On Boxing Day we didn’t have anything like West Edmonton Mall to go shopping to, but we did have a new beach to visit :o) We spent Boxing Day on Beef Island, which is the island that is attached to Tortola via a bridge, which mostly contains the islands airport. Just off the Airport, is Long Bay (not to be mistaken with Long Bay on the west end of Tortola! Apparently there are 3 longs bays on the islands!) The water was calm but deep, and I didn’t mind extending my tan. The place was just breathtaking.
Other than Boxing Day and Monday, the last few days have brought torrential rains to the islands. I have left the driving on the mud drenched hills to my personal driver/ exterminator. We haven’t been complaining too much about the downpours!
Our rental house although brand new and modern, houses some un-modern features – including a cistern water system! Every time it rains, the water is collected into a tank under the house which filters the water which we then use to shower and wash dishes with. It’s free and saves us from buying city water! Most houses have gas cooking ranges. To use them we will have to call the gas company and buy a 100lb propane tank that they will deliver and hook up in the back of the house which will provide us with approximately 3 months of gas power. We don’t have an aircon unit – and before readers freak out! Let me explain why… Because we live on a hill elevated 1000 ft, the breezes cool our house completely, compared to a house that is on ocean level. Then there’s electricity – actually, there is a local man working on top of the roof that spins a wheel and generates….JUST KIDDING!
On Monday, we were invited to my boss’s personal house party. Ben and I were the youngest among the crowd of bankers, lawyers, and holiday makers. I think we were quite fortunate to have been invited to the party, as the folks I met in the office were certainly not there! We were even introduced to a lovely vacationing couple from Camborne, Cornwall. The boss’s house was comfortable yet spectacular, filled with beautiful wooden antique furnishings made by his wife, two mutts, and 360 views of the outer islands. He was eagerly serving us $13 bottles of rose wine pretty much all day long. We left fashionably early to stop us from leaving a somewhat intoxicated impression of ourselves.
Tuesday rolled around and it was back to setting up life. We went to the First Caribbean Bank to setup a chequing account. We arrived at 2:15, we were served at 3:45 – and beyond that, the bank closed at 3pm! I was not going to leave until I was served. Opening a bank account in the Caribbean is nearly impossible. The banks have many screaming processes that must be followed to prevent money laundering – Like having a CA designation isn’t enough? Once our accounts were set up, we were informed that we wouldn’t get an ATM card until next week cause they ran out of plastic and that we have to wait a week for temporary cheques and a month for our personalized cheques to arrive. I guess rent is free this month, as I don’t have access to money :o)
Last but not least we did some car searching. We literally need to interview the locals before we actually look at the car they are selling. Whenever you ask them a question about the car, the most important questions usually get omitted by either an incoming cell call, or some kind of slang response “yeah, nah, I got er’ , nah, good, yeah”.
We had complimentary showings of 3 cars today starting with a filthy beat up Suzuki XL7 rental car, a Chevy Equinox with the airbag deployed it was basically hanging out of the steering wheel, and a Chevy Trackers that “wasn’t” in a car accident, but was completely repainted with new tires and breaks. All models clearly screamed sketchy. We were forced to extend our current rental Suzuki for another week for a depressing $500 :o(
Tomorrow is New Years Eve – and we can’t wait to kick of the New Year on another Island!...Plans are not yet decided, but are between Foxys on Jost Van Dyke island (has been ranked the 3rd best new years party in the world regularly) or a Fire Ball party (basically huge wooden balls set on fire in the ocean) out on Beef Island…..we will keep you posted
Happy New Years Eve Everyone!
Christmas in Tortola
Cruiseships arrive everyday
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All the best.