Vacation in the British Virgin Islands

Over winter break, my family and I traveled to the British Virgin Islands to go sailing. Before we left, we all rushed to get packed and to make sure that we didn’t forget anything. The next day, we woke up early in the morning and quickly drove to the airport. After many hours of rushing and exhaustion, we had arrived in the beautiful Caribbean. I was looking forward to basking in the sun and sailing on the waves.

When we finally arrived in Road Town, we immediately went to the harbor where our boat was docked. Although we weren’t leaving until the morning, I was extremely excited to be on the water for an entire week. Indeed, the last time I had sailed was nearly eight years ago. The warmth and the light breeze was a nice alternative to the cold we left behind in New Jersey.

The next day, we had breakfast and boarded the boat. I was surprised by how nice the boat actually was and began to see what treasures I could find. When I opened one of the storage areas, I was delighted to find several sets of snorkeling gear. My brother Michael and I were ecstatic to see the fish and other sea creatures. Around noon, we finally put out to sea. With my dad at the cockpit giving directions, my brother and I proceeded to unhook the ropes from the dock. As we slowly drifted into the center of the harbor, my dad started the engines and we were on our way. For the first two days, we weren’t able to do any sailing because we were going directly into the wind. Nonetheless, I was still able to enjoy both the sun and the beautiful landscapes around us.

After we sailed for a couple of days, we had docked at Virgin Gorda for Christmas. According to Google, there was a church there that we could attend for Christmas Mass. To the contrary, we soon found out that there was actually no church on the island. Instead, we took a ten minute ferry and a twenty minute car ride. We soon found ourselves on the other side of the bay and enjoying Mass. I actually found mass in the Caribbean more personal and more entertaining. The people there seemed to have a greater sense of community; they sang together and would laugh together during Mass. At the end of the service, the priest welcomed all newcomers and celebrated any special occasions. We certainly left with smiles on our faces!

Later that day, we set sail for Anegada. Because the waves were too rough and we consequently were feeling a bit seasick, we decided to go to Jost Van Dyke. When we tried to get a mooring at one of the popular towns there, we could not find one and were forced to go to Little Harbour, a remote harbour with only two restaurants. By some miracle, one of the restaurants, called Harris’s Place, was one of the best restaurants that we went to on vacation. Cynthia, the owner of this restaurant, was very nice and funny. She operated her restaurant like she was cooking a dinner at home for her guests. When we all went for a walk, we found a pen of several puppies with their mother (picture below). We immediately were attached to them and it was very difficult to say goodbye to them.

After a few more days of sailing and relaxing, it was, unfortunately, time to return to New Jersey. Of course, I did not want to return to the northeastern cold to resume the stressful routine of school. As I say goodbye to the Caribbean, I now await the warmth of spring to arrive here in New Jersey!