Travel travail
A Beaconite recently took a daytrip to St. John to visit family who were on holiday from the mainland United States. She enjoyed the visit. But next time, she plans to be better prepared. As she readied to leave Tortola, she learned from the BVI Ports Authority that she would need to take an additional ferry to St. Thomas in order to catch a boat back home. This was news to her, and so she was very grateful for the BVIPA employee for explaining the process. She tried to prepare for her short excursion before hopping on a ferry that warm morning, but looking online at the ferry schedules listed on the BVI Tourist Board’s website was not enough. This became evident when she arrived at the Road Town Ferry Terminal at 8:15 a.m. expecting to catch the St. John ferry the website lists daily at 8:30 a.m. Oops. A BVIPA employee kindly told her that she had missed the one ferry from this terminal by 30 minutes. If she wanted to get to St. John that morning, she would have to make her way to the West End ferry terminal. And so she promptly walked to the side of the road, pointed her finger westward, and hoped a kind stranger would stop and give her a ride. She was lucky. She quickly got a ride from such a stranger, who, once learning she was in a rush to catch a ferry, took her straight to the West End terminal — even calling a friend who worked on the ferry to see if the boat had left yet. She must express her gratitude to this driver. Luckily for the Beaconite (but not the other passengers), the ferry was running late, and so she made it to St. John after all. However, she believes that there should be accurate, up-to-date information available on the BVITB’s ferry schedule webpage.
I can’t find the view
So, to Government House for a refreshing early morning Earl Grey tea complete with milk from an ornate silver jug — oh, and yes, a press conference with Governor Daniel Pruce. Ah, the old question-and-answer, to-and-fro, back-and-forth. Except with Virgin Islands governors, there always seem to be more questions asked than answers given. So it was nice that a Beaconite could enjoy the sumptuous view from the steps of the Road Town mansion as the sunlight dappled gently across the glistening turquoise waters below, because inside a reporter would be hard pressed to get any views out of Mr. Pruce at all. As the governor noted while defending the controversial police-vetting scheme which has now been limited by a court order (see page one), he has been a British civil servant for 30 years. And to misquote RuPaul on the reality show Drag Race: “He provides the tea, he doesn’t spill the tea” — as in, he ain’t giving nothing away he doesn’t want to. But that’s how Britain trains its emissaries abroad to conduct themselves. So very little in the way of enlightenment was on offer. But the Beaconite nevertheless appreciated the press conference — as well as the tea.
Virgin eyes
A Beaconite is coming up on two years of residence in the Virgin Islands. With his anniversary upon him, he thinks back to the kid who came across the water in 2023. For nearly two years, he has been venturing around the territory, practising photography and getting better with each and every photoshoot. Each time he swung a leg over the saddle of his dirtbike with a big backpack weighing him down, he knew that he had to make every shoot count. Somehow, with more than 100 shoots under his belt in the past couple years, he isn’t tired of the grind. Somehow, he’s not tired of looking at the world through a viewfinder and the computer on which he edits his shots. Writing can be difficult at times, but photography is something ephemeral that he can’t describe, and certainly can’t live without. If he’s learned anything over the past two years, it’s that photos really can contain 1,000 words, and that sometimes your words are just never enough. The Beaconite will continue going through life with a beat-up camera and burned skin, because the people he’s met along the way and the sights that he’s witnessed make the heavy bag worth it. And for his troubles, he has photos documenting his time in the VI from his arrival — and intertwining his life with that of the territory. All those shots, taken with virgin eyes.
