Philip M. Haggerty

Our first port of call was Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had decided to visit the neighboring island of Virgin Gorda to see the Baths, a major attraction. Guide books had told us of two ferry services, and the web gave us the schedules. One called Speedy’s Ferry seemed to have the best schedule. They did not reply to my e-mails, but we decided to try them anyway. The ferry pier is about a ten minute walk from the ship’s gangplank. The ferry to Virgin Gorda costs $25.00 per person, round trip, and they throw in a bus ride to and from the Baths. The official currency of the BVI is the US dollar. We waited about fifteen minutes to board a small boat holding perhaps 40-50 people, some obviously locals. We also carried a mail sack. The trip takes about 30 minutes and was uneventful.

There is not much in Spanish Town, the landing place on Virgin Gorda. The transportation was provided by “buses” consisting of pickup trucks with 3 or 4 rows of seats welded to the back and a surrey type roof. I would not recommend trying to walk to the Baths because it seemed like about 2-3 miles. The road is marked with a lot of speed humps. The road actually climbs about 100 feet up from the pier to the top of the Baths. There you pay a $3.00 per person entry fee to the BVI National Parks Trust, and get an all day ticket to the Baths, Devil’s Bay Park, Sage Mountain Park and a Botanic Garden. The regular tour people have their fee paid of course.

We arrived after a group from either our ship or a Carnival ship that was in port that day also, so there was a group of about 100 going to the Baths. The path down is fairly rough, and people trying to bring their children’s strollers were having a difficult time. The beach area is not large, but the large boulders that are the main attraction are interesting.

The water was warm and crystal clear. I did a little snorkeling, and saw a few fish, but I would not call this a great snorkel site. We tried to find a place in the shade, but the rising tide forced us out into the sun. We went back up to our arrival point after about an hour at the Baths. There is a restaurant on top, with a small bar and limited food service. But it is basically a large covered porch, with a fresh water pool and a delightful view of the Caribbean while providing a wonderful Trade Wind breeze. We understand why people build their homes high in the islands, because this is where you have an almost constant cooling breeze, while the seaside is quite hot.

We caught our return “bus” back to the pier and while our ferry was late in arriving, we got back to Road Town and the ship in time for a late lunch. We then walked back to Road Town and explored most of it on foot. It is not truly tourist oriented and is not particularly attractive, but everyone seems friendly enough. Our Virgin Gorda Baths expedition cost $30.00 per person, including a $2.00 bottle of water at the restaurant and the $3.00 entry fee. The same trip, without the water, cost $57.00 per person as a ship’s excursion.

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