Tortolla? 3/20

We awoke to the ship not moving, so I knew we'd arrived in Virgin Gorda, BVI. But no tenders were being taken off the ship, we suspected something was up. A look out the window showed bumpy water ... and the next thing we knew, the boat was going backwards and the captain came on the loudspeaker stating that the wind was too rough for tenders so we were going to Tortolla instead, as they have a dock. First I was dismayed, because we had a shore excursion planned for Virgin Gorda (snorkeling) and I had been looking forward to visiting the Baths. Basically a beach with giant boulders, supposed to be very cool. Oh well, next time.

We went to a quick meeting about new and revised shore excursions in Tortolla, and happily discovered out snorkel trip wouldn't be canceled, it would just be in a different location. Instead of the Dog Islands, we'd be snorkeling in the caves of Norman Island, which was the model for “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson!

Tortolla looked interesting from the ship, we all were excited to get off ... but first we had to dock. And because it was so windy, it was quite the challenge for the captain. Took three attempts, but he finally got us docked. A lot of us flocked to the 5th deck to watch, lol



Once we docked, it was almost as bad as the first tender day to get off the ship, people where lined up all the way down the hall on deck 4, and the exit was on deck 3! Since we had an excursion, we were afraid they would leave without us, but thankfully they didn't. So off we went, headed for the caves off Norman Island. Unfortunately, when we got there it was windy/rough - I'm a good swimmer, but I was even a bit nervous about getting into the water. But the captain of the catamaran we were on moved us to a more secluded area, and even though we didn't have caves to explore, it still was a lot of fun. Not as many fish as I had envisioned, but all such gorgeous colors.
Here are the caves we couldn't snorkel :(
The only negative is that they made me wear a vest. I didn't even bother inflating mine - as I said, I am a good swimmer!
What a blast! After about 45 minutes, we pulled up anchor and headed to the other side of the island, where there is a little bar/beach. Pirates Bight ... it's been there for 12 years, other than that - there is nothing else on the island. But the bay is full of boats - that was the one thing we noticed, all the smaller boats. Wouldn't it be nice to just charter one and sail to all the British Virgin Islands? I think there are 48 of them! LOL We had the option of going ashore or snorkeling some more - John & I opted to snorkel, Nikki & Darrel went to shore. I am glad I snorkeled, the coral was AMAZING, I wish I could have gotten a photo to share. But no underwater camera for us. There is also a floating bar in the bay ... called Willie T's. I heard back in the day they used to give free t-shirts to women who would jump off the poop deck above the bar! I don't think they allow that anymore, because got someone got hurt doing it. I'm pretty sure they'd pay me to keep my clothes on! Heheheee.
So, after about 30 minutes it was time to head back to the Journey ... but we all got a glass of rum punch. That made us very happy, lol
After we got back to the ship, we quickly changed and headed back out to explore town - hard to believe it was our last port! Unfortunately, it was Sunday, and we had not been expected - so pretty much everything in Road Town (where we were docked) was closed. Just a few vendors and chickens. Plus it was HOT, so we only went a couple of blocks, turned around and went back to the ship.

After a shower and a short nap, we headed up to the aft deck bar to say goodbye to the British Virgin Islands with a few drinks. No sushi tonight as it was Indian night in the buffet. I didn't have anything, as we had dinner reservations at the other specialty restaurant - Aqualina - at 8pm. But what a lovely evening - so pretty. We went through a passage called 'The Narrows' and it was so cool to have land so close on both sides of this big ship.
We went up early for cocktails in Prime C before dinner at Aqualina, we were promptly seated at 8pm, along with 4 other tables. Worried we'd get slow service, and I think we did. Entire meal took 2 1/2 hours! I was disappointed, I thought we'd be done by 9:30 so I could attend the show. The cruise director, Tony, was performing - and he had surprised us with his talent at the White Night party and I was hoping to hear more of his singing. Oh well.

But the restaurant was lovely, our waiter was attentive (even if the time between courses was slow). I had foie gras for the first time - pan seared and torchon ... it was good! I even got Nikki to take a bite of each and she was also pleasantly surprised. My entree was sea bass, I loved it although I thought it was borderline undercooked. I tend to like it that way, but I know others would have sent it back. Nikki couldn't decide between the filet mignon or lobster - so she had both! I sort of wished I'd had the same, lol. Her dinner looked really good.But dessert made up for the delays in our meal - omg it was good! I had warm chocolate biegnet with chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream ... but Darrel had the chocolate souffle and I think he scored! LOL We all had a bite, it was delicious.


After all that food we had to walk around - we went to the casino where I promptly lost the $20 I had won a few nights before ... so I headed off to bed. Only two more days on the ship, I'm starting to get sad.