Thursday, January 22, 2026

We just arrived in Tortola. Our last full day on the ship.

We had a good day visiting 2 classic BVI bars yesterday with our friends: Foxys and Soggy Dollar. Soggy Dollar is right on the beach and everyone walks around barefoot. As in March we liked it better than Foxys where getting service is a challenge. Our travels ended up including a fellow from Ocala, Florida who travels around several times a year to "call" square dances. Nice guy! The BBQ on deck last night was really good. I ate so much less than the others in our group but still felt like I ate more than I needed to. We did drink several Painkillers yesterday which are a highly caloric drink but it is what one has in BVI. Who knows what the damage to my weight will be!

Today we will probably do what we did yesterday - have an early lunch, then go onshore to poke around in shops and stop at the most famous bar for painkillers: Pussers. See below for how you order a painkillers there (each number higher means more rum). The shops in the landing are nicer than some on the other islands so worth going through.

Tomorrow we disembark in San Juan, then spend 3 days at a resort outside of the city.

Have a theoretical Thursday!

I just found this:

THE STORY OF THE PAINKILLER

It all started at the Soggy Dollar Bar on the island of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands. There, Daphne Henderson created the first Painkiller and served them to the mostly boating crowd that came to White Bay. These same patrons would spread the word - making the Painkiller famous across the Caribbean.

One day Charles Tobias, founder of Pusser's Rum paid a visit to the Soggy Dollar. He'd heard of the now famous Painkiller. And he was curious about its ingredients. He made fast friends with Daphne Henderson. But try as he might she wouldn't divulge the ingredients to him!

Not to be deterred, Tobias pirated a Painkiller to his boat. Back at his home on Tortola, he began the trial-and-error process to uncover the ingredients and proportions. In the end he discovered it worked out to a 4-1-1-1 ratio of Pusser's Rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and cream of coconut. Though his version is reputed to be discernibly different from the Soggy Dollar's Painkiller - these ingredients and proportions are widely accepted as "the" way to make a Painkiller drink.