How do I begin to describe this lovely little slice of paradise without sounding trite? Won't you get tired of too many superlatives? Okay, here goes:
Christopher Columbus first sailed into the British Virgin Islands in 1643, after spending entirely too many long months at sea. His fevered imagination looked at the lush contours of this island, and saw the curves of a ripe woman waiting for him. So he named her "Virgin Gorda" the Fat Virgin - even though he supposedly thought she looked pregnant. He named the
British Virgins for the legend of St. Ursula & the 11,000 British virgins who were supposedly martyred by the Huns in the 4th Century in Cologne, while enroute to Rome on holy Pilgrimage.
He had already named the larger group of islands on which he staked claims for the Spaniards the "West Indies", on the assumption that he had arrived in India. The name stuck even after the mistake was discovered. Today this term is still used for the islands that are British colonies: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks & Caicos Islands. Historically it also used to include the currently independent nations of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Although most of us fail to see the lascivious lovely CC evisioned when we look at Virgin Gorda, it's still clearly one of the loveliest islands in all of the Virgin Islands group. Ocean beaches with pounding surf, sandy sheltered coves with reefs for snorkelers to explore, harbors for mariners find anchorage or moorings, mountains & lowlands, spectacular viewpoints, historical structures, pirates' legacies & hidden treasures, and a wonderfully friendly populace: These are just the beginning of what modern visitors can find here.
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