Escape to Guana Island

Seth and I had a little get-a-way to the British Virgin Islands in early April. We stayed at the lovely private Guana Island resort, an 850 acre island just north of Tortola. There were approximately 30 other guests from all over Europe and the U.S. staying at the resort each day. Each couple, or family, stayed in one of 15 white-washed stone villas on the top of the ridge.

The view of Tortola and the bay from our villa

After a canceled flight due to tornados in Chicago and a snowstorm in Minneapolis, we flew to Newark for a quick layover. It was great to catch up, albeit briefly, with college friends Cara and Nick. Eventually, we arrived in St. Thomas a day later then we anticipated. We boarded a small 8 seater "island hopper" plane over to the island of Tortola, the largest island in the BVI. Hundreds of white sail boats spotted the bright blue sea. Long brown strings of sargassum could be seen floating in the currents from the plane. After we landed, a gentleman in a black suit picked us up and drove us 2 blocks to the docks where we boarded the blue and white resort speed boat over to Guana Island. After traveling nearly 24 hours (Duluth to Chicago to Newark to St. Thomas to Tortola to Guana), we finally arrived! We were greeted by the staff and given ice cool towels, which felt great. We admired the guests enjoying the White Bay Beach. It was a hot 77 degrees and the heat felt amazing. We left another snowy April day in Duluth. Little did we know we were well on our way to breaking the all time snowiest winter on record at 140.1".

A dozen catamaran sail boats and a large yacht were anchored in the bay nearby. Passengers paddle boarded, swam or snorkeled in the aquamarine water. I couldn't wait to put on my suit and jump in (after a quick nap)!

We hopped in the back of a golf cart and headed up the steep path. We packed light with just two backpacks. We were given a brief orientation and tour of the resort. We hadn't eaten much so they made us sandwiches with fresh fruit and we ate on the porch overlooking the bay.

Lunch on the patio on day 1. Not a bad start to vacation.

We walked onto our patio of our villa on top of the ridge and I finally felt like I could relax. No more notes to finish, echocardiograms to read, in basket messages to reply to, orders to sign or emails to send. The panoramic views of the island and ocean were stunning! The lounge chairs on the porch were so inviting; I couldn't wait to lay down and take a nap (and maybe finish reading my first book of the year).

Our front porch

We wandered down for happy hour and passed a 3 foot long Stout Rock Iguana who lived under the path to our villa. Not sure if he or I was more startled as we passed.

One of the 300 friendly nearly-endangered rock iguanas right next to our path to our villa

Roseate flamingoes in the salt pond

Flamingo

red legged tortoises

We saw three "pet" red-legged tortugas, which the kitchen staff feed left overs from dinner. Hummingbirds would race from flower to flower collecting nectar while the yellow bananaquit would sit perched on the tall branches. One morning, I woke up early before sunrise and I went for a run. I encountered a few animals that I don't see everyday in Duluth: a pair of donkeys, a couple goats, a few dozen free range chickens, a hermit crab and last but not least, four snakes. Definitely not my typical morning run.

Sunrise run

Chickens

Donkey

First of several snake encounters

Large hermit crab

Gecko on the leaf

There were dozens of little amphibians, too, like the crested anole, tiny gecko, and different lizard species that scurried along the brush by the hiking trails and over rocks as we passed.

We did a long hike on day and watched a couple brown pelicans plunge dive for lunch. We found a pile of a dozen herring or silversides on the rock - small fish the pelicans had scooped up and left out for dessert. Yum (not)! In the salt pond below the villas, a dozen Caribbean roseate flamingoes waded slowly back and forth searching for food. Most the time their long necks were under water eating. Did you know flamingos can't use their lower jaw to chew? Their bottom jaw is fixed and not hinged. However, they put their heads upside down in the water to eat so it's their top jaw that moves, unlike ours.

The communal buffet breakfasts and lunches were delicious.

Communal tables set up for breakfast

We clean up pretty well

One of the many courses we enjoyed each night

We had great conversations with couples celebrating their 40th anniversaries to newlyweds. There was an assortment of fresh fruits and juices. We always chose the special of the day and it did not disappoint. Dinner was definitely the highlight! We chose from a meat, fish or vegetarian options. We were assigned tables each night. We rotated around from the communal tables to the cozy porch overlooking the bay to a semi-private veranda dining. Dinner had wine pairings and dessert that really topped off these incredible meals.

Dinner arrangements

I went scuba diving at my first shipwreck - the Royal Mail Service (RMS) Rhone. Build in 1865, it was a brand new state-of-the-art 310 ft. sail and steamship that tried to out run a hurricane in 1867 and got stuck on a shallow rock. As salt water filled the steam engine, the ship exploded into pieces, which are now a protected marine park. Besides schools of fish, I saw a seahorse, a nurse shark, giant sting ray, a few giant barracudas and dueling giant lobsters, too. We went hiking, snorkeling, paddle boarding, walked on the beach, did yoga, and got a tour of the gardens.

Paddle boarding

Walking on the white sand beach at sunset

Sunset

Hike out to muskmelon bay

Leaving Guana Island

It was overcast and cool with morning rain showers. It was our last full day. We packed our bags and took a ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda. Fortunately there wasn't a cruise ship and the cooler weather kept away the large crowds from the Baths, a popular national park. We explored the famous Baths National Park almost all to ourselves. These massive granite boulders (up to 40 feet round) have eroded slowly over time by waves and salt water leading to unique caves and pools. On Friday, it was time to come home. We were very grateful for Grandma and Grandpa Pastorius for watching the kids for a week (and even with a snow day in April)!

Overall, it was a great trip. Enjoy the pics!