Tobago Cays

Tobago Cays is a small group of islands in the Grenadines, famous for its (mostly) untouched beauty and my favourite: turtles and manta rays! It is a protected marine park so there are no human residents. The cays are surrounded by beautiful reefs and the islands themselves are home to large tortoises and iguanas.

We stayed one night and swam with the turtles as soon as we arrived. It's a special experience and I wouldn't have thought it but those little guys have quite a lot of personality. Some of them are very relaxed and not phased by us weirdo looking humans, all googled and finned up. Others are more grumpy and don't like to be disturbed while they're having dinner (most of them were eating while we were there). The rest are kind of playful and you can swim with them as they cruise around their little bay.

Unfortunately the bay was quite rolley and it wasn't comfortable to stay very long. We anchored in a protected channel for the night and were greeted by a family of manta rays, around the stern of the boat, as we prepared to motor on to Union Island the next morning. I've seen larger rays before, off Grand Cayman island, but never babies like the ones in this group. Too cute for words. Unfortunately I left the camera below so no shots of the rays. Next time!

entering the Cays

the water really is this colour and this clear

the locals are always ready to "help" and accept a cash "thank you" after

the Marine Park has strict rules about not getting too close to the turtles, even when they came towards us we moved away to maintain the right distance. can't say the same for the other disrespectful tourists. 

every couple needs and under water selfie ;)

unfortunately the focus of this dive was cut out of the shot (we dont have a screen on our go pro yet) but I was pointing a giant bright red starfish, the biggest we've ever seen. 

view no 1, from our anchorage for the night

anchorage view no 2

and one of my favorite views ;)

Saltwhistle Bay

Mayreau is one of the Grenadines islands and Saltwhistle Bay was our first stop. When we arrived there were very few yachts and so we could pick a good spot, nice and close to the beach. This was the first destination, since we returned to Melody, that we truly experienced the "deserted tropical island" feeling.  

None of these photos have been edited to enhance the colors of the water etc. This is exactly as we experienced it (just a little more spectacular in person).

It's  easy to get used to palm trees and white beaches but water this colour, this clear and warm never gets old. It was so good we returned a second time, a few days later, on our way to Tobago Cays.

crystal clear - we could see our chain and anchor without having to do a dive check

we anchored nice and close, swimming distance, to the beach

the only (tiny) resort in the bay - closed for renovations in off season though

super windy on the other side of the bay, but we were nicely protected

frog man. 

more sea angel-ing

this is Ruf's rendition of Campari & orange juice 

Bequia

autopilot means we can chill more during passages

motoring into Admirality Bay - thank you to our friends Miki & Francesco for the shot

view from the dinghy dock

the walk home from town, along the water's edge

the whale bar, with whale vertebra for seats- limited whaling is still permitted here, but only for local fishermen using traditional methods 

view from the tender on our way back to Melody

Princess Margaret beach

1st early morning swim off the boat - this photo has not been edited fyi

relaxing under a palm tree, enjoying the view ;)

Port Elizabeth

Bequia was a beautiful stop. We anchored just off Port Elizabeth in front Princess Margaret Beach. This stop was extra special for us because we finally got to reunite with our great friends, Miki & Francesco!

We met them almost 2 years before, in Simon's Town, South Africa, while both our boats were on the hard. These two have been sailing for about 8years now - they started in the Pacific then Asia, South Africa and now the Caribbean.

The beaches here are beautiful and there are small caves to explore in the bays. There is currently a big drive to eradicate the alien Lionfish. They were accidentally introduced to St Vincent & The Grenadines waters and are seriously threatening the indigenous marine life with their voracious appetites and rapid reproduction. We didn't manage to spear any during our stay but we did enjoy a delicious Lionfish pizza!

Pitons

On our way down to St Vincent we sailed past the Pitons of St Lucia. It's a protected area and rather pricey (for us) to stop and anchor there. 

The islanders named their local beer after these rock cones and apparently they are quite famous. The beer is good though, my favorite is the lemon flavored. It's only 2% alcohol so our lunchtime beer time doesn't send us into nap time ;)

I must admit, they look a whole lot cooler (greener and more "tropical-islandy") in the photoshopped brochures & cruising guides. Maybe we got them on a bad day...

Wallilabou

not quite Captain Jack Sparrow...

one of the sets built for the movie, now with a new paint job by the locals

Rufus doing his best dead/scared/crazy(?) look with the original coffins used by Johnny Depp & cast in the movie

Melody's backside tied to a coconut tree (coconut tree not pictured)

Rufus trying to entice me with his "sexy coconut" face - the morning after th (rum punch) night before...

sunset over the bay - no green flashes for us so far...

day tripping with our new German friends - "wax apple" tasting in a local's garden

wax apple close-up. good stuff.

view of a neighboring bay on our road triproad trip

lunch view - fish rotis on the beach

Wallilabou pano: mini Melody tender on the beach (left) and Melody mamma in the bay (right)

Wallilabou Bay was our introduction to St Vincent. It's one of our favorite bays so far - the vibe, the people and the character combine to make you want to stay just one more day.

it also happens to be the place where most of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie was shot and so the locals obviously try and cash in on it. Most of the sets from the movie are still intact and some house the bay's "yacht club" and restaurant. Unfortunately the owners are a bit too enthusiastic with their prices - EC$45 for a mediocre meal when you can get an amazing plate of food in town for EC$5 - 10. The locals have lent their colorful Caribbean spice to the remaining sets so it's not quite what you see in the movie anymore.

we met some great new friends here, in our age group (so many old cruisers not keen to make friends) - a group of 5 Germans, with which we did a day trip to the Dark View waterfalls with and another boat with 2 Swiss guys and a French girl. All really friendly and good company.

we all did a group mission to the local bar called Pirates Retreat. It's owned by a brilliant character called Tony and if you do ever find yourself in Wallilabou you MUST give his bar a visit - not only is he a great person, one of the best we've met so far, but he makes a ridiculously good rum punch. deceptively strong... 

next stop Bequia, to reunite with our Italian friends Miki & Francesco!!!!