Cruise to Run - Tortola

This morning we landed in the island of Tortola. The `run` today was from the ships docks to the top of one of the mountains not far away. The elevation was 947 feet and we climbed to that elevation from the docks in about 2 kilometres. It was the slowest 2 kilometres I`ve ever run -- because it was more of a `walk`. My quads were screaming at me on the way up and it was quite the accomplishment to make it to the top. Jenny and I did it in about 22 minutes -- 11 minutes per kilometre! But it was worth it. The view of the harbour and town was incredible! And no matter how long it took to get to the top, everyone was proud that they`d seen it through to the end.

In the afternoon we walked a couple of kilometres down to the sugar cane / cotton mill factory museum. There was no mandatory entrance fee, but we contributed $20 to the organization. They had all sorts of artifacts from the island -- nothing pristinely preserved, mind you. But it was interesting to see how the island had evolved from one using quite primitive tools to what it is today.

On the way back from the museum, we stopped by a collection of nicely-painted store-shacks at the traffic lights outside the docks area and found two vendors side-by-side in one hut, each offering a collection of both Caribbean and international beers. Jed, Cathy and I sampled a range of beers including Tigrebrau stout and Presidente, both brewed in the Dominican Republic. Tigrebrau was like lunch in a bottle, a thick stout and a bit sweeter than, say, Guinness.

We had supper with Brenda, Lisa, Heidi and Ann that night, and then proceeded to the lounge to watch Gary DeLena, a comedian/musician who was quite funny. After that, I went to the casino and managed to lose $175 (7 x $25 bet) in about 10 minutes. I couldn't seem to do anything right.