| Virgin Gorda
It is said that upon seeing what is now called, “Virgin Gorda Island” in the Caribbean, Christopher Columbus, weary from his travel and possibly pining for the company of a woman, declared the island looked like a “pregnant virgin.” This image shifted a bit into “Fat Virgin,” or “Virgin Gorda” in Spanish, and so the name stuck. As the boat from the airport sped towards Biras Creek, I looked up at
the way the ridgelines rose and fell – the shape suggested the curves of
a woman’s body, but I had trouble making out specific body parts.
However she lay, the width of the island became narrower and narrower as
we approached the north side. We approached an inlet, looking
as if it flowed far back into the folds of the Virgin Gorda’s negligee
hemline, and I strained my eyes to see the Biras Resort at the end of the
long dock. All that was visible was the roof of a majestic and large
fortress nestled on the hilltop.
 Our captain helped us off the dock, and Tiffany, one of the general assistants, met us with a golf cart. “Welcome to Biras Creek!” she said, as she helped us into the cart. “I’m going to give you a tour of the island before I take you to your room.” My stomach grumbled and I looked at Max’s watch. 3:00 in the afternoon,
and I still hadn’t had lunch. I was famished, and dreaded negotiating
a bite from the kitchen, but my stomach rumbled again and asked, “is there
any way we could get a bite to eat before dinner?” She thought a
minute and said, “well, you have three options: we serve afternoon tea
in the Arawak room at three. There is a small trail leading you over
to the Bitter End Resort which has a few places to eat over there, and
even a small grocery store. Or right over there at the edge of the
bay, there is a local restaurant not owned by the resort, ‘The Fat Virgin;’
I highly recommend eating there once during your stay – it has all sorts
of sandwiches, conch fritters, and reasonably priced beer.” I relaxed
a bit. Biras seemed so far away from everything – it’s only accessible
by boat – and yet we had several options to get an afternoon snack.
We were soon to learn that Biras Creek offers multiple options and opportunities
for dining, adventures, and sunny spots to relax in.
 Tiffany sped us around the property, and gave an overview of the three separate bays that make up the Biras Creek Resort: Berchers bay on the eastern (windward) side of the island, Deep Bay, at the northern side of the island, and Biras Creek at the western (leeward) side of the island. The Biras Creek Resort spans the narrow isthmus between these three bays – about a half a mile east to west and a mile north to south. These three private bays, and the two peaks overlooking these three bays, form the heart of Biras Creek Resort. We start with describing the geography of Biras Creek because it is the geography itself that influences the experience here – from the breathtaking vistas to the various modes of travel to get across and beyond the resort area. A Caribbean Manor house Honestly, Biras feels less of a resort, and more like a sprawling Caribbean Manor house, with three bays and two peaks forming the edges of the manor’s “estate.” Biras’ rooms are connected by winding and curving sandy hallways, overgrown with tall sea grapes, red tufted turks head cacti,  and
overgrown mangroves. The manor’s rooms include 33 duplex cottages,
some at the edge of Bercher’s bay and others slightly more inland, overlooking
rustling trees and comfortable hammocks. These rooms are connected
via meandering trails leading up a hill to several open air “great rooms,”
including a dining hall with two wings, each overlooking a different bay:
Bercher’s bay to the southeast, and Biras Creek in the North Sound to the
west. There is also a billiard’s room with a full size snooker table,
a sitting room where afternoon tea is served, a small game player’s nook,
an outdoor terrace, and a fresh water swimming pool. These main rooms
are a short walk up a gently sloping hill from the guest cottages.
Bercher’s bay Bercher’s Bay is really part of the Atlantic Ocean, and so is a bit
“wilder” and more turbulent than the other, more protected bays.
Most of the cottages either overlook Bercher’s Bay or are within hearing
distance of the bay.
 Because the currents can be strong in on this side of the resort, it’s safer to take a dip in Biras’ inviting pool. During dinner, you can choose to overlook Bercher’s or Biras Creek. Rooms
One of the interesting things about our room location was forested maze of pathways that led from the tennis court area over to our cottage. I don’t think we ever took the same pathway twice back to our cottage, and yet somehow, we always managed to end up at our cottage. Dinner
Sunday night, we sat at a corner table of the bar so that we could see both Bercher’s bay and Biras Creek from our perch. Sam, one of the watersports instructors whom we had been watching zip back and forth on a windsurfer in Deep Bay just an hour ago, appeared in a tropical shirt and with a tray of fried oysters. I dipped mine in a tangy tropical salsa, and sipped my frosty frozen Bushwhacker, a blend of kaluha, coconut, rum, and other flavors topped with fresh nutmeg.
In between dinner and dessert, I grazed on a few cheeses and a glass of complementary port – this small course helped my palette shift to the sweeter things to come. For dessert, I savored a chocolate torte that was more like a flourless
chocolate cake – intense and not too sweet chocolate with a sublime creamy
texture. Garnishing the torte, caramelized bananas topped a dollop
of ice cream.
 Dinner at Biras is always this elegant and multi-layered. We found eating by the terrace to be very romantic and intimate. Many couples who met during their daily adventures chose to eat dinner together, and for those that want simpler fare, Biras offers $20 vouchers to the Fat Virgin for dinner. Because everything has to be shipped into the island, most meats are frozen. Knowing this, and being from Boston where we enjoy eating freshly caught fish, we preferred eating the “land” meats which keep their texture better than fish after freezing: poultry, pork, beef, and lamb. Breakfast and Lunch We always enjoyed breakfast, where we could choose fresh fruits, home
made muesli, and freshly baked breads from the buffet, or we could order
hot breakfasts from the kitchen. Hot breakfasts were served in a
British style, with grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans served
on the side of the main dish. For lunch, we could either eat on the terrace
or ask for a picnic lunch to take out on the Boston whaler boat.
 Corinne: In the morning, Max and I chose to ride our bikes to Deep Bay – the bike ride was mostly flat and fairly short (less than a ½ mile). We packed our gear in the front wicker baskets of our bikes, and set out several times to lounge on the sandy beach. Here, there are bathrooms, beach towels, an outdoor gazebo and bar, and all sorts of water toys to play with: sailboats (lasers, sunfishes, catamarans, and windsurfers), and kayaks (one and two person). If we had any questions about using the equipment, a general assistant was there to answer questions or to provide instruction. There is also a private hut to the north of the beach where guests can enjoy a beachside massages. Max: We thought that the bike ride was the perfect amount of exercise to rationalize lounging underneath the palm trees or the numerous cabanas along the beach. Since the bay faces the windward side of the island, we could always count on a constant breeze, even underneath the hot Caribbean sun. And if the breeze didn’t cool us off, we could amble over to the beach bar for one of the many frozen drinks. Corinne: Before lunch, we took a kayak out to get a closer look at the
mangroves with their red spindly roots outstretching into the water, growing
on either side of the bay. The mangroves provide a nursery of sorts
for all sorts of fish and sea life.
 The kayak trip itself was very relaxing – listening to the lapping of the waves, calls from several different birds hidden in the trees, and the trees themselves moaning as the wind blew them against each other. We saw some very large conchs (they come to inlet bays to mate), jellyfish polyps, and numerous juvenile fish. A few upside down jellyfish were along the edges of the mangrove, looking ready to strike at unsuspecting fish darting along the roots of the mangrove. After we pulled our gear back in, we joined the rest of the guests under the gazebo for lunch – an assortment of salads, cheeses served on seagrape leaf “plates,” and succulent pieces of grilled fish, beef, or veal. We sat along the edge of the gazebo, enjoying the breeze from the bay. Biras Creek and beyond. Biras Creek is not actually a creek, but apparently looked enough like the ocean’s mouth of a freshwater river that geographers anointed it with the name. It is from the creek side that guests can seek out adventures in the North Sound. Our adventures included diving the dog islands, escaping on our own private Boston whaler in search of the perfect beach, afternoon appetizers at the Fat Virgin and the Bitter End. SCUBA Diving
Max: Biras offers two diving operators,
Dive BVI and Kilbrides Sunchaser for guests interested in diving.
Both operators conveniently pick you up at the Biras dock for two tank
morning dives or one tank afternoon dives.
 Kilbrides Sunchaser offers faster boats geared towards beginning group divers and runs a very efficient operation that gets you to the dive site, in the water, and back onto the boat. Dive BVI offers more personalized service on smaller boats, and is geared towards slightly more advanced divers. Dive BVI would try to find different dive sites, geared towards the skill level of those on the boat. On Tuesdays, Dive BVI provides a complimentary resort diving experience at the Biras pool followed by a shallow water coral reef dive. While Corinne and I recommend the full certification class for potential divers, the pool immersion may be a good initial introduction for some to the world of scuba with out committing to a full certification. The BVI doesn’t have extremely difficult or deep dives -- none of our dives went below 70 feet. We had some current on a few dive sites, but nothing horrible. All of our dives were interesting; some of the them were amazing. The geology – the underwater gullies, cut-throughs, grottos, arches, and undercuts – offered some spectacular diving experiences. Diving with Dive BVI Corinne: We really enjoyed diving with Dive BVI. We dove
with two dive-masters, Tudor and Kevin. They were both extremely
laid back and very knowledgeable about the reef. We really liked
the way Dive BVI tailored to our needs as more advanced divers. On
one afternoon, we were joined by two inexperienced divers who had taken
a resort course in the morning. While we shared a boat ride to the
site, we dove completely separately from the other party with our own dive
master.
At the Mountain Point dive site, we followed Kevin along the contours of the underwater point off of Virgin Gorda. Starting from the boat we went through an underwater ravine at 15 feet that opened to a drop-off at the other side. At the bottom of the drop-off, at 70 feet, we found ourselves along the sandy bottom of the boating channel. With boat traffic above us, we looked for the underwater traffic below. At this dive site, Kevin mentioned that turtles, rays, and sharks all passed in the underwater channel on their way in and out of the North Sound. While waiting to see what would swim by, we followed the tracks of conchs along the sandy bottom. The tracks seemed to magically appear in the middle of the sand. I wondered: had yesterdays’ tracks been wiped clean, or had they been ingloriously dropped to the middle of the channel? Before long, we came across a large southern stingray resting on the sand. Patiently, it tolerated our petting of one of its wings. As we came around the point, groups of parrotfish and amber jacks buzzed by, too busy to pay attention to three bubbling bodies. At the shallows where the rock formations dominate, sergeant majors zealously guarded their purple patches of eggs. Each sergeant major would chase away any fish or diver approaching their zone. Since we still had air in our tanks at this point, Kevin took us through another cut in the point. We followed him underneath an underwater arch that took us into more underwater gullies and ravines. Some ravines contained sun-warmed water, and while others felt like cold water plunges. Beyond a second arch we were treated to a sun-filled basin no more than 15 fifteen feet in depth. Looking towards the surface, we could see waves breaking on the rocks above us. After an hour of diving, we were ready to head back to the boat, more importantly we needed some time to absorb the dizzying array of formations and terrain changes all on this dive. Corinne: What was most spectacular about these underwater gullies and canyons were the vibrant colors of the sponges and corals – lobster red, bright orange, vibrant yellow, shades of greens and purples – encrusted on the rocks. The canyons themselves provided breathtaking underwater vistas: the outlines of underwater canyons reached up to the surface, their brilliantly colored walls spotlighted by rays of sun streaming into the depths. The geography of these canyons extended to the surface at Mountain Rock and the Flintstones, and the vistas transmuted into dusty reds and grays up onto the surface. Knowing this transition takes place, seeing rocky formations at island edges has begun to spark my imagination, and I often wonder: what would this canyon look like if submerged for 50 years under the Caribbean Sea? Boston Whalers
Corinne: The small motorboat rocked gently as we stepped on board
and cushioned our seats with the life preservers. Arnud, one of the
Biras Creek staff members, patiently went over how to drive the boat, and
more importantly, how to stop the boat if we needed to. After a quick
test spin, we dropped him back off at the dock and headed off into the
bay in search of the perfect private beach. After being pampered
during the week at the resort, it was refreshing to leave Biras, our familiar
island paradise, if only for the morning.
 We drove around the outskirts of Virgin Gorda, passing the bustle of small dinghies moving back and forth between moored sailboats and the Bitter End resort, the terrace of a long restaurant and rooms sprouting out of the very small Saba Rock, and the green and brown bend of Prickly Pear Island. We curved south back into Deep Bay to get a different view of Biras’ activity beach. There was supposed to be good snorkeling at the edge of Deep Bay, but we didn’t see an inviting sandy beach, and so turned back around found our way to a white sand beach on Prickly Pear Island. The only evidence of life on the beach was a small baby goat that quickly scrambled up some rocks and out of view once the hum of the whaler got close. We beached our boat, cast an anchor deep in the sand, and headed out for a short snorkel.  Along the main part of the beach was a lawn of turtle grass with some interesting critters – starfish, conchs, schools of bait fish. The best snorkeling, however, was along the rocky edges of the beach. We swam up towards the northern side of the beach and began to see more reef-like fauna – sea fans, soft and hard corals, and smaller reef fish that darted in  and
out of rocky formations. Small wrasses, juvenile butterfly fish,
squirrel fish, and even a small, shy drum flirted in and out of a small
overhang. A number of wrasses had made small communities from abandoned
conch shells that dotted the turtle grass. Each rock or small formation,
it seemed, brought new surprises, and Max waved me over to remind me that
we were snorkeling a bit far from the boat, and that the current was slowly
drawing us away from the island. We slowly made our way back to the
north end of the beach and leisurely walked back to the boat. It
was a perfect little beach, it seemed to be made just for us, at least
for a few hours.
On Snorkeling: While Biras offers guided snorkel trips, for the more adventuresome, we would recommend just taking out the whalers for the afternoon. The mangrove swamps along the edge of Deep Bay are great for snorkeling, if you have the tolerance for a little muck and the occasional upside down jellyfish. On longer trips from the island: Several other guests at the resort arranged to explore other areas of Virgin Gorda – if you haven’t already been to the Baths, they are definitely worth a trip (see our review of Peter Island). Another couple arranged to have a sunset dinner on a sailboat, which sounded very romantic and heavenly. There is always a staff member around at breakfast who can help you set up longer trips off the resort, either through ferries, boat rides, or car rentals. Dining excursions
Trails within the estate
 As we ascended the trail, we passed numerous varieties of cacti ranging from short cactus sized just right for the arch of someone’s foot, short stubby cactus with a maroon like tall cap on it (turk’s head), and tall lanky cacti that I had to be careful not to grab thinking it was a tree. We also passed by a variety of different plants in every shade of green imaginable. The closer to the top we got, the more arid and dry the land, and the more  succulent
it seemed the plants became. At the very top of the hill, we came
across a lost hermit crab. At least it seemed lost – as I picked
it up to look at it’s large red pincers in it’s undersized shell, (and
panting from the forty minute trek up the hill) it made me wonder how this
little hermit crab – truly a “hermit” from the other crabs – got up the
mountain. What a feat! It would take weeks, months of patient
climbing and…Max interrupted my reverie and said, “some sea gull must have
picked it up and dropped it up here…” as he said this, the crab promptly
pinched my hand and following Max’s surmised gull story, the crab dropped
again to the sand at the top of the hill. We gave it some water,
wished it well, and continued on our way.
 Max: Under the right light conditions, the vantages along the trail provide those postcard picture shots to drool over. The “F” trail crests the main hill separating Biras Creek from the rest of Virgin Gorda. From the top of the hill at Alvin’s Height, we had an amazing view of the entire North Sound. 
 We could see Mosquito Island, Necker Island, and in the distance the Dog islands. The trail is steep in some parts, and we were grateful that we had wisely decided to wear our sneakers and to bring a bottle of water. It took us 90 minutes to complete the sixty minute trail, but we stopped for numerous camera shots and rest breaks. By the time we got back for breakfast, we were ready for a hearty Caribbean breakfast.  A hidden resort with a lot of opportunities Staying at Biras Creek, we got the feeling of being at a remote, private resort, and yet we also had the option of venturing out to other Caribbean spots in the North Sound area. It was a great place for us to be active – learning how to sail a sunfish, scuba diving, hiking, and exploring with our Boston whaler. If we weren’t sure what to do or were wondering about a particular trip or activity, there was always a friendly staff member in the bar area at breakfast to give us suggestions and to help us plan our days. And yet despite all the options for activities and off resort adventures, we also found time to relax on our private veranda and watch the surf roll in. We hope to return again to this elegant yet rustic outdoor “manor” house perched in the center of three beautiful Caribbean bays. |
For
dinner, we sat on the veranda overlooking the sunset over Biras Creek.
To start, I had a five spice duck breast salad with a sweet beetroot vinaigrette.
The dish had a good balance of sweet and savory flavors. The chicken
fricassee melted in my mouth – tender bites of chicken braised in a wine
butter sauce. I could just make out carrots, onions, and mushrooms
that had been pureed in the sauce, and narrow strips of roasted onions
and snowpeas topped the dish. It had a familiar home cooking taste
– comfort food – but with an elegant twist. Yum. The bread,
as always, was freshly baked and hot. My favorite was an herbed yeast
roll smeared with creamy European butter.
At
the Biras Creek dock, we caught morning and afternoon boats to dive sites.
The dock itself is an interesting place to hang out. There were lots
of small fish that darted in and out of the rocks and corals: bright
blue damsels, purple and yellow wrasses, and numerous other smaller fish
that were harder to make out. Two resident baby barracuda lurked along
the shoreline, hoping some unfortunate small fish would stray from the
school. Diving pelicans also hunted for small fish (and we suspected
would gleefully eat one of the barracuda if one ventured too far into the
bay). An occasional stingray flew along the edge of the dock.
