First, let me describe our entry into Roadtown. What a beautiful hour or so....the hour we spent coming into Roadtown. We came into Tortola late morning so the Holland America Westerdam passengers all got to enjoy the entry rather than sleeping through it like we often do when on a cruise ship. We passed through a narrow channel between St John, USVI and several small, lush green islands, Great Thatch and Little Thatch to name a couple...how beautiful! We were boarded by a local ship Captain, all while in motion. He then guided the ship past Roadtown so we could pivot into a channel deep enough for the ship to pass through. Again, we were struck by the beauty of our surroundings....many small lush islands all around us with a few sail boats thrown in for good measure. It didn't seem as though our large, 1800 passenger ship should be there. The cruise ship pier was completed in 1999. The pier at Wickham Cay is right in the city of Roadtown so you don't need a taxi to get to the shopping areas although they are readily available if you want to do some sightseeing on your own.
We had about an hour and a half before our eagerly awaited shore excursion....our snorkeling adventure to Norman Island. In that time, we disembarked and decided to walk into the town. Directly outside the entrance to the pier, there is a shopping area of tarp covered booths. We passed these and were happy to find the shop keepers to be pretty passive (unlike a few ports of call where the shop keepers aggressive style can be intimidating to many even though they are harmless). We went into the main part of town (Americans be careful crossing streets, they drive on the left side of the road here) and enjoyed a quick visit to the Sunny Caribbee Spice Shop Co & Art Gallery. Around the corner, not far from the ferry dock in the Craft Alive Market, we visited a neat little shop called The Coral Studio. They sell some lovely and affordable handcrafted coral carvings made from dead coral harvested from the local shores. This is where I found a gift for my mother-in-law who was so nice to take care of the kids while we were enjoying this cruise vacation! We would have to shop more later as it was time to head back to the pier to catch the open-air bus that would take us to the boat we were going to Norman Island on. On our way back to the pier, we noticed a couple local restaurants/bars right outside the port entrance. They were crowded with cruise passengers enjoying the front decks.
My husband and I had been eager to visit Tortola as we had planned to return to Norman Island where we snorkeled together about 16 years ago during a visit to St Thomas. When we last visited Norman Island, we had rented a small boat from the northeast shores of St Thomas. We spent a fantastic day chartering a course to Norman Island for our first ever snorkeling adventure. (We don't recommend this for new boaters like ourselves....we were young and adventurous, actually foolish. Stick with a group excursion with an experienced charter operator). Anyway, this was our first opportunity to return to Norman Island. We were a bit concerned it might not be as good as we remembered, especially since this time around we were booked with a group rather than visiting on our own. After a half hour boat ride past some other small islands, Peter Island and Pelican Island, we arrived at Norman Island, also known as "Treasure Island" as it was the model for Robert Louis Stevenson's epic novel, Treasure Island. This island is also well known for its pirate history. It is uninhabited at this time but after the pirates, cattle farmers tried to operate from here. They found it difficult to operate from the island and left it deserted many years ago. I can understand as there is not much flat land here. With its marine caves, it is very popular with snorkelers now. We found it to be as wonderful as we had remembered.....brightly colored fish, coral, cool caves to snorkel into and peace. There are no waves, there was one other boat when we arrived but we never felt crowded. What a treat. I can't wait to go back again one day! Maybe before I go back, I will take a scuba class ...although not really necessary as it is no more than 20 -30 feet deep around the base of the island and in most places, only 3-8 feet. It would be nice to study up a little on the marine life I saw so I can identify it by name. "Pretty" is the best word I have for everything now.
We were tired when we got back from our excursion but I managed to get a little more shopping in. Then, back to the ship for a warm shower, a little relaxation on our balcony and off to dinner for another delicious meal and inviting company. Guests we dined with that evening had visited The Baths on Virgin Gorda, the second most populous island of the BVIs. They said it was a gorgeous natural stretch of coastline with large boulders strewn about. The boulders are said to have come from a prehistoric volcano. They enjoyed a day of snorkeling and swimming in the pools and grottoes formed by the great rocks. Maybe we will have to visit there next time but it will be hard to decide between The Baths and anther visit to Norman Island. What a day!!!! If you are ready for a cruise to Tortola, there are many opportunities from Ft Lauderdale, Miami and Port Canaveral.
