Today, I'm finally posting about Pirate Day at the Soggy Dollar.
arrrrrrrr-ya ready for some hilarious photos and pirate jokes?
As I mentioned in my first BVI post, before we got to the airport many of the people on our trip had never met before. We were all connected with each other through someone else on the trip, but not a single one of us knew EVERYBODY.
Before we left though we had a Facebook chat going and with 3 days left to go, the order went out: Don't show up without pirate gear.
We rushed to the dollar store to outfit ourselves with props that could easily fit in our carry on luggage, and then waited for the perfect opportunity to use it.
The night before our last full day in the BVIs, we went to bed with our second order: Don't come up to breakfast without your pirate costume on, or be prepared to walk the plank!
Climbing up from our bunk the next morning, Kris and I were greeted by 6 bleary eyed pirates and a few bottles of Rum. Normally we weren't drinking in the morning on this trip, but on Pirate Day you hit the rum early. In your coffee, but also in your Painkiller Cocktail.
A Painkiller is a "hair-of-the-dog" cocktail that was actually invented in the BVIs at a bar called "The Soggy Dollar", where we were headed that afternoon. We whipped up our own that morning on the boat as we got into character and sailed off to our destination.
The Painkiller Cocktail:
- 2-4 oz. of Pusser's Rum (or other dark rum)
- 4 oz. pineapple juice
- 1 oz. cream of coconut
- 1 oz. orange juice
- Grated fresh nutmeg
I can't even begin to tell you just how delicious this drink is. If you are looking for a new summer cocktail for the beach or dock, this could be it.
After some hilarious photos from the front of the "ship", we sailed off to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and The Soggy Dollar Bar. We piled into our dinghy to get to the beach and harassed other boats with calls of "SURRENDER YOUR BOOTY OR WALK THE PLANK!"
Pulling up on the beach, we caused quite a scene.
White Bay hosts many beach bars, and when I say beach bars I mean no front wall, no floor (just sand) and some of the friendliest people you will ever meet working there. A true beach bar.
We arrived when the party was already in full swing and got pulled into a lot of pictures with people who wanted to meet "the (Canadian) Pirates of the Caribbean". Canadian in that apparently we were "very polite pirates"
We happily obliged then went to get our first REAL Painkiller of the day from the Soggy Dollar! We also indulged in some delicious lunch and some great beach games before our day of fun picked up steam.
Beach-bar hopping our way along, we made friends, played in the water, buried ourselves in the sand and generally had a wonderful time being Pirates (and yes, plenty of rum was involved all day)
Two of us even managed to commandeer another vessel! Swimming from shore and boarding another boat (making new friends in the process).
Everything I'd heard about White Bay (the bars, the people, the beach) lived up to its fabulous reputation... But I have to think that our outfits helped us appreciate it that much more! We even stole some doubloons from a rival group of Pirates we met on the beach.
At 4:00 pm, as the beach bars closed and we made our way back to our boat (er... Pirate Ship) we remarked that the day had been one of our best so far. I am so grateful to have traveled with a group of weirdos who weren't afraid of looking silly in the name of a good time.
Dinner that night was a hilarious affair, and we danced the night away at Foxy's in the next bay over (a bar that hosts one of the world's largest New Years parties). Our time in the BVIs was over and we were all feeling sad about having to go home.
Usually when I travel, by my last day of vacation I am ready to go home. This was the first time that wasn't true. I wish I could have stayed and stayed and stayed... The pirate life is calling!
If you ever get a chance to visit this beautiful part of the world, either by a sailboat or at a resort, take it! I had the most incredible time, met some wonderful people, ate amazing food and experienced some really cool and unique things.
The BVIs were heaven, I can't wait to go back some day.
For a complete round up of my trip through the BVIs check out my previous posts: