Places like Tangier are what we look forward to most on this trip. This is a unique and genuine place. Tangier is an old watermans (crabbing and oystering) community off the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The island and culture is literally slipping away. More than 9 acres per year are lost to the Bay due to erosion and sinking and the state of Virginia is no longer giving out crabbing licenses so families are forced to move away. Tangier is known for a unique old-world dialect with roots that go back to the original British settlers. We heard it in the local grocery store and couldn’t understand a word. In Solomons we started hearing the twang in speech and southern mannerisms (like ma’am, sir) but here there is no doubt we’re in the South. Everything seems slower, movement, speech…even the animals aren’t in a hurry. The number of cats, far outnumbers the human population of around 500. The girls enjoyed petting them. Pablo wasn’t so enthusiastic when they started jumping on the boat boat and the dockmaster started offering "three or four" to the girls.
The entrance to Tangier is shallow and even though we were told that there was plenty of water we touched the bottom. We’re now waiting for high tide and crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to make it out without a tow. But couldn't ask for a better place to wait out a tide!
Click here for an article about Tangier. We found the place and actual characters just as described.
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| Borealis at Parks Marina, Tangier |
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| Crab chairs at the local museum |
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| One of the many cats |
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| Most work boats left before 4am |
Don't pick up any local cats - Pat is waiting for you when you get back home.
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