Tobago Cays
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Mon 19 May 2014 18:10
Saturday 17th May
After being woken early we were soon on our way, motoring the short distance to the Tobago Cays, a place we had been looking forward to visiting for much of our journey. They are a group of very small, uninhabited islands to the east of Mayreau which are protected from the sea by Horseshoe Reef which almost encircles them. They are a national park and a very reasonable fee of $10 EC per person per day is levied. (Contrast this with the $200EC for a three day stay off Mustique! Or the $60 a day at Anguilla) Our passage was less than an hour and we were not disappointed by what we found when we dropped anchor between the islands and the reef.
Free of any development the five islands sit firmly in the national park, which over the last three years have made a determined effort to protect them. They have even marked of a Turtle Watch area off one of the islands. They are only accessible by boat and offer some of the best Caribbean snorkelling. They are trying to ensure this jewel is not destroyed by unthinking tourism and it is paying off, as people follow the rules they have put in place.
The water and reef colours are a kaleidoscope of gold, brown, blue, turquoise and green, making navigation through them ideal when the sun is high, neither of us would like to attempt this at night or in low light. Small white sandy beaches, that look like a strip of blinding snow, blend into luminous clear water. The anchorage is surrounded by the reef and is one of the most vivid, colourful and beautiful place we have stopped. As it is sandy and a fairly large bay, anchoring was quite straight forward and we dug in well, Darrell later swam over it to check, as the bay is open to the full force of the ocean winds. Although when we arrived there were about twenty boats already in residence, regular arrivals during the day meant it became quite full. They do nothing to detract from the serene peaceful beauty of the Cays.
As we were sitting down for our post anchoring cuppa, a man on a paddle board arrived. Helmut, an Austrian we first met in customs in Chateaubelair and then on other occasions, came aboard bearing a gift. He had been walking on Petit Bateau as we motored through the cut and had taken some wonderful photos, one of which is now Darrell's desktop on his laptop! After a good chat, lots of advice on where to go for remaining journey through the Grenadines (they leave their cat in Trinidad) and drinks, we went off to snorkel on the horseshoe reef.
The snorkelling on the reef was good so we went several times during our stay in the cays, sampling the delights in different areas. Every time we went snorkelling we had entire sections to ourselves. Although recent hurricanes have inflicted some damage, the coral is re growing and is looking healthy and has a range of different types. In the sunlight the colours are vivid greens, yellows, reds and purples. It is dramatic and gorgeous to swim over and around. The water is so clear that no matter how deep the water was where we swam you didn't see the water, it was like looking through glass.
To say fish were plentiful is an understatement. There were huge numbers of tiny fish, as well as many very large fish that we have only seen much smaller. Neither of us have swam in such large shoals of blue tang, banded butterfly fish, yellow goat fish, red spotted hawk fish, permits, cottonwick and others who we have yet to identify. The parrotfish were in abundance and variety; spotlight and princess parrot fish, super males, queen parrot fish, spotlight parrotfish, red tail parrotfish. We even saw new species to us: smooth trunkfish, pudding wife, creole wrasse, and again others we can't find in our books! As well as the old favourites; squirrel fish, sergeant majors, box fish, black ray, spotted eagle ray, cow fish, trumpet fish, triggerfish, royal gamma and many more. In the coral off the beach we found spiny lobsters hiding holes, lucky they are out of season and fishing here is not allowed!
We spent some time exploring each of the islands. Landing on the soft white sand,with the surf pushing the dinghy gently ashore! Climbing to the highest points to take photos of the breathtaking views. On Baradel, as Sarah walked down to find a better view she came across a large iguana on the path, who obligingly stayed still while Darrell caught up and several photos were taken. Neither of us could decide which Island gave the ultimate view of Tobago Cays.
On the boat Darrell's Carib Grackle friends were frequent visitors and took to drinking out of the bucket of freshwater Darrell had out to rinse down the deck after he had washed it. It was amazing how they appeared every time bread was brought out. They would stay a while before they could be seen visiting every boat in the anchorage in a fairly systematic order.
Time was spent on the foredeck at night looking at the stars. The cloudless night sky meant it was easy to identify planets and stars alike, especially with Star walk on the iPads to aid identifying those we didn't know. Darrell was pleased to see some constellations that we don't see in Tarset, such as the Southern Cross.
Our last morning started early, with a strange noise. Darrell got out of bed muttering about flares, thinking it was a conch seller blowing his wares. But luckily, he looked first. A man on a neighbouring boat was blowing his foghorn to warn us that we had started to drift. A French boat that had arrive the evening before and anchored in front of us, had lifted our anchor as they departed in the early morning, causing us to drift across the bay. So all hands on deck and disaster was avoided. As the wind had got up, we decided to move into the lee of the islands to re anchor for breakfast and a leisurely morning before setting off to Mayreau.
Our time in Tobago Cays has been a highlight of our Caribbean adventure. It surpassed our expectations and we will definitely be returning!