One of the highlights of our trip to the British Virgin Islands was our stay at the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda.
About half way through our trip, we made a reservation to dock overnight and take advantage of all the activities and amenities that BEYC offers.
It was one of the best parts of our trip!
We arrived at Virgin Gorda a little early; much like getting a hotel room, dock slips also have check in times, who knew? Fortunately we managed to grab a mooring ball just off of Prickly Pear island and came ashore for a delicious roti lunch at the beach bar there.
A few mojitos and one delicious meal later, we hopped back on the boat and pulled in to our dock slip.
Fortunately, we had arrived JUST in time for the Beer Can Regatta! A 2-man Hobie Catamaran fun race where you get a new beer each time you cross the finish line. We ran off like a SHOT to participate!
Making our way back to shore, we played a few rounds of beach volley ball before hitting the showers.
The showers! One of the BEST parts about deciding to dock over night were the amenities: Real bathrooms, private shower stalls, free wifi, electricity hook ups so we could crank the AC... worth the price of admission folks.
After a few days showering off the back of the boat and techno-blackout, it somehow made paradise even BETTER.
Once we were clean and looking gorgeous, we were off to Saba Rock for dinner.
Saba Rock is a tiny little island just off the coast of Virgin Gorda. The entire island is taken up by a restaurant and resort with just a small number of rooms.
This place is incredibly special. The restaurant comes right up to the shoreline so you're right on the water. Lights surround the island and attract enormous fish that you can watch while you eat, and the food and atmosphere are incredible.
Confession: I would go all the way back to the BVIs just to eat at Saba Rock. Heck, just so I could have the mussels appetizer again.
Served in a curry coconut sauce, these were the most delicious mussels I had ever eaten. The portion was enormous and we split it between three of us; though for all I know I ate them all because I was overtaken with a need to stuff as many of them into my mouth as I could as quickly as possible.
Seriously they were that good.
They were also served with delicious fresh bread that had somehow been baked with butter inside it, for dipping. We all but licked the bowl clean before we had our mains.
My main, a gorgeous piece of flank steak, was also amazing... but I would be lying if I said I remember it as fondly as the mussels. I did however manage to take a snap of it!
After dinner, we moseyed on back to BEYC for a few drinks at the pub before tucking in to our WELL air conditioned boat.
We all slept like babies, which was good because Clarity and myself were up on the bright to get to morning yoga on the dock! If you ever find yourself at BEYC I would encourage you to attend this morning ritual. Stretching sea side in paradise is the most relaxing way to start your day.
After yoga and some breakfast we split up for the day. Half of us went on a hike, while the rest went out for another spin in the Hobie Catamarans.
The hike was a lot of fun, but after a few days of late nights and drinking we found ourselves very VERY tired. Luckily we brought plenty of water and the breathtaking views were enough to keep our spirits up.
Even though it was exhausting, it was beautiful to see the islands from so high up, as well as get some much needed exercise!
We wrapped up our hike and got back to the boat and were pleasantly surprised to find that some of our friends from home had just pulled in to the dock. We knew they would be in the BVIs at the same time as us but weren't sure if we would meet.
So of course we went for a group lunch at "The Crawl Pub", and abused the free wifi one last time, before sailing away to our next adventure.
The Bitter End Yacht Club offered so many wonderful perks at the midway point on our trip. A chance to restock our boat and fill up our tanks with water; access to showers and proper bathrooms; wifi and electricity fabulous activities for us to enjoy; a world class restaurant and the best mussels I may ever eat...
If you're not looking to go off sailing, BEYC is also a resort with rooms to book so you can consider it for a tropical vacation destination all it's own!
It's a special place.
Click here for part 1 of my BVI adventure!