Tobago Cays

Petit Nevis

Loving life in the Tobago Cays

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean

Ooh la la view from the top of one of the islands

Gorgeous sandy beach in the Cays

On our way back from snorkeling in the Cays

One of the hundreds of iguanas found on the islands around the Cays

Our first stop on the way to the Tobago Cays is Petit Nevis, a tiny uninhabited island just south of Bequia. This island was once the original whale rendering island for Bequia. There is still an active whaling station in a low-key and traditional way. Local whalers are allowed to take four whales a year between February and April. There are very few people left with the skills necessary to hunt them. They do this in an open sailing boat using hand-thrown harpoons. Petit Nevis had great snorkeling where we saw 2 kinds of eels along with all the gorgeous fish. We also found one tiny beach with ancient sea glass, nearly black with a rainbow colored sheen.

The next morning we motor sail in no wind to the Tobago Cays - the gems of the Grenadines. No wind is really the best while anchored in the Tobago Cays since there is just a reef separating the anchored boats from the Atlantic Ocean. This place is absolutely breathtaking! The colors of the water change all day long, there are several tiny islands you can walk around with huge iguanas and amazing views, and the snorkeling is incredible. To top it all off, seeing sunrises over the Atlantic that are over-the-top stunning!!!

The Tobago Cays is what we went sailing for - that's for sure. We spent our days snorkeling, visiting with friends, and exploring. While snorkeling we saw sting rays, eagle rays, a five foot lemon shark (yikes), huge parrot fish, flounder, sea turtles, jellyfish (ouch), trunk fish, hog fish, blue head wrasse, damsel fish, trumpet fish, and so many more gorgeous fish that we couldn't identify.

The Tobago Cays is by far our most favorite place to anchor and explore in all of the West Indies! I could keep posting picture after picture that is so breathtaking, but I better leave something for you to discover on your own!

Bequia

A young Brown Booby - Poser!!

Carol at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary

Lower Bay - Our favorite sea glass beach in Bequia

Aldebaran anchored in Admiralty Bay, Bequia
This photo was taken from the Old Fort

Bequia is the northernmost island in the Grenadines. It is a small island that is just south of St. Vincent. With it's large bay and good yacht services, it attracts a lot of cruisers. When we got here we realized that it was varnishing time, so for two weeks we sand, varnish, sand, varnish, read, go to the beach, hunt for sea glass, visit the internet cafe (computer still dead), and take walks. The weather has been windy, windy but we manage to complete the first varnish phase before the rain comes (the phases never end, by the way!).

We hear that the weather is going to go through a period of being very calm and clear so we figure it is a good time to visit the Tobago Cays. Our friends on another Tayana are about to show up so we decide to sail together to the Cays. We stock up on food, drinks, ice and prepare to leave. While we wait for the good weather, we decide to take a walk to the other side of the island to visit the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. This sanctuary was started by one man, who is now in his 70's. They watch for turtles to come to shore to lay their eggs and keep watch on them so no poachers come and take the eggs before they are hatched. When they begin to hatch they make sure the babies reach the sea. They keep a few small turtles to raise at the sanctuary since only 1 in 3,000 survive when they reach the sea!

The sanctuary has tanks with babies and tanks with various ages of turtles, and a few tanks with old turtles. They are all either green turtles or hawksbill turtles. There is even one that is around 10 years old that has some extra swimming privileges. Once in a while they put a leash on him and let him swim in the surf at the beach! The sanctuary is small but they do really great work. They have released nearly 800 turtles back to the sea, and they have a great education program to teach local children about sea turtles. They hope the information will be passed on to the fishermen of the family so that capturing turtles to eat and use their shells will decrease. When we leave the sanctuary we give an extra donation for the education fund. At the beach front in town where we leave our dinghy, there are craftspeople with tables full of turtle shell jewelry. It is against the law, but it is not enforced yet, something that those at the sanctuary are working to change.

The calm weather arrived......time to sail to the Tobago Cays!