On Day 4 we needed to get to business - We were introduced to a sweet London girl named Louise who moved to the BVI last year and has taken up real estate. She drove us around and showed us 5 properties on the island. 3 of the places were ready to breakdown for the next sucker who rented them.
The 2 other properties, completely different posed some decision problems for us. Large new 2 bedroom place with “meh” views vs. Tiny 1 bedroom apartment with OMG 360 views of the sea and outer islands. Half way through the day we realized that we were actually looking for a rental property for Dundee more so than for ourselves.
During our drive in search for properties, traffic went to a complete stop. Mr. Iguana was crossing the road. Louise, stopped the car, got out of the car to scare Mr. Iguana into the bushes. (Ben and I stayed in the car with our windows closed) :o)
Along the way Louise introduced us to some BVI bylaws. Driving and talking on a cell phone is illegal, driving without a seatbelt is illegal, drinking and driving is legal!
We drove by Rudy’s. It’s a cute little shack with a bar on top of a hill overlooking the seas with a bunch of locals and tourists mingling and drinking away. I will probably be driving by this place more often – not to drink – but to hopefully have a picture and chat with Tom Cruise who is a regular at the place!
Money saving trick of the day – If beer is less expensive than water, you need to take some water cooking classes 101. Ben saved us $10 today!
Later that night we needed some time to deliberate on properties, so we hopped into our pool at 8pm and enjoyed the 30 degree weather– ahh…
On Day 5 we showed up at the clinic for our Immigration Medical. We arrived at 8:00am to stand in line for the 8:30 opening. The nurses rolled up at 9:30- Caribbean Time Man! At 9:15 a couple of American girls showed up to the clinic for the same purposes. The stupid cows went in front of the line of us and other local people. Is it any wonder that the locals hate Americans! Ben had some words for the stupid Americans who thought the world revolved around them.
Nevertheless, just before we left Canada, we took every poop test, blood test and STD test known to man. Apparently our test results records were not sufficient for the BVI standards – they really like “official stamps” on absolutely everything here! We had to go for more x-rays and blood tests to the ghetto hospital. The hospital has been due for a new building for the last 100 years. As we pull up we look at the impressive *new* hospital behind the run-down one. I told Ben that the only reason they sent us here is because they need additional funding for the construction of the new hospital. Oh well, $160 USD later, we were done!
After the medical, Ben and I went to meet my new big boss for some paperwork. It was about lunchtime, and he recommended us to “Le Cabadon” for their panninis. We accepted his recommendation and ate delicious food at the restaurant while sipping on some red stripe. Afterwards, I went to pay for the meal, the waitress told me that the Visa machine was “broken man” and that she only accepted cash or cheque. We didn’t have cash, so we wrote a cheque which was gratefully accepted by the waitress.
The following day, we went to go see the Boss again for some other formalities. In a discussion about lunch, he says to me “You know you can’t write Canadian cheques for lunch here!” Apparently the waitress ended up calling him and telling on me that I used a Canadian cheque. Mr. Boss ended up putting our entire lunch on his tab and paid for our meal! First impressions :o) Maybe later when we are more friendly I can use it as a joke to get him to pay for my future meals on the island :o)
After that, off to more of the stunning beaches to work on our tans……………………
The 2 other properties, completely different posed some decision problems for us. Large new 2 bedroom place with “meh” views vs. Tiny 1 bedroom apartment with OMG 360 views of the sea and outer islands. Half way through the day we realized that we were actually looking for a rental property for Dundee more so than for ourselves.
During our drive in search for properties, traffic went to a complete stop. Mr. Iguana was crossing the road. Louise, stopped the car, got out of the car to scare Mr. Iguana into the bushes. (Ben and I stayed in the car with our windows closed) :o)
Along the way Louise introduced us to some BVI bylaws. Driving and talking on a cell phone is illegal, driving without a seatbelt is illegal, drinking and driving is legal!
We drove by Rudy’s. It’s a cute little shack with a bar on top of a hill overlooking the seas with a bunch of locals and tourists mingling and drinking away. I will probably be driving by this place more often – not to drink – but to hopefully have a picture and chat with Tom Cruise who is a regular at the place!
Money saving trick of the day – If beer is less expensive than water, you need to take some water cooking classes 101. Ben saved us $10 today!
Later that night we needed some time to deliberate on properties, so we hopped into our pool at 8pm and enjoyed the 30 degree weather– ahh…
On Day 5 we showed up at the clinic for our Immigration Medical. We arrived at 8:00am to stand in line for the 8:30 opening. The nurses rolled up at 9:30- Caribbean Time Man! At 9:15 a couple of American girls showed up to the clinic for the same purposes. The stupid cows went in front of the line of us and other local people. Is it any wonder that the locals hate Americans! Ben had some words for the stupid Americans who thought the world revolved around them.
Nevertheless, just before we left Canada, we took every poop test, blood test and STD test known to man. Apparently our test results records were not sufficient for the BVI standards – they really like “official stamps” on absolutely everything here! We had to go for more x-rays and blood tests to the ghetto hospital. The hospital has been due for a new building for the last 100 years. As we pull up we look at the impressive *new* hospital behind the run-down one. I told Ben that the only reason they sent us here is because they need additional funding for the construction of the new hospital. Oh well, $160 USD later, we were done!
After the medical, Ben and I went to meet my new big boss for some paperwork. It was about lunchtime, and he recommended us to “Le Cabadon” for their panninis. We accepted his recommendation and ate delicious food at the restaurant while sipping on some red stripe. Afterwards, I went to pay for the meal, the waitress told me that the Visa machine was “broken man” and that she only accepted cash or cheque. We didn’t have cash, so we wrote a cheque which was gratefully accepted by the waitress.
The following day, we went to go see the Boss again for some other formalities. In a discussion about lunch, he says to me “You know you can’t write Canadian cheques for lunch here!” Apparently the waitress ended up calling him and telling on me that I used a Canadian cheque. Mr. Boss ended up putting our entire lunch on his tab and paid for our meal! First impressions :o) Maybe later when we are more friendly I can use it as a joke to get him to pay for my future meals on the island :o)
After that, off to more of the stunning beaches to work on our tans……………………
Views from our drive to Road Town
Views of Long Bay Beach - Really busy :0)
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