
