TO THE TOBAGO CAYS - OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PARADISE FOUND

I wake up at 3:30am with something banging about in a rolly sea.  Sounds like it is something stowed just ahead of me in between the wall of my cabin and the hull.  I don't sleep much after that. Later when I mention it to Rick, he thinks it might be something in my medicine cabinet and, sure enough,  the culprit is a can of hairspray that fell over.

I make myself toast and jam with some grapes for breakfast.

Rick has pretty much completed the video and set it to music that someone on the island wrote. It has lyrics and is actually quite good. He wants us girls to add a line at the end so we record that and then he finishes it up. It has turned out great.

Rick's video for Grenada Tourism

We head back into Clifton at about 10am. Rick forgot to check us in yesterday. Ooops. I also want to buy and mail some postcards. I buy 10 and sit down at a picnic table next to one of the fruit stand huts and write them all out while sipping on a frosty Ting. I am so grateful for the shade as it is easily 100 degrees out. Before I leave, I buy some fruit and vegetables from the lovely lady who owns the stand, as a thank you for letting me sit there for so long.

 Postcards all done

Buying tomatoes and mangoes 
from the lovely lady who owns the stand

I head back over to the little shop down the main street where I bought the postcards and stamps, to mail them in her cute little mailbox.

Mailing the postcards, hoping they will get to their destinations

this year.  Turns out most got there a week or so after I got home.

We dinghy back to the boat and have a lunch of salad. We pull up anchor and head off to the Tobago Cays at 1:15pm.  So excited!

It doesn't take long to get there, we can see them from where we were anchored. They are GORGEOUS. Not what I pictured at all but I love it here. We drop anchor close to an island and we all jump in off of the transom and swim to the beach.

I swam from here to there, and back in beautiful clear, warm water

When we get back to the boat, we hop in the dinghy and go explore. We saw 3 turtles pop their heads up out of the water! Tomorrow we will snorkel in the protected area where they all live.

Off in the distance is Petit Tabac, the island in Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow is on the island alone with Kiera Knightly and she has set all of the rum on fire and he asks "why is all the rum gone?"  We will go see it tomorrow and I am so excited about that although, truth be told, I am excited and pretty overwhelmed by all of this. It is so so beautiful here and is the paradise I dream of all the time. The sky is blue with puffy white clouds on the horizon, the air is warm, the water is too, and is so clear and that amazing Caribbean blue, there are palm trees everywhere, white soft sand, beautiful dark skinned people on every island... my heart and soul and mind are full to overflowing. I have read so much about the Cays and longed with every atom in my body to be able to see them someday. I actually get choked up and try to hold back my tears when Rick asks me on the way back to the boat if I am enjoying it. "Enjoying" doesn't even touch how I am feeling.

 A huge pile of ancient conch shells - I will show this to customs in 

Canada if I find a nice one to bring home and they refuse to 

let me in with it because they're endangered or some such stupid reason

A gorgeous deserted beach, one of many around here

Our boat, Sophisticated Lady, silhouetted in the setting sun

Another gorgeous sunset

When we get back to the boat, Alessandra and I sit on the side of the boat with our feet hanging off into the void and talk about the English language (she is Italian) and about reading for an hour or two. It's an interesting conversation and really the first one we've had. It ends up being pretty much the last one we have as well. She isn't very social and spends pretty much all day either sleeping or on her iPhone texting.

She makes chicken for dinner and it ends up being super salty. She added salt without tasting. Rick gives her a hard time about it, in a joking way, and she won't eat hers. I eat mine because I am so hungry, while she protests the whole time that I should toss it out.

After dinner I am in the usual place, the cockpit, reading. I fall asleep and it is all quiet aboard when I move into my cabin at 9:30.

CLIFTON, UNION ISLAND

It's very cloudy this morning but there is blue sky to the south-west. I hope it is headed here.

The plan today is to go to shore to the town of Clifton for a bit and then to Happy Island again this afternoon.

I make myself some toast and jam for breakfast. I eat it slowly, hoping I can keep it down.

Rick is on the computer again so I sit out in the cockpit and check online to see if there are any restaurants in Clifton that we can have lunch at. I find one called Big Citi. They serve a lunch buffet, apparently, and judging by the comments on Trip Advisor, it is really good and really reasonable. I run it past everyone and they like the idea. Rick is still on the computer so I settle in on one of the cushioned seats, with my feet up, and read.

I am getting antsy as its been a few hours and there is no sign of Rick getting off that thing. He is editing a short video of clips he has taken over the years of Grenada. He is hoping that the Grenadian tourism board will like it and hire him to do more. I get that he wants to do this, but he has a guest - me - and I want to get going. I can't stand sitting around when we have plans. I finally say as much and we are underway in about 45 minutes.

 Heading in to Clifton

Welcome to Union Island!

The town is so tiny! Just one very narrow road with a couple of tiny shops, the restaurant we are going to, and a little market area comprised of small colourful huts in a semi circle on hard-packed dirt and a few trees at the street with a couple of picnic tables under in the shade.  The sun has come out, the sky is blue, and it is so so hot!

Looking down the main street in the direction we came from 

(the restaurant is on the right edge of frame, Rick and Alessandra

on the left)

Looking down the main street in the other direction

We head around the back of a white building and then up some stairs to the restaurant.  The whole place is open on the street side and we take a table right at the rail overlooking the road. The 'buffet' is about 10 dishes under glass near the till. We walk over and tell the girl behind the counter what we want. She seems surprised that we want to try almost all of it. I pass on the pigs tails and try the turkey leg stew, chicken wings, veggie dish with christophene - first time I have had that and I love it; sort of cross between a turnip and broccoli stem in consistency and flavour, rice, chow mien, and half a roasted potato. It was delicious although there were a lot of bone fragments in the stew as they just chop the entire thing with a cleaver into bite-sized chunks. With drinks it came to $76 EC (Eastern Caribbean Dollars) with a $10 tip which works out to $29 Canadian - a great deal. I pay the bill as that is what one is expected to do when you go out for a meal on a crewed charter.

View from our lunch table down to the main street

My meal

After lunch, we walk along the street and stalls. I buy two christophenes to cook up at some point, and a Caribbean flip doll for Malia, my granddaughter.

Locally grown fruit and vegetables

 The lovely lady who sold me christophenes and told 

me how to prepare them

Bright clothing at the stall where I bought the Caribbean doll

Looking out over the anchorage from the shore of Clifton

We hop in the dinghy and head over to Happy Island for a drink. Janti is much more subdued today. We walk through the room in the back (not his house) and see pictures of the progress of the island over the years.

With Janti before we leave

Back at the boat, we change into bathing suits and then dinghy over to Palm Island, it is a very bumpy ride. Palm Island is a gorgeous place but for guests of the resort only. Too bad because I would have loved to go ashore and look around and maybe have a drink at the beach bar.

Palm Island

We go looking for another beach and end up at the reef. We have to drop anchor in waist-high water and then walk to the reef. The bottom is very rocky and hard to walk on. I keep my flip flops on which makes it harder and I am wishing I had worn my water shoes which are back on the boat. Once we get to the beach on the reef, there are loads of anemone shells, my favourite shell. I gather as many as I can, using my tankini top to hold them by holding the hem up to make a pocket. As I am stumbling my way back to the dinghy I have a premonition I will drop them all in the water and as soon as I get there and try to take them out of my swim suit, that is exactly what happens - every last one of them. I spend the next fifteen minutes getting them all off of the sea floor and into the dinghy. When Rick and Alessandra join me (they were exploring a little island at the end of the reef) I have a hard time getting in the dinghy and have to get in from the back using the engine and Rick's hand to get up and in. I hate how hard it is for me.

The reef

I take a quick shower when we get back and the hatch is open above my head. I look up at one point and Lucky, the resident parrot, is peering down at me and makes like he wants to hop down. I kind of freak out. This bird bites. I don't want to be bit. I try to push him away from the hatch so I can close it but he is having none of it. I try to scare him with my towel but he hops onto the towel which really freaks me out. It takes me 5 minutes to get him to move so I can close the hatch and I am not happy.

We don't have dinner that night as I guess no one is hungry enough although I could eat something so I have some ginger snaps and lay out under the stars in the cockpit and read till quite late.  I love this time of day as much as the sunshine and only head to bed when I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

GRENADA TO UNION ISLAND

I woke up far too early this morning - 5:30am.  I guess I am all caught up on the one night of no sleep and now jet lag has kicked in.

No sign of the storm of last night with just light cloud overhead. Today we set off for the Grenadines! We will go as far as Carriacou to overnight there.

We set of at 8am and motor sail up the coast of Grenada. It is so gorgeous. I make french toast and turkey bacon for breakfast for Alessandra and me (Rick only eats cereal) and it is delicious.

On our way up the coast of Grenada

The wind is on the nose so once we pass the protection of Grenada, we are bashing through waves for hours and I start to feel nauseated again.  I eat a couple of gingersnaps but crumbs from one goes down the wrong way and as I start to cough, I realize I am going to, literally, toss my cookies. I know I won't make it below to the head and grab at a pail that is tied to a rope near the stern of the boat. Ugh.

Rick decides that it would be a good idea to just keep going to Union Island and asks me what I want to do. I have no idea as I don't know what I'd be missing bypassing Carriacou so say whatever he wants to do is fine with me. So we continue to bash our way north past Carriacou.  We give a wide berth to the phenomenon known as Kick'em Jenny. Law states there has to be a 2 mile circle of 'no sail zone' around the submarine volcano.  I am fine with that.

Sails are up

Feeling much better now

Rick and Alessandra at the helm

At one point, I head below and when I climb the steps to go back up, I stub my toe really really hard on a step.  It hurts like the dickens and I think I might have broken it.  A couple of hours later, I have a bruise that shocks Rick - I guess he didn't believe me when I howled and said it hurt like the dickens!

My poor toe! 

As we approach Union Island and begin to sail to the northern end, I am stunned by the beauty of the island.  There is nothing but trees, no houses, no other buildings until the north end, and the profile of the mountains against the sky is really cool.  The highest peak is Mount Taboi - 999 feet above sea level.

Part of Union Island's cool profile

We anchor behind the reef just off shore from the town of Clifton and just ahead of the bow is Happy Island, a place I have read of and dreamed of visiting. I am almost beside myself with excitement at finally being right here, so close to it.

Happy Island just ahead

A little closer look at Happy Island

For those who don't know, Happy Island is man made - all built by a Rasta named Janti who piled conch shells on the reef, cementing them together until he had a platform big enough to build a small bar.  Over the years he has added to the base and now he lives on the island in a small beach house to the rear of the bar.  It is a popular spot with cruisers.

The Sun setting over Union Island as we anchor

The sun is setting creating a pink sky over Happy Island in the foreground 

and Palm Island (a private island) in behind it

As soon as we anchor, we hop in the dinghy and head over there.  Janti is behind the bar, looking like he could be Whoopie Goldberg's sister, and he has just finished smoking a fattie so he is in high spirits. He has caribbean music blaring from a stereo and he holds a microphone and is singing along to the lyrics. There aren't many people on the island, just Jaunti and a female bar tender, and half a dozen cruisers all from the same boat. We order drinks (Ting for me) and enjoy the entertainment. Rick and Janti know each other from all of Rick's years on the water and visiting this place, so they chat although I believe having a conversation with Janti is proving a bit of a challenge.

Janti entertaining us

You can hear, under the music and Janti's singing, Rick explaining to me how Janti built the island

We head back to the boat for dinner. I had put a pork tenderloin in the cart the day we provisioned, intending to make pulled pork one night but turns out, you can't slow cook for 5 hours in a boat oven (I did ask Alessandra if it was okay before putting it in the grocery cart, and she said it was) and Rick is horrified when we propose it. Apparently that would drain all of the propane.  So instead, we slice it thin and fry it in a pan with some bbq sauce. Alessandra doesn't want any help so I head up top to read as she washes and slices the potatoes to go with it.  When I go down a bit later to check on the progress, I am dismayed to see that she has added the raw potato slices to the pork mix. I was planning to cook them separately and add a bit of butter when they were done. Now everything is going to taste the same. And no other vegetables are prepared so that is dinner.

When I head to bed, as soon as I start to drift off, it rains. I jump up and close all three hatches in my quarters and crawl back into bed. I wake up later hot and feeling like I can't breathe. The rain has stopped so I open all the hatches.  SO much better.  Then I wake who knows how much later to rain falling on my face and jump up to close them again.  This is repeated many times throughout the night.