Now, the best thing about Fin (besides the dog breath cuddles) is that she makes friends we’d probably never make without her. This week was no exception. Fin went to see if a guest lying in one of the super fancy Peter Island Resort’s sun lounger had any food/ahem, I mean cuddles. One dog-friendly smile led to another and we met Jonas and his wife, Sharon from West Chester, New York.

‘You know,’ Jonas said, smiling in a way that made me wonder if he was related to Michael Douglas, ‘my parents bought a sailboat in their 50s. They went to the Bahamas for 12 years.' 'Had you left home by then?’ I asked. His eyes twinkled. ‘My youngest brother had just walked out the door.’ ‘We got to go,’ Sharon said, ‘we’ve got a massage booked. Here, take our water.’ They passed us some fancy-looking bottles. We said our thanks and watched them bounce together down the beach. ‘Do you think we’ll ever see them again?’ I asked my mum. ‘Not a chance,’ she replied.

Quest is still sniffling. Some of her crew definitely more sniffly than others. Still, we managed to drag everyone out onto shore. The girls had to see that pretty beach. And when they saw those rollers, they finally stopped moaning. Yippee! We don’t often visit wave-laden places since they’re not usually great places to park Quest. But to walk around the corner to one was perfect. Heads stuck into sand while other parts of bodies stuck up into the air… the whole thing was a breath of fresh bodyboarding fresh air.. And then as the light began to fade, two people in rash vests popped up behind us. Jonas and Sharon! We don’t normally get excited to see people we barely know but there’s something Hollywood about these two. Something difficult to pin down. 

They stayed and watched the girls surf the waves. We talked and filled each other in on the little snippets of our lives. Our children's names, what food we like to eat, our secret hopes and dreams. ‘Your mum looks really happy,’ Jonas said. ’She does?’ I looked across and the scene greeted me with mild horror. She was just rolling up the beach, having been caught by a wave like a piece of driftwood. Jack ran to help her up. My mum shook the sand off and came to join us, laughing.

Eventually, after a photo and some more dog-cuddles it was time to go. We said good-bye and walked under the trees, passing the basketball and tennis courts. ‘Do you know what Jonas does?’ Jack said. We shook our heads. He tapped his nose. ‘Movies.' ‘I knew it!’ I said, ‘is he related to Michael Douglas?’ Jack smiled. ‘No. He owns a plumbers merchant.’ 

We spent the week this way. Lulu’s school assessments in the morning, Delphine on school-fire with her grandma, followed by afternoons riding Deadman’s Chest Bay’s waves. Unfortunately Jonas and Sharon left the next day. Still, Fin was on the look-out for more friends. After a week of dog-based flattery by the hotel staff, we finally met the hotel manager. He was waiting for us by the basketball court. ’There’s no dogs allowed on Peter Island.’ ‘On the whole island?’ we asked, startling the birds out of the trees. What about the scary dogs behind the farmstead? ‘I’m really sorry,’ he said not sounding that sorry, ’but you need a special allowance to bring your dog.’ Well, it’s safe to say that our protestations led to nothing. It might be special but there was no way we were getting that allowance. 

We ruminated on our luck back to Great Harbour, looking for the big iguanas and watching pelicans dive into the little turquoise bay. ‘When you think about it, we had a good run,’ my mum said. Good-bye Peter Island.

Love from Quest and her crew xx