JAPDIP, a Photo Gallery

Just another day in paradise...memories of Barbuda's silken white beaches linger: free diving for live conch, haggling with the local fishermen for tattered feed-sacks stuffed full of lobsters, a cold beer at sunset...then there was Antigua's Falmouth Harbor party scene where a heavy concentration of mega yachts makes for a perpetual Spring Break atmosphere. The resulting late night hedonism holds few boundaries. St. Barthélemy where Louis Vuitton and Hermes shops mingle with low rent burger joints.

However, get away from the shopping district, and on a far corner of the island you'll find one of the most pleasant anchorages in the Caribbean where you can snorkel with sea turtles in crystal clear turquoise water. Virgin Gorda is a combination of the opulent obscured by a throng of Ma & Pa rented catamarans. We're currently anchored near the prestigious Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, but will most likely patronize a local beach bar instead.

The BVI feels more like the US: crowded with amateur sailors, commercialism, and belligerent customs officials, but it's still the Caribbean, you just have to look for it and with a bit of effort one can still find paradise here...