Tuesday, December 31, 2013

XMAS in Cane Garden Bay

LittlHarbourDSCN0684
Please don't say manaña if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.
….
I hear it gets better, that's what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay.
…..
But I know that I'll get 'em, I know that they'll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood's Rum
Manaña, Jimmy Buffet
We spent XMAS in Cane Garden Bay on Tortola with friends from Skylark and Tivoli. Cane Garden was made famous in Jimmy Buffet’s song Manaña . Down here you’re more likely to hear on the local radio the The Best of Jimmy Buffet on Steel Drums. Chris and I got in our traditional Christmas day snorkel on the outside reef in the bay.
ICaneGardenBayMG_3768The bay sits on the edge of heavily jungled steep hills with a wrap around beach. Its a quite town on most days. When the cruise ships are in at Road Town, on the other side of the island, the beach chairs and sun umbrellas cover the beach early and the crowd arrives by the bus load.
CaneGardenBayIMG_3811 The Callwood distillery, producer of Arundel cane sugar rum for over 200 years, is located in the bay. It is the oldest, continuously operating rum factory in the islands. Its small and does not pretend to be the Disneyland of breweries.
CaneGardenBayIMG_3805 It does have clear signage like Disneyland. “Employees Only, Keep Your Ass Out”
CaneGardenBayIMG_3799
Some of the rum actually appears to be aged beyond a week or two.
CaneGardenBayIMG_3791
Rum tasting
CaneGardenBayIMG_3814
That leads to the purchase of a small bottle of rum.

LittleHarbourDSCN0682
We’re in Little Harbour, Peter Island, British Virgin Islands now, with an anchor off the bow and a line from the stern tied to the rock cliff behind us. The airs about 82*F and the water is 85*F. We’ve gone from St Augustine, Florida to the Bahamas and back up north as far as Maine over the last year. About 7,000 miles total. The next year should put a few more miles under Georgia’s keel.
Happy New Year, and we hope it’s a good one for our reader.
Paul and Chris

1 comment:

  1. Happy New Year, s/v Georgia! We'll see you soon, hopefully. Leaving tomorrow for Road Town, then maybe to Cooper Island if the conditions are right. s/v Skylark

    ReplyDelete