RENDEZVOUS BEACH AND CLIFFSIDE ACCOM IN BVI

THE CARIBBEAN SERIES, DAY 4

ANTIGUA – BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

Rendezvous Beach and cliffside accom in BVI. After being recommended Rendezvous beach by the couple that caught me in my birthday suit I couldn’t not visit it for the major FOMO it would have given me, toe or no toe.

WITHOUT DOUBT TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS

As I wasn’t changing the car, I decided I’d have to do the hiking option, so I threw on the sneaks and gave my toe a slap. It was only about 45 minutes, so I’m sure I could take 45 minutes of pain for a worldie of a beach.

WRONG WAY

It all started so well; up early, acceptable parking spot, toe was holding up until I realised I had taken the wrong turn. No doubt 99% of others do the same as the walk down the bottom of the hill was much more worn than the trail itself…busted already!

Anyway, I ploughed on through the bush, down one hill, up another and so on, it wasn’t a leisurely stroll that’s for sure but FOMO is no joke either.

Rendezvous Beach and cliffside accom in BVI

THE BEACH

There are 2 beaches before you get to Rendezvous, both stunning and deserted but Rendezvous was by far the nicest of the 3. Beaches at this time of year are never as idyllic as the summer. The waves are often rough and the winter tides bring heaps of seaweed onto the shores, taking a slight gloss off what would be one of the best beaches in the world. But you could tell how incredible this spot would be on a calm day. Even the hike added to its appeal and felt like something from the movie, The Beach. Another note – I’ve just read the book, had all the potential but a shocking read.

Rendezvous Beach and cliffside accom in BVI

HELICOPTER

Like any half decent spot, I threw the drone up and started my photo frenzy. With the new software you are notified when an aircraft is in the area, very handy but also frightening at the same time. But with drones unable to go above a certain height or fly near airports there’s a high chance the aircraft in question is probably falling out of the sky.

CLOSE CALL

I got the alert but for the life of me couldn’t hear or see anything of the sort, and the drone’s height was maxed out. After a further few warnings I brought it down a few hundred metres and instantly heard what I had been looking out for. A helicopter, no sooner after hearing it, came over the ridge behind me at an incredibly low altitude and straight through where my drone flew, less than a minute earlier. Fuuuuuu£k me its been a while since my heart jumped that much.

The reason why I didn’t hear it until it was right beside me? The SAS use this technique if they need an element of surprise. Although flying low might be noisier for those directly below, the surrounding hills absorb the noise of those even slightly further away. Great for the SAS but not the best tactic for a sightseeing helicopter!

Rendezvous Beach and cliffside accom in BVI

BYE ANTIGUA

Again there was little time to sit and enjoy one of Antigua’s best beaches and I was off after a quick drink of Diet Coke (coke zero tastes like 💩). Next on the Itinerary is British Virgin Islands and aside from being a tax haven I hear the beaches challenge the ones I’ve seen here…I’ll believe it when I see it!

IMMIGRATION TROUBLE…AGAIN

Of course arriving into BVI wasn’t all plain sailing. After the usual swab up the right nostril it was onto immigration who for the life of me couldn’t understand why I was visiting and to be honest after giving her a plausible reason (holiday ffs) she still couldn’t grasp it. To be honest I don’t think she would have accepted anything less than,

I’m here to work for cash in hand on a yacht charter.

That is of course what they are looking out for and to make things worse I told her I didn’t have a return flight booked, mainly because you never know what will happen when you throw COVID & PCR tests into an itinerary which is so regimented.

JOBS WORTH

So after booking a flight on the spot it was now the customs guy’s turn to have a go. Straight away I knew I was in for a challenge but when it comes to immigration you really have to pick your fights!

Why are you here?

It took all of my energy not to respond with, ‘the immigration lady directed me over.’ But instead I know when a bit of lip isn’t going to go down well.

Vacation.

“Open your bag.” He clearly gets off on his little power trip.

YOU HAVE TO PLAY BALL

Keen to do as I was told, I opened the case to reveal a number of packing cubes. You couldn’t see in any so I opened one which had my snacks, nuts, mangos and underwear. I was hopeful the underwear would be enough for him to usher me on but it didn’t. Strangers’ underwear must be another thing on his strange fetishes list.

This is not the bag of someone on vacation.

He caught me completely off guard, I didn’t know what he was looking at but it didn’t matter much anyway, I was stamped in and my tone changed in sync with his.

“Are you serious? Shorts, t shirts and some nuts? Why else am I here?”

“To work.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

THEN MY PATIENCE STARTED TO GO

I was actually starting to enjoy this, “Aye dead on, I have my own job at home with 50 employees, what am I going to do out here?” This was a lie but I didn’t want him to be the only person spoofing.

He then went on to talk about my job and being construction that excited him even further so in the end I just said in the friendliest (condescending) tone I could muster;

“Listen buddy, I have a flight booked for a few day’s time. When I come back I’ll keep an eye out for you and give you a wave.

What was funny, when I moved along, I could hear him start the same conversation with the next person. SOAB 🤣

ACCOMMODATION

Quite often I overlook accommodation as staying somewhere really nice can be costly especially when I need my £ to go further. But in BVI I decided I wanted a different experience. I’ve had a few trips but no new countries for 18months and rather than not wanting the accom to takeaway from my experience I was keen to make it part of it and go for something special!

SPECIAL TRAVEL MOMENT

Every time I go travelling, I am in awe, whether it be walking down the high street in Pristina or climbing volcanos Guatemala. But there’s being in awe and there’s being dumbstruck and there has only been a few places in which this feeling has taken me over, BVI now being one.

Sometimes I think this comes from expectation. Certain places, like Mauritius I knew the accom was going to be killer and it was, I was impressed beyond explanation. But sometimes I just don’t know what I’m in for and try to set my expectations accordingly. This was exactly what happened when I arrived in BVI.

SPEECHLESS

It was pitch dark by the time I arrived at the house but I was completely aware of how impressive this place was. Even the host had the house setup to perfection! Crisp clean, mood lights and a little touch of blues in the background, it was going to be 3 days in heaven! The host even called round, took one look at me (clearly seeing I’m a backpacker) and offered to bring some supplies; homemade soup, bread and some fruit. What an absolute gent!

I was shattered (esp after this mornings trek) and normally would have gone to bed to prep me for tomorrow morning. However, I sat outside listening to the crickets and the waves crashing 200 feet below me while eating homemade potato and carrot soup…if only life could be so simple..

FINAL THOUGHTS

Today was one of those rare travel moments that I will remember for ever and being only day 4, how can this trip get any better?

NEXT UP

Another day checking out beaches (this is the life) but its BVI’s turn. Click to read.

SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
146/229

This post is part of The Caribbean Series, click to explore the series or for episode 1, click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.