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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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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