On Sunday, we headed over to the Tobago Cays. After an easy ride over to the Cays, we were greeted by a very crowded anchorage with boats and people everywhere. We managed to squeeze into a spot to anchor but found ourselves very close to two other boats. When anchoring, cruisers generally try to give a respectful amount of distance and this is the first situation where we have been unable to allow our neighbors some space and Galt some room for error. On my phone, I have an anchor app that alerts you if the boat anchor is allowing the boat to drift. By alert, I mean a majorly loud and obnoxious screeching alarm. I set the alarm and we went on about our day. Our day one activity was a jaunt over to the Turtle Sanctuary. The Turtle Sanctuary is a section of the park that has been cordoned off to give the turtles a safe place. We grabbed our snorkel gear and began hunting for turtles. We swam and swam. We finally figured out that the park rangers had obviously not informed the turtles that the Sanctuary was a safe place to stay because there were no turtles in the roped area. As we swam out to the very edge of the roped area, we finally saw two turtles chomping happily on sea grass. We decided the area should be renamed the Starfish Sanctuary because the starfish had evidently gotten the memo to stay in the roped area. They were everywhere! We had to fight a very strong current to get back over to the beach where the dinghy was and by the time we had dragged ourselves onto the beach, we decided that those two turtles were not worth all of the effort. The funny part is, once we arrived back at the boat, there was a turtle swimming right next to the boat…a half mile from the sanctuary! I swear I heard him laughing at us as he dove under the boat. As we settled into sleep for the night, the winds kicked up and caused a bit of a rough night. The major issue of the night was the anchor alarm app screeching every hour. Poor Bill would get up, go on deck, look around to make sure we were not on top of our neighbors, check the anchor and return to bed. Needless to say, neither one of us slept well that night. The next morning, many of the boats left the anchorage so we moved Galt to a new spot where he happily stayed and no more anchor alarms sounded.
Our day two activity was to venture out to Petite Tabac. Petite Tabac was one of the filming locations for Pirates of the Caribbean and you know how much I love my pirates! Tabac was the island where Jack Sparrow was exiled by his crew and then marooned again with Elizabeth Swann when she burned all his rum. It was a small slip of an island that was outside the protection of the reef. As we dinghied our way through the rough current, I looked at Bill and said, “I suppose it would have been a good idea to bring at least one life jacket on this ill-advised trip.” He responded, “Yep. That would have been a smart thing for us to do.” Sighing at our poor planning, we forgave ourselves a bit because there were so many sailboats, divers and snorkelers around the area, we knew we would be saved quickly if needed. We reached the island safely and walked along a beach that was strewn with hundreds of huge conch shells. After taking my fill of pictures, we made our way back to the safety of the reef and decided that riding in a dinghy in rough waters was just about as much work as snorkeling in rough waters. We rewarded our efforts with a trip over to the beach for another lobster dinner. The park had built a beautiful outdoor cooking area and we enjoyed talking with other cruisers as we ate lobster, rice, potatoes, plantains and mixed vegetables. We are getting very spoiled with these lobster dinners! Because we were enjoying the Cays so much, we decided to stay an extra day. We spent day three hiking to the top of the mountain on the main island in the park for some amazing views. After the hike, we snorkeled alongside the beach and were treated to very colorful schools of fish and several Southern sting rays that enjoy eating the leftovers from the beach bar. Mid-week we packed up Galt and floated our way over to another island in the Grenadines, Bequia. It was about a 4 hour trip so we pulled out our box of trivia cards to pass the time. Bill set the box on the deck bench as he returned to the helm to adjust course settings. Suddenly, a wave hit Galt directly on the beam which sent the box of trivia cards flying in the wind across the deck! He managed to collect the majority of the cards but at least a dozen flew into the ocean. Now, instead of picturing dogs playing poker like the old tacky painting, I picture fish playing a heated game of Trivial Pursuit….. Bequia is an island that definitely caters to the average cruiser. All the restaurants have dinghy docks, there are several marine supply stores and even a bar that floats in the middle of the bay! There is a waterfront walkway that leads to all the restaurants and is a very scenic walk. At the end of the walkway was one of my bucket list items….Princess Margaret Beach. I figure that I am now only two degrees of separation from Queen Elizabeth since I have stood on her sister’s beach. I am sure she will be inviting me to holiday with her soon! We also met a cab driver who hung out with Mick Jagger so two degrees from Mick as well….of course, Bill pointed out that most of the world’s population is only two degrees from Mick given his long and sordid history! Our week in Bequia ended with a tour of the Firefly Plantation. It was a sugar plantation at one time and we enjoyed the tour which included many different native trees and plants including mango, starfruit, Bequia plums, Frangipani and coconut. We also learned that the sea salt they make only takes four days to evaporate and become sea salt! That certainly sounds easier than digging salt out of a salt mine! The highlight of the day was getting to see Bequia’s golf course. The golf course was a total of 580 yards, had nine holes with six greens and no actual holes. In order to finish the hole, you had to hit the flag with your ball or come within a club’s length of the flag. As we walked through the course, I am not sure how one even knew where to hit the ball! It was a total hodgepodge of wooden signs and no direction. However, you could play a round of golf in only 45 minutes for less than $8.00 and they even provided the clubs. I am pretty sure whoever designed the course was drunk at the time but that’s what we expect in the islands! Our current plan for the next week is to head to the main island of St. Vincent which is the largest island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We look forward to exploring rain forests, volcanos and of course, some more Pirates of the Caribbean film locations. This week, you can brag to all your friends that you know a woman who knows a cab driver who knows Mick Jagger and the same woman almost knows the Queen of England….quite the bragging rights, I’d say! ****More pictures on the Pictures tab
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Remember when you were little and you were complaining about something, your dad would always say, “When I was your age, I had to walk to school uphill….both ways….in the snow.” Minus the snow, that statement sums up the island of Mayreau perfectly. No matter where you are going or whom you ask for directions, the directions always start with “Go up that hill over there…” So, we began our exploration of Mayreau by walking up a very steep hill that was “over there”. Once we topped that hill, we were rewarded by a small grocery store followed by another very steep hill. Luckily, at the top of that hill was a watering hole so we stopped in for some much earned refreshment. We then proceeded up the next hill to finally reach the summit of the island where we were greeted by some amazing views of the Tobago Cays. Unlike our dads’ school trek, the trip back to the boat was all downhill but we did at least have a rainstorm to make our trek seem harder and more dramatic than it actually was. While Mayreau was a beautiful island with lovely beaches, it did not take long to explore so we planned to head out to the Tobago Cays. Mother Nature intervened and decided that our trip out to the Cays needed to wait because she sent in high winds and seas. Rather than stay in the bay rocking and rolling on the boat, we voted to make our way over to Canouan into the Sandy Lane Marina.
We tucked happily into the marina and set off to explore. We quickly realized that we were the small fish in the pond as we walked by the boat that was owned by Steve Jobs (now owned by his widow) and I pondered if she even knew where the yacht was. Perhaps they spend their holiday dinners asking, “Where do you think Dad parked that boat?” There were a few other superyachts along the dock and for a mere $300,000 a week, you too could enjoy a superyacht vacation! The marina had all the luxuries one would expect for a superyacht destination including a pool, spa, bakery and its’ own private beach. Our first night, we made our way over to the more rustic restaurant, Scruffy’s. Scruffy’s was right on the water and had a beautiful tide pool for swimming. I would have thought that we were at our usual dive beach bar but the fact that someone had raked the sand let us know that we were certainly rubbing elbows with the highty tighties! Our second clue that we were a bit out of our element was the fact that a taxi ride into town was $50.00 round trip. Keep in mind that the entire island of Canouan is only 3.5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide! We found a golf cart rental for the same price so we climbed aboard and began our exploration. We made our way into town which consisted of a few buildings, a vegetable stand, a warehouse that sold beer and a bar. From that point, everywhere we ventured ended at a gated community or resort. Over half the island is privately owned and access is limited to patrons only. We pulled up to one gated area to ask if we could drive through and look around. The guard was dead asleep in the guardhouse and only woke up once I tapped on the window. I am guessing the highty tighties might frown upon a napping security guard but who knows in the islands! One of the resorts was the Mandarin Oriental and the rooms started at $1600.00 a night! There was a golf course so I looked online to see if perhaps we might want to play a round of golf while we were here. The cost to play a round of 18 holes was $350.00 each….but the good news was that if you were under the age of 11 years, it was a mere $125.00. Needless to say, we decided we might not want to play a round of golf after all. Following our snubs from the rich and famous, we happened upon a restaurant that was perched on top of a hill. It had the most beautiful view and for only $15.00, we had curry chicken and a couple of beers….much more our style! Our final meal at the luxury marina was at the restaurant by the pool overlooking a beautiful sunset. While we were eating, a behemoth yacht was making its’ way into the marina. One of the dock hands informed us that it was owned by Arthur Blank, founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons football team. The yacht was 300 feet long and lit up like a Christmas tree. It gave us a bit of pride to know that a home boy from Atlanta had done so well that he had a yacht larger than Steve Jobs! Alas, it is time to give up our life among the rich and famous and set back to sea. We will begin the week with a trip over to the Tobago Cays for some snorkeling with turtles and rays followed by a jaunt over to Bequia. We have heard rumor that Bequia Music Festival is next weekend so we are looking forward to some more local food and culture. Bequia markets itself as the non-Canuoan so we are hoping Bequia folks will be more our style and that the ice cream will cost less than $13.00! Have a wonderful week and for those of you enduring the snow this week, may all of your travels be downhill both ways! ***More pictures on the Pictures Tabs this week*** This week’s blog has a little something for everyone! We have beach bars, snorkeling, food, drinks, characters and adventures. I start you off with a fuel tank update because I feel the need to wean you slowly after so many months of fuel tank updates. I do not want to send you into withdrawals by making you go cold turkey. So, fuel tank update….they hold fuel, distribute fuel and dare I say…..seem to be fully functioning! In fact, I do not think we have uttered the words “fuel tank” in days which is quite the accomplishment. Our adventure this week started with a long overdue goodbye to Grenada! After filling out several online forms, in person forms and yet another PCR test, we were cleared for departure. We left Carriacou and made our way over to Sandy Island for the night. Sandy Island is a small spit of land off the coast of Carriacou and it lived up to it’s not so very original name. It had gorgeous white sand and was surrounded by reefs. We went for our first snorkel in months and enjoyed the cool water. We spent the rest of the afternoon being entertained by the pelicans hunting on the reefs. They are very determined birds! Our last evening within the Grenada borders was spent having sundowners on the beach with our friends from Make Way whom we will not see for at least another year as their travels take them back to Australia. It was a sad parting but we know we will meet them again down the line.
The next morning, we began the hour long boat ride over to the island chain known as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I must admit I had never heard of St. Vincent until it’s volcano erupted last year. Other cruisers have raved about the area being as beautiful as the Bahamas so we decided it was worth a visit. The island chain is made up of the main islands of Union, Mayreau, Canoun, Bequia, Mustique and St. Vincent. We pulled into Clifton Bay, Union Island to clear customs, immigration and of course, the health check. We made our way over to the health office which was step number one. The woman greeted us and asked for all our paperwork. She then said, “I’ll get this done for you. You can just go sit in the bar and have a drink” and she pointed down the corridor to the restaurant. What kind of amazing place was this country? We did as we were told and after an hour, I made my way back to the health office. Our helper was missing. When I inquired as to her whereabouts and stated that we needed to get over to Customs before they closed, the woman said, “Oh no. She has gone over to customs and immigration for you. She’ll bring everything to the bar once she is done.” I must have had a look of utter disbelief on my face because she tilted her head at me inquiringly. I simply stated, “This is the best country EVER!” and I heard her laughter follow me as I made my way back to the bar. After we had cleared customs, we went to explore the town of Clifton. The entire population of Union Island is around 3000 people so exploring did not take long. As we walked up the main road, we passed by the elementary school. All the kids were getting out of school for the day and walking home. In St. Vincent, the official language is English. However, islanders speak a mix of languages blending English and Creole which means that when the locals are conversing with each other, we have no idea what is being said. As we walked down the hill from the school, we heard the children talking. The discussion went as follows…..creole, creole, creole, “White People”, creole, creole, creole. We were not sure what was being said, but we figured out pretty easily we were the main topic of conversation! Following our fifteen minute exploration of town, we selected a bar called the Tipsy Turtle to take a rest. I was very excited when I saw milkshakes listed on the wall! I have not had a milkshake since we left the States. My only choice was chocolate which was perfect for me! After our drinks, we voted for some more exercise so we headed over to the kite surfer beach. We walked down a dirt path which dead ended into…..dare you take a guess?....yet another bar! Not only did this bar have cold beer for Bill and an amazing view, it had lounging beds where one could lie down, drink a drink and stare out over the ocean. I do not think a day could have been any better! Until dinner. We finished off the day at an Italian restaurant called Barracudas and ate a lobster pizza. For my foodies out there, it was as amazing as it sounds! As wonderful as Clifton was, the bay on Thursday night was a rolly event which did not make for a comfortable night’s sleep so we voted in the morning to move on to our next anchorage, Chatham Bay. Chatham Bay was just around the corner from Clifton so the short hop only took about an hour. We made our way into the bay and dropped the anchor. Just as we had turned off the engine, a man pulled up along side Galt and told us that he owned the local beach bar and would love to cook us dinner on Saturday night. He began rattling off choices that we would have including lobster, red snapper, chicken, ribs, rice, plantains and about 10 more items. We told him we would definitely be there! We asked him about food for Friday night since we had not planned anything yet and he said, “Come on over tonight and I’ll make you some conch fritters.” What kind of magical country is this place? While we waited for nightfall and fritters, we swam over to the reef that lined one side of the bay. Before we had a chance to get on our fins, Bill said, “You should see all these fish in here!” I know I say this statement every time we go snorkeling but this time I mean it…..I have never seen so many fish in all my life! Schools of silver minnows swarmed about us. Long needle nosed fish sauntered by while rainbow fish swam lazily through red and green coral. It was breathtaking and the afternoon slid by as we immersed ourselves into the underwater world. At sunset, we made our way over the Sun, Beach and Eat bar. As we jumped onto the beach, I heard someone call my name. Our summer neighbors from the marina in Grenada were enjoying their sundowners at the bar! We had not seen them in several months so it was nice to catch up. Vanessa, the co-owner of the bar, brought us our promised fritters and we settled in for an evening of good conversation. Vanessa was quite the personality and she had no qualms about smoking pot right at the table! Bill asked her if the police cared about the islanders smoking pot and she laughed for at least five minutes….so we took that as a strong ‘no’. She also taught me a few new wonderful sayings that I will always remember. When asked about the volcanic eruption last year, she stated, “Ah, God just wanted to rearrange his living room furniture so no worries.” She also described the rich people on the super yachts as “highty tighty” meaning too good for the rest of us so that is one phrase that we will definitely use in the future! The final humor of the night was when she lost her lighter and accused her husband of taking it….after a few minutes, she reached up to scratch her head and began laughing as she pulled the lighter she had stored in her braids out of her hair bun. The finale of the week….Saturday night dinner at Beach, Sun and Eat. When we arrived for our reservations, we were surprised to find the entertainment for the night was none other than Julian, the lead singer of the Leaky Seacocks from Grenada! He said he spends several months a year floating around the Grenadines so we knew we would have good entertainment for the night. The restaurant was full of cruisers and we all watched as the lobsters and fish were put onto the grill and the aromas floating through the bar had us all ready to eat. We stared in wonder as the lobster and red snapper were delivered to our table followed by potatoes, rice, plantains and salad. By the time we were finished, the poor stray dogs had only a little rice left for their dinner. Fat and happy, we made our way back to the boat and called it the perfect ending to a wonderful week. So, as you can tell, we are very happy to be on our way again and we look forward to another week of travel. For those of you in the snow this week, we salute you as we put aloe on our sunburn! ***More pictures on Pictures tab under Grenada and St. Vincent areas It has been a week of successes in the life of Gone Galt! We started the week with more trial and error on the fuel tank project and finally landed on success by removing one small plastic washer from the filtration system. We both stared at the tiny evil washer for several minutes, cursing it for the problems it had caused and then did a happy dance as the filter held the fuel as designed. We then began to do final preparations for departure and devised several back up plans in case we encountered unforeseen fuel issues when out on the water. We had successfully run the engines dockside for two hours but it is impossible to test boat systems fully unless you are on the open water. Knowing that we would never be out of sight of land on the route to Carriacou, we felt safe taking the plunge. Whenever boaters have been dockside for a long period of time, they tend to lose their sea legs and nerves settle in prior to leaving. You just never know what the boat is going to do after sitting for several months. Especially a boat that underwent a rebuild as major as Galt had this summer. We had done all we could to be sure we were ready, now we just had to convince our nerves. I have been trying to learn more about driving Galt so we decided it was time for me to pull Galt out of a crowded marina. Bill took me through all the steps the day prior to leaving and I was as ready as I was going to be. As with all things, it is impossible to plan for every situation. On this particular day, the situation was wind blowing across the bow. As the dockhands loosened the lines, Galt began to drift sideways directly heading for the catamaran next to us. I called for Bill to come take over but he calmly said, “You’ve got this. We’re not going to hurt anything”. One of the dockhands climbed aboard the catamaran and held Galt off the other boat. Everyone worked together and Bill gave me directions as we all worked through the problem. The next thing I knew, we were clear of the boats and heading out to the channel. I needed a little breathing time but all was well!
As we sailed down the Grenada coast, the weather was beautiful and the seas were calm. We had happily chugged along for three hours when we both heard the engine chug-a-lug slowly as it ran out of fuel. We immediately put emergency plan A into action. I stayed at the helm as Bill jumped down into the engine room, reprimed the fuel filter, changed over to the back up fuel line and cranked the engine. It fired back up immediately and we continued our journey. It was at that point, Bill was able to ascertain the exact fuel line diameter that we needed in order for the system to function. We made it easily into Carriacou. We will be in Carriacou for a few days, then head over to Sandy Island for a day of snorkeling and then we will be onto our next country…St. Vincent and the Grenandines….most famous for being a central location for filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean! Very exciting! I am sorry for no pictures this week but the internet on Carriacou is not cooperating and our sim card we purchased in Grenada (that was supposed to work everywhere) is not working….what a surprise….. |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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