LAST DAY ON GRENADA

Up too early again.

I see a cruise ship come in at about 7:30 am, the first one of the season.

First cruise ship of the season

It was raining when I first got up and for a while after but now it has stopped and started to look promising so off to the beach for one last day of sun, sand, and swimming.  I want to commit it all to memory today, all the senses, so that I can recall it in the coming days of winter back home.

Didn't look too promising when I first got up

I'm not there five minutes and it starts to rain, and rain hard.  I pull my lounge up under the tree, right to the trunk, and put a towel over my head and continue to read the book I am into, hoping it will pass soon. After 20 minutes or so, the rain starts to drip from the towel, which is soaked through, onto my Kindle so I give up.  I am walking to the Allemanda lobby with the towel over my head when I hear my name being called.  I look out from under the towel and see Amy and John sitting out of the rain at the restaurant by the pool so I go join them and we sit there for about two hours while we wait it out. We have a good conversation, getting to know more about each other. They both work for the post office, and that is where they met.  I tell them my dad used to work for the Royal Mail as well, when we lived in England.

Rotten rain, ruining my last day here

At 1:30, with no sign of the rain letting up, they decide to go to their room and I decide to have lunch at the restaurant. I order a pita wrap which is delicious and served with lovely crunchy fries - under $7 Canadian, a very good deal. I am the only person at the restaurant and have only seen one other group dining here the entire time I've been walking back and forth to the beach for the past 10 days. I don't know how they stay in business. The food is really good so maybe they will get busy once the season starts, next month.

After delaying as long as I possibly can, I finally walk back to my hotel in the drizzle carrying two very heavy, soaked through towels along with my usual bag of stuff. Exhausting!

When I get there, the cleaning staff is just finishing up and I call Alison over, the girl who was getting my room ready the day I arrived here. I thank her for everything and give her all the EC cash I have left (about $25 and change) and also give her the pop-up floaty I brought with me but didn't use - I will have NO room for that in my bag on the trip home. She says her daughter will love it. I can't believe she is a mom, I thought she was about 17 but turns out she's a lot older and married!  We hug and say good-bye and she says she is sad to see me go and hopes I come back one day.

Lovely Alison

There's nothing much to do but take a shower, and then lay on the bed and read till it is time to get ready for dinner.  It is dark by 6:30 when Amy and John pick me up in their rental jeep, and we head off to La Phare Bleu, about half an hour away, for the Friendship Table dinner.

There are more people at the dinner than last week. And tonight the meal will be served family style - bowls of steaming food to pass around.  When we are seated, a couple sit across from us and they have some other people with them. We introduce ourselves and they are Jana and Dieter.  We find out half way through the meal that they are the owners of Le Phare Bleu, which is more than just a restaurant, it is a gorgeous resort that they built from the ground up. They are originally from Switzerland and the rest of their group is family over for a visit.  She delights in telling us how, one Sunday a month, the resort holds what they call a Dinghy Concert, out in the bay, where the cruisers come in their dinghies, raft together, and live music is played by various musicians set up on a floating stage.  I have heard of these concerts from Mike Sweeny, who is a cruiser and spends summers in Grenada.  I've seen pictures of it on his blog and it looks like a lot of fun.  She gets her husband, Dieter, to put a CD of one of the concerts on the TV over the bar.  We watch and it really looks like a very good time.

The food tonight is Mexican and it is very good.  Jana tells us how they are losing their staff and some of their chefs to the new and huge Sandals resort that is almost completed, not far away.  She said it is proving to be a big issue for many of the more established resorts as they need so many staff at Sandals and are actively poaching all the hotels and resorts. She is worried that they won't be able to keep everything operating properly.  Again I think, if I was trained in hotel services, or bartending, I could get a job in a snap here.  But then again, I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing my family. I especially miss my little granddaughter. She has completely wrecked the whole notion of me ever living in the Caribbean, at least for more than a few months at a time.

Amy and John, my new beach friends

When we get back to my hotel, I say goodbye to my new friends and promise to keep in touch.  Once in my room, I set about getting the rest of my things packed up.  I just know I am going to have overweight luggage tomorrow and debate leaving most of my toiletries behind for either the maid to take or toss out. It's about $30 worth of stuff but if I am overweight, it will be $50 US. I decide to leave my shampoo and conditioner, a couple of other cheaper items, and put the rest into a large zip lock bag right at the top of my luggage.  That way, if I need to, I can get at it easily.

One thing I won't miss around here and that is the noisy people next door.  Seriously!

UNEVENTFUL DAY

Up at 6am - another very short night.

I sat out on my balcony for a while reading a Dick Frances book I picked up at the Allemanda at their book swap shelf. Really good read!

My morning view

I've started to pack. Lawd my bag is so heavy already and I haven't put half of my clothes or any toiletries in there yet. Not good!!!!

I head down to the beach to spend some time reading on the sand.  I sit in direct sunlight for the first time and it is HOT!  I usually sit in the shade of a sea grape tree.

Another gorgeous day at the beach

I walk down to SAVVY for the chicken roti again but this time ask them for a bigger version of the small side salad I had last time - the nutmeg dressing is to die for.  After lunch I relax on a big circular lounger for a bit right outside the restaurant on the sand.  Heaven.

Lunch view at the SAVVY

I get back to my lounge chair at the Allemanda just in time for huge clouds to roll down off of the mountain and then rain!!

Here comes the clouds

And here is the rain

I wait it out in the lobby and then head over to the mall for some drinks then back to my hotel.

A rather uneventful day other than chatting with the couple on the beach again, Amy and John, and they offer to give me a lift to the friendship table dinner at Le Phare Bleu tomorrow night.  I was telling them about it and they want to go. It will be nice to finally go to dinner with someone.  It should be fun, and a nice way to end the trip.

Still full from lunch, I don't go out for dinner - rather I read and munch on some gingersnaps.

I found out from the front desk that my neighbours are Venezuelan. They are noisy again tonight, despite the manager asking them to keep it down.  I don't get to turn off the light till after 11.

BEACH DAY AND ROGERS BAR AGAIN

Up early again, went down to the restaurant and had the apple fritters.  Not what I expected but they were very good.  Not sure what I expected, really, as I haven't had fritters before.

Apple fritters

I walked over to the Allemanda to the beach and this time I spoke to the couple that have been there every day.  Turns out they are from England, although she is originally from Grenada. They have travelled all over the world and they come here every year.  They tell me, once they find out I am from British Columbia, that their trip through Alberta and B.C. was the best holiday they have ever had. Given how many places they've been to, that is saying something!

I ask them if I can leave my beach bag in their safe-keeping and then walk down the beach, back to find more beach glass and I get another nice haul.  It's a gorgeous day and I stop along the way to swim in the beautiful clear water.  Nothing but sand on the bottom and it's glorious. I love how so many local people come down here on the weekend to enjoy the water too. You don't see a lot of that in the BVI - I even met some locals there who hadn't been to the beach in two or three years.  Boggles my mind. Here, at least this time of year, there are more locals than tourists.

Today's glass haul

I just nicely get back to my chair when Michael shows up, thinking I am some other woman he met on the beach yesterday. There is some confusion with this as I do know him from when I met him with Rick and we had pizza and burgers together at Prickly Bay but at first I didn't realize who he was because he was wearing sunglasses.  I got him to take them off then I recognized him and told him I wasn't who he thought I was but we had met. He was embarrassed at his mistake but I laughed it off; no big deal.

Michael, surprisingly shy for the camera

He offers to take me over to the dock to be picked up by Rick for the BBQ at Rogers on Hog Island. I accept and, after hanging out on the beach a bit, he makes a call and we head off to his friend's car.  His friend delivers bread for a local bakery and has some in the vehicle and it smells divine.

Waiting at the dock for Rick to pick us up

Black sand beach, lots of garbage... we waited quite a while for

Rick and I was wishing I had a garbage bag

This time, for the meal, I ask for it without the meat as the chicken is all legs and I prefer white meat. Roger's wife heaps the plate with her fabulous potato salad and charges me $5 less.  It is delicious!! However, my afternoon at Rogers decides it for me.  Not to offend anybody, but this is just far too strange a crowd for my tastes and there's lots of locals there today and they are definitely keeping to themselves so it doesn't make for a good atmosphere. I really anticipated that the cruising crowd here would be the same sort of bunch you find cruising in BC waters but they're nothing alike. It seems to me that those who really cruise have left for the northern islands already and these guys are the ones who never actually get out and sail. They're not very friendly to strangers either. I try to say hi and talk to a few but they'd rather go back and talk to the people they know. Even the ones who come and sit down at our table to talk to Rick completely ignore me.

Rogers Bar

Capt. Rick and Lucky - who I find out is a girl after 

thinking she was a he for 10 days!

I leave with Mike before dark as he isn't into it either, and catch a ride back with the same friend. I give him $20 for gas.

I get back to my hotel room to discover that a bunch of very loud Italians have moved in to the room next to me. It sounds like at least half a dozen of them.  I can hear every word, bump and scrape.  I have four more nights here. If these guys are here for the entire time, I think I might go insane. The lovely peace of this place has been completely shattered.

There's no way I can sleep while they are up so I don't get to turn out the light until well after midnight.

OFF OF THE BOAT INTO A HOTEL

I wake at 7:30 but doze in and out for an hour. Today I leave the boat as the 'by sea' part of the trip is over, and I am trying to sort out in my head what to do about tipping Alessandra. I have $600 set aside for it but there's no way I am leaving that much so I decide to message a friend who used to do charters and is well versed in this business. He messages me back and says to leave $50 - $100 or nothing at all. He also suggests to talk to Rick, which I do.

Come to find out, this was not a 'crewed' charter, just captain only. I was expected to pitch in and fend for myself and no tip at all is expected. I am rather stunned and Rick says that it was stated as such in the initial contest post. This is news to me. The prize was described as a 'share the sail' charter and to me, that means I am not the only guest, there will be others that I won't know aboard who are also guests. This was to be the case but the only other guests, a couple, backed out a couple of weeks before the sail. Other than that, that this was not a proper crewed charter was never explained to me. And although it is good to know, it is rather too late and I am somewhat embarrassed as I must have seemed like a lazy, entitled idiot the entire time.

I decide to leave Alessandra $100 US because she did all of the dishes the entire trip and, I now realize, cooked more than her fair share of the dinners. It doesn't help me feel less embarrassed about the whole thing though and I really wish it had been made clear what the expectations were right from the start.

I get all packed up and the eat some of the coconut bread for breakfast. Alessandra is still in bed as she is not feeling well today. Rick is at his computer editing the footage we shot of the girl who sang the other night.

I have, overall, enjoyed this part of my trip. I loved the sailing but not how the boat heeled over - it makes for an uncomfortable time of it; I loved that Rick took me on so many dingy explorations - I really enjoyed them and saw a lot that way; I absolutely fell in love with Union Island, the Tobago Cays, Petit Tabac, and especially Mayreau - truly, truly paradise on earth and I would go back in a heartbeat and, if I could take my family with me, never, ever leave. I am forever grateful to Rick for making those places part of the itinerary. I didn't see any dolphins, which was a big disappointment - but saw loads of flying fish and they were fun to spot! I really liked Alessandra and just wished she had been more social - the one time we sat on the side of the boat and talked for an hour or two was so great and I think we could have had many more chats if she'd shown interest. I was also very grateful for both Rick and Alessandra's gracious acceptance of my instability getting in and out of the dinghy and helping me greatly so that what had been a very big concern to me was almost a non-issue. I was very leery of Lucky the parrot as he bit Alessandra a couple of times, but was shocked when he said - in my voice - 'Where's Rick?' one afternoon after I had said it to him about a dozen times in an hour while Rick was on shore (he said it many many times after that) - I loved how many things Lucky could say and, as long as he was in his cage, found him very amusing.  I was very comfortable in my little cabin and the bed was a lot more comfy than I expected - but I hated the bathroom. The cabinet on the wall had hinges that had broken so it fell down every time I opened it and I was constantly in fear of plugging the toilet - which never happened, thank the Lord. And showering in there was a challenge as you soaked the whole room and there wasn't much space to maneuver - if I lived aboard there would definitely have to be a proper shower.

I am really looking forward to the second half of this trip and I hope the hotel is clean and in good repair. I tried to see where it might be from the water each time we sailed between Grand Anse and Mourne Rouge Beach but I'm not sure if I saw it or not. I'm just trying to recognize buildings I am seeing from pictures on the website but nothing is quite the same. I am thinking that it is not as close to the beach as they make it out to be on the website. We shall see.

Not having my iPhone is horrible!

Just before noon, Rick dinghys me and my bags to Clarke's Court Marina where we wait just a few minutes for Cat Eye, the taxi driver, to show. Rick and I make arrangements to get in touch to go to half price pizza in a couple of days at Prickly Bay and maybe to Gouyave fish fry Friday together later in the week.

Cat Eye arrives and we say our goodbyes for now.  As we drive the 20 minutes from the south end of the island up to Grand Anse - Cat Eye pointing out places of interest along the way, and it strikes me again how different this island is from the BVI.  There are no multi-million dollar villas on the hills here, just a lot of brightly painted shacks and cabins with a few stucco or clapboard houses here and there. There are people walking on the side of the road everywhere, and there are no killer hills.  This really does feel like a third world country. We pass a 'squatters village' that is pretty awful - loads of ramshackle shacks on a steep hillside, crammed together with palm trees and bits of wild jungle growth between - super tiny structures smaller than most people's living rooms back home, the majority are of faded raw plywood but some are painted bright colours.

We pull in to the Siesta Hotel and I check in at the open reception area. I realize at once that I never saw this place from the water as it is not where I thought it was - I thought it was between Grand Anse and Morne Rouge but it isn't - and it is much farther off of the beach than I supposed. Cat Eye drives me up the steep driveway to my building and leaves my bags at the door to my room, which is standing open. I walk inside and the young maid is still in the room, hanging curtains. It is stifling hot inside and ask her about turning on the air-conditioning - something the hotel clerk asked her to do when she radioed up that I had arrived. She apologizes and turns it on and I take a look around. As the entire establishment is almost empty of guests, I have been upgraded from a room to a 'suite'. It is rather sparsely furnished, no decor at all - it is very bare bones. It's not super clean either but the whole place passable and I remind myself that I got it at a very good price.  Then I find a spider in one of the kitchen cupboards! I call the maid to come and remove it, hoping dearly that is the only one I will see in here. I am happy to see that there is a small safe in the bedroom closet for valuables.  The air conditioning unit is in the bedroom and it quickly cools off that room but the rest of the place stays too hot for comfort.

From the living room to the kitchen area

From the kitchen to the living room

Kitchen

Bedroom (note the lovely curtains)

Bathroom which was very clean except for the light fixture

Looking out of the window, the view is great but it's looking like it will definitely be a bit of a walk to the beach as what I thought was a lawn between here and there (when looking at pictures on the web site before booking it) is actually a plot of jungle. The mall is five minutes to the right, the way to the beach about the same to the left, apparently.  The pool looks nice and the restaurant right beside it looks like it will be a good place for some lunch.

View from my little balcony

I head down to the restaurant for a bite of lunch and order the callaloo quiche. Certainly not cheap at $25 EC. I haven't ever had callaloo - I don't even know what it looks like so this will be interesting. When it arrives, it is just a slice of quiche - no salad or garnish - and it appears to be full of spinach but this is the callaloo I guess. It tastes pretty good!  As I sit there and eat, it starts to rain - hard. I wait it out and then set out to walk to the beach. The receptionist confirms that I need to head left, take the first road on the right, and there will be a path to the beach at the end.

Callaloo Quiche

And...... the rain

As I walk down the narrow road which has no sidewalks, I start to notice that there are huge holes in the dirt at the side of the road, everywhere - about 50 every 10 feet. I stop and look at one, warily. If these are made by some earth burrowing spider, it is going to make for terrifying walks to the beach every day and if I actually ever see one of what ever big ass arachnid makes these holes, I might never go to the beach as I won't dare step foot off of the hotel property! As I continue to walk, heart somewhat in throat, looking down at my feet, which now look very exposed in flimsy flip flops, to make sure no spiders are ready to attack me - I start to look ahead a little and notice that there are orange things outside each hole and as I get within 10 feet or so, they disappear into the hole and I realize - with huge relief - that the holes belong to land crabs.  The crabs are various sizes from the size of a small cookie to the size of my hand. There are ditches that run along each side of the side of the road, and on the far side of the ditches, the crabs that are lucky enough to live there don't run into their holes when I walk by. It's almost as if they are standing there, their one big claw in the air, saying 'HA! You can't get me... I am way over here and there is a ditch between us that you'll NEVER cross.' I imagine that these are the smug aristocracy of the crab community here.

WHAT lives in there?!?!?

Oh, whew! It's just some crabs.

I turn off this road down the first road on the right (more crabs) and see the local police. I cannot find the path that is supposed to be at the end of the road so I turn right along a road that runs alongside the beach (and more crabs) but has big resorts in between and I finally decide to just walk through one of the resorts, Spice Island, to the beach. I walk as if I belong there and no one stops me as I go through the marble clad open air reception, past a gorgeous bar and restaurant, and then a private outdoor seating area around a pretty fountain. I step onto the sand of Grand Anse and am immediately accosted by a young man with dreadlocks and a diamond stud in his nose. He is carrying a backpack and flashes a big white smile. He holds up a necklace made of cinnamon sticks, nutmeg with the mace lace still on, and various other leaves and spices and tells me I need one. It is a beach vendor and he is unrelenting when I tell him I'm not interested at the moment, thank you anyway, and he walks by my side as I start to walk down the beach. I tell him I have just arrived, that I am here for 10 days, and that IF I want one, I wouldn't buy it until the day before I leave. He realizes I am unmoved by his pleas and the smile disappears. He says everyone says that and then he never sees them again. I tell him that if I decide to buy one, I will look for him on my last day here and then I go on my way, leaving him behind. I have read that the beach is full of these guys but they accept it when you say no and move on. This guy sure didn't do that and I wonder if I am going to be fighting them off all week long.

Ahhh! The beach!!

I find a small dive shop on the beach with several local guys sitting out front. I walk up and ask them where the path is from the road to the beach and they point it out to me, not far away, and I find it on my way back, after a nice long stroll along this new-to-me end of the beach. No wonder I didn't see it, it is clearly a path from the beach side, but then it cuts through a small dirt road that doglegs and leads to a parking lot for a Yoga gym, which I saw from the other side but had no idea that was it.

I walk to the mall for a new iPhone 4 cord with no luck but buy some snacks and drinks to put in my fridge back at the hotel. As I head to the doors to leave I see that it is absolutely pissing it down out. There is a small group of shoppers waiting at the doors for the rain to pass and I join them. It slows down but doesn't stop so I head out into the drizzle and make my way back to the hotel. I haven't gotten my bearings yet - I do know how to get back - but I am sure there has to be a quicker way. As I walk the long way around from the front of the mall to the road that takes me home, I realize that the peach stuccoed, long, low building with the red tin roof that I passed on my way to the mall IS the mall - the back side - and that there is a small glass door into the mall at the end of a long path from the road, over the ditch, and through a bit of lawn that I could have taken. Great to know for future visits!

Waiting out the rain

As I get dressed to go out for dinner, I realize that I forgot to empty the drawer under my bunk on the boat. My tank tops and my bras are in there! I am gong to need those items!! I private message Rick on FaceBook and send him an email - I now have wifi in my room so can use my iPad. An hour later he hasn't replied to either. This is not good.

I have arranged to meet Bruce and Regina at Port Louis Marina tonight. Cat Eye comes for me and drives me about 10 minutes to the port. Bruce seems a bit distant at first but he soon comes around and we chat about his life on the farm and what prompted him to sell and come here, and about his life since.  Regina also shares a bit about her life in Switzerland. I have a really nice evening with the two of them and Regina and I agree to meet up on the beach tomorrow.

The ride back with Cat Eye is strange, he is either high or drunk. Either way, I do not feel safe with him at the wheel. I won't be using him again. (I was sure I took a pic of Bruce and Regina but a search of both my iPhone and camera turns up nothing.)

Mike from Zero to Cruising has messaged me asking if I would proof read an article he has written for a sailing magazine so I do that and then head to bed, leaving lights on in the living room because I don't want cockroaches running about. I haven't seen any. And I don't want to.

RELUCTANTLY LEAVING THE CAYS

I set my alarm to be up by 5:30 so I can pop my head out of my berth hatch and see the sunrise. WOW! It is GORGEOUS!!

Sunrise in Saltwhistle Bay

I stand there and watch the show for at least 20 minutes before I lay back down and try to sleep but can't so read.

Once up, I watch La Boriel, a 'small' luxury cruise ship from France, sail into the Cays.

I wait for the coconut bread I ordered from yesterday to arrive and when it does it is delicious.  I pay $10 EC instead of $6.  It just seemed too cheap to pay that little and it is obvious to me that the local people do not have a lot of money so I feel it is the least I can do.

When we go to leave the bay, the same boat boy that helped us off of the sand last night wants $60 EC for the mooring ball. Rick is angry about that and refuses to pay more than $40, as that is what they go for around the other side at the turtle reserve. He seems really angry at the amount of money he has spent since arriving here so I give him $100 EC to cover most of it. When you consider the exchange rate, it isn't that much money.

I am sad to be leaving the Cays - it is beyond gorgeous here, truly a paradise and I don't know if - let alone when - I will ever be back. It saddens me almost to tears to leave.

We stop in at Union Island again to sign out of the Grenadines. We girls stay on board although I am alone most of the time as Alessandra prefers her cell phone to my company, it seems, so I sit on the swim grid and dangle my feet in the water. A squall comes over and it rains hard for 10 minutes and soaks everything not below deck. Rick is still away and doesn't return for over an hour. He stopped at a bar when the rain hit and ended up staying half an hour.

Alessandra

Alessandra is planning on making pasta again today. I am starting to get annoyed. I paid for a good portion of the groceries we purchased and there was chicken and fish in the cart. Where aren't we using any of it? This trip is almost over and we've had chicken once and pork one other night. I tell her as nicely as possible that I need protein, that there has been way more carbs this week than I would normally eat in a month. She doesn't seem happy to hear this but, oh well. I will cook myself a chicken breast to go with the pasta whenever our next meal is.

Once Rick is back, we head over to Petit Martinique for fuel. It is sunny and very hot and I try to stay out of the sun as it feels like my back is burning. It takes us about an hour to get there and Alessandra is in her cabin pretty much the whole trip over. I thought perhaps it was because she was upset about me wanting protein but apparently she is feeling seasick.

We arrive for fuel and then take the dinghy over to a spit of sand named Mopion just off of the island on the other side.  It is just tiny with a palapa on one end that is being taken by the sea as the sand shifts.

Heading in to Petit Martinique for fuel

The idea was for me to have my picture taken under it but the waves are very rough and the water too deep around the island. I am afraid I'd never be able to get back into the dinghy so I don't get out. Shame really. It would have been a cool pic to have.

What Mopion used to look like

Mopion today

After a pretty motor sail past Carriacou's backside while the sun, we drop anchor in Tyrrel Bay at the south end just before dark. Rick comments at the close call on the timing as he doesn't like to drop anchor after dark.

Carriacou

Carriacou

Carriacou

Sailboat in the sunset

Boats in the sunset

There doesn't look like there's much here. Hillsborough, around the other side, is the main town but there is no sheltered anchorage there.  Apparently one used to have to clear customs into Grenada at Hillsborough but they, just in the last month, moved the office to Tyrell Bay as cruisers complained a lot that it was inconvenient to have the customs office where you couldn't overnight.

It takes a few tries to get the anchor set and then we finally eat at 18:25.  The chicken tastes amazing as I was actually craving it. I can't say I've ever craved chicken before. 

TURTLES, TABAC, AND TROUBLE IN THE CAYS

It's an absolutely gorgeous morning here in the Tobago Cays.

I am standing out back, soaking in the sun and the view, when a boat appears from around an island and it looks like it's making a straight line for our boat. I watch, curious, and sure enough, the driver pulls up beside me and asks if I want to buy any t-shirts or cigarettes. I grin; this fellow is one of the 'boat boys' I have read about on a friend's blog. These guys have bright coloured wooden boats, bigger than a row boat, that they use to sell fish, freshly baked goods, t-shirts apparently, and also will scrub the hull of your boat for a small fee, help if you run aground... and any other number of ways they can make a living.

A couple of boat boys setting out early

This fellow has numerous battered suitcases in the bottom of his boat and numerous huge fenders hanging off the side. Once I tell him that I would like to buy some t-shirts, he ties alongside our boat, tossing me the line. He proceeds to open up his suitcases and show me what he has. I love the shirts with original island artwork on them and quickly choose two tank tops for myself (one has a cartoon drawing of 3 boat boys on the front) and then select a small one of colourful turtles swimming for Malia.  He doesn't have my size in the boat-boy shirt but says he will come later with the right size. I tell him that we will probably have moved by then but he says not a problem, he will find us. I tell him we will most likely be at Mayreau but he cuts me off before I can say where with "no problem, I will find you". I toss him the line and he takes off, cutting a swash of frothy white foam in the crystal azure water as he leaves.

Alessandra makes mango smoothies for breakfast with the mangos I bought yesterday.  It's delicious!

We move the boat around to the other side of the island we are at, between Petit Bateau (Middle Cay) and Petit Rameau (North Cay) so we can go snorkeling in the protected area off of a beach on Petit Rameau. We take the dinghy to the beach and pass 8 or 9 turtles. I get my snorkel gear on and swim out into the reserve. I am out there for half an hour and I don't see a single turtle! I give up and take the gear off and go around the corner to a gorgeous patch of water that is like a swimming pool and just float under the sun for an hour.  Bliss!!!!

Turtles to the right, swimming pool to the left

Beautiful spot to float for an hour or so

Floating!

Panorama of both sides (click on it to enlarge)

We see another 8 or so turtles on the dinghy ride back to the boat! I so would have loved to swim with them! Alessandra keeps telling me that there was one right in front of me at one point, but I never saw it. That is frustrating!

We take the dinghy through the reefs to Petit Tabac. This is the island where the scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was shot where Jack Sparrow asks "Why is all the rum gone?"  It is a small deserted island and I am really excited to go see it. It will be my very first time on a deserted island.

Petit Tabac in the distance - there are reefs galore between here and there

It's really shallow going through the reef and there is coral on both sides with just a narrow path between them. Alessandra stands in the front of the dinghy, spotting and pointing the way for Rick. We go really slowly and its a bit nerve wracking so I try not to look down into the water.  Not very successfully. 

 As we set out - just look at that water!!!!!

Alessandra keeping watch

Getting close!

When we get close, I can see we aren't alone. Drat. I really wanted to be the only ones on a deserted island.

Not alone

There's another couple and their boat driver here, but they leave almost as soon as we arrive so that makes me happy! Normally I love to meet new people but I really want to be alone on a deserted island!!

Even before we get out of the dinghy, I see a faded small conch shell under the palm trees. As soon as I am on the beach, I claim it and put it in the boat. 

Rick and Alessandra both need haircuts and I brought my scissors just in case (I used to be a hair stylist in another life, back before I was married). So I set about cutting both of their hair. We decided to do it on land rather than the boat to avoid a mess of hair to clean up.  

Once that is done, they head into the water and I go explore. Pictures can show more than I could ever describe so here is a whole bunch that I took on the island...

Rick and Alessandra swimming

The area where Kiera Knightly burned the rum

Looking down the beach from the palm trees in above pic

On the windward side of the island

The surf on the windward side

Heading back to the lee side

Very reluctantly I climb back into the dinghy when it is time to leave. I never want to leave this island. If I thought I would survive, I'd have them go get my stuff and bring it back and leave me here forever.

Alessandra makes avecado spaghetti and we eat it as we get underway to Mayreau - a very short hop from where we were anchored.

Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreau is a gorgeous beach and we drop anchor in a soft sand bottom.  There isn't a rock or coral head in sight, just pure white sand as far as one can see. I jump in off the boat and float about for an hour or so, swim to the beach and walk it for a bit, and then swim back.

I see a boat approaching and it's the boat boy from the morning with my tank top. People here are so trustworthy. I paid for this shirt with all of the others this morning and I had no doubt that he would return as he promised.

A couple of boat boys from Mayreau approach and they know Rick. They offer to scrub the bottom of the boat for a small fee. Rick had attempted to do it when we first anchored here and didn't get far. He agrees to their price and they get to work. When they are done, one asks me if I would like to order a loaf of freshly baked coconut sweet bread for the morning. I ask how much and he says $3 EC a loaf. I tell him I will take two and he tells me he will have them here first thing in the morning. I ask him to wait till at least 8am. 

Jomo and Ricardo, two hard-working boat boys

It feels very decadent to be laying on the deck reading while two young boys, barely out of their teens if that, scrape away at the bottom of the boat. It makes me uncomfortable, actually, and I have to tell myself that they want to do it, that this is how they make a living. But it doesn't help much.

Once the boys are done, I get changed and we take the dinghy ashore for a drink at a bar at the end of the beach called 'Last Bar Before the Jungle'.  Which it is and it is very rustic, as are most bars on the beaches of tiny Caribbean islands. 

At the end of the dock that we tied up on, as soon as you step off on to the beach, there is a small stand where a woman has jewelry and shells for sale. She also has conch shells of various sizes and there is one that is huge. I ask how much, fearing that it will be well out of my reach. She quotes $15 EC!! What a bargain. I tell her I will take it along with a shell necklace for my youngest daughter and a black coral bracelet for my other daughter. I wear both for the rest of the trip because I love them so much. Little do I know how handy they will come in for the latter part of my trip on Grand Anse Beach in a week.

Just as we order drinks at the bar, it starts to rain and I realize, with horror, that I have committed a major no-no when living on a boat; I have left my hatches open!!! This means my bunk will be soaking by the time we get back if this drizzle turns to a deluge as it usually does.  With a little trepidation, I tell Rick but to my relief he just laughs and says he hopes I like sleeping in a wet bed.

There is a delicious aroma coming from the back of the bar area, which I assume is a kitchen. I ask what it is and the lady tells me that its chicken. I am dying to order some but Rick and Alessandra don't want to eat here - Rick says something about it being expensive to eat out all of the time - not that we have. I am longing for some protein. But I am not going to eat alone so I ignore my growling tummy.

View from the deck of The Last Bar out to the anchorage

It is dark by the time we head back and the dock is super rickety and I cling onto Rick for dear life as I stumble my way along it and try to avoid the gaping holes in the planks. 

Checking my bunk, it is just damp as it didn't rain heavy.  Thank goodness!

Not long after getting back, there is a shift in wind direction and not long after that I feel a big 'bump'. Alessandra pokes her head out of her bunk and asks what that was. Rick does not seem too concerned but I look over the side. I can't see anything in the dark. Suddenly there's a shudder and a grinding noise. Oh-oh, we've swung around in the wind into the shallows and we are aground in the sand. We are in trouble but at least its not rocks we are grinding on!

We are deep into the sand though and Rick tries to get us off using the dinghy but we aren't budging an inch.

It takes half an hour and help from a boat boy named 'Mr. Fabulous' to get us out of the sand. And it costs Rick $60 EC for the help and he is not happy about that.

We have risotto and christophene for dinner and I am in bed by 9:30.  

I lie in my bunk and go over the day in my head. It was a fabulous day!!!