Winter Sun in the BVI. Warning: Minimal Climbing References.
A little over a week ago I was packing two bags for two different trips. One was an ice climbing trip to the Écrins that I’ll be leaving for in one week’s time, the other a sailing trip around the British Virgin Islands. I made extra sure to take the right bag less I’d end up in Antigua with a holdall filled with ice gear and no shorts.
Adrian kite-boarding. That’s the other Adrian, not me. I was taking the picture.
I’d neve been sailing before, and my experiences in boats have not been exclusively positive, a stomach-sharing stormy crossing to Lundy from Swansea burnt a particularly strong memory in my mind. For this reason I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of living on a boat for a week. I needn’t have worried however as it was a great experience, and I wasn’t sea-sick even once, though I’m not sure I owed my sea legs to the drugs I was taking or the desire not to look a fool in front of everyone else. The ‘everyone else’ consisted of the family of my girlfriend, and they did all the hard work. They impressed me immensely by demonstrating that you can have a four captains at two steering wheels speaking two languages all at the same time and still not sink. I was allowed to steer for a bit, though I think the auto-pilot was on, and I was a little suspicious that the steering wheel I commanded was pink, plastic and attached to the boat via a small suction cup. It did have a horn in the middle though. And indicators.
Audrey windsurfing.
I didn’t take my climbing shoes, and there would have only been one place with rocks worth exploring anyway. For any climber heading out that way who happens to have happened upon these words, I can honestly say The Baths on Virgin Gorda are worth a look at, though I wouldn’t head there just to climb. Here’s a photo:
The Baths at Virgin Gorda: you could probably climb here.
I’d rather race sea turtles.
The best part, for me, was trying to spot as many exotic creatures as possible. Under the water one of the first things I saw was a huge ray, calmly flying escorted by a sucker fish. Spotting enormous sea-turtles was always a treat, and the colour and variety of other fish made me feel like I was swimming around an aquarium. The only other places I’ve been snorkeling are Thailand and Kalymnos, and really, they don’t even come close. Above the land it was great to watch the pelicans diving in to get a mouth full of fish, the giant iguanas basking in the sun, and the slightly out-of-place groups of ageing home sapiens trying to get off a dingy at the beach when the waves were crashing.
The week went quickly, and soon I was back on land, feeling slightly queasy due to the fact that the world doesn’t rock from side to side in quite the way I had become accustomed. Then it was to the air where we got the world’s most chilled-out safety briefing from the Caribbean’s Favourite airline, Liat. Liat, where the seats aren’t reclined so much as ‘laid-back’. Enjoy da view.
A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.
Dixon Lanier Merritt
…
Oh and if you could all go and buy some of my books (Winter Climbing+ Trad Climbing+ and Sport Climbing+ it would be much appreciated as I’ve run out of money and it’s not as though I have an extravagant lifestyle of anything. Cheers.