VIRGIN GORDA

VIRGIN GORDA

ON FOOT AND BY CAR

A Walking and Motor Guide to the History and Charm of Virgin Gorda

Written By

Randall S. Koladis

West Indies Publishing Company

Washington, D.C. 1976

CARIB IDOL By CE. Taylor, 1888

LC Card No.76-20250

Getting Started

Yo'run too fas'yo'run two time

-Virgin Islands Proverb

Welcome to Virgin Gorda and the British Virgin Islands! These untouched gems have lost few of their original charms. In the not too distant past, horseback and native sloops were still popular modes of transportation. Electricity and telephone service only arrived in the 1960s. There are no jet airports, no cruise ships, few gift shops, and practically no nightclubs. Instead, visitors find friendly people, glorious sunshine, immaculate beaches, and plenty of unspoiled scenery -- a setting of unequaled natural beauty and charm.

Virgin Gorda On Fool And By Car will help you discover these islands at a leisurely pace. The booklet contains a brief history of the B.V.I., three self-guided tours of Virgin Gorda, and a self-guided trip to Tortola. A road map of Virgin Gorda is also included.

Jeeps and other vehicles can be rented at Speedy's or Andy Flax's on Virgin Gorda and at several locations in Road Town, Tortola. Caution: In the B.V.I. we drive on the left!

Once you're ready to go, read the brief history, and then, scanning each tour, chart the adventure (or adventures) most appealing to you. Happy exploring, and have a wonderful B.V.I. holiday.

Brief History

Belieb half what yo 'see nuffin what yo'hear

-Virgin Islands Proverb

The British Virgin Islands are part of the Leeward Islands chain, and consist of about forty islands, islets, and cays, the largest being Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke. These are volcanic formations born of earthquakes and undersea eruptions occurring millions of years ago.

Christopher Columbus was the first white man to discover the Virgin Islands. He sighted land on November 17, 1493 during his second voyage to the New World. Columbus named the islands "Las Once.Mil Virgenes," in memory of Saint Ursula and her eleven thousand martyr virgins who were slaughtered by the Huns at Cologne during the Middle Ages. The Admiral was amused by the shape of Virgin Gorda, which from a distance resembles the reclining figure of a pregnant woman.

Other European adventurers followed. In 1517 English explorers Sebastian Cabot and Thomas Pert paid a visit; in 1562 Sir John Hawkins captained the first English shipload of slaves past the islands; and in 1585 Hawkins' nephew, Sir Francis Drake, paused briefly en route to ''impeach the King of Spain in his Indies.” In 1595 Drake and Hawkins returned to launch their unsuccessful attack on Puerto Rico. Two years later the Earl of Cumberland paid his respects, describing the Virgins as a "knot of little islands, wholly uninhabited, sandy, barren, and craggy."

The first legal claim to the islands surfaced in 1628 when the group was included in an English Crown patent granted the Earl of Carlisle. Settlements were quickly established on nearby Nevis, St. Kitts, and Montserrat, but the Virgin Islands went undeveloped and practically unnoticed.

Only pirates found them appealing. They built watchtowers along deserted beaches, and from hidden coves attacked passing vessels. Soper's Hole at West End, Tortola, was a favorite hideout.

For the next fifty years, control of Tortola shifted back and forth between English and Dutch buccaneers. In 1648 a group of Dutch buccaneers dispersed English settlers and built a fort; in 1666 the Dutch were themselves temporarily replaced by a group of English pirates. This seesawing continued until 1672 when Colonel William Stapleton, governor of the Leeward Islands, again recaptured the island from the Dutch. The Dutch later claimed they had simply given Tortola to Stapleton for "safekeeping." In 1678 they asked England to give it back, but the British refused. A 1696 claim by the Duchy of Brandenburg was similarly discarded.

Actually, except for lumber, the British at first saw little value in owning the Virgin Islands. They discouraged settlement, and it was not until 1680 that a sizeable group of English planters from Anguilla set up a permanent colony on Virgin Gorda. A deputy governor and council were appointed, and Virgin Gorda became the first capital of the British Virgin islands, which it remained until 1742, when the seat of government was transferred to Tortola.

The first census was taken in 1717. It showed 317 whites and 303 Negroes on Virgin Gorda, and 159 whites and 176 Negroes on Tortola. Three years later, a second census recorded a combined population of 1,122 whites and 1,509 Negroes for the two islands.

Missionaries -- Quakers, Anglicans, and Methodists -- were among the first arrivals. They established schools and provided religious instruction. Anglicans were cautious about Christianizing slaves, but Methodists went straight to the fields.

Quaker influence was strong in the B.V.I. The first mission was established in 1727. Prominent local Quakers included John Pickering, first native-born lieutenant-governor; Dr. John Coakley Lettsom, founder of the London Medical Society; and William Thorton, designer of the United States Capitol and first U.S. Commissioner of Patents.

During the early years, agricultural production consisted mainly of small quantities of sugar, molasses, and cotton, which planters traded with neighboring islands. Good years were rare, and most families struggled to survive. Growth was also hindered by frequent raids from Spanish and French privateers.

In contrast, the eighteenth century marked a period of unprecedented growth. While European wars sparked hostilities on neighboring islands, the Virgin Islands went relatively unscathed, leaving planters free to grow and market crops at inflated wartime prices. Exports of sugar and cotton increased dramatically. By 1751 annual production reached a million pounds of cotton and a thousand casks of sugar; in 1752 the Virgin Islands became England's major West Indian supplier of cotton. A mail packet-station was established in Road Town, and scheduled convoys escorted produce to European markets.

Rapid growth and the remote location of the islands bred a general lawlessness in the B.V.I. The Leeward Islands government showed little interest in local affairs, and courts were dominated by a small group of self-serving planters. Conditions improved somewhat when King George granted the Virgin Islands constitutional government in 1773, but disputes over land rights prevented full-scale court reforms until 1785.

Smuggling and privateering also flourished. At the start of the Seven Years War, a vice-admiralty court was established in Road Town. The generosity of the court in awarding spoils to privateers encouraged many islanders to join the hunt for "enemy" vessels.

Although laws against smuggling were strict, tons of Danish and French sugar was passed through Road Town en route to England as "British" merchandise. To reduce smuggling, Road Town was declared a free port in 1802.

Trade between North America and the Virgin Islands was brisk. In exchange for molasses, planters received lumber, staves, dried fish, and livestock. The North American-West Indian alliance became known as the Triangle Trade. After reaching North America, West Indian molasses was processed into rum, and then shipped to Africa. In Africa, rum was traded for slaves, who were piled into dark holds and carried to West Indian plantations. Living conditions on slavers were extremely poor; on each crossing, nearly one third of the captives perished.

Surprisingly enough, the British Virgin Islands remained loyal to the Crown during the American War of Independence (1775-83). This was partly because sugar acts, which Yankees found so offensive, worked to the benefit of West Indian colonies.

The booming prosperity of the eighteenth century was based on the assurance of a steady supply of free labor. Followng the Peace of Paris (1815), the future appeared uncertain for planters. The slave trade had been abolished in 1808, and English demand for West Indian sugar and cotton declined. To make matters worse, a series of natural disasters early in the century caused extensive property and crop damage.

Planters repeatedly appealed for help, but none came. Mercantilistic attitudes toward overseas possessions were beginning to change. Some planters became discouraged, shut down their estates and went home. Many stayed on, however, hoping conditions would improve. But when Parliament freed the slaves in 1834, the prospect for reversal seemed hopeless.

Opposition to slavery was openly expressed in the Virgin islands long before emancipation. In 1766 John Lcttsom freed his slaves on Jost Van Dyke; in 1778 Samuel Nottingham of Tortola gave his slaves title to Estate Long Look.

An ugly incident on Tortola in 1811 signaled changing B.V.I. attitudes toward the Negro. A slave named Prosper was brutally beaten by Arthur William Hodge, a white plantation owner. Prosper died from wounds inflicted by Hodge, and the plantation owner was tried and convicted of the crime. Hodge was hanged behind the jail in Road Town.

Planters lived in constant fear of slave revolts-and for good reason. In 1790 there was an insurrection at the Pickering Estate on Tortola, and in 1831 Tortola slaves "formed a plot to murder the white males, plunder the island, seize the vessels, and then, carrying off the wives of their former masters, proceed to Haiti." The plan collapsed when the Danish warship St. Jan arrived at Tortola.

An apprenticeship system was established following emancipation. It lasted until 1838, when slaves were finally granted full freedom. Many slaves left the hated plantations. Those remaining demanded higher wages than planters could pay.

An 1834 visitor paints a bleak picture of the island: "Commerce no longer appears to exist, save only by the two or three ships which visit the harbour [Road Town] annually to carry away the scanty produce of the island's impoverished soil. And the four and a half percent duty, an impost, which appears to have been very unfairly saddled on several West Indian colonies, together with the variable and fluctuating returns from this description of property, have necessarily led to the abandonment of many estates."

In 1853 peasants went on a rampage following a rumor a white man had injured a Negro. Cane fields were set ablaze, sugar mills were destroyed; every white person who could escape, fled for his life. The plantation system was dead; the islands reverted to "de bush."

With the departure of planters, no one remained with adequate training to govern the islands.

Crown Colony government was established in 1867, and elections were abolished. In 1872 the Virgin Islands were placed under the control of the Federation of the Leeward Islands. Economic activity practically ceased to exist.

The turn of the century brought hope. In 1900 an experimental agricultural station was set up to instruct islanders in improved farming techniques. Attempts were also made to revive sugar and cotton production, and livestock raising became a prosperous industry

After World War II there was pressure to reestablish local legislative government. In 1950 the legislative council was restored. Additional reforms in 1954, plus the collapse of the Leeward Islands Federation in 1956, further strengthened local legislative control. Finally, in 1967 the British Virgin Islands were granted full territorial status and a ministerial form of government.

Today the B.V.I. is prosperous, but the government knows it must strive to ensure orderly development and diversify the economy if prosperity is to continue and Virgin Islanders are to become self-sufficient.

North Sound Road

Ef de rain isfallin' when de sun is out

de debbil an' he wife quarrelin'

-Virgin Islands Proverb

North Sound Road is the main thoroughfare joining the Valley with tiny North Sound settlement located on the east side of Gorda Mountain. Weather permitting, this tour offers an exciting day of beautiful white beaches and breath-taking views of Virgin Gorda and neighboring islands. Near the top of Gorda Mountain, there are several hiking trails leading to Gorda Peak -- 1,359 feet above sea level. A hike to the top is an excellent way to get acquainted with local vegetation and wildlife. North Sound Road begins just past Speedy's, near the Olde Yard Inn.

With only thirty inches of rainfall a year, Virgin Gorda has a predominance of low-growing vegetation. Most of the plants you see along this section of the road are wild tamarind, frangipani, and cactuses. During the spring and summer months, bright yellow blossoms of the century plant dot the hillsides. It takes nearly ten years for the plant to mature and reach a full height of twenty feet.

Other common plants found along the roadside are jacquinas, marans, ton-tons, and poison ash. Try and spot the long slender sawtooth leaves of the pinquin. The plant resembles the top of a giant pineapple. Plantation owners used to keep prowlers away by planting pinquin under windows of great houses.

At the top of the first rise is a footpath leading to Savana and adjoining Pond bays.

Savana and Pond Bays

Swimmers and skin divers will find magnificent coral formations at many of Virgin Gorda's beaches. Did you know coral reefs are actually built from limestone deposits of tiny animals? Live coral polyps strike roots on top of dead polyps, and when they die, the cycle is renewed.

Colorful tropical fish make their homes in the reefs. Common reef-dwellers are the yellow tail, red snapper, sergeant major, amber cuvallery, blue doctor fish, and ballahou The multicolored parrot fish is a big cause of erosion. While searching for food, he takes damaging bites from coral with his chisel-shaped jaw.

Deeper waters draw sport fishermen in pursuit of dolphin, wahoo, bonito, kingfish, and blue marlin. Charter boat fishing is popular in the islands, but fortunately few fish are wasted. The day's catch is either sold at dockside or served on dinner plates at local hotels.

Savana and Pond bays are great for shelling. It’s estimated nearly twelve hundred species of shells can be found along B.V.I. beaches. Cowries, helmets, pectens, jewel boxes, tellins, sand dollars, and sea biscuits are common. West Indians make steak, chowder, and salads from the succulent meat of conch. Taste it, if you get the chance.

Continuing on, the road traces the edge of Pond Bay before beginning the steep climb up Gorda Mountain. Notice the small salt pond between the beach and road.

Salt Pond

Salt is deposited in these ponds by a simple process. Sea water seeps into a pond, and during the dry season the water level drops faster than the pond can fill, leaving salt crystals caked along the shore.

Large quantities of salt were once harvested from B.V.I. salt ponds for use on local tables and in preserving meats and fish. Most local salt came from Salt Island. Each year, residents would go to Salt Island for the traditional "breaking of salt pond." For two days, everyone gathered as much salt as he wanted, free of charge. During the rest of the year, only inhabitants of Salt Island harvested salt, which they sold. Today, refrigeration and prepackaged salt have made local harvesting unprofitable.

About half-way to North Sound settlement, you reach the first of three trails leading to Gorda Peak. The entrance to the second trail is about a quarter of a mile ahead; the third is about a half mile beyond the second. There are two huge observation rocks and an Observation Tower at the peak, where you will also find some ruins and a fresh-water spring. The best parking area is located a few yards up the path leading to Trail One. It's less than a thirty-minute walk to the Observation Tower from the entrance to each trail.

Gorda Peak Trails

Among the birds you may see and hear along the Gorda Peak trails are the mockingbird, yellow warbler, grey kingbird, hummingbird, and black-faced grassquit. Other woodland creatures inhabiting the trails are the zebra butterfly, hermit crab, racer snake (harmless), and golden orb spider. Some of the golden orb's relatives weave webs so strong that their fibers can actually be used to make fish nets and handbags.

Common lizards seen along the trail are the snake lizard, identified by its crimson dewlap; wood slave, which is whitish in color; and man lizard, which has a greenish tan body. The male man lizard inflates his dewlap and does push-ups as a sign of territoriality when other males approach. Each male keeps a harem of two or three females in his area.

The trails also abound in a variety of plants and herbs. Philodendrons, poison ash, and wild tamarind are plentiful. So are bay trees, identified by their tall, slender grey trunks. Crumple a bay leaf between your fingers; take a whiff of its heady aroma. Bay oil was extracted from the shiny green leaves and used to make cologne on nearby St. John during the early 1900s.

Beware of the bushy plant bearing little red seeds with tiny black eyes. The seeds, called crab eyes, contain the deadly poison abrine. Another seed similar in appearance to the crab eye, but without the black eye, is the jumbie seed, a harmless variety often used to make necklaces.

Black wattle is a common shrub found along the trails. Leaves of the plant are used to brew bush tea, which according to islanders, helps reduce fever and prevents colds. In the old days, the local Weedwoman used herbs to concoct various remedies. For indigestion and gas pains, she prescribed dill. For colds, it was ginger root. Lignum vitae was good for fish poisoning; breadfruit for heart trouble; centipee roots for boils; clashie malashie for blood clots; and garlic for a variety of ailments including, colds, fevers, stomach aches, intestinal problems, and ringworm.

Gorda Peak

From atop the Observation Tower, visitors get a bird's-eye view of the myriad scattering of islands, islets, and cays constituting the British Virgin Islands. The large island to the right of Sir Francis Drake Channel is Tortola. Next comes Jost Van Dyke, a popular stopover for visiting yachts. Jost Van Dyke is the site of a former Quaker settlement and birthplace of John Coakley Lettsom, founder of the London Medical Society and close friend of Benjamin Franklin. As a young medical student, Dr. Lettsom composed these witty lines:

I, John Lettsom

Blisters, Bleeds, and Sweats 'em

If after that, they please to die,

I, John Lettsom.

Across the channel is a string of tiny green landfalls. The first clusterr of toppled boulders is Fallen Jerusalem, so named by some early explorer who, when viewing the island, in his mind's eye pictured the biblical city after its destruction by Roman legions.

Next come Ginger, Cooper, and Salt islands. The Royal Mail steamer Rhone was sunk on a rock off Salt Island during a fierce hurricane in 1867. The ill-fated ship is still visible a few feet beneath the surface, and has been acclaimed by world-famous diver Jacques Cousteau as one of the world's most photogenic wrecks.

According to official reports, the Rhone, fearing she could not ride out the storm at anchor, tried to weigh and head out to sea. While "steaming full power, head to wind, she went astern onto the rocks at Salt Island, heeled over, and broke in two." One hundred and thirty people lost their lives in the disaster.

The large island beyond Salt is Peter Island. Between Peter and Salt is a tiny islet called Dead Man's Chest, popularized in the sea chant "Fifteen men on a Dead Man's Chest." Next comes Norman Island, inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Official records document visits to the Virgins by many famous pirates, including Edward Teach, better known as "Blackbeard," a madman who prided himself on his wickedness.

Blackbeard got his name from his extravagant thick black beard, which he was accustomed to adorn with ribbons. "In time of action," it's reported, "he wore a sling over his shoulder, with three brace of pistols hanging in holsters like bandoliers, and struck lighted matches under his hat, which appearing on each side of his face, his eyes naturally looking fierce and wild, made him altogether such a figure that imagination cannot form an idea of a fury from hell to look more frightful."

After terrorizing the Caribbean and North American coast, Blackbeard was eventually slain in close battle off North Carolina in the spring of 1717. According to legend, it took two dozen rounds of shot and several deep gashes from a cutlass to kill the pirate.

Leaving the past, and shifting your gaze to the northeast, you should be able to spot Anegada, barely visible as a light blue sliver on the horizon. Anegada is a flat, coral island whose highest point is only twenty-eight feet above sea level. Her Spanish name, appropriately enough, means "drowned island."

Anegada is encircled by a treacherous horseshoe reef. In days past, the cry "Vessel on the reef!" was frequent and electrifying. "Scarcely is the news announced," writes an 1832 visitor, "than boats of every description, shallops and sailing vessels, are pushed off with all haste toward the scene of action; arms, which have been idle for weeks, are brought into exercise, and both skill and intrepidity are tasked to the uttermost to get first on board. The scene, indeed, baffles description; and it is to be feared that few are attached by motives of humanity; though some such do exist."

Picking Up the Trail

From the entrance to Trail Two, you get a good view of South Valley. The fertile soil of this valley is used for farming and livestock raising. Islanders are being encouraged to revitalize and expand the B.V.I.’s agricultural base.

Traveling a short ways into North Sound settlement, you come to a small dirt road leading off to the left. The entrance to the road is marked by a sign pointing to Leverick Bay Estates. A short distance up the dirt road is the O'Neal School.

O'Neal School

The O'Neal School is one of two primary schools on Virgin Gorda. The only secondary school in the British Virgin Islands is located in Road Town. Strong family ties and insufficient funds prevent many children on Virgin Gorda from attending secondary school.

For many years, education was left to churches, but the government has gradually assumed responsibility for hiring teachers and building new classrooms.

Retrace your tracks. Ahead is the Methodist Church.

Methodist Church

Although this picturesque structure with its charming bell tower is of recent construction, Methodists are not newcomers to the Virgin Islands. The first Methodist mission was founded in 1789 when two churchmen, Dr. Thomas Coke and Mr. William Hammitt, landed on Tortola. They described Virgin Islanders as "living in heathen darkness, without God and without Hope." Since then, Methodists have played an active and vital role in the lives of inhabitants.

The road ends at Gun Creek Jetty. At one time, Gun Creek Jetty formed an important link between the Valley and North Sound settlement. Supplies and passengers are still shuttled from Gun Creek to Biras Creek and the Bitter End Yacht Club at the remote eastern end of Virgin Gorda. Staring at the calm waters of the harbor, it's difficult to imagine that at this spot the mighty "El Draco" mustered his fleet before attacking Puerto Rico in 1595.

Your visit to Gun Creek Jetty and North Sound settlement concludes this tour. After a full day of exploring, now's the time to relax and enjoy the soft, cool breezes of evening.

The Valley

Before yo' marry, keep yo' two eye open;

after yo'marry, shut one

-Virgin Islands Proverb

The flat southern sector of Virgin Gorda is known as the Valley. This is where most of the island's 1,100 inhabitants live. The Valley contains many interesting landmarks including the Baths, Anglican Church, and abandoned copper mine at Copper Mine Point. Perhaps one of the prettiest and most romantic, if not oldest, landmarks is the Little Dix Bay Hotel, an idyllic hideaway for honeymooners of all ages.

Little Dix Bay Hotel

This sixty-six room luxury resort, owned by Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller, was conceived as a restful place for vacationers seeking the idle pleasures of the beachcomber in a setting of great natural beauty. In planning the hotel, every attempt was made to blend architectural design with the simple, rustic charms of the islands. Different woods used in the construction of hillside and beachfront units include purple heart, mahogany, locust, and ash. The newest units were built by local stonemasons – reputed to be some of the world's finest craftsmen. Dramatic wood-shingled, conical roofs of varying heights cover the dining terrace, bar, and lounge.

The hotel is practically self-sufficient. It has its own fresh water distillation plant plus an emergency electrical power plant. Waste water is recycled in the hotel's sewage treatment plant, and then used to freshen the grounds.

Little Dix is a showplace of exotic vegetation. During summer months, the brilliant orange-red petals of the flamboyant, native to Madagascar, are visible near the circular parking lot next to the attendant's stand. Nearby are the gay yellow blossoms of the ginger-Thomas (yellow cedar). The bushy-looking tree laden with bright orange fruit is lignum vitae. Lignum vitae or "wood of life" has a very high density and sinks in water. The wood is termite resistant, and early settlers used it for fence posts. It was also used for propeller shaft bearings on ships because of its self-lubricating resin. Pipe-organ cactus and delicate pink and white blossoms of frangipani add a fragrant and colorful accent to the service road dividing the cottages from the large meadow-like field next to the parking lot. A spreading cashew tree stands in the meadow area behind the guest units. Cashew nuts are delicious when roasted, but poisonous when raw.

Behind waterfront units 1-4, grows the round green fruit of the calabash. Calabash was probably transported from Africa with the slaves. Dried hollowed-out shells of the fruit make handy drinking cups, bowls, water jugs, and musical instruments.

A large tamarind shades cottage 1. The fruit of the tamarind makes a refreshing drink and gives a tangy taste to sauces. In the same area are the bright orange tubular flowers of the scarlet cordia, a small tree of the borage family.

Other exotic plants found scattered about the lawn in front of the pavilion are the African tulip, parkinsonia, coconut palm, and hibiscus. Along the waterfront are seagrape trees.

Driving east from Little Dix Bay, follow the road until you reach Speedy's Garage and Car Rental Agency. Turn right at the crossroad in front of Speedy's. The community bulletin board tacked to the post on the corner is a great place to check out what's happening.

A few yards down the road is O'Neal's Marketing Association-Dealers for Propane Gas-Island Drug Centre. Verna O'Neal, the proprietor, loves to talk with visitors, and can fill you in on the histories of such prominent native families as the O'Neals, Flaxes, and Stevenses.

A short distance up the road is the Virgin Gorda branch of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force. It's a cream-colored building with a flagpole flanking the right side. In addition to policing the island, Virgin Gorda law officers also serve as the local fire brigade.

The large pink building across from the outstation is the Virgin Gorda Super Market, where one can purchase everything from the week's groceries to a pound of nails or a new kitchen sink.

On the left, a few yards past the outstation and supermarket is a dirt road leading to the Virgin Gorda Airport. The airport was built and is maintained by the Little Dix Bay Hotel Corporation.

Picking Up the Trail

Driving past the airport, you soon reach the tiny white sanctuary of the Methodist Church. The cemetery adjoining the church contains some old graves. Notice the sun-bleached conch shells piled up around the older plots. Some islanders believe conch shells are endowed with special powers that help drive away evil spirits.

Kitty-corner from the church is the community library, which was opened in October 1975. All books and furnishings were provided by donation. The library is still accepting contributions, and is particularly in need of children's books.

Leaving the Methodist Church, bear left and continue driving south. About half-way to St. Mary's Episcopal Church, and on the left-hand side of the road, is the island's new clinic. The clinic was funded by private donation, and is the island's only medical facility. St. Mary's Episcopal Church and School is a good spot to pause and reflect. The school is of recent construction, but the church was built in 1875.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

In colonial times, Anglicanism was the official religion of the islands. Anglicans have played a prominent role in local affairs, and also have the dubious distinction of claiming a well-known pirate among the clergy. Parson Audian arrived in the British Virgin Islands in the latter half of the eighteenth century and assumed his duties as pastor of St. Michael's Church on Tortola. Audian eagerly embraced the spirit of the times, and to augment his income, he built a small schooner and turned to part-time privateering. On several occasions he is reported to have dismissed his Sunday morning congregation early in order to give chase to a passing prize. One early account of the pirate-parson runs as follows: "He was preaching one afternoon in a seaside church during a heavy southwest gale, when all of a sudden his audience began to move, take down their hats and press towards the door. The vicar, having the advantage of pulpit eminence and long experience, immediately perceived the cause, and animated with just indignation of their conduct, ordered them, as they valued their souls' welfare, to remain quiet till the end of the sermon. The good man, in his eagerness to restrain them, even left the pulpit, and like Aaron, ran into the midst of the congregation, rebuking them and exhorting them, till he reached the porch; when, tucking up the gown under his arm, he shouted out, 'Now, my boys, let us start fair!' -- and immediately scampered off, with his flock at his heels, to administer Cornish relief to a distressed merchantman."

The little concrete building directly across the road from St. Mary's Church is the Virgin Gorda Community Centre.

Community Centre

On weekdays, the community center is used as a public school classroom; at other times, it serves as a popular gathering place for public meetings, dances, and other social events. Virgin Islanders love their holidays, which in addition to traditional Christmas and Easter celebrations include such festive occasions as Commonwealth Day, Whit Monday, Queen's Birthday, St. Ursula's Day, and Prince Charles' Birthday.

Christmas is a joyous occasion, enlivened by singing, dancing, torchlight processions, street masquerades, and gift-giving. One of the highlights of Christmas festivities is the minstrelsy, which consists of groups of native carolers who march from house to house serenading hosts and cheerfully toasting one another with glasses of sparkling guava wine.

Of course no holiday or social event would be complete without traditional West Indian foods such as Kallabo, fungi, pootties, gundi, fried chicken, and fish, often celebrated in calypsos, as in this popular song about kallabo:

My friend Joe, from Port of Spain

Met a girl time and again.

Joe went home with her one day,

So I hear the people say.

There she give him kallabo,

Married Joe before he knew

Chorus:

I don't want no kallabo.

Driving on, bear left at the next corner, passing the Church of God on your left. When you come to a second fork, turn left again. Remember this turn, as you will shortly be retracing your path to this corner. Ahead is the abandoned copper mine at Copper Mine Point.

Copper Mine

The copper mine is one of the most beautiful and interesting sites on Virgin Gorda, but exploring the ruins can be dangerous, and visitors are urged to be cautious. The boiler house and chimney have badly deteriorated, and there are many loose rocks around entrances to timbered-up shafts that lie several feet below ground level. There are also five abandoned prospecting shafts, each about sixty feet deep, at the top of the hill, above the stack.

According to local legends, the shafts were originally dug by Spanish adventurers to mine silver in the late-fifteenth century, but no documentary evidence can be found to support this theory. All extant records show the shafts were first sunk by an English group in 1838 to mine copper. A lack of working capital brought operations to a halt four years later. The mine was reopened in 1859 and worked until 1867, when operations ceased.

According to a recently discovered report, "the mine. . . was reached by two vertical shafts, one for entrance and egress and the other for pumping and ventilation. Ladders led down ten fathoms at a time, and at each ten fathoms level a horizontal stope was driven, in which ore was won." The total depth of the mine was 360 feet.

Rummaging among stones near the boiling house, visitors can find fascinating rock specimens, including malachite, a greenish-colored carbonate of copper; quartz containing metallic-brown crystals of copper-iron sulfide; and a soft grayish metal called molybdenite.

Leaving the mine, ret race your path to the fork mentioned earlier, and turn left. At the next intersection, turn left again. This road leads to the Baths. About a quarter of a mile before reaching the entrance to the path leading down to the Baths, you pass Spring Bay, on your right. Little Dix Bay Hotel holds weekly picnics and dances here. Bending palms and huge boulders provide an idyllic setting.

The Baths

The Baths take their name from huge granite boulders, which have toppled over one another, forming beautiful salt-water grottoes, ideal for bathing and exploring. Boulders like these and ones scattered across the Valley were formed tens of millions of years ago when volcanic lava cooled in huge chunks of granite. The continual work of the elements washed away light topsoil, exposing the boulders and giving them the smooth, rounded appearance they have today.

Resuming Your Tour

Backtracking to the fork by the Lord Nelson Inn, the oldest "hotel" on the island, turn left and follow the road to the Post Office at Cool Spot Jet

Visiting stamp collectors might wish to make a purchase. B.V.I. stamps are the only stamps in the British commonwealth that display U.S. currency figures. Virgin Islanders are proud of their stamps, and a great deal of time is put into planning designs and producing high quality issues.

Archeologists believe the Fort Point area, located directly behind the Post Office, may have once been the site of early Indian settlements. At the time of Columbus' discovery, two tribes -- Arawaks and Caribs -- dominated the Eastern Caribbean.

Arawaks were pastoral Indians who grew most of their food, wove cloth from cotton fibers, and fashioned knives, axes, and various grinding tools from stone. Caribs, on the other hand, were a warlike, nomadic people with a reputation for cannibalism. Caribs hated Arawaks, and frequently attacked their villages, killing men and carrying off women and children. Exposure to the white man's diseases and brutality -- not tribal hostilities -- eventually reduced these early inhabitants to extinction. Today, a few ragged artifacts bear witness to the former presence of Indians.

Leaving the Post Office, drive north toward the Little Dix Bay Hotel. About half-way to Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour is Fisher's Cove Beach Hotel.

Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour

This modern facility, built by the Little Dix Bay Corporation, is positioned at the heart of some of the world's most beautiful sailing and cruising territory. The basin is capable of handling boats up to sixty feet in length at floating piers. There are also tie-up spaces at bulkheads for larger yachts. Piers and bulkheads are equipped with electricity and water. The yacht harbor features a fully stocked ship's store and commissary Your visit to the yacht harbor concludes your tour of the Valley. After a full round of sightseeing, why not relax and enjoy a refreshing snack at the English "Pub" in the Yacht Harbour Shopping Centre. The shopping center, which opened in 1974, includes a bank, grocery store, delicatessen and ice cream parlor, bakery, liquor store, drug store, souvenir shop, dive shop, travel agency, and beauty parlor. There is also a lovely courtyard with a fountain and plants.

North Sound Trail

De bush hab yeye

-Virgin Islands Proverb

Outdoor enthusiasts will find parts of the old North Sound trail, which runs along the west side of Gorda Mountain, ideal for hikes or jeep safaris. To reach the trail, follow North Sound Road to Pond Bay, turning left at the fork. If you plan to hike along the trail, the circular area just below the government rest house is the best spot to park your vehicle.

As you stroll along North Sound trail you find philodendron, fern, cactus, bougainvillea, and fragrant white blossoms of frangipani. Try to identify the maran plant. Islanders once used its fuzzy green leaves to clean pots and pans. Smoke from burning maran leaves is still reputed an effective sandfly repellent.

Climbing higher and higher above Mountain Trunk Bay, the trail offers one after another scenic vista of Sir Francis Drake Channel. The large island to the right is Tortola. At the far end of the channel are the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Thomas and St. John. Despite watery barriers, U.S. and British Virgin Islanders share a common history and many personal connections. Virgin Islanders still recall the romantic love story of Dr. Donovan from Tortola. As a boy, master Donovan fell madly in love with a pretty St. Johnian lass. Weather permitting, the Donovan servants would row the boy across the channel to St. John, where he met his sweetheart and spent many an hour romping with her along the beach. When Donovan finished schooling on Tortola, he went to London to study medicine, but he never forgot his childhood sweetheart. After graduation, the young doctor hastily returned to the islands and once again had his servants ferry him across the channel to St. John. But the lovely lass was not waiting -- she was betrothed to a wealthy St. Johnian planter. Donovan returned to Tortola, broken-hearted and disillusioned. The girl's husband died a short time later, but Donovan made no attempt to rekindle their love. He lived out his days on Tortola, a lonely bachelor.

After passing four little houses, you come to a side trail winding up the hillside to your right. About 500 yards up the trail are the Nail Bay ruins.

Nail Bay Ruins

The Nail Bay ruins consist of several easily located plantation buildings, including a small stone structure to the right of the trail, probably the overseer's cottage; the crumbling remains of a sugar factory, where visitors can still see the boiling bench and holes where coppers once stood; a stone horsemill on the north side of the sugar factory; and a small auxiliary building just south of the factory.

Imagine the slopes above you covered with cane. With a short-handled knife, slaves cut cane, stripped off the leaves, and tied the stalks into bundles. Then, after loading the bundles on a mule or cart, they hauled cane to this site for processing.

Stalks were first crushed on the circular horsemill behind the factory. Here mules, oxen, or horses, harnessed to poles, plodded the circular course, turning a set of upright rollers in the center of the platform. Slaves passed cane between the rollers, which crushed the stalks and pressed out the juice.

A long trough carried the juice down to the boiling bench in the factory building and into the first of several large copper kettles. Fires fed with dried cane stalks heated the coppers from beneath.

Workers added lime and brought the juice to a boil, evaporating some of the water. After skimming off impurities, they ladled the juice from one copper to the next for further purification. From the last and smallest copper they poured the concentrated and purified juice into flat wooden pans to cool, dry, and crystallize. Once crystals had formed, the sugar was placed in large wooden barrels (called hogsheads) to be thoroughly dried and eventually stored. Drippings from hogs-heads were collected and used to make rum.

It took nearly five years for cane to reach maturity. Once cane was cut, the sugar factory had to operate around the clock to process the cane before it spoiled.

The men tending the boiling bench held positions of great responsibility. It was their task to determine when the juice was ready to be ladled from one copper to the next. "Many of the Negro boilers," writes an eighteenth-century historian, "guess solely by the eye, judging by the appearance of the gain on the back of the ladle; but the practice most in use is to judge by what is called 'the touch': i.e., taking up with the thumb a small portion of the hot liquor from the ladle; and, as the heat diminishes, drawing with the forefinger the liquid into a thread. This thread will suddenly break, and shrink from the thumb to the suspended finger, in different lengths, according as the liquor is more or less boiled. The proper length for strong muscovado sugar is generally determined by a thread of a quarter of an inch long."

The Nail Bay slave village was probably located somewhere on the slope below the factory building. Most slave villages consisted of varying numbers of cottages grouped closely together, generally about twenty feet long. They were constructed of wattle and plasters, supported by several hard wood posts driven into the ground. Floors were earthen, and roofs were thatched with palm leaves. Cooking was done outside the cottages over open fires.

Virgin Islands planters and their families lived in greathouses, which were usually modest affairs consisting of three compartments -- two bedrooms and a combination drawing and dining room-built on hillsides to take advantage of prevailing trade winds.

In the center of the horsemill behind the Nail Bay factory is a large kapok or "silk-cotton" tree. Fibers of the kapok have been used locally for pillows; commercial manufacturers used them in making life preservers. According to local legend, silk-cotton trees attract jumbies, West Indian spirits, said to haunt graveyards and domiciles of their former lives. Jumbies are mischievous ghosts who delight in playing tricks on their victims. After dark, especially during a full moon, swarms of jumbies take refuge in the twisted branches of kapok trees.

Continuing your hike down the main trail, you eventually reach the Nail Bay beach. Nail Bay and adjoining Long Bay form a continuous ribbon of shimmering white sand and crystal clear water.

End of Trail

Strolling along the beach, you find a variety of fascinating shells and bits of broken coral crushed by the surf. If you've brought snorkeling gear, you may enjoy exploring the reefs, which abound in a colorful assortment of tropical fish. Nail Bay and Long Bay are also great bird-watching spots. Blue herons, spotted sandpipers, blacknecked stilts, and ruddy turnstones are fairly common. If you're lucky, you may see brown boobies and pelicans feeding in the bays.

Groves of trees lining the beach help protect sand from erosion. Mangroves and seagrapes offer visitors a shady retreat from the sun's burning rays, but stay clear of the poisonous manchineel trees. The manchineel's tiny "green apples," as well as its leaves and bark, give off a caustic sap. Numerous early explorers, including Columbus, recorded fatalities and severe illnesses after their men ate or touched these "death apples," whose milky white juice can produce painful skin blisters.

This concludes your tour. Have a nice day at the beach.

Touring Tortola

No eberybody ride him jackass one fashion

-Virgin Islands Proverb

Tortola's ten square miles and nine thousand inhabitants make it the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands. Road Town, the island's principal port, is the hub of the B.V.I.'s commercial and political activity. Its quaint little streets have just the right number of gift shops and open-air markets for a leisurely shopping spree. Local artisans specialize in straw products and shell jewelry, and native paintings and silk-screen fabrics are also displayed in several shops.

For browsers, there's Drake's Channel Museum, with its fascinating collection of old artifacts including cannon balls, ancient pistols and swords, pre-Columbian stone tools, and samples of early colonial furniture. Other sights of interest around Road Town are the Post Office, Government House, St. George Anglican Church, jail house, and B.V.I. public library, which contains a growing collection of materials on local and Caribbean history.

Road Town plaza, a traditional gathering place in front of the Post Office, was originally the market place. Gazing toward the waterfront, you will see a variety of inter-island sloops and schooners exchanging cargo, as well as yachts and pleasure boats of all sizes.

On a hilltop directly behind Road Town are the ruins of Fort Charlotte, an eighteenth-century fortress built to protect the town. The ruins consist of a powder magazine and vaulted chamber.

Traveling east from Road Town, visitors interested in viewing exotic plants and flowers will want to pause at Treasure Isle Botanic Nursery. Moving on, you come to Fat Hog Bay, where native sloops and sea-going schooners were once built. There are also some ancient Quaker graves at Fat Hog Bay, but it is difficult to identify them, as bricks and brass lettering have long since disappeared. Fat Hog Bay is the site of the first Quaker settlement on Tortola.

Beef Island is connected to East End by way of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the British Virgin Islands in 1966. The airport at Beef island was "lanned by Sir Alan Cobham, world-renowned pioneer in long-distance aviation and air-to-air refuelling.

Traveling west from Road Town, if you look carefully, you may be able to spot the ruins of the so-called Dungeon, about two miles from Sea Cow Bay. The Dungeon is actually the remains of a seaward battery, probably built in the mid-eighteenth century. Fort Recovery, a bit further down the road, is a seventeenth-century Dutch fortification.

Soper's hole at West End is the site of the first European settlement on Tortola. Not far from Soper's Hole are the lovely little villages of Cane Garden and Carrot bays. Cane Garden Bay is the location of one of Tortola's few remaining distilleries. The Cane Garden distillery, which is owned and operated by Mr. Owen Callwood, has been operating for more than a century. Most of the equipment is original. Mr. Callwood makes eighty-proof rum, and visitors can purchase "pure white" on the spot.

The highlight of your Tortola adventure could be a visit to the rain forest at Sage Mountain. The peak of the mountain is 1,780 feet above sea level. The road leading into the rain forest is located directly under the radar towers, which can be seen from Road Town.

Once inside the rain forest, you see mahogany trees, which have grown to a height of thirty-five feet in the twelve years since they were planted. The going is rough in places, but philodendron and aechmea with their bright green leaves, peperomias, maregravia, hanging vines, and old gnarled trees make the trip worthwhile.

This ends your tour of Tortola and your trip through the pages of this booklet. We hope you've enjoyed your visit to the B.V.I., and that you will come back and see us again soon.

Virgin Gorda Notes