Happy New Year!
Steve and I arrived in Sopher’s Hole, Tortola,in the BVIs, on December 29th. Gustie, our 42-foot mono hull sail boat
looks pretty darn good but may be just a bit longer in the tooth than last
year. She withstood her months on land, living in a pit, hiding from
hurricanes. Sometimes boats will come back full of mildew but that wasn’t
the case with our girl. She received a good vinegar and water wash (wiped
down thoroughly inside) before she was put away to prevent that from happening. Steve
had wrapped his tools; screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers in oil soaked rags (my
old pajamas) but rust still attacked the metal. During our systems check
Steve discovered our freezer wasn’t working. After being messed with by
our handyman, it was pronounced dead. Now we’re hoping to discover we can
get by without a freezer. So far, our ice (utterly important for cocktail
hour) is staying frozen on the bottom of our fridge.
Right now we are hanging out in Caneel Bay, outside of St. John. Yesterday we spent time in Cruz Bay, the lovely town not far from
our boat. We took our new and bigger dinghy to the ferry
dock. Speaking of our new and near perfect dinghy, the extra foot in
length is a godsend. Who would ever think a foot could make such a difference
in personal comfort? While we were wandering around town, we came to Emancipation Park, where townspeople, the women
dressed in black skirts and pure, white blouses, were waiting for the new
governor, his wife and their entourage to arrive on a boat. Of the three
islands, it was St. John’s turn to
honor him and his lieutenant governor at an all day inauguration. The
bandstand in the park was thoroughly fitted for the occasion in mums and roses
and a high school band was squeaking out welcoming marches. We saw one
dolled-up little girl, who must have had good pitch, wearing a frown while she
kept her hands over her ears. The whole setting was very island and very
hometown at the same time. After the gov and his peeps arrived there was a
lot of fawning and hand shaking going on. We stood on the fringe of the
affair as onlookers. Before you could say “Jack Robinson” (an old
expression my mother used to use … are you familiar with it?) His Excellency
was standing before us and we, too, became fawners. We shook his mighty
hand and had a short congratulatory conversation. His body guards,
well-equipped with might and brawn, stood on the sidelines waiting for
catastrophe. We were pleased to witness this U.S. Virgin Islands grand
occasion. We have heard that this governor was a good choice and we wish
him, his family and staff well.
Before we left for town yesterday, Steve noticed a
speedboat anchored next to Gustie. Beside the boat’s driver were two men
spying intently on the jazzy resort in front of our bay. They were using
binoculars and eventually when a boat pulled out of the resort, they pulled out
cameras with telephoto lenses covered with the dopey disguise of a terry cloth
hand towels. Before we got a close look at the men, we thought they might
be bird watchers. On closer inspection, we could see they were weasels,
but not the kind that would be interested in common ornithology. They had
that thin, cocaine-look about them. They were paparazzi! Eventually
the paparazzi pulled out and followed the boat that had left the
resort. We heard later that it was rumored that Brad and Angelina were
visiting the island. Maybe one of you saw them somewhere else. Let me
know if you did.
Today we are taking a taxi from that resort mentioned in the last chapter to the Westin Hotel. It is supposed to be quite lush and lovely and used extensively for island photo shoots. We have to see this lush and loveliness! At 4 PM we will watch their large iguana collection and enjoy dinner. It will be gross and wonderful all at the same time. It is said that they have some mighty large iguanas. I bet you can’t wait to hear just how big they are! Actually I’m a small fan of iguanas but absolutely phobic about snakes. Once when we were in Costa Rica, our friend Tim Forsythe, enjoyed eating iguana at a meal. Of course, it tasted like chicken.
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