We get up disgustingly early and just go around the corner of Mayreau to the Tobago Cays. Motoring, we are there in about half an hour. Just as we enter this beautiful cluster of idyllic deserted islands, Mike has a David Kingsley wildlife moment, shouting at us about an enormous turtle he has just seen. Just as David’s huge ray turned out to be his Hugo Boss towel which had flown off the boat and was moving around on the sea bed, Mike’s turtle turns out to be a load of floating weed with two beer cans attached to it. Jacques Cousteau must be turning in his grave!
We anchor in the middle of the Cays and immediately get our stuff together so that we can so swimming with the turtles before the crowds appear. At first we don’t see any and I quickly give up as my mask is leaking and I’m a bit of a wuss.
Photo: Driftwood (well a tree trunk) on Baradel
Mike, Terry and Alice continue though and are rewarded with lots of sightings. Ann and I go for a walk up the hill on Baradel. The last time I was here, Matt made me climb all the way up and over to the other side with me whingeing all the way because my feet hurt. Again I have no shoes on so I only walk far enough to admire and photograph the views. And what views they are. The reefs are clear from my vantage point and they look beautiful. A band of dark clouds move across the sky and it makes for the most amazing light. In the distance there are some rain clouds and I watch as a water spout gradually forms, moving across between the islands about a mile away. It’s incredible although when she sees it, Alice shoots out of the water – I’ve never seen her move so fast!
Terry lends me his mask and Alice goes with me back into the water to look for the turtles again. We see lots and they glide gracefully just a few feet away, aware of our presence but unperturbed by it. It’s a fantastic experience until a dinghy full of noisy tourists arrive and all the splashing and noise frightens the turtles away.
We take the dinghy over to Petit Bateau and have a walk along the beach. The sun is now so strong that I wrap my wet t-shirt around my face and shoulders, worried about getting burned. Again, we are the only people on the beach.
By nightfall, most of the boats have gone again and we have the anchorage almost to ourselves. We start watching the first series of Gavin and Stacy as Terry hasn’t seen any of them before and after one episode we have another convert. Terry thinks it’s lush!
We all say ‘goodnight, skiplah’ but Mike is not amused!
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