I have to mention a meal that I got at the Jolly Roger Inn at Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. This is a really cool little inn (I think they have 5 rooms) that has an incredible kitchen and bar fully stocked with rum and tropical juices. I ordered the seafood linguini, which knocked me out of my chair it was so good. It had shrimp, juicy tender scallops, mussels, unknown fish chunks, garlic, onions, and sundried tomatoes, all in a cream sauce over perfectly done pasta.
One thing I really liked about the Jolly Roger was that the stage was on the dock, so we were literally floating on the ocean while we played. Lots of people came in their boats instead of cars. We saw giant fish circling under the dock hoping for leftovers from the diners. There was even a couple from Knoxville/Chattanooga.
At this show we also met a man who had seen us at the Shakori Hills Festival in North Carolina. He took us on a tour of the island in a borrowed Jeep. We went to the top of the mountain for some incredible views, to a beach with big waves called Smuggler’s Cove, and to a little local beach bar called Bomba’s Shack. It was built right on the water, all open air, made out of what looked like recycled/scavenged lumber. All of it was heavily weathered and painted every color in the rainbow. Bomba had written little poems and pieces of advice on every available surface. Things like: “Bomba likes blondes, but he LOVES all women.” We were bummed to learn that we had to leave on the day of Bomba’s monthly full moon party, where hundreds of people show up to drink his mushroom tea (it’s legal there), drink rum, and party on the beach all night. The moon was so bright that night you could’ve read a newspaper. Alas, next time we’ll plan for it!