A Road too well Travelled

Tobago Cays

Baradal Island

Mid-morning, the Cap’n visited a nearby village shop only to find they didn’t stock coke, much less tonic; in fact nothing much at all and weren’t open until 3.30pm anyway (after lunch, mon). So we took advantage of clearing skies to motor back out to the Cays. Sunshine can really make a difference! Small white beaches fringed with coconut palms stood out in clear turquoise waters. Only two cruisers remained on moorings, braving the sloppy southerly still coming in. We sought refuge in the lee of Petit Bateau and although a strong current pushed through the channel, we felt protected – and alone – very alone! Nice!

Narrow channel between islands

Petit Bateau suffers the scars of commercialism – strands of wire stretched between coconut palms (to display t-shirts); tables & benches for beach barbeques; a little litter and quite a few discarded conch shells. Moorings and ropes to tie vendor boats to coconut trees bobbed about, quietly empty and very indicative of the lowest of low season’s inactivity. These blights aside, the area is remarkably well managed to ensure huge numbers of visitors (daily) do not impinge too much on the pristine (and fragile) beauty of these very small Cays. Having said that, I believe we were extremely fortunate to have been visiting in low season, in bad weather…..

An Aussie in Tabago Cays

Armed with only a good guess, we took Bruce to try and find the passage through the reef to Petit Tabac. With breaking waves over the edge of the reef, a strong ocean swell and coral heads just popping up everywhere…we abandoned our attempts at being Robinson Caruso and headed to Jamesby’s secluded little beach. Poor Bruce was picked up in the waves and crash landed, not before biting me for my trouble. Again, we turned around to head for the relative safety of Petit Bateau and WJ3. Snorkeling could wait until morning....