"Let's go hiking" I said. "Over there. Up there. Somewhere..." I said as I waved my fingers up, that-a-way.
"Where? UP there?? Where Pigs Fly?? " replied Dave. (Or did he mean to say "When Pigs Fly" ??)

****

Even though it wasn't Hash-a-Saturday, and even though my honey was a bit recalcitrant, we both felt the need to get off the boat and get a-going and a-walking. The road out of Leverick Bay Resort would eventually have to lead us somewhere... right?

Some Googling later, and we found out that this island we were anchored beside, boasts a tall (a little under 1400 feet) peak in Virgin Gorda National Park, purported to have a platform for viewing the breath-taking panorama.

"Way up there?" asked Dave. "Are you sure... looks kinda high?"
"Who knows..." I said, "we might reach Heaven?" I teased him.

And so with sneakers on, and armed with plenty of water, we dinghied ashore and headed for the main road,



followed it up and around the resort villa's.



On a walk to see where the road leads, following the thorny bits we went.



As with all Caribbean Island roads, the road to anywhere goes uphill. We followed it for awhile, admiring our surroundings,



and thankful that the local authorities were nowhere to be found.



Life got seriously UPHILL very fast,



and we did this up and up type of walk for a very long time. All time is long when you're going up and up and up, and you have no idea where you're going. We'd stop to notice interesting rain-catchment systems engineered into the architecture,



or perhaps it was just an excuse to catch our breath, or talk to the owners of some interesting houses perched on cliffsides,



with even more interesting beasts roaming around the front yards.



By this point we'd been steadily going uphill for well over an hour, and we tried to thumb a ride with the local taxi service, but it was Sunday after all and I think everyone was at Church.



And indeed, chatting with the pastor getting into his car, who clarified that the Gorda Peak was "way up over there" with a laugh, perhaps thinking that if we'd attended his services that morning, like one should be doing on Sunday, we mightn't have been so hot and sweaty. Ah, the fires of walking uphill be hot.

"Wait" I said to Dave, "Let me grab a photo of this, it's just gorgeous..."



"Ahh, you're just wanting to stop for a rest" says Dave with a sweaty grin and a chuckle !!

{{ And just to give you a break as well, you can pop by our Sailing Banyan Facebook Page, give us a LIKE, and take a peek at the photo-album of many more things we saw along the way }}

To make a long hike short, and a short story longer, we came to a crossroads.

"What to do?? " asked Dave.
"Let's take the Right Path" said I.
He sighed. And I smiled. Love it when I'm full of Symbolism.



This time the road continued on a more level ground around the ridge and we kept on walking, the sun kept on blaring, we kept on sweating 'till we couldn't sweat no more, and eventually, after a brief stop to feed the Billy Goats Gruff, we came upon a green building perched on the ridgeline.

Surrounded by flying pigs,



and with "open" sign, we immediately knew we'd reached Heaven.

The very lovely Polka Dot,



knew exactly what we wanted !! Altho this bar is well known for its BBQ Ribs and Bushwhackers, she smiled as she served us up some slushilyicecold beers to go along with the conch fritters,



and we feasted in true hog fashion while inhaling and basking in the breath-taking views.



We'd certainly hiked... and arrived in Hog Heaven... one helluva Bar with one helluva View.

Somehow the road back from somewhere always seems shorter doesn't it? However it was no less painful. To save our knees we zigged and zagged our way back down the hills.



But just to prove that Heaven is way UP there. See that green building perched on the edge of that mountainside at the back of the photo??



That's where we'd been. Let me zoom-out a bit,



and a bit more.



So the moral of this story? Maybe we weren't wholesome enough to get to Virgin Gorda Peak, but we'd certainly Hiked a Hard Road, might even have seen some Doves (wink wink) along the way, and in the End, got to A View and A Beer... wouldn't you call that a small slice of Heaven?