Destination : VIRGIN ISLANDS (UK)

The US Virgin Islands lie in the Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico. Most of the 50 or so islands and cays that make up the British Virgin Islands are grouped around the Sir Francis Drake Channel. First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were soon after (1672) annexed by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.

The British Virgin Islands a form part of a chain (archipelago) of Caribbean Islands created 25 million years ago. The exception being Anegada, which is a coral and limestone atoll only 28 feet above sea level.  In 1666 British planters took over control of the island group from the original Dutch settlers. The islands attained the status of British colony, and remained part of the Leeward Islands from 1872 until 1956, when the British Virgin Islands became a separately administered entity. To preserve its close economic ties with the U.S. Virgin Islands, the group did not join the 1958-1962 West Indies Federation of British Virgin Islands. In 1967, a new constitution provided for a ministerial system of government headed by a Chief Minister. The island group remains under British control today.

A perennial delight to yachtsmen and landlubbers alike, some 60 islands of the BVI have succeeded in safeguarding their special charm from the inroads of mass tourism. Among the most frequently visited of the BVI's handful of inhabited islands are Tortola, virgin Gorda, Beef Island, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Peter, Mosquito, and Guana Islands.

Tortola, "land of turtle doves' or Chocolate City is the largest of the British Virgin Islands overlooking Sir Francis Drake Channel and situated about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. Its most popular point of entry for vacationers is the East End Beef Island Airport linked to the capital city of Road Town by the one-lane Queen Elizabeth Bridge.Road Town's scenic setting and sheltered yacht-filled harbour provide a helpful orientation to the laid-back BVI lifestyle evolved over the last 400 years by English, Dutch, French, and Spanish adventurers, followed by plantation owners and 20th century settlers.

This friendly and diversified community tempts travellers with every sort of regional and international cuisine found in a choice of cheerful pastel painted restaurants, former forts, and sugar mills. Palate-pleasing menus feature West Indian specialties of fresh lobster, conch, turtle, spicy goat, and curries of every description. An authentic English pub serves Pusser's Rum, traditional drink of the British Navy for 300 years, as well as a popular fruit flavoured local concoction known as the "Painkiller." Savvy shoppers can usually find bargains in perfume, jewellery, wine, and Wedge wood china in the homey-style stores dotting Road Town's Main Street and Soper's Hole, West End. However, the shops are best known for their unique local products. Look for one-of-a-kind antiques, silk-screened fabrics, intricate ship models, and watercolours by Tortolan artists.Tortola also offers and ideal jumping off point to the other main island of Virgin Gorda with its famous Baths, magical Anegada, and rustic Jost Van Dyke. Visitors can avail themselves of an efficient ferry service to any of these nearby destinations.

Virgin Gorda, or "Fat Virgin", refers to a protruding mountain noted by Columbus on this second largest of the British Virgin Isles. Only ten miles long and two miles wide, the island is known for its yacht clubs, quiet coves, and safe anchorages for bareboats. Its most celebrated beach - The Baths - is an intriguing grouping of huge granite rocks framing grottos filled with with sea water. While geologists ponder the origins of these mysterious boulders, swimmers and snorkelers refresh themselves in the cool waters of hidden pools and secret passages.Nature lovers can enjoy a short stroll from The Baths to the Devil's Bay National Park, one of several parks given by the Rockefellers to the British Virgin Islands' government in the 1960s.

Anegada is an easily missed speck on the map lying 20 miles north of Virgin Gorda. It covers 15 square miles and rises 28 feet above sea level.Over the years, more than 300 ships have been wrecked on the hazardous coral reefs encircling the islet, a tragedy which, in turn, has made Anegada a paradise for divers. The wrecks and reefs themselves have been enhanced with colourful formations of exotic undersea plan and animal life.With a population of about 250, Anegada's tourist facilities are limited to a camp ground, several guest cottages, and one 18-room hotel. Government efforts to keep the island as close to nature as possible have resulted in the recent introduction of a sanctuary for flamingos, ospreys, and terns supervised by the National Parks Trust.

Jost Van Dyke, a four-square mile island to the north of Tortola's West End, once the reputed hideaway for a Dutch pirate of the same name, still welcomes travellers looking for a remote, rustic retreat and first-rate hiking trails. The best beaches are found at Great Harbour and White Bay, while Main Street is a sandy strip of beach holding the BVI customs house and several, small beach cafes famed for their freshly baked banana bread and coconut muffins.In a decidedly offbeat but friendly community of about 200 inhabitants, hotel accommodations are modest and cater mostly to the yachting aficionados. At one of the town's most popular dining spots, the island's poet laureate-restauranteur greets each guest with a personalized guitar-accompanied serenade.

 

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