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We’ve arrived in Union Island and are back online. We’re anchored right off Happy Island in Clifton Bay. We could swim there if we want. For now we’re catching up on emails and news. Here are pics missing from the last few days in the Cays and Mayreau : Worlds End Reef Tobago Cays Mayreau
After settling down in Saltwhistle Bay, Helen and I decided to chance the weather and walk the road into town – back to Saline Bay from where we had just come. The road is only a mile or so with a few hundred feet to climb along the way. We’d heard that there were a number of festivities planned for the May Day weekend and were keen to see how they were progressing. At the top of the hill was a quaint church with views of the Tobago Cays. At least there would have been views if not for the wind and drizzle which was slowly getting us wetter and wetter. In town we passed a number of restaurants and decided we would definitely eat out in the evening although we hadn’t made our minds up which place to go. Down on the beach things were only just being set up so we turned around and walked back to the boat hoping for better weather later. We chatted to Bees Knees on the VHF and agreed a plan. We were to leave for town again at 4pm, go to the beach and then have a ‘bar crawl’ and dinner out. The afternoon was hot, humid and sleepy doing not much more than a reading and finishing a crossword. When we all got to the beach we saw the locals congregating and may pole dancing to Caribbean music. An interesting combination. They certainly seemed to be having fun. We had a couple of beers on the beach before heading back up the road through town for our ‘crawl.’ The first problem was that all the staff were down at the beach so nothing was open until 6pm. We were able to sit upstairs at one of the bars while we waited for the staff to show. When they did we had rum cocktails. We decided on dinner at Denis’s. We all had fish creole which was cooked fresh and was utterly delicious. It took a while to cook so we used the time wisely sampling a new cocktail list. Walking back was a bit of a stagger but we made it. Overnight it rained a lot and now it is drizzling and overcast. Reminds me of England. Today we will probably sail over to Union. We’re in need of fresh food as we’ve run out of fruit, etc. With the holiday weekend upon us we need to go today or wait until Tuesday. We sailed to Saline Bay but found the smell coming of the salt pan unpleasant. So we’ve moved to Saltwhistle Bay to figure out what next. No internet. No pics from the Cays today. Another very relaxing day here in the Tobago Cays. The day started with a little bit of work. Helen hoisted me up to the spreaders so I could thread a line through a pulley on the port side so we could raise our Union Jack bought in Bequia. Our first excursion from the boat was to take the dinghy over to another Cay this time called Petit Bateau. This time we were unable to walk around the little island but there was a path across it and a path, of sorts, to the summit. On the west side of the island we found a place where they cook lobster on the beach and there were a couple of tee-short vendors. We left this place and climbed to the summit. Along the way we could occasionally hear the odd iguana scurrying away but we could not catch them. The Tabago Cays never fail to stun whatever viewpoint you catch them from. In the afternoon we dinghyied over to Baradel where we’d had sundowners the night before (or was it two nights ago – can’t remember now). There were quite worn but quaint trails to the summit of this little cay which of course we climbed. This time we saw very many iguana including four at one once at one point. This time, wouldn’t you believe, we’d left the camera on Dignity. In the end we must have seen a dozen or so including some precariously balance in the trees on twigs which looked far to small to carry them. We then went snorkeling in the turtle watching reserve right off Baradel. It’s an area fenced off to prevent anchoring where turtle grass grows and hence attracts a few turtles. We were treated to seeing six turtles at once including one accompanied by a large ramora which took turns clinging to it’s topside or bottomside depending on whether the turtle was grazing on the seabed or not. We met anne and Jim out here and shared these experiences with them. We finished our swim out on the Horseshoe Reef. The water was a few feet deep and very clear which allows us to get very close to the fauna and flora and see all the detail and colour. In the evening we picked up some DVDs to borrow from Bees Knees. Back on Dignity we watched Galaxy Quest which was very funny and entertaining. Today we’re off to Mayreau. Our plan is to head to Saline Bay and check out the shore life. Being Friday evening there should be live music. Our budget over the last week has been minimal so we may go out to eat or at least drink. Tomorrow we may then head up to Saltwhistle Bay on the north of the island. Bees Knees have similar plans but intend to visit the bays in the opposite order. We had a great time yesterday. The day started with some serious relaxing and not doing much bar read our books and marvel at where we are. The tidal range here is less than 2 feet but it makes a lot of difference. At 7am yesterday morning we had the high, high tide of the day which meant the waves were making it over the reef and making things choppy. So it was a case of waiting it out – waiting for it to calm. We agreed with Jim and Anne to go and explore and snorkel around Petit Tabac around 10am. This involved dingying out through a small cut in the reef and making our way over boisterous water to the calm waters surrounding Petit Tabac. Ashore we walked all around the island. On one side it was fine sand (closer to what you see in the movie) and on the windward side the shore comprised rock and, mainly, broken coral. We then took the the crystal clear waters and snorkeled together. We found the current a little strong so we broke of the snorkel and dinghied back inside the main reef to continue our snorkel towing the dinghies along with us. Here, in more crystal clear water, we saw more marine life including turtles in the reserve area. In the afternoon Helen and I dinghied over to one of the cays called Jamesby. We climbed to the summit to take in the view and, of course, take pictures. Even though the cay had one smallish beach we found we could walk all the way round often on smoothed over rocks walking under rocky overhangs. As we rounded each corner many crab would be disturbed and scuttle off to find cover. At 5pm we again met up with Jim and Anne and four from another boat the Bees Knees knew, Arctic Tern. They were Devie, Hunter, Jay and Deb – the first two being the boat owners, aboard for three years already, and the latter two friends/guests. They were all National Park folk from Alaska and very interesting people. We hung around watching the sunset from the beach on Baradel, another Cay. As it got dark we all headed back to our boats with Bees Knees coming over to ours for evening meal. We finished off the Tuna Curry as well as a vege curry Anne had made. Today we’ll hang around the Cays again. More snorkeling and more island exploring is in order. |
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