Thirty-five years ago, my sister Audrey saw a magazine photograph of model in a beautiful location. She was standing in green/blue water surrounded by giant, granite boulders, with shafts of sunlight reflecting on the water. Audrey was so captivated by this photograph that she tore it out and tucked it away in her journal. After we signed up for the SwimTrek in the British Virgin Islands, she was reading through the information that listed our itinerary. There was something mentioned about visiting the Baths. She did a bit of research and saw online photographs. The images jogged a memory of her saving a beautiful photograph while she was still in her teens. She became convinced that this was the same place and searched through all her old journals. She found the magazine picture and was delighted to discover that indeed, we were already scheduled to see this magical place. I’d never even heard of the Baths but I loved the story she told me.
On the third day of our swim trek we boated near the beach and swam to shore. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring this magical place of intense beauty.
Exploring the Baths is like reliving a happy childhood. We swam in the ocean, played in the sand, scampered around boulders and climbed ladders into mother nature’s forts.
After exploring and following a trail through openings in the granite, we ended up at the Poor Man’s bar for ice-cream. (The grownups in the group enjoyed a beer on the beach.) We sat around the shaded pavilion, enjoying our snacks and watched the chickens pass by. I believe a few handstand were executed along the way.
I still find it amazing that Audrey ended up visiting her magical place 35 years after saving that magazine page. I’m so grateful that I got to tag along for the ride because it really is a magical place. If you ever see an image of a beautiful place that calls to you, save that image. Store it away and figure out how to get there. You’ll be surprised at how things will fall into place and you will end up exactly where you need to be.
