Nevis: A Journey through The Best Caribbean Island You Haven't Heard of

It's pronounced "NEE-vis" and this island is like something out of a dream. Perhaps it's the impressive peak of Mount Nevis which juts from the islands center and seems to always be cloaked in shadowy clouds, or maybe it's the perfectly manicured homes, gardens and streets...but on my approach to her in the sleepy sun drenched sky of late afternoon, she took my breath away. Yes, even after years of island living the birds' eye view of an island approach still makes my heart pitter patter.

Welcome to Nevis: The self-proclaimed island of the "discerning traveler".

I'm here because my fellow island sister, Riselle, of Travelling Island Girl organized a familiarization trip with the Nevis Tourism Board, and I was chosen to join her (insert happy dance). I jumped at the opportunity. Not only was it a great chance to have a little "me" time (read: kid free!), but it was a way to get to know this tiny island better since Scott and I only breezed through for a night back in 2013 on one of our sails south. What follows is the travelogue of this trip through Nevis, and should you want to visit this magical little place (which you absolutely should!), you might just want to take this as your itinerary because we did a LOT...Hang on and enjoy the ride...

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If you happen towards the cruise ship areas of island towns, you will likely find a shirt that reads "Same Sh**, Different Island". While islands obviously share similarities this could not be further from the truth. Immediately I'm struck by the difference between this island and mine. Lawns are tidy and manicured, the town is quaint, clean yet bustling, and vendor stalls bursting with home-grown fruit are never far. Did I mention the monkeys? Yeah. THERE ARE MONKEYS HERE! This is one of the few Caribbean islands with a monkey population and who doesn't love monkeys? (Turns out, Nevisians don't. The monkeys here are a *serious* problem and considered vermin, but more on that later...) My first impression? Me Likey.

We are greeted by the lovely Angelique of the tourist board and immediately she feels like a familiar friend. We are going to be dropped at the beautiful Mount Nevis Hotel, our home base for the next few days, to clean up and then taken for dinner at the gorgeous waterfront Nisbet Plantation. Nevis was a veritable sugar bowl for the Caribbean back in the day and the ruins of sugar plantations (even that of the famed Alexander Hamilton!) dot the countryside adding to this islands vintage allure.

The Mount Nevis hotel is absolutely heavenly and breakfast on a verandah with a view? YES

Easy and breezy, thats the feeling you get at this beautiful place. @Mount Nevis Hotel

My room in the Mount Nevis hotel is incredible. With high beam ceilings, a balcony with an ocean view, an open floor plan and clean tropical decor, it feels spacious and light. I throw myself on the bed, arms and legs splayed. "This is the life!" As former cruisers, hotels were one area of travel life we almost never experienced and living on a boat means spaciousness is a luxury so this. is. a. treat. I enjoy my shower and head to the lobby where I meet up with Ris and Jen (of Jen There Done That) for a very welcome rum punch while we wait for our ride. Cheers!

Our first outing is to the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club where they have an amazing Thursday night barbecue buffet followed by a live band. This place does not disappoint. The buffet is incredible and offers something for every palate. Freshly prepared, local, and bursting with color I'm drawn in for two plates full of food before I force myself to stop. (OMG, the bbq'd shrimp! Drool.) My girlfriends and I enjoy our dinners with cocktails, and shake it off on the dance floor later to the live band. We go to bed happy.

The next morning I enjoy my fruit and yogurt parfait and strong black coffee on the breakfast patio of our hotel (views sooo good at Mount Nevis Hotel!), and we are off to visit the home of Ermine Hendrickson. She's one of Nevis's local agro processers and makes jams and jellies from her home. We hop into Angelique's car, zip by the beautiful landscape and perfectly manicured home and lawns, fly by a few "monkey crossing" signs (yes, they are REAL), and we are there. Ermine is shy and soft spoken, but kind and wise. She is going to show us how to make a local treat that consists of coconut, simple sugar, and ginger (a few drops of bitters is the secret to her recipe!) We watch and drool as her concoction takes form - the smell of toasted coconut and ginger filling the air - until finally we get to taste the yummy gooey treat. It's sweeter than sweet can be and I cannot stop pinching pieces....We thank her for her time, leave with some of her famous home-grown pepper sauce and are on to our next adventure.

Mount Nevis pool and view. BLISS.

Jen of Jen there Done That and Ris of The Traveling Island Girl enjoying our breakfast to prep for a long day of fun.

A wander through the small town with highlight stops at the local Jewish Cemetary (very cool, very old) and the Clifton Estate Rum Shop (when in Rome!) leads us to the waterfront where we dine at the wonderfully eclectic Cafe des Arts. This is my kind of place. Open and breezy, casual and comfy. Signs and trinkets fill the space and the garden is abuzz with life and color. We take our seats under a wide sunbrella and enjoy our light lunch before the afternoon craziness: The Patterson Pub Crawl (to book call Patterson directly: 869-661-9184) starting at the famed Pinneys Beach. We are told there will be moonshine. I am equally excited and terrified.

Clifton Estate rum sampling. When in Rome, right?

Pub crawls haven't really been my "thing" since, oh I don't know, 2001, but when a guy like Patterson invites you on a tour of some of Nevis's local rum huts (read: off the beaten path), you don't say no. We meet Patterson at his super chic lounge and he immediately emanates charisma and charm. He's funny, friendly and boisterous and I know immediately this will be a fun afternoon. We zip from rum hut to rum hut, with Ris and I taking two shots of the local moonshine at each place (#islandgirls can hang). In some places it's called "bush tea", others "Hammon" but my favorite moniker is "monkey piss" for obvious reasons. This stuff is no joke and after four stops, the girls and I are giggly and loopy and feeling the love. Because everything in the Caribbean is an aphrodisiac.

Patterson's Place on Pinney's Beach. Loved it here.

Can you tell he's a charmer? The host with the most, and SO much fun.

One of our rum bar stops. Always greeted with smiles and shots. Could be worse! 

We head back to our hotel where we sober clean up. We are heading to the Yachtsman Grill for dinner. Right on the water and offering killer sunset views, the vibe is decidedly "yachty" (duh) and laid back; excellent for both couples and families. Lisa, the hostess, greets us with a huge smile and Jersey accent and we chat and laugh like we've known her forever. Her daughter, Chef Mary, is a young and inspiring chef who has recently taken over the kitchen and menu. She is unique and fresh, affable but with an edge, just like the amazing food she produces. Our dinner lingers on punctuated by occasional bursts of laughter and we toast the end of another amazing day.

The next day we are in for a real treat: an afternoon at the Four Seasons Resort. But first we view a few AirBnB properties to get a taste for what else is available here at a different price point. The stand out for sure are the Firefly Cottages which are the cutest, quaintest most fairytale-esque little one room cottages nestled deep in a jungle that SCREAM "honeymoon". I wanted to unpack my bags and move in forever to write a novel. If you are looking for a unique experience away from it all, definitely check these out.

Firefly cottage #1 of 2. They are sooooo adorable.

Vintage, eclectic, cozy and simple create the most magnificent ambience

Coziness abounds

One room cottage nestled in the rainforest, does this scream romantic getaway or not!? Swoon.

From there it was to the Four Seasons Resort. Having never been to a Four Seasons save the occasional wedding, I had no real idea what to expect as high end resorts are usually not my 'thing'. This place is INSANE. The grounds are expansive and gorgeous featuring an 18 hole golf course, private villas, manicured lawns and babbling brooks. We also had our first monkey sighting here! (SCORE!) We toured some absolutely incredible villas that rent for many thousands of dollars a night, as well as touring some rooms. Four Seasons Nevis lives up to it's world-wide reputation and every single aspect of this place - from the decor, to the food, to the (free!) kid's club - is top notch. Fellow islanders, it's definitely worth noting that they offer us a >>>CARIBBEAN RESIDENTS RATE <<< from May to December. I fully intend on using this in the future (TRAVEL TIP: it's also worth asking if other hotels offer such a rate as well!) 

Hi! I am in a 10K per night villa I have no business being in but it's fun!

The Four Seasons Resort in Nevis leaves no stone unturned. It is perfect in every conceivable way.

After a tour and an absolutely delicious lunch (fish tacos, FTW!) we were treated to a couple hours in our very own private beach cabana. Oh. My. God. We had bottle service, a selection of magazines, fresh baked treats, and our own luxe beach chairs with a beachy little tented living room to retreat in. Move over Beyonce! (Insert "z" snap) Feeling quite legit we kicked back with a bottle of prosecco and reveled in the magnificence of the ocean before us. The reggae rum cart rocked up just as we were packing up so we took a roadie. I honestly did NOT want to leave. But more fun was to be had...we had a sunset sail to catch.

Hanging out in front of our private beach cabana. Yeah, I could definitely get used to this!

You guys, when the Reggae Rum Cart calls, you answer! Thank you Four Seasons!

Still buzzing from the Four Seasons beach, we meet up with our hosts for the sunset sail, Leeward Islands Charter, and are welcomed aboard by Captain Lennox and first mate Stallone. Nicknames are part of the culture in Nevis, and with nicknames like that, we knew we were in for a good time. Stallone kept the rum punches flowing en masse, the tunes were jamming and before we knew it, we were full-on dancing like fools on the trampoline. Many, many boomerang videos were made and miraculously, no one fell overboard. This was for sure a highlight evening of Nevis and a sunset sail is a must-do if you visit this amazing place. A LOT of rum was consumed and the laughter was non-stop. We held down the "fun" button, hard.

This was basically us THE ENTIRE SAIL. Laughing, laughing, boomerang video, more laughing.

The next morning we were all feeling a bit worse for wear, but THERE WAS MORE TO SEE. The lovely Angelique whisked us up from our verandah breakfast where she deposited us with the Funky Monkey Tours - we were embarking on a three and a half hour tour that promised "beach and bush, resorts and ruins, and savannahs and rainforests" which is precisely what we got. It's hard to imagine this tiny island offering this much varied topography, but it does. Exploring in an open-air polaris was a great way to get off-road and feel the wind in our hair. This trip offered two highlights for me: my very own "horse whisperer moment" (you had to be there. I basically tamed a stallion.) and a trip to a natural healing hot spring.

You can just call me the "horse whisperer" this magnificent creature and I had a moment. I swear.

The volcanic-heated spring ranges between 104 and 108 degrees celcius and you must enter slowly. The pool promises to cure you of your aches and pains and while I have no such afflictions, I did feel incredibly relaxed and rejuvenated after soaking for the suggested time. We had a lovely conversation with a local women who's arthritis has been almost completely eradicated thanks to her daily 15 minute sessions. Aches and pains or not, this is a definite must-see on and a unique little experience uniquely Nevis (sadly not for kids, way too hot).

Of course the tour had to live up to it's name ("Funky Monkey Tours") and we were treated to a few monkey sightings which elicited squeals of delight. Unfortunately, however, we learned that the monkeys are a legitimate national issue here and are more or less despised by locals the way city dwellers loathe rats. While it feels almost unnatural to liken monkeys to vermin (they are SOOOOO cute) they are detested that much. They destroy farmers crops and multiply quickly. In fact, there are more monkeys than people here and when they migrate to the lowlands, they wreak havoc for the locals. While there are steps being taken to control them, getting rid of them is not an option either, as they are just another box on a long checklist of highlights that make Nevis special. Me? I love them and really, really wanted to snuggle one and take it home (shrugs).

The tour was so fun, getting off the beaten path was a great way to really see Nevis.

A trip to Nevis would not be complete without stopping at an old sugar plantation, right

Our day ended at the incredible Chrishi Beach Club in Cades Bay. Swanky, chic and a haunt for the local expats, this place reminded me of South Beach and St. Barts. Laid back and beachy with modern decor, contemporary food and great chillout music in the background, it feels very hip. Bubbles were in order for this lunch and we spent a few hours laughing and lounging, enjoying the beautiful scenery and company. Our last day was upon us, and in the morning our whirlwind tour of the little island that stole our hearts, would be over.

This is SO the kind of place you want to hang with your friends on a #sundayfunday and drink all the bubbles. We had a blast here.

Did someone mention bubbles? @Chrishie Beach Club

***

Nevis is an island that - even though it's technically part of St. Kitts and often mistaken as the "little sister" - stands alone. With her amazing people, her lush curvature and her sleepy authentic "island" vibe (no big box stores or chains here, they keep it quaint), she is, indeed, the island for the discerning traveler. Whatever your budget, there is something for you here. Nevis is for couples, families, yogis, thrill seekers and everything in between. Whether you are looking for off the beaten path adventure or a relaxing week being pampered on the beach, Nevis will ace it. And you will see monkeys. Lots of cute, little monkeys.

*Stay tuned for more specific posts on where to stay and what to do while in Nevis.

Update from the Blogosphere: How Island Life has Changed Us

I started this post about four weeks ago. It's funny how I always think that coming back to land for a visit will afford me more time to write. We are, after all, living with my mom and there are loads of sitters for me to use. However, it never quite works out like that and I really cannot put my finger on why. So, while the girls nap on this beautiful and sunny 80 degree day - I've popped over here to catch you up on a few things...

***

As you probably know by our >>>Facebook<<< and >>>Instagram<<< accounts, we are back stateside for a visit. It is wonderful and has been a nice change. It goes without saying that the proximity to friends and family is solid gold. It's also happens to be the best season to be here and the worst time to be there at the moment. Summer in the midwest is pretty clutch, and hurricane season in the Caribbean kind of sucks. The threat of nasty storms is imminent, it's hot as hell and things slow down considerably... Residents travel to places far and wide to stave off island fever and businesses close up for the summer or cut back hours. >>> Our business <<<, however, runs all year round which is why Scott stayed behind the first few weeks we were here to get our new staff up and running and focus on boat repair (both >>> our home boat <<< and our business boats needed a lot of work). After four weeks apart, he re-joined us for a well-deserved break.

The girls and I have been here almost two months now (Scott just nearly three weeks) and one fact has become glaringly clear: Island life has changed us. 

We are currently in the land of all. the. things. I could take the girls to any number of parks, pools, museums, events, indoor gymnasiums, theaters and splash pads. There are probably 100 places within a ten mile radius of us to fill our time. And while you'd think we'd come back and relish in all these activities that are not available to us back on Tortola, we - oddly enough - opt to spend most of our time in my mom's backyard, hanging with family and friends. We make mud pies, create obstacle courses, make fairy houses, and engage in the natural environment. Maybe I've set the "fun" bar really low, but some pots and pans with water in them can entertain our girls for HOURS. And - go ahead and call me lazy - if our kids are happy playing in the backyard, I'd certainly rather that than take them to an amusement park where I'm stressed, they're overstimulated, and sugar consumption is greatly amplified.

And this right here is the privilege of having a foot in both worlds: we get to fully enjoy the beauty of both land life and island life because the novelty of "different" doesn't quite wear off. For example, while - to some - the backyard might seem dull or boring (hence the desire for land parents to take their kids to other places for fun and stimulation which we would for sure do as well if we were full-time landlubbers), to our girls - it's a place of wonder, freedom and endless possibilities. And let me tell you, it is SO nice to be able to open the door and let our girls strip down and play in the water and mud without the threat of drowning. A beach might be a wonder to land-locked children, but to our girls this is a standard daily outing (one that, if I am to be honest, sometimes elicits whines of "Oh! Not the beach agaaain!"...I know -wince-, spoiled.) but the backyard? Complete with tire swing, room to run naked and a sprinkler? Now that is really something! It's wonderful to see our girls so wholly enjoying the simple pleasures I did as a child and the fact the backyard is easy, free and doesn't involve me having to pack a backpack of crap and loading and unloading three kids in a car? WIN.

Don't get me wrong...we have left the backyard from time to time...We've gone to pools and parks and friend's places, and we've done two trips to Northern Michigan where Scott's mom and stepdad live (side note: we are experts now at driving long distances with three kids! more on this to come...), and those trips were incredible. Aside from the fact that Michigan in the summer is absolute magic, seeing our girls genuinely form bonds with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is something that is important to us and a big focus on these visits home. The driving time also allowed for one on one conversation to happen between Scott and I, something that is a bit of a rarity back on our island where he works so much and where we often pass like ships in the night. During these long drives (over 28 hours in total, egad!) back and forth, Scott and I started mapping out dreams and schemes for far-off future adventures (squeee!) and we made some plans for a great year ahead on our boat with lots island hopping to nearby places and slightly longer getaways to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. The possibilities for the year ahead are exciting and now that the twins are a more manageable age (well, kind of) and we've got a solidly awesome team helping to run our business so that Scott doesn't need to be working until 1am every night, travel is on the horizon. This excites us to no end.

*** 

So I apologize for the lack of communication. It drives me nuts when I go dark on here for too long. But the creative juices are beginning to flow and I can feel the writer's block starting to lift...In the meantime, we're enjoying what I am calling a "slow" summer. One where we don't rush from one place to the next, where we don't feel the pressure to fill every day with something or someone new, and one where we  (try!) keep stress as low as possible (because, lets face it, chaos reigns in a home with three small kiddos in it!)  As such, we'll just keep living life in the slow lane. On "island" time, as it were.

Which, for now, happens to be in my mom's back yard.
Our own little island, away from our rock.

Beach, Please: On Playing Goldilocks, Island Style

It never ceases to amaze me how far away we can feel from it all on this island. Despite being a pretty primo travel destination with hundreds of thousands of people flocking here every year, the island remains deceivingly underdeveloped. We are big enough to get a decent haircut or a meal, but not too big that our streets are lined with big box stores or restaurant chains. This delicate balance of maintaining island "authenticity" and halting over-development is something that is pretty unique to the British Virgin Islands and is largely >>> why we chose this island <<< to settle on. Case in point: we can venture to to any number of absolutely pristine beaches - I'm talking jaw-droppingly beautiful shorelines that are the stuff magazine ads are made of - and more often than not we will find ourselves alone or with no more than a few others on a massive stretch of sand. No need to stake out a spot, pay for an umbrella and put down your blanket. The threat of anyone stealing your valuables while you swim is slim to none. And, no, you will not hear the Macarena blasting over a large speaker here... It's just you, me, and the sea, baby...

Mobile Home For the Win: Life on a Boat

When you have young kids in tow, travel can be tricky. Throw in a set of three year old twins who have no shortage of "spunk" and are a healthy dose of "feral", and it gets even tricker. Simply >>>flying back to my mom's<<< stateside with my three creates an angst in me of epic proportions, and despite living a slightly more "simplified" life than most landlubbers, we still end up with heap tons of crap. And this here is probably the number one reason I love living on a boat: We can travel in our home. All that crap comes with us.

Granted, it still can be challenging to travel with tots on a boat (I mean, it's a boat), but it's still our home and, well, it certainly doesn't get much easier than that as far as travel prep goes. No packing lists necessary. No worrying about forgetting lovies, sound machines or the special "baby socks" that for some unknown reason must be worn every. single. day. No need to try and pare down the absolute essentials of our lives in duffle bags and backpacks, or pack the perfect spectrum of snacks that can be both nourishing and still used as effective bribing tools. We just untie the lines and go. Everything we could ever want or need is right here in our very own floating home. #mobilehomeFTW

There are negatives, of course. Boats are kind of bitchy at times. They are money pits. They can be confining and cluttered. They break a lot, yadda yadda yadda... Then there are the personal constraints: we are not able to travel very far at the moment, nor do we travel very fast, or very much for that matter...this is dictated by choice, of course...our current situation as >>>business owners<<< and parents of three small children keeps us tethered close but no matter what, the potential is there and that alone provides a wellspring for possibility. So while the trips to Europe, Africa and South East Asia that I am scheming in my head will have to wait, it's perfectly okay because we don't need to go very far from our slip to feel worlds away. Being situated here in the >>>British Virgin Islands<<< means we are literally surrounded by amazing places to explore in every single direction. Some are a day or two away, some no more than an hour. 

This past weekend our neighbors (fellow live-aboards) asked if we wanted to sail over to Peter Island with them. My plan for the afternoon had been to do a massive purge of kids' clothes and toys (I am forever tweaking, minimizing, and organizing over here)...so when Scott broached the subject of a daysail with me; a night at anchor sounded much, much better. Within a few moments we were off the dock and underway. Yep, it was that quick and simple. Just untie the lines, raise the sails, and set our home free.

A Special Day in Trellis Bay: An Artist Community and A Magic Morning

We don't get to East End, home of the eccentric and eclectic Trellis Bay, often. For one thing, it's quite a drive - which I realize is laughable on an island that measures twelve miles by three - but as the car drives, it's a solid 30-40 minutes one way. With three little kids, and a mid-day nap that I will only forego for extremely special occasions - it's hard to justify an hour or more commute for an hour or two of fun. But when our friend, Cem (pronounced "Jem", like the jewel) invited us to see a special artist friend of his, I thought, "Why not!"

From Cruiser to Expat: On Fernweh and Putting Down Roots Abroad

The incredible experience that lead to this photo would never had happened if I wasn't a local.

There was an internet meme going around a while back that defined the word "fernweh" (n) which is the German word for "farsickness". According to Wikipedia it means: wanderlust, a desire for travel, a longing for far-off places.  I, along with many of my cruising comrades, have this. I cannot say exactly where this "fernweh" in me came from, but I know I had it from a very young age and I suspect it had something to do with being born to pretty adventurous parents. Throw in a well cultivated love of reading (the very best way to travel if you can't actually do so), a thirst for all things "different", and - POOF! - there I was, a child who wanted to see the world and would stop at nothing to do so.

From comparatively exotic family vacations to places like Belize, and fairly regular trips to England to visit my British family - my youth was peppered with the excitement of travel. I was privileged and lucky to experience these things and my parents were sure to remind me of this. As I got older, I literally worked for no other reason that to save money for travel. At eighteen I backpacked around Europe for five weeks, and as I entered my twenties I spent a semester abroad in Rome, Italy. I traveled, solo, around Southeast Asia and South America and while my shoe-string journeys were full of all the adjectives one could use to describe travel (amazing, beautiful, awe-inspiring, eye opening...etc. etc.), I always left wanting more... Not more stamps on my passport or patches for my pack, but...more...something intangible and out of reach. I wanted to feel like I belonged in those places I visited. To sit at the cafe and laugh at the jokes the locals were laughing at. To know the intricacies, the stories, the histories and the true color of a place. I wanted to know about the widowed lady who ran the bakery and the grumpy man who sold the papers outside the flower shop. I didn't want to be a person merely passing through. I wanted to be a local. And a few days to a few weeks in a place just doesn't get you there.

Enter...Africa.

No place in this world has held so much allure to me as East Africa. Growing up, I had read several books that were directly responsible for this blind love affair that began as an early teen, and in college (after reading several more books) I made up my mind that I was going to live there one day. I graduated from University and lived the boozed-up post collegiate city life and loved it. But Africa was always on my mind. After a few party-packed years of care-free fun and not much to show on my resume, I knew I needed a change. A nasty break up with a not so-great-(for me)-boyfriend seemed as good a catalyst as any, and I quit my lucrative yet dead-end waitressing job in the city and signed up for a three month volunteer stint in Tanzania.

I came back three years later.

This experience, way too rich and bohemian to describe in a single blog post, was my first experience as an expat.  It was the most incredible, storied, and adventuresome period of my life thus far and there is no way I would have had even a sliver of the experiences I had if I'd only visited for a few weeks.

***

Which brings us to now. We are expats. We've >>>put down roots here in the British Virgin Islands<<<. And while being an island-dwelling (live-aboard) expat and being a cruiser have quite a few similarities, this is a significant deviation from the suspected plot-line of our well documented story in which we had cast ourselves as roving sea gypsies.

While there are certainly aspects of cruising that I miss; the countless nights at anchor, the freedom of coming and going, seeing the sun rise on the ocean and the excitement of a new landfall - for me, being an expat is, in many ways, more fulfilling.

While we were cruising, we would only scratch the surface of a place. We'd visit a few beaches and towns near the anchorage. We'd visit a restaurant or two and maybe get friendly with a market vendor during our time, but knowing that we'd be leaving in a few day's or a few week's time meant our understanding of a place was always limited. Don't get me wrong, you can (and will!) have incredible cross-cultural experiences as a cruiser but they will be different to those you have as an expat. As an expat, we are certainly not acquiring as many passport stamps, but the experiences we are living have that much more depth.

So what do I love most about expatriate living?

Getting to Know A Place

For one, we have a car at our disposal which means getting off the beaten path and exploring farther afield is that much more feasible. We've lived here for about a year in total and we've only just begun to see what this place has to offer. Part of this slow learning curve is due to the fact that a busy work schedule and a gaggle of girls limits us significantly, but it's also due to the fact that it takes a long time to really get to know a place. We are now getting to know customs (for example, here you always say, "Good Morning" or "Good afternoon" when walking into a place of business or a store, not doing so is considered rude) and the inner-workings of island life (like how to deal with island time, the 'powers that be' and general island bureaucracy.) We still have a lot to learn, but time is an expats greatest teacher. In my experience, it takes at least six months to really sink your teeth into a place...

Cultural Diversity

While the "melting pot" of America is certainly diverse, where I grew up you would need to go to great lengths to not only see that diversity, but interact with it on a daily basis. If Isla was living in my hometown (which, I might add, is a wonderful place!), odds are she'd be in pre-school with no children of color, and seeing a rainbow of ethnicities would be reserved for trips to the city. Here, she is the minority. We interact every day with children and adults from all over the world, and - as a parent - this is very important to me, and a huge bonus of expatriate life.  We certainly got this perk from cruising as well, but instead of playing for a single afternoon, or sharing one single conversation or sundowner on the beach, we are forging more consistent relationships with people from all over the globe. Our girls have a steady group of little friends, which I think is important for them at this age.

Like Minded People

Expatriates, I learned first in my experience in Tanzania and am learning again here, are a different breed of folk. As with cruising, it takes a certain type of person to up and move from their homeland to somewhere foreign. Forming friendships with other expats is usually pretty easy - people who want to live abroad tend to be more open-minded, accepting, and cut from a similar cloth. We are all a dose of hedonist mixed with a pinch of crazy. While the expatriate community is transient, the coming and going of so many interesting people in your life can be very stimulating and inspiring. While the relationships you make might not be as longstanding as, say, a childhood friend, they carry a different kind of depth and connection that is equally fulfilling in a whole new way. Stronger relationships are forged in a shorter amount of time, which is the same with cruising, except with our fellow expat friends we're not saying "goodbye" nearly as much, which is a nice change.

Adaptability

As with cruising, living as an expat requires a good amount of adaptability. Things don't work like they do back home and island life takes more effort in general. You learn to get by with what's available or improvise. Because of the comparative lack of resources you will, in general, be much more inventive with what you do have. Furthermore, making an effort to integrate yourself into another culture, and not simply acting as an observer, will force you out of your comfort zone and show you the importance of being flexible, open-minded, and accepting.

Adventure Every Day

I've already written about the fact that >>>island life is not for everyone<<< and is by no means utopia. But if you are the kind of person who can find beauty in the mundane, laugh at the absurd, and stop and smell the roses, this life is full of excitement - it's all about your perspective. For example, one quick run into town as a family turned into a full morning out when we decided to take our car to the pop-up car wash. Sure, they took over an hour and a half to get our car cleaned, but instead of being annoyed, I chose to find the beauty in it. The car wash was basically a street party; loud speakers blasting music, friends washing cars while shaking their hips to the beat, and a giant water truck providing the means to clean...it was an event! I ended up doing a little photo shoot and it was so fun to embrace this experience as something we'd never have back home. Perspective.

Stability

While there was a time in my life I would scoff at the notion of stability, as a mom of three little ones, I embrace it. I love that our girls have a little consistency in their lives.  They love our "neighborhood" of Nanny Cay and the community we live in is a HUGE reason why we chose Tortola as home. We have wonderful friends and neighbors and a few days before we left a taxi driver told my mom, 'We love those kids. That family is very good to us and we watch after those girls. All of us here love them and look out for them." He then told her he was going to taxi us to the airport, for free, as a gift (turns out Scott got off work so he could take us, but still...) I nearly cried when I heard that. Aside from the sense of community, being in one place means we have some nice land-lubbing liberties that were not available to us when cruising... Very soon the girls will be going to a little preschool a couple days a week to give mommy a break and to give them a chance to experience a slice of life away from my hip (which, for the record, they've never been away from their entire lives!) I'm excited about this for all of us.

***

Do we miss cruising? Of course. It's an incredible lifestyle and one that we have plans to return to one day. But I love expat life just as much and in a different way. Luckily for us, we chose to live in one of the >>>most popular cruising destinations in the world<<<, so there are many similarities between the lifestyles and elements that still remain the same. Do I still suffer from fernweh? Yep. Do I long to travel freely and experience new and different places? For sure. Will we do everything in our power to show our girls as much of the world as we can? You betcha. But this period of our lives, the one where one day we will be able too look back and talk about the time we lived in the British Virgin Islands? It's pretty incredible too.

“What makes expat life so addictive is that every boring or mundane activity you experience at home (like grocery shopping, commuting to work or picking up the dry cleaning) is, when you move to a foreign country, suddenly transformed into an exciting adventure. Try finding peanut butter in a Japanese grocery story or explaining in broken Spanish to the Guatemalan pharmacy that you need cough drops and you’ll understand. When abroad, boredom, routine and ‘normal’ cease to exist. And all that’s left is the thrill and challenge of uncertainty.” 

 – Reannon Muth

Big Coincidences on a Little Island: A "Small World" Story and Beach Bum Dream

The other night, I was sitting at the beach bar with one of my girlfriends having an interesting discussion about books we're reading and such (I recently just binged on all of Francesca Marciano's books, if you are curious), when I spied another girl across the bar. I had seen her before and knew she lived on-island. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I chalked it up to small-island life and left it at that.

I continued chatting with my friend and casually mentioned something about Chicago when all of a sudden the girl across the bar perks up and says, "Did you go to Loyola University and live in Mertz Hall?" Astonished at the mention of these far off places from my past, I looked up. With a mix of shock, confusion and anticipation I replied, "I did!" She busted out laughing and with a huge smile said, "I knew it was you!!!" banging her fist on the bar to punctuate being spot-on. Her smile showed her pride in finally solving the mystery of vague familiarity that we both had been pondering. "I lived in Mertz Hall too! We went to college together!" I immediately went over to her side of the bar and mentioned how she had looked so familiar to me each time I saw her. Of course, we laughed and hugged. When you make such an odd connection in such an unlikely place, there is really nothing else to do.

We got to chatting. While we didn't hang out together in college, we met once at a house party and she said she never forgot that I told her I always wanted to live on a beach and be a beach bum (which at the time she thought was very strange and impractical, and I must admit - seems highly unambitious for a college student). What's even more strangely coincidental (and pretty incredible!) is that we both lived in Africa for three years after college during the exact same period. What are the odds of that? She in West Africa (Ghana), me in East Africa (Tanzania). And now, we both live on the amazing little island of Tortola. It's come full circle. Wild.

So...Here's to small-world connections and collegiate dreams of being a beach bum in the islands coming to fruition! 

It's a small world, but we run in big circles.
- Sasha Azevedo

(I previously shared this story on our Facebook Page and it got such a great response, I thought I'd transpose it here as well. Hope you enjoyed!)

Flying with Toddlers? Our Tips and Tricks to Make the Skies Friendlier

Air travel with little kids can be stressful. I have flown solo with one child probably eight times and have flown with three toddlers, two of whom are lap children, twice (with the help of my mom). I am about to embark on this endeavor a third time despite the fact that I still have a post-traumatic stress from the last time. What I have learned thus far is that traveling with one child is relatively easy and traveling with three is exponentially harder. I have also learned that it gets infinitely easier the older a child gets (for example, Isla, our three year old is a piece of cake. Our twenty month old twins? Notsomuch). Flying with three kids age three and under is no small feat but I am here to tell you it can be done and with some strategic planning, it can even go kind of smoothly. I am going to share my tips and tricks with you in the hopes that I save a few gray hairs from sprouting on a fellow momma's head.

Tips for Flying with Toddlers

1. Pack and Prepare EARLY. I am a little nutso about preparation, and maybe with fewer and/or older kids you can be more "fly by the seat of your pants" about things. But me? I go through our travel day in my head like Tom Brady prepping for a Super Bowl. I envision every possible scenario from illness to blowouts, from hold ups to cancellations. I make a spreadsheet packing list well before we leave, strategically pack our diaper bag with everything we might need and try to be 98% packed at least 24 hours before we depart.  

   

   This is a spreadsheet/checklist that comes with Apple Pages (Mac's version of Word). Super simple.
2. Baby wearing is your friend. I am a huge advocate of baby wearing. Whenever I see a mom struggling in the airport (or grocery store, or bank or anywhere) holding her young child/infant while wrestling for something else, I want to reach out and say, "Honey, there's an easier way!" Baby wearing is it. We bring our two Ergo Carriers for the twins, and it's much easier to throw them on our backs when we check the travel stroller. Most infants also sleep really well in carriers, so they are great for smaller lap babies when in flight. 
3. Invest in a great travel stroller. This right here is what I am MOST excited about right now. We have an amazing double stroller to get our girls around the airports that is only slightly larger and heavier than a SINGLE umbrella stroller. Our Kinderwagon Hop is the bomb. It can be checked at the gate (at which point we 'wear' the twins) and will make getting from gate to gate and killing time during our layover much easier. When I travelled solo with our first, I learned that a baby carrier was amazing, but when we were delayed for over ten hours, I WISHED I had a small stroller to push her around in as well.

   

   Kind of crazy about this stroller. 

4. Pay to check the bags. Just do it. Three kids and schlepping around your stuff? Insane.
5. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. Food is your friend and when all else fails, a yummy snack will distract a child for a bit. They key is in EASY snacks, things that your little ones can hold and feed themselves. We have snack traps that we fill with cheerios or goldfish. We bring lots of "goo goos" (food pouches) and graham crackers are in our diaper bag. A few special "sweet" treats (organic fruit snacks) are also good in a pinch.
6. Travel with children's dramamine. This could get me in trouble, but a little dose of children's Dramamine (for Isla 1/2 pill, for twins, 1/3) will knock your kids out cold. Sleeping children are quiet children and this little trick (that I learned myself just from sailing with the kiddos) works wonders for me. How long they will sleep all depends, but it will definitely chill them out. Melatonin will also work. (Note: I am not a doctor, please do your own research regarding drugging your children.)
7. Invest in toys that will only be seen on the plane. If it's new, it will capture your child's attention, period. I bought a few new toys for the girls that will be big surprises when the "old" toys we have handy lose their luster. Hit up Target, the dollar store, wherever - but a few new things will certainly distract the littles.
   
8. Travel with a spare set of clothes for each child. Most moms already know this trick, but it bears repeating. I will never forget the time I was flying home from St. Lucia with Isla. The taxi to the aiport was a solid hour of crazy island roads and driving and immediately when our taxi stopped in front of the airport, she vomited all over me and herself. I was grateful that I a) had layered and b) had a whole new outfit for her.
9. Bring a few gallon size ziplock bags. These will be helpful in the aforementioned scenario and for diapers. 
10. Enlist help if possible. I would feel confident (but not excited about) flying alone with my three girls when they are age three and over, but right now? Hell no. I am so lucky that my mom (a travel agent) usually flies with us and her extra set of hands has saved our day and my sanity more than once!
11. Don't over-do it. Try not to overpack or bring too much gear in your carry on/diaper-bag because don't forget, there's not much room to get to all that stuff when it's jammed underneath you (or, worse! in the overhead compartment) and you have a baby on your lap. Try to be strategic about what you bring.

    

    We have always (knock on wood!) been lucky with amazing flight neighbors who love the girls.

12. Burn energy at the gate. All kids are different and for two of my three, sitting still on an airplane is not that hard. But our Haven is a game-changer. She is a tornado - full of energy, smiles and noise. We try to let her loose when we can to burn off energy so she's not wanting to do it on the plane.
13. Board as late as possible. "I can't believe they don't let mothers and kids board first anymore!" one mom lamented during our last flight. Me? I wait as long as possible to board because every minute that I don't have to try to restrain my kids sitting in an airplane is one more minute that they are better behaved en-route!
14. Take a deep breath. No matter how experienced or prepared you are, traveling with toddlers can be stressful. Flights get delayed, kids get fussy, illness strikes and bags get lost. Take a deep breath and try to be mindful of the fact that you will probably never see any of the people around you again. "This too, shall pass."

The gear we're rolling with:

1. Ergobaby Performance Carrier - I have tried many baby carriers and love them all for different reasons, but this carrier is our go-to. Great for bigger babies/toddlers and easy to get on and off. In a pinch, I can easily wear both my twins in these; one on front, one on back.
2. Kinderwagon Hop Tandem Umbrella Stroller - this stroller is amazing. Light, compact and sturdy - I am seriously so excited to have it I cannot even begin to tell you. Perfect for traveling parents.
3. Ubbi Tweat Snack Container - I love these snack traps, mainly because they have a lid so you don't end up with a bunch of cheerios in the bottom of your bag when the kids aren't using them.
4. Kickee Pants Baby Girls' Pajama Set - I am kind of obsessed with this brand of kid's cloths. It's made from bamboo which not only makes it crazy soft, but they are also very thin and pack super small. Our girls travel in Kickee's and we have a spare set in the diaper bag just in case.
5. Melissa and Doug Water Wow's - These are a fantastic travel toy. The pen fills easily with water and after a child colors the pages, they dry and can be used over, and over, and over. Mess free!
6. VTech Touch and Swipe Baby Phone - because all kids are obsessed with phones. (This is one of the 'surprise' toys)
7. VTech Click and Count Remote - because all kids are obsessed with remotes. (This is another 'surprise' toy)
8. Fisher-Price Smart Stages Tablet - another engaging toy that is simple, entertaining and a (little bit) educational.
9. Children's Dramamine - to take the edge off ;)
10. Sailor Bags Back Pack - Every time we fly, this bag is our carry on of choice. Enough room to carry all the baby gear and then some, but not so big to be cumbersome.
11. Mini Look and Find Books - these little travel books were recommended to me by a fellow twin mom. Lots of things to "look and find" in the pages to help keep older toddlers engaged.
12. LilGadgets Children's Headphones - ear buds just don't really work for little kids and now Isla can listen to the games on our iPad or watch a movie comfortably. (This is Isla's "surprise" inspired by my friend, Genevieve, who got something similar for her daughters pre-flight)
13. Melissa & Doug ColorBlast Mess-Free Books - another great travel toy, mess free coloring.
14. Apple iPad Tablet with BUDDIBOX® Case - the iPad comes with us because we have loaded it with educational games with Isla. The buddiebox keeps it safe and easy for her to hold.

We also travel with a mini medical kit containing: Similisan ear drops (for ear aches and ear pressure relief), Children's Motrin, Children's Tylenol, a thermometer, Vicks Vapo Rub and bandaids. We also travel with other incidentals like: antibacterial hand spray, diapers, wipes, and pacifiers.

I hope this is helpful! If anyone else have any tried and true tricks and tips for successful air travel with toddlers, please share in the comments!

Our Sailor Bags Square Duffels all ready to go!