Our B.V.I. Adventure

Some incredible volunteers got together last week to clean up one of the BVI's most popular beaches, Cane Garden Bay.  I was stunned to see BVI Newbie's photo of what the divers found on the ocean floor...

Yikes!  Cane Garden Bay is popular with the charter boat community, as well as the cruise ship tourists.  And it really is a great beach spot (despite what this photo may lead you to believe), with its colorful line of beach bars and restaraunts tucked behind the palm trees.

I can't hear the words "Cane Garden Bay" without immediately thinking of Da Tree Men's song by the same name...  Remember it?  This is one of my favorites...

On Whitney's final afternoon in the BVI, we went down to Cane Garden Bay to soak up a little sun.  Little did we know, we would see our first ever shark!!!  Fishermen were drawing attention from cruise ship tourists as they were bringing in their catch for the day.
It was an ideal BVI photo opp, until we heard the words "Shark! Shark!" Sure enough, a small Caribbean reef shark was caught in the fishermens' net! 

I've been swimming and snorkeling at beaches all along Tortola's north side and I've never seen a shark...  But sure enough, that's exactly what these fishermen had found!


Here's a better look:

Yikes!

During their weekly gig at The Elm Beach Bar in Cane Garden Bay, Da Tree Men dropped it down low for a group from Chicago.  Dressed in 70's costumes, these people knew how to have a good time!  Even our guests Kaley and Shane got in on the fun by holding the limbo stick!  Check out the video.



It was such a fun night! 

A new shiny banner provided the perfect backdrop for Da Tree Men's gig at The Elm on Wednesday night.

They played one of their newer cover songs or "an orignal by somebody else," as Pier likes to say into the mic.  It's called Kingston Town and it was written and recorded by UB40.  I really like the melody and Pier's voice fits it perfectly.



Kingston Town

The night seems to fade,
But the moonlight lingers on
There are wonders for everyone...woo ho
The stars shine so bright,
But they're fading after dawn
There is magic in Kingston Town

(chorus)
Oh Kingston Town,
The place I long to be
If I had the whole world
I would give it away
Just to see the girls at play

When I am king,
Surely I would need a queen
And a palace and everything, yeah yeah
And now, I am king,
And my queen will come at dawn
She'll be waiting in Kingston Town

(repeat chorus)
Oh Kingston Town,
The place I long to be
If I had the whole world
I would give it away
Just to see the girls at play, yeahhhh

When I am king,
Surely I would need a queen
And a palace and everything, yeah yeah
And now I am king,
And my queen will come at dawn
She'll be waiting in Kingston Town

She'll be waiting in Kingston Town, by now
She'll be waiting in Kingston Town, oh ya
She'll be waiting in Kingston Town, oh ya

Our friends Brian and Beth arrived in the BVI on Day 200!  There won't be any airport arrival photos because they flew into St. Thomas, and caught a ferry.  They are chartering with Beth's family on a beautiful blue catamaran. 

Their captain took them to Myett's in Cane Garden Bay at 6:00 and Brian sent us a message on Facebook, asking us to join them.  After Michael got off of work, we headed over the mountain and surprised them!  It's just about a 20 minute drive.

It was great to see them and enjoy happy hour at Myett's.  We have a lot to celebrate!  Brian just graduated from LSU and is now - officially - an orthodontist! 
They're going to have a great week in the BVI and we plan to meet up with them at other stops on their journey!  Oh, and Beth is a loyal follower of Our BVI Adventure and was excited to finally be apart of a post!  Cheers!

So proud of Michael - he played in his first-ever paid gig on Sunday night! 

The new band was well received at The Elm.  This beachside restaurant/bar is known for its Sunday nights - they have a big barbeque grill there on the beach, no menus either.  You have three choices: BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken or fish.  It's that simple! {and it's that good!}

A crowd of regulars, along with a few tourists, were there.  Let's Be Friends filled in for the house band, the Elmtones.  I don't think those regulars seemed to mind...Let's Be Friends gave out free shots of Pusser's rum!


Here's one of my favorite songs that they performed...



There are other performances on my newly created YouTube channel.  (When they played Cash, they had some dancers take the floor!)  Feel free to check out the videos!

We've heard some conflicting reports from locals about the history of this holiday.  Other says that in feudal times, the lords of the land would gather useful items and gifts together to distribute among the serfs to use the following year. As each family received a box of goods, such as grain, tools and clothing, the tradition of Boxing Day emerged.
Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as many British commonwealths, like the BVI.  Oh, and when Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the holiday is recognized on the following Monday. We weren't sure if this holiday was like President's Day in the U.S. so Michael tried going into the office, but it was closed.  So, our Boxing Day became Beach Day.

We hadn't been to Cane Garden Bay yet, so we decided to try it out.  It is the most commercial beach on the island.