MITSUGIRLYS EPIC CRUISE--2nd time around-1st from Port Canaveral

[mitsugirly]

Very excited to read about your review of Tortola. I haven't been and it's on my list of places to visit soon. Can't wait to see your pictures of the Bath's.

 

Coming right up. :D

 

 

Kim, I'm so excited you got to go to The Baths - that's my favorite excursion in the Caribbean EVER!!!!! Can't wait to see the pics!

 

Ever? Really?

 

The picture and your super-superb caption made me holler loudly. :D

 

Enjoying the recap of your week, and doing comparisons in my head of my own experience. Many/most are the same, with the exception of my service in O'Sheehan's being routinely good, accurate, and timely. Breakfast and/or lunch in Taste were the total opposite. I chose to not let it become an issue that would be questioned to their leaders . . . I just left and went elsewhere (more than once).

 

Thanks, again, SO much for your efforts in posting this.

 

Glad I could get a giggle out of ya. :p

 

Yea, I didn't let it become too much of an issue either. I'm really not the type of person that likes to get anyone in trouble. I just question it, moan about it to the family, post it on here, then I'm done with it. I only mention it on here because....well, that's what happened to us and I don't sugar coat anything. I mean we were good enjoying each others company during the wait and laughing and having a good time. We be on island time mon.

 

Excited to read about the Baths. We have thought of venturing but never have yet. Everytime we go to Tortola we are ther from 7 am to 1 pm, so we go to Cane Garden Bay which is a piece of paradise, but will soon be making the Baths trip when we have a full day on the Breakaway.

 

Short port times are sometimes not even worth the trouble. I hate that they do that. We had one in St Thomas (and it was a big planned day) and I swore after that, I'd never go on another that had such a short port time.

 

That pastry is called a bear claw. Although this one's a little uneven, I think it's supposed to look like a bear's claw.

 

That's the smallest bear claw I have ever seen. :eek: I'm sticking to my animal story...look at it, it has eyes. Bear claws have nails, not eyes. :p

[mitsugirly]

I had read up a lot on the baths. I had seen beautiful pictures. I found a website that showed a "map" and directions of what you would see when you are in there.

 

I printed it off and took it to Kendra to laminate so that we could have it out and carry it around while we were in there.

 

THIS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME AND IS COPYRIGHTED TO D. R. MCCLINTOCK. All credit goes to that person and you can find this info HERE. You can also read up on the history of the baths there and a lot of other awesome information.

 

So here are what the maps look like from that page:

 

 

 

With the directions:

 

 

 

So I was prepared to see it all and know what I was seeing...or so I thought.

 

We headed toward the entrance and the "littles" walked between the two boulders and the adults had a blank stare at me. "Yes, you have to walk through that!" I scolded them. Ok, so we were not off to a good start.

 

 

 

Those that were skinny made it fine. Those that are not so skinny anymore...did not and had to crawl...namely myself and the hubs and he was not happy.

 

 

Now normally we carry 2 beach bags with us. The kind you put on your shoulder. But I had read to "pack lightly" and it was easier to carry a back pack instead. So the hubby grabbed one out of his store prior to leaving and everything was in there. But when you factor in 3 beach towels, our mask, and then everyone's shoes were now in there (then small items like money and cards), then it became pretty "fluffy" and got stuck on some of the rocks that you had to crawl through. Oops. He was not happy to say the least.

 

The kids kept going and every so often looking back at me saying "is this it? Is this the right way?" How do I know, you guys are rushing so fast that I can't even tell where we are on the map at this point.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Now I'm going to stop right here and tell you that I'm super bummed that my pictures absolutely, positively SUCK that I took while I was in there. Like super suck. I'm so upset. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I got home. One of the most beautiful nature-filled places and I screwed up. I wasn't checking the pictures and they were icky and the camera and lens was busy fogging up and looking very drab and blown out and not clear and ....I'm just heart broken. Sigh.

 

So, these pictures that are either a little blurry or foggy have been "doctored" a little because I just couldn't stand the way they looked. I had to find a way to add in some color and I still consider a majority of them to be not worthy of a share (and I didn't share a lot of them because they just couldn't be salvaged). But you will be able to tell the "icky" ones from the ones after I decided to wipe the lens. There's a big difference.

 

I'm hanging my head in shame now...but pressing on...just like I did in the baths.

 

Every where you went in here, there's sand, there's rocks, there's water, there's slippery-sand and water covered steps and ropes to climb rocks. I found it to be a rather dangerous place actually.

 

 

There were a few places that were a bit of a tight squeeze. Man I really need to lose this weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At times the "littles" were so far ahead of us that I started to speed up. The "bigens" were way behind and moaning. I yelled at the "littles" that they needed to stop and wait for everyone else. Once the "bigens" caught up, I had almost wished that I would have just kept going with S & B so that I didn't have to hear all the "moaning" (which is using the "nice" word for, well, you know, what they were really doing).

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Then we came to this...oh.my.word! My life was flashing before my eyes and I reflected on my mishap of falling on the concrete in St Maarten and breaking my hand. I just knew my history had not been good in the past and I was actually really worried, but grateful that I was not carrying anything other than my weight and my camera. (Poor hubs).

 

 

 

You were required to pull yourself up this huge rock (that was wet of course from everyone walking in the water prior to getting there) and ....well, good luck to ya!

 

Ok, ok, everyone is REALLY not happy with me now. The look on Courtneys face said it all and I just hung my head in shame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile the "littles" where having a blast and swimming every chance they could (if you can tell in this horrid picture).

 

 

I have absolutely no idea how Kolin got up there, but it was the first time that I seen a smile from someone.

 

 

 

Oh yea, fun for them

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

Am I the only one that notices that everyone is carrying their phones? Are they crazy?

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to mention that the steps they have at this place are built really weird. Like the steps are super small...almost like a 2x2 and they situated almost underneath each other in places...think more like a ladder that is tilted. It would have been so much easier if they had spread them out a little. It made for very difficult climbing. Since they were wet, I took it super super slow on them. One foot up, next foot up to that same level. Rinse and repeat.

 

 

♪ Just keep swimming, just keep swimming ♫...who needs to walk?

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

A little treacherous after you get past the steps too.

 

 

 

Moan and groan, moan and groan, say cheese and smile for the camera. (It was fake, trust me).

 

 

 

 

Ok, let's get a good picture for back home and make everyone think we're having a good time here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

We came to this sign that said "Devils something or other" and told us to go that way.

 

 

But wait...I'm looking at my map and we hadn't went all the ways that it said to go to see all the neat stuff on it. We needed to go back! I want pictures of the things it said on the map. We must go back! Oh EM Gee. The kids had a fit. I'm showing them this map of everything in the baths and we hadn't been there and I wanted to see it. We went back and forth about what to do and then they said "Let's just go back".

 

We came out to this little cove area and checked it out.

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

She was making me nervous!

 

 

We headed back the way we came...twisting and turning, climbing and slipping, up the steps, down the steps, over to the rope and so on.

 

We came to this area where there were steps we needed to go back up. There were people coming down...and more people, and more people, and there was a major traffic jam. They were not stopping. Everyone was getting pissed and we weren't the only ones trying to go that way.

 

At one point a girl coming down the steps said "You guys are going in the wrong direction. You might want to turn around". I told her "we missed some things and are going back". She said "If you came from this direction, you didn't miss anything and are supposed to be going the other way." I told her about my map and all the areas we missed. She said "Let's see this map". I showed her and she started laughing. She said "Where the heck did you get that? That map is wrong and looks like a kid drew it". I told her it was off a website and it was to make sure that you didn't miss anything. She said "Well, I'm telling you that it is wrong and I have done this many times and you need to turn around" and she trotted off with her group laughing.

 

NOW EVERYONE WAS PISSED AT ME. I ask them what to do. They just stood there. Another girl in the line behind us was like "Ok, I've had enough, this line is going to stop and I'm going to make sure they do! It's our turn to go and they are not letting up!" She ran around us and CLIMBED the rocks and darted underneath a huge bolder. She got to the top and said "Ok, come on!" But by that time, the very last person coming down the steps was at the bottom and there wasn't a line now. LOL

 

So we marched up the steps and I headed on down the path. All of a sudden I hear Courtney yell. She started screaming and crying and I hear her yelling and Kolin yelling something about her phone and carrying it and she was yelling about she wasn't about to let anything happen to it because all her pictures were on it and blah blah blah. Then I hear "YOUR MOM" and a lot of "griping" (using that word loosely).

 

Oh my. I was blamed for everything bad that has ever happened in her life at that point. It was all my fault. I learned that she had fallen on the slippery steps and fell onto the rock below in the water and hit her head on the steps as well. Man down. She was hurt and pissed and I was pissed that she blamed me for her fall.

 

I held back my anger and hurt and went off in an entirely different direction than the path and just acted as if I was taking pictures as they passed me by.

 

 

 

I hear them go by and was told she said she was packing when she got home and leaving Kolin. Yea, she's a bit of a drama queen at times. I understand she's hurt, but she takes it to the extreme.

 

 

I hear her yelling "This would have never happened if it wasn't for your mom. I will never do anything like this again. If I wanted to be in caves and climb rocks, I'd go to Old Mans Cave. I'm never going back in there and I'll just head back to the ship. You guys can be stupid and follow her back in there if you want." Oh.my.word!

 

Ok snap a picture of this pretty rock. Snap a picture of that pretty rock. I'm keeping my cool at this point and trying to calm myself down knowing that I was about to blow my stack and pull her out to the water and drown her. (j/k of course).

 

 

 

 

The hubby and Sakari were the only ones standing with me at this dead end, staring at a rock, and snapping pictures. They told me to come on out and we'd go back to the beach and hang out for a few and give it another try later.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

Amazingly enough, our spot under the tree in the shade was still available and everyone threw their things down there and sat. Courtney with tears in her eyes and me shooting red flames from mine as I glared off toward the water.

 

 

 

 

 

She wouldn't talk. I wouldn't talk. It was uncomfortable and as much as I wanted to confront her and advise her that I did nothing to "make her fall", I decided that I would get up and walk away instead and go explore on down the other way on the beach. I had to do something to get away and keep my cool.

 

 

Sakari walked with me. She knows when I'm upset and she's so loving and caring that she makes everything all better. I don't think she wanted me to be alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

I decided enough time had passed by and we would head back to reassess the situation.

 

I noticed the hubby was at the beach starring off into the water...socks and all.

 

 

 

 

 

I made it back and noticed Courtney was out in the water by herself. I guess she needed some time to herself as well.

 

Then all of a sudden Billy got up and headed toward the water...wait what? If you have read any of my previous reviews, Billy doesn't go in the water...hardly ever. He's very afraid of fish. All fish bite. All fish are bad. They are going to get him. LOL The one and only time we were able to convince him to come out into the water was when we were in Bermuda last year and the kids were playing and jumping the waves. He adventured out and was immediately.....I'll let you guess....BIT BY A FISH. I kid you not. He came out of the water with a bloody finger. Seriously! I couldn't believe it.

 

So...this was funny to watch him head to the water.

 

 

But he quickly came back out...

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

The hubby said he was getting hangry and it was time to eat. Even though I didn't have much of an appetite, I agreed to share a meal with Sakari.

 

We headed up to the "restaurant" and he put in an order while I explored.

 

There was a little area where someone was selling souvenirs. I didn't adventure over to see what they had...I really wasn't in the mood for it.

 

 

 

This is the lunch area if you wanted to eat at tables instead of on the beach.

 

 

 

Around the corner were some other huts, but they were closed up.

 

'

They do have lockers here and everyone said it would have been better if we would have just put our things in a locker before going into the baths, then of course the comment was thrown out there to add salt to the wounds "Yea, you didn't have a problem in there because YOU weren't carrying anything like US." Oh no you didn't! I think at that point I swore I was never traveling with the kids ever again. Sigh

 

The reason we didn't put anything in the lockers was because I had no intention on coming back to this beach or area. I had planned on going to Devils Bay/Beach and spending the rest of the day there. THAT'S WHY!

 

 

 

 

Looking back.

 

 

Restrooms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scanditaly]

Thanks, Mitsugirly, for keepin' it real. Your photos are inspiring, and your commentary really makes the story come alive.

 

more, please.

 

Scanditaly

Edited November 27, 2016 by scanditaly

[mitsugirly]

These lizards were everywhere here. They were really pretty too and some neon blue on them.

 

 

 

Our food was done and it was yummy despite that I wasn't really hungry.

 

 

 

Chickens were everywhere and I asked the hubby if chicken nuggets were on the menu. Sakari didn't think that was funny.

 

 

 

These chickens and roosters were fearless. They would even hop up on the table to try to steal your food.

 

At one point Sakari held out a fry, but it was up high, and it actually flew up in the air to grab the fry.

 

 

B was off in his own little world swinging on the swing by himself.

 

 

 

After eating, we headed back to the camp. The hubby was asking me if I wanted to go back in the baths and give it another try. He said the kids could stay there for all he cared and we could go without them. Kendra also said "Let's do it...let's go. Courtney can stay here if she don't want to go." Nah, I was over it. It wasn't going to happen. It wasn't meant to be.

 

The only thing that was going to make things better in my mind is if I just headed back out into the water, where I'm happy, and take pictures of more fish. So that's what we decided to do. Me, Kendra, Kolin, B, and Sakari all headed out. Courtney was still in the water by herself and refusing to talk to anyone.

 

I found my happy place. Let the snorkeling commence.

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Now remember that the waves were super huge at times. It was almost scary. We ended up on a huge rock and I was so scared that a wave was going to come along and slam us onto another one that was sticking up out of the water. But it didn't and we got lucky I guess.

 

 

 

Sakari decided that she would dive off into this deep hole and swim out. She's a daredevil.

 

 

 

I followed her down and there were a bunch of parrot fish down there.

 

 

 

 

We headed back toward the beach and Sakari found a "cute crab"

 

 

 

[Yellow Lab's Rule]

I was so looking forward to you Tortola review. We are going there for the first time in December. Have been deciding between the baths and Cane's garden bay beach. After seeing your pictures and hearing about your adventures we are going to the beach. I had heard it was dangerous but never seen pictures before. No way my fluffiness could squeeze through some of those openings. I would fear getting stuck or worse falling and breaking a leg on the rocks or stairs.

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed over to the opposite side, which is to the right of the beach. There's a rope that goes down the middle of the swimming area and I honestly have no idea why or what it signifies. Everyone was swimming and snorkeling on both sides so....

 

There was a huge rock over on the other side way out and this is the girls trying to stand on it. It was a skinny rock but very tall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We looked up and the boys were headed out....including Billy, once again being a daredevil himself, but notice he's looking for fish as he goes. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

We yelled "fish" and he swam back to shore so quickly. LOL Then we gave him a "just kidding", even though they were all around him.

 

 

We were standing on a huge rock that would boost us up out of the water. Kendra kept jumping in and I ask her what she was doing. She said she was trying to make it down to the bottom and touch the sand with her foot.

 

 

 

Of course I was able to do it on the second try. She tried again and claimed she touched...but if you notice, she's moved back some and touching the rocks...not the bottom of the ocean and the sand.

 

 

 

Sakari said "I'll do it Kendra" and dove down to touch...LOL Cheater.

 

 

 

Then B would try.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

I tried desperately to do an over/under shot. I now have a camera with a wider lens AND a fish eye. This should be easy right? Well it wasn't. At least not at this place. The water was just to wavy.

 

This would be what I ended up with and it took A LOT of attempts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

Oh I almost forgot to mention...earlier in the day we went to go get a pop from the restaurant. When I opened it and took a drink....YUCK! Phew, phew, spit, ick. I looked on the bottom of the can and it was expired!! I immediately took it back and told them to replace the can and it was expired. They looked at all the cans they had and they were ALL expired (the diet). So, at $3.00 a can, I was forced to drink something I don't like and leaves the worse taste in my mouth the rest of the day...regular pop.

 

We were told that we had to be back up at the top, by the road, at 3pm in order to catch the bus back down to the ferry for the 3:30pm ferry.

 

We went up and gathered our things from under the tree and decided to head out and back up the trail.

 

We stopped at the bathrooms and I noticed that there were showers inside. But when I got in there I also noticed that there were electric wires hanging beside the heads of the showers???? What the ???? Then I also seen a sign that said you must buy tokens to operate the showers. So, I'm going to buy a token and pay to be electrocuted? No thank you. I walked back out and they did have a "free" footwash outside. That's what I would use to get most of the sand off of me.

 

Back down the path we would go. Right at the beginning (heading back up) there is a huge rock that I overheard one of the tour groups saying it resembled a skeleton head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the restaurant that I had originally planned on eating at. I had read about it and seen that it had a pool and thought it would be a nice way to end the day after going to the beach and then through the baths, then Devils Bay and then back to where we started from. I guess none of my plans went the way as planned.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

The guy that's afraid of all wild animals is trying to touch a lizard. What is with him today? He didn't even have anything to drink. The only way to describe Billy is this...think of that burly muscular guy that is covered in tattoos and he's afraid of a needle when I go to draw his blood or give him a shot. You wonder...."How???" Well, Billy is this guy...only he's not a burly muscular guy. He's just a tatted guy that is as sweet, soft spoken, and as gentle as they come. Looks are very deceiving but I do know that he's scared of wild creatures and he has simply amazed me today with the "wild animal" adventures. '

 

 

There are a lot of cacti on this island.

 

 

 

Ok enough of this going up the hill crap. My legs are burning and aching at this point.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

...and more steps....ugh &**^$%#$^**

 

 

 

 

We finally make it to the top and I have never been so happy to see this sign.

 

 

 

I was hot, I was sticky, I was thirsty. We were stopping.

 

 

 

 

 

You want to climb the pretty tree Sakari? She didn't think I was funny. As a matter of fact, she gave me a look like I had been the one drinking that day.

 

 

Once we got up there, it was a very nice deck that went around a pool with a bridge and a restaurant. It also had very nice views from up there and you could see the baths.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all got drinks and checked our expiration dates...just to make sure. Man it really hit the spot! I can tell you that their prices were a lot cheaper than below and I had really wished that we would have just came up here to eat and hang out for awhile. I think it would have been a lot better for everyone else and made for a more pleasant day.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

The kids all headed into the pool to "take a bath and wash off". It was regular water and very refreshing.

 

Hey, this was water that Billy could swim in and not worry about fish. hehe

 

 

Notice Courtney is still not being sociable and sitting in the chair under the umbrella.

 

 

 

So in order to get from the steps, and that very small area at the entrance, over to the rest of the pool, you were required to swim underneath this bridge.

 

This is Kolin going under the bridge...of course with his eyes closed because he didn't have goggles on.

 

 

So the kids were playing and we were having our ice cold, cheaper drinks and it was about time to dry off and leave.

 

Sakari was riding on Kolin's back at this point and he told her to hold her breath because they were going under the water and under the bridge.

 

I will let you guess what happens next....

 

 

He comes up a little short of clearing the bridge and Sakari gets banged on top of the head AGAIN! What does this make now?? 3 for 3 on Kolin versus Sakari's head day after day. Sigh

 

At 3pm, we headed out to the parking lot and the Speedy open aired bus was already waiting on us. Can you believe Courtney sat this close to me?

 

 

 

 

 

We pulled out right on time and away we went.