Road Town, Tortola

Another beautiful day in the British Virgin Islands, and another unique adventure. After a bbq ashore (where Ian's guitar playing attracted tourists from around the beach) and a night at anchor near Trellis Bay (near Marina Cay), we woke this morning to our daily routine ashore; muster, chores, and breakfast. We then piled into our small boats and visited our friends at Aragorn's Studio's to learn about Gli Gli and the Carib Canoe Project. Gli Gli is a dugout canoe built in the traditional Carib manner on the island of Dominica, and voyaged along the Lesser Antilles to the cultural homeland of the Carib people, the Orinoco Valley. Gli Gli now calls Trellis Bay home, and our students had the opportunity to sail with Aragorn for the morning and learn from him about Carib canoe building, art, and culture.

 

Gamage then sailed the short distance to Road Harbor, and we plan to have another special treat for supper tonight... Roti! Roti is a West Indian sandwich made of an Indian "skin" of roti and filled with stewed meat, potatoes, and chick peas, and garnished with chutneys and the spicy cuchela. Jean at the Roti Palace has been a staple in the Virgin Islands for decades, and her restaurant is the best place in the region to sample this Caribbean staple. Not only is roti delicious, but by studying the history of the cuisine, we learn about Indian migration to the Caribbean in the 19th century. Tomorrow we are bound for points east, and hopefully our fantastic weather and wind (not to rub it in) will continue to hold out.

All are well aboard, and the sunburn has begun to give way to hard-earned tans.