Road Town, Tortola – Gorda Baths

Today we arrived in Road Town in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, alongside Cunard’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’.

As we had a tour booked for the afternoon, we opted for a simple walk in the morning, which took us to a small park alongside the bay. There wasn’t a lot there; a couple of pergolas and one of those giant multi-coloured place names that said ‘Tortola’, and a few paths leading us through the park. It did have good views across the bay, though.

It was very hot, and we sought shade wherever we could find it, and was back on the ship in time for lunch at the Grill.

By 12.45 we were in the Playhouse theatre signing in for the Baths tour.

A bracing 30-minute boat ride took us to the island of Gorda, where we were decanted into open side buses which then transferred us in a bouncy 10-minute ‘jeep safari’ to the visitors centre known as ‘Top of the Baths’.

What followed was a fantastic hike through scrub-like vegetation, down to a small secluded beach where we had a 30-minute swim. After that, a guide led us through a labyrinth of walkways, caves and tunnels. Occasionally we had to duck down through low overhanging rocks, climb down perilous rope ladders and wade through knee-high water to our final destination, a second beach where we had about 45 minutes of quality swimming and snorkeling time.

The ride back to the ship was equally bracing and enjoyable, with views across to the many islands that make up the BVI.

All in all, a brilliant afternoon’s adventure!