Great Harbour ... that little building with the red roof (right of center) is the ferry terminal.
With this being the last full day of our vacation, Ken and I chose to spend it exploring Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. After all, we were only about a 45-minute ferry ride away from the island and we had to check out the famous Foxy's and Soggy Dollar Bar. Plus, we had finally gotten our passports and had to put them to use!
The ferry from St. Thomas to Jost Van Dyke (which was smaller than the ferry to St. John) only leaves once per day at 8am, and only on certain days. This was a Monday, which is one of the days that the ferry runs. This was no coincidence that we had this on our schedule. I really wanted to see this island, and I thought the $75 round trip fare would be worth it ... it was! We even saw a rainbow on the horizon of the water, which the captain (a great guy) pointed out to us. He said he'd never seen a rainbow sitting on the horizon, and we were viewing a "once in a lifetime" sight. We felt pretty lucky, and I took a photo that just didn't capture the beauty. However, I will be posting it with many other pictures on our Facebook page in the next few days.
As the sun continued to rise, the skies and the water became a brighter blue and Jost Van Dyke was in sight!
I've gotta tell you that when we first arrived on Jost Van Dyke we weren't too sure we did the right thing! The island did not appear very occupied, and the only thing we could see for miles was the green countryside. Although we don't like to see islands destroyed with high-rise hotels, we felt like we were the only people on the island! After checking in with customs at the little ferry dock, we asked the agent where Foxy's was located. The agent said that it was just a short walk "up the road". So, we started walking! We quickly came up on something other than trees ... a quaint little street with little bars and restaurants on the left and a beautiful beach on the right ... with Foxy's Bar at the end. We were at Great Harbour, and we liked what we saw ... an island with lots of charm that didn't appear to have changed in the last few decades.
Corsair's Bar
Along the street we came across this quiet police station and a little church with kids walking in for school. At this time it was only a little after 9am, and the island wasn't yet full of the boaters on their way.
Right across the street were these beautiful views! This is actually the water where the ferry was docked.
We came to the end of the road .. and Foxy's! There were several chairs and hammocks on the beach side of the road to relax and take in the views. The dog was taking advantage of the views, and we were later told a joke by Foxy about that dog ... the "island dog".
The other side of the road was where the cooking was getting started. Since it was early in the morning, Foxy's didn't have many people yet but the grill had been started and it was already smelling good!
We were hoping to see Foxy, and sure enough ... he was sitting on the steps of his gift shop. The guy next to him was taking a picture of me taking a picture ... we had the same camera!
I walked up to Foxy and asked, "Are you the famous Foxy"? He answered with a "politically incorrect" joke, and continued with several funny jokes. He was a really nice guy, and he's living the life!
After a while, we headed back up the road to see if we could find a ride to White Bay and the Soggy Dollar Bar.
We did find a ride ... more about that in our next post. Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
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5 comments:
How fun. I would love to go there. I just love St. Thomas, but when you're on a cruise ship you don't have much time to island hop. One of these days.
Have a terrific day. :)
Love the thumbs up picture. super cute post :)
Cathy Trails
These pictures take me back to next summer- we were down there on a charter and went to Foxy's one evening when we were moored in Great Harbour. I remember there was an old ketch (restored and in great shape) next to us with a lively crowd! Can't wait to hear about your experience in White Bay- LOVE Soggy Dollar Bar!! We are currently planning another charter in the BVI for next August- your blog is getting me very excited about it!
Somehow I missed this post -- I realized it when I started reading the next one, so I had to come back to this one! Doesn't look like Jost has changed too much since we stayed there. We loved eating at Corsair's, and we actually hiked all around the entire island, from White Bay, up the road to the top of the "mountains" and around to Bubbly Pool & Foxy's Taboo, then Great Harbour, then back to White Bay. We were DYING with the hills, sunshine, and heat, but it was absolutely gorgeous! So many great memories of our vacation there -- thanks for helping to bring them back!
Terry, I bet you are excited about your charter in the BVI's ... that gotta be awesome!
Emily, I doubt much has changed since you've visited the island. It appears untouched, which is such a blessing these days! Hiking around the island sounds fun. I wish we would have had more time here!
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