bvi captains log blog

Yep, just about on our way. First stop New Zealand! My sister and Chris took us to the airport this evening...

This airport already gets better points then the ones in Florida. We were checked in and through security in about 10 minutes! Don't know if it was time of day we were flying out (in the evening) but it was wonderful!
Here is some pictures of flowers (probably weeds!) that I took for my mother.

Were were taken on a nice drive to see the highlights on Sunday. There were lots of sailboats out on the Bay, and we went to the Fog City Diner in San Francisco for lunch as well!

What really shocked me though is HOW many people were swimming in the bay! I thought they would be freezing, but I understand that people swim back and forth to Alcatraz all the time. So when we complain when the water temp is 78 degrees in the BVI in winter, someone should slap us.

They took us for a drive down the worlds crookedest street, and I certainly would not want to live on that hill!

Here is me and my sister, we were glad to see each other!


One of my readers was shocked that I had not had too much to say lately, yep, I think I have been laying a little low, not wanting to get flamed! There is a couple bulletin boards that I go on quite a bit, but have basically stopped contributing, as it does not matter what you say, someone berates you. It is just not me that it happens to, it is others as well, and I feel so sorry for them as they were just trying to tell their particular experience with a venue in the BVI. I did pick up this comment on Immigration in BVI off of TTOL this morning, and I am hoping it is a April Fools Joke, as it is a horrendous story! See what you think.
"Here's what happened to me when I went to the British Virgin Islands: I am a young English guy who has been island hopping/backpacking around the Caribbean. I had been to about 20 islands before arriving in Tortola and had had no problems at all. I had been flying on one way tickets bought mainly from LIAT airlines. I arrived in Tortola intending to stay a few days and then take a ferry to the US Virgin Islands. However, the immigration officer at the airport of this British territory, on discovering I had no onward ticket, took me into custody and requested for me to buy a ticket to the UK. I politely refused as this would be expensive and a waste of money since I don't intend to go to the UK. I asked to buy a ticket to a nearby island. She shouted at me and smiled a bit and was clearly enjoying herself. I was polite and repectful as always. I waited about an hour in custody and was then sent to a jail where I spent the night. There was an American man in my cell - the captain of a yacht. He was in jail because he forgot to declare something on his customs form - an item which he would have been allowed to take to the BVI if he had remembered to declare it. He faced $2000 legal costs, and a punishment of a minimum $5-10,000 or in the worst case, losing his 60ft yacht. I spent the night in a cell with no sheets and nothing to protect my skin from the thousands of mosquitoes. An immigration officer came at 2.30pm the next day to collect me. I was paraded though the airport like a criminal and deported to Antigua. A 'denied entry' stamp had been placed in my passport. On arrival in Antigua, I was also denied entry because the BVI had denied me entry. And as there were no more flights that day, I was taken to another jail. In the jail, I saw a policeman whipping a woman. An inmate paid one of the girls in the cell to take her bra off and he masturpated - right in front of police. The next day, no-one came for me until I phoned them. I was eventually taken back to the airport. After several hours waiting, I was eventually allowed to buy a ticket to St Maarten. They took my credit card and told the LIAT cashier to find the most expensive ticket. I agreed to pay but when the receipt came, I noticed that they had charged me more than what the said. I politely protested. They threatened to throw me back in jail. I arrived in St Maarten with no problems. I have been all over the world and have never been denied entry and certainly never been in a jail. I have never had any problems with police before. Just thought I should tell people that this is what you can expect in the British Virgin Islands. And they didn´t take my phone so I have pics of the immigration officer and the jails they sent me to if anyone is interested."
I shall see if the pictures surface, as this is a horrendous story, and if true I wish he would have contacted The UK Governor here immediately. I will let you know if I hear any more on it!

They are just about to call our flight, so I will sign off! It sure looks like Lisa and her mom are having fun this week! Surprised that they actually seem to have some visibility diving after the horrendous swells and i know they are up again down there.