Thursday morning we met up in the coffee shop and caught up with the internet while Carolyn enjoyed some retail therapy….. We enjoyed watching the little hummingbird buzz between flowers and then, suddenly, the heavens opened!   White out in the anchorage with Tortola disappearing into the gloom…..

So we decanted to the bar…. And had a couple of drinks while waiting for the weather to clear.   Oh yes, and we got Ron to show off his stylish bug bands…. He gets badly bitten so we had got him every device known to mankind to help – and, although he still got bitten, they didn’t turn bad so it was a result!

After the rain had cleared we had a lazy day reading and bobbing on the beach. Was very chilled…. And we were also the source of some amusement to a group of Germans who wanted to take our pictures as we bobbed with wine LOL!

Later on we separated to get cleaned up and then joined up for our final Cooper Island dinner. Luckily there was a special on the menu that the gang fancied – sea bass cassoulet – and I managed to persuade the waiter to let me have a salad with the steak rather than the strange concoctions on the menu.   When I say strange I do mean strange….   For example the tempura shrimp comes with popcorn, radish and a sour passion fruit dip….   And here’s the evidence!

We had a lovely meal before moving onto the Rum Bar for our final visit.  Richard and Ron tucked into the Dark and Stormys while Carolyn and I made time for wine….. This is a really chilled place but sadly the ambience was ruined somewhat by a crowd of very loud and rude people….. Sadly it wasn’t the perfect end to a perfect day…

Friday and it’s our last morning together.  We met up over coffee and then decanted to the bar for our last Caribs of the trip. We enjoyed the view and watching the day trippers come in for a frantic 45 minute lunch break…..

Then it was noon – the little boat came in and all the provisions were offloaded – then Carolyn and Ron’s luggage was delivered from their room to the boat and now it really was time to say goodbye.   Hugs all round – final photos – and then we waved them off as they motored out across to Tortola for their flight to Antigua and their connection to London.   Was very sad and I shed a few tears….

We have had the most amazing two weeks..… Sigh….  Can’t believe it had gone so quickly!

Soon after their departure we said goodbye to Cooper ourselves and headed out for Norman Island.

There was no wind so we ended up motoring again…. Arrived into The Bight and found a good anchoring spot near the beach and then just chilled out for the afternoon leaving the radio on.  It always sends a shiver up my spine when I hear the US Coastguard calling for assistance to look for a swimmer missing off of Cooper Island.   We were too far away to assist by then – just left to hope that the outcome was a happy one.

After watching the sun go down – we got ourselves cleaned up and went into Pirates to see MJ Blues play. During the evening Lyle and Julia turned up with their latest guests along with Chrissy and Dirk who were anchored out and we also got surprised by Eric and Pat from Cutter Loose who had heard us on the radio!   We did try to catch up with everyone but the music was a bit loud for meaningful conversation….   Never mind, we had a great evening… especially enjoyed the music and the dancing too….

Saturday morning and it’s time to ease ourselves gently back into cruiser mode rather than holiday mode. So we started the generator, made water, did some hand washing, cleaned the waterline and cleaned Morphie down below. Then we finally cleaned ourselves up and headed over to Pirates to catch up with Eric and Pat.    Before we knew it there were 10 cruisers round the table exchanging information about going down / up the island chain. Was a fun few hours.  After they had all gone we stayed for a little while to catch up on the internet and then returned to Morphie – put on some lights – and then went straight over to the Willy T where we were meeting Julia and Lyle again.

The Willy T was busier than we had seen it for a while – and, for the first time ever, there were lots of young men topless (and some bottomless) rather than the girls!!!!   We had a great evening dancing before retiring back to Morphie….

This morning – Sunday – and we are in Pirates blogging having already made my  weekly Skype call to Mum. The Bight sure looks pretty this morning….

Later on we are going to go bobbing with Lyle and Julia as this is our last chance to catch up with them before we return to the US Virgin Islands.  Interestingly whilst here we have met other cruisers who have also been threatened (and made to pay) the annual boat import duty – by the same stroppy customs guy in West End.  But others have been told it is only due if you stay for a consecutive 30 day period not on a rolling calendar year basis. That has always been our understanding of the rules but it is not wise to argue with customs officials even if you know they are wrong!!!!  So playing safe we’ll leave tomorrow as planned…

Bye for now

Jan