The Tortola bus tour continues. We ride the Ridge Road and eventually stop for refreshments.
A resort is visible on the pristine beach.
The beach again. Vegetation is not as lush as on St. Lucia.
This hotel is impressively large.
Another view of the beach, after we've driven up the mountain.
And a view from still further aloft.
It's such a beautiful resource and no one is using it.
This goat did not have much room to maneuver.
The top of a really steep peak. I believe this tree is natural and not bonsai.
An island view. Shortly we reached a point where we could view Virgin Gorda island.
Oranges grow right up to the road. Not exciting to a Floridian, but novel to those from points north.
Another tree. Could this be aloe? Camera tip: Get a camera which supports voice annotation and describe each shot as you take it.
A tropical plant in full bloom.
The island in the center (just behind the one at foreground left) is called Virgin Gorda, Spanish for Fat Virgin. The island's profile is that of a rotund, reclining female.
Fresh fruits in abundance. At some points the driver stopped the jitney so we could reach out and sample the more exotic tropical varieties.
As a British Overseas Territory with a long history of political stability, the BVI offers all the security traditionally associated with the British flag. The territory is responsible for its own internal self-government, and is governed by a democratically elected Legislative and Executive Council. Democratic elections are held at least once every four years. BVI Law is based on the British Legal System and English Common Law. The court system is made up of a Magistrates Court, a High Court and a Circuit Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court with final appeal to the Privy Council in England. The local currency of the BVI is the United States Dollar. There are no exchange controls and no restrictions on movement of currency. International banking, commercial and financial services are available in Road Town, and communication facilities in the BVI are first rate.
The Ridge Road tour continues and we can see Road Town and the harbor and our cruise ship.
All sorts of fruits flourish in the tropical climate.
The vegetation on Tortola was much different from that on St. Lucia.
The Tortola economy is booming. New houses were being constructed everywhere. The top deck of this house, poured concrete with ties sticking out, appears ready for another story to be added. One tourist on our jitney wondered whether the situation was like Greece, where houses are never finished, thus preventing them from being entered on the tax rolls.
This house, however, was clearly under construction on all levels.
Notice the winding road at the left.
As we drove the mountain roads, we encountered elementary school students. Each cluster had uniforms unique to its school.
Virgin Gorda, the Fat Virgin, in profile.
Virgin Gorda is a favorite stop-over for visitors. Its unusual topography and ultra laid-back lifestyle are things you should not miss. Virgin Gorda is really three islands in one, the southern third is flat with giant boulders, sparse vegetation reminiscent of the Old West, and a light aircraft landing strip. The middle of the island is mountainous with Gorda Peak and several lovely beaches. The northern third is quite spindly and situated around North Sound with half a dozen other islands forming an almost land-locked oasis, and ideal place where you can take part in water sports and start an island exploration.
An abandoned copper mine on the sea and The Baths, a unique rock formation with dimly-lighted sea caves, are the island's main sights along with notable resorts, hostelries and anchorages.
Tortola's economy is clearly much stronger than that of Barbados or Grenada.
Large homes were evident everywhere.
As is lots of new construction.
This luxury boat appears to be beached.
There seems to be a large resort or condos on the hill above the beached boat.
I wonder if there's good fishing in this pond.
The pond seems to have a mud beach.
We stopped for lunch, at this roadside restaurant and tavern. The driver gave us each tickets good for two free drinks.
The guide provided a step to aid Jan, and she was able to manuver her rollator 100 feet or so over smooth, level ground to where the buffet was served. In the associated souvenir shop I saw fishwatcher cards, to identify underwater sea life. It was curious, because they were the same cards that were posted at each porthole in the Atlantis submarine we rode five days earlier.
Jan was really pleased to have won the Norwegian casino fanny pack, and wore it everywhere. Her painkillers were in it. The bell on her rollator is to warn other shoppers that she needs more room to get by. Rachel got it for her at the shop at the North Carolina Museum of Art. It carries a Chinese painting.
Two kind tourists helped Jan and me down to the beach and back up.
A third member of our party was kind enough to take pictures of us.
It almost looks like a prickly pear cactus at the right.
More hibiscus grow below.
The tour continued with a trip to Beef Island, an island near Tortola, flat enough to be used as the site of the international airport. In 1966 a one-lane toll bridge, the Queen Elizabeth (QEII) Bridge, was put into service. Recently it was replaced by a two-lane bridge. Our guide was quite appreciative at the removal of the traffic restriction. We took a quick ride around the airport terminal and then were surprised to be dropped back at the harbor at around 11:30 AM.
I urged Jan to do some shopping--to buy some pretty things for herself--but she was tired and asked to return to the ship. A good thing too, because the departure time was 12:30 PM, an unanticipated (by me) change from the 4:30PM departures of the four previous days. Had we tarried, we would have missed the boat.
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