Senior Sailor Says
Sailing on the Viking Sea from Puerto Rico, our first stop was Tortola, one of the over 50 islands comprising the British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago.
My daughter and I mapped out every included Viking tour and two optional tours during the 11-day cruise.
We always headed out in the morning on an excursion, leaving the rest of the day to explore the port and enjoy the ship’s many amenities.
We boarded a small, open-sided bus and explored the island.
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands. The mountainous dark green landscape rushed by as we admired the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea overlooks, depending on where we were on the island.
Periodically, our guide/driver stopped and showed us on a map where we were and pointed out other islands.
Our guide also told us some of the history.
On his second voyage for the Spanish Crown to the West Indies, Christopher Columbus spotted what is now called the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. He named the archipelago after the 11,000 virgins of the 5th-century Christian martyr St. Ursula. Although the Spanish tried to settle the islands, pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd were the first permanent residents.
In the late 16th century, the English established a permanent sugarcane plantation colony on Tortola and the surrounding islands. The plantations depended on the enslaved Africans to succeed.
The sugar industry dominated the economy for more than a century until the abolishment of slavery in the early 1800s.
Just before descending to the water’s edge, we are told the northern coast has the best beaches on the island, including Cane Garden Bay.
We spent the second half of the tour at this palm-lined beach with its lapping surf. We were offered rum punch and had the opportunity to swim or relax in a lounge chair.
As I lazed on the lounge chair, I thought, if this was a prediction of the rest of the cruise and ports, I was in for a delightful time.
For more information about Viking Ocean Cruise “West Indies Explorer,” click here.
Photos by Olivia Moore
It’s such a pretty island! And I’m surprised by how uncrowded it seems. Is that impression accurate?
You are right. There weren’t that many tourists that I could see. The beach was empty, too.
You are right. There weren’t that many tourists that I could see. The beach was empty, too.
A lovely part of the Caribbean, captured splendidly by your photos.
My daughter took the photos. It was raining intermittently, and I didn’t want to risk getting my DSLR wet, so she took the photos that day. I will pass on your compliment!!