Tortola
Tortola, "land of turtle doves' or Chocolate City is the largest of the British Virgin Islands overlooking Sir Francis Drake Channel and situated about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. Its most popular point of entry for vacationers is the East End Beef Island Airport linked to the capital city of Road Town by the one-lane Queen Elizabeth Bridge.
Road Town's scenic setting and sheltered yacht-filled harbour provide a helpful orientation to the laid-back BVI lifestyle evolved over the last 400 years by English, Dutch, French, and Spanish adventurers, followed by plantation owners and 20th century settlers. This friendly and diversified community tempts travellers with every sort of regional and international cuisine found in a choice of cheerful pastel painted restaurants, former forts, and sugar mills.
Palate-pleasing menus feature West Indian specialties of fresh lobster, conch, turtle, spicy goat, and curries of every description. An authentic English pub serves Pusser's Rum, traditional drink of the British Navy for 300 years, as well as a popular fruit flavoured local concoction known as the "Painkiller."
Natures Little Secrets
Among the most frequently visited of the BVI's handful
of inhabited islands are Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Beef Island,
Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Peter, Mosquito, and
Guana Islands. All of these lilting place names
reflect idyllic sites for unwinding, wriggling your toes
in the sand, and absorbing the tranquil pleasures
of sunshine and sapphire seas.
