British Virgin Islands
Most people would struggle to find them on a map but this British Overseas Territory is tucked away at the very top of the Caribbean and just to the east of Puerto Rico. Mostly know as being a tax haven and base for banking and financial services so you might expect to see plenty of glass `city` tower blocks full of suits and bankers. However when you arrive there is very little to see beyond the same sort of small Caribbean waterfront town as we had experienced elsewhere in the region. However it does mean that the territory does enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the region and this is reflected by the numbers of expensive yachts that were to be found when we visited Soper's Hole Wharf, Marina and Posser's Landing. Sailing is a major past-time as the weather in this part of the Caribbean is well suited to both leisure and racing sailing and many events are held here for the racing fraternity. However, as with most Caribbean nations there is a distinct `underclass` who earn substantially less than the better off and are mainly a relic from the days of slaves being brought in to work the sugar cane fields back when they were an important source of income and foreign currency. Nowadays tourism is an important employer and represents 45% of the national income and gradually things are improving and BVI has one of the most prosperous economies in the Caribbean region.
We travelled inland and up into the interior – there not really much tropical rainforest as all 60ish islands that comprise the territory are really too small to sustain it but there is one area known as the Sage Mountain National Park with plenty of wildlife and rainforest. The coast has good coral so although it`s not really the place for eco-tourism there`s still plenty to see and plenty of good beaches for both snorkelling and surfing. Check out the puffer fish that I spotted right in the harbour. Pelicans abound everywhere around the coast and are entertaining to watch. We found ourselves eventually near the top of a ridge and there was not only fantastic views down across the archipelago but also a small observatory with telescope for astronomy. One of the advantages of small islands is that you can soon escape from stray light pollution found in most towns these days. So up here in the higher ground, viewing is excellent. Almost mandatory on Caribbean islands are the colourful open air tourist buses – check out a couple in the picture gallery. They ferry tourists to the main sites including the marina, restaurants and beaches and also one or two exotic bars like the Bomba Shack!! Small lizards and gekkos abound.
Some of the smaller outlying islands are privately owned and rich ex-pats like Richard Branson have built their own hideaways/homes on them but being rich did not protect them in September 2017 when Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage to a large number of properties and the nation is now embarked on the slow rebuilding process of both homes and their tourist industry. In general the hurricane season runs from June to November but most seasons they miss the BVI completely. There is not a great deal of temperature variation between the seasons really with January `only` averaging 26C whilst the other months have a spread between 27-31C with July and August hitting those peaks. Rain arrives every month of the year with a range between2-4 inches in the `winter` months and 5-7 inches per month in the wet months of September-November. Much of this is in the form of heavy showers though so it is possible to plan and manage it for your visit if you get yourself properly organised. Crime in general is low but the area is subject to drugs movements (by water) en route to consuming countries so there are drugs enforcement activities and the US Coastguards are allowed into BVI waters in pusuit of felons
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Browse through the picture galleries below relating to this page and you will get a much better idea than just reading my words! Each page has it`s own set of relevant images - where possible taken by us.