Location: Sidney's, Jost van Dyke
We woke up EARLY today. After literally no one stayed up for Caleb’s birthday, we started our day at 6:15 with the breakfast of champions: Cereal. Then we took Lilo (our dingy) over to the shore at Cane Garden Bay, where we were greeted by the rest of ActionQuest. Our Supreme Leader, Mike, informed us of our reason for being on shore—a long and very steep hike. About 6.7 miles there and back, this hike would bring us to the highest point on the BVIs and be a good way for us to stretch our legs. Unfortunately, the hike started with the longest and steepest uphill climb I have ever seen. Caleb, Scarlett, Kyler, and Alexis climbed the fastest out of all of the shippies, but Dylan, Moorea, and I were not far behind. After the steep section, the hike flattened out for a little while. During this section, Tylers, Zack, Brian, and Alli caught up with the rest of the group. We eventually reached the penultimate peak of the hike—a smoothie shop right in the middle of Mount Sage National Park.
A few of us grabbed some smoothies, and then we headed to the highest point on the BVIs. Unfortunately, a wall of mist blocked the beautiful view of Roadtown. However, most of us didn’t care: we were just happy that we were done going up. After signing our names in a leather-bound book at the peak, we hiked down the whole trail and ended up in the spot where Jimmy Buffet had the famous cheeseburger in the song Cheese Burger in Paradise. We devoured the same cheeseburgers Jimmy had written about, then we walked around Cane Garden Bay and bought many snacks, souvenirs, and clothes. After finishing our time on shore, we came back to Soul Rebel and greeted Caleb with an amazing surprise birthday party. We crushed a chocolate-frosted cake and sang to the birthday boy. Then we headed over to Sandy Cay, a small beach right next to Tortola. After a short and intense rain storm, we dinghied over to the beach and played in the sand for a while. We held a rock skipping competition, which had no winner, and played around in the water. We ended our action-packed day with even more action: a Barbecue at Sidney’s restaurant and shops. Over the course of the night, we bought funny shirts, got cornrows in our hair, and threw it down on the dance floor. Now we are chilling on the boat and, hopefully, doing a better job at staying up for Caleb’s birthday. See y’all in 6 days!
By Jack