Tobago Cays & Union Island 12:39.5N 61:22.2W
Pacific Bliss
Colin Price
Fri 16 Apr 2010 00:42
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Tobago Cays
No-where is ever very difficult to leave if
you your next stop is the Cays. It's a world famous bit of
paradise. No Humans are allowed to set up home, so it's home to a
turtle sanctuary, where you can swim with a dozen Turtles before breakfast,
whilst they enjoy theirs. We went Iguana spotting, which isn't
difficult on one of the small islands dotted around the crystal
waters. One of these Islands is the one Jack Sparrow and Kiera Knightly
enjoyed a stranded night drinking rum on, so that warranted a blissful day
with the crews of Trinity and Discovery.
  We where in the Cays with our
lovely friends from Trinity which was great as it ment for my Birthday
we could raft up enabling the kids to enjoy there last few days together.
During the day the Girls, mums, went off for a lovely snorkell . Colin organising Sunset drinks on a beautiful beach
with Trinity and a Canadian Family from a Boat called Discovery, who
wrote me my first ever poem. I decided, in my infinent wisdom, to cook
all day making Sushi, Dips and preparing lobster, oven Potatoes
and Salads for dinner. It has to be the hottest day we have ever
experienced so not the best idea I've had
todate. The best part of it all was having a cake arrive by
Dingy loaded with light candles. Colin is a superstar. Due
to the location of the day is was just as well i had purchased birthday
presents in St Anne when Lynn Saunders was with us, it saved any
disappointed and took the pressure was off last minute colin., there
isn't much to buy in the Carribean bar Rum at tge best if times. Not
a bad place to celebrate 42years of age.
   A bit of good snorkelling
    Union Island
The main town,Clifton, is quite low key. It is
probably to date the most undeveloped of the Grenadines that we've visited,
and with this is has a charm. This is possible going to
change. We hooked up with Tim and Steph here and made a
plan to anchor off a beach on the other side of the Island.
 'Happy Island'
in Clifton Bay. An island built on conch shells and then added to bag of
cement by bag of cement until the man had an island to put a bar
on!A few days later they made it round to CHATHAM
BAY. The first few nights we hung out at a new beach bar,
Chatham is a really quiet anchorage with about 6 beach bars most
are very low key but a new fancy one with swimming pool has
recently been and this suggest the writing may be on the wall for
low-key Chatham.
   We have been trying to save a wee bit of money with the
PB facelift. So my volunteering for the sewing of the all
things belonging in the cockpit is an ongoing frustration. My machine
loathes the fabric and after every few inches it chews the hole thing
up, It's not worth being around me when the job is in
hand. That said Colin and the kids disappeared off to the
shore for an afternoon, It looks to me from my birds eye
position on the boat that Colin is visiting all the beach bars, and
talking with all the local residence and maybe sampleing the local
mixes....... That afternoon Colin met a group of folk we
had heard the night before making music, they live on the beach in huts
and tents in a very very back sort of way. Colin had been
invited back that evening to join in with the music making but sadly alittle bit
too much of the local mixes left him only musical in snore land. But a
plan was afoot for the following evening when Tim and Colin after dinner
paddled ashore. I slept on the Trampoline that night so
went to sleep listening to music-ish making and sent me into hoot of laughter
whilst dropping off.
The next morning.................. The Boys
had had a fabulous night hanging out with the guys on
the beach, the main guy is Pleasure. Pleasure is a
wonderful man, a rasterhairian, but a lovely man, and it just
so happens that today is his Birthday. However the night before
Colin and Tim had been invited to acouple of expodisions! Colin was first
to be invited Spear Fishing, so not wanting to be out done Tim got himself
invited to go Iguana Hunting, a local delicacy, and guess what it's
surpose to taste like Chicken....................
Once Steph and I had stopped laughing about the
prospect of our husbands becoming 'Great White Hunters,' off they trecked, or
paddled.
Some hours later the boys returned Tim with an Iguana
and a Goat, his surgeon skills make in to good effect with the
skinning and butchering and colin returned with an array of tropical fish
all speared by Desmond. So with the protein gathered the cooking
commenced for Pleasures Birthday Party.
  We where so welcomed it was wonderful, I
suspect most yachties don't stop at Pleasure's bar, as he only seems
to sell Rum, Cigarettes, Eggs and Carnation Milk, it not neccessarily what
the average visitor needs. That afternoon we were given a guided
tour up over the hill to the nearest village . On route we met lots of
locals all who gave us fruit from there gardens, we sampled
Mango, Plums, and for the first time Tamarind all plucked from the
Tree. Sadly our walking tour took longer than expected so returned
to Chatham bay to a rather tired and emotional Pleasure.
   Tension between the group grow high and we found
ourselves stuck between a rock and hard place. The conversations
that insued where all rather hilarious though. So we all retired
rather early after we had given Pleasure his birthday cake and all
his presents. We eat Rosetta's, Pleasures lovely
and hardworking and longsuffering partner, Goat Stew and medley of
colourful Fish. thanked everyone and scuttles home.
   The Community at Chatham Bay were
wonderful, definitley disfunctional but a family non the less.
Pleasure is a Star in the making apparently Tony Blair was on the beach
some time ago and ended up spending time with Pleasure, I suspect
he didn't drink his rum or take a smoke with
him............. We have sent friends to make a recording of
Pleasure singing one of his songs, and when this does
happen you too can listen to the KING OF CHATHAM BAY, Cosmo loved him
so much he made him a crown for his birthday.
It's definitely one of the highlights of our
trip, and the 'Don't let Tony develop Chatham bay campaign' is about
to be initiated.
ps. the local form of greeting is to make a fist and
touch it to your friends fist. Then bring it back to your chest and say,
"One Love". Sam, rather amusingly, had missheard and this would bring his
fist to his chest and earnestly say, "One Loaf"!
Petite St Vincent and Petite
Martinique
A short stone's throw from Union are two islands
separated by about 200m of water that are in different countries. Petit St
Vincent has a lovely little island off it, and I mean little, with a single
little hut and nothing else. Great spot to land on and play Robinson
Crusoe.
 Petit Martinique is a bit more bustling, and it is
rumoured that due to smuggling has one of the highest GDP per head in the
Caribbean. Anyway, we had a long hike up to the top of the hill and back to the
town, filled up with diesel and headed down to Carriacou.
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