Tobago
We arrived here on 1st Feb after a 24 hour sail from Barbados. For the last two weeks we have been anchored in Charlotteville, a lovely little village on the NW tip of the island. It couldn’t be more of a contrast to Barbados, which is relatively flat and very heavily populated. Tobago is lush and green and hilly.
The water here is more green than blue but still pretty clear, there is a reef at the edge of the anchorage full of bright blue, stripey and spotted fish and we have our own collection of tiny blue-and-yellow striped fish underneath the boat. The nearest beach, aptly named Pirate’s Bay, is the colour of Exmouth sand.
The trees are full of parrots, yellowtails and mot-mots. Frigate-birds circle high above us, brown booby’s swoop down close by and pelicans perch on the fishing boats.
Fishing is the main activity, mainly long-lining from open boats in the bay for kingfish, dorado and tuna.
There are a handful of houses dotted in the hillsides but most are in the town along with a couple of basic shops, some fruit and veg stalls, four or five eating places, a garage and a fish market. There are two internet cafes and one payphone. The locals are very friendly and a lot of them seem to be well-travelled, mostly to the USA, UK or Germany.
We were befriended in the local bar by an 85-year-old man who was one of 14 brothers and sisters, had 11 children, 11 grand-children and had travelled to Germany six times. He had been married for 47 years and was planning to marry his wife again on their 50th anniversary. I don’t know if the secret to his longevity was the amount of whisky he drank of an evening or the tranquil beachside way of life.
Whilst there, we have made new gaff jaws out of local cypress wood, been around the island by bus, walked up into the jungle, tasted the local food (excellent) and had a great beach barbeque for a fellow yachtie’s birthday.
Today, we arrived at the bottom of the island, ‘Store Bay’, having sailed along the west coast, stopping last night in the beautiful and secluded ‘Englishman’s Bay’. Early tomorrow morning we will head off towards Trinidad, where we plan to stay for the Carnival at the end of the month.
The water here is more green than blue but still pretty clear, there is a reef at the edge of the anchorage full of bright blue, stripey and spotted fish and we have our own collection of tiny blue-and-yellow striped fish underneath the boat. The nearest beach, aptly named Pirate’s Bay, is the colour of Exmouth sand.
The trees are full of parrots, yellowtails and mot-mots. Frigate-birds circle high above us, brown booby’s swoop down close by and pelicans perch on the fishing boats.
Fishing is the main activity, mainly long-lining from open boats in the bay for kingfish, dorado and tuna.
There are a handful of houses dotted in the hillsides but most are in the town along with a couple of basic shops, some fruit and veg stalls, four or five eating places, a garage and a fish market. There are two internet cafes and one payphone. The locals are very friendly and a lot of them seem to be well-travelled, mostly to the USA, UK or Germany.
We were befriended in the local bar by an 85-year-old man who was one of 14 brothers and sisters, had 11 children, 11 grand-children and had travelled to Germany six times. He had been married for 47 years and was planning to marry his wife again on their 50th anniversary. I don’t know if the secret to his longevity was the amount of whisky he drank of an evening or the tranquil beachside way of life.
Whilst there, we have made new gaff jaws out of local cypress wood, been around the island by bus, walked up into the jungle, tasted the local food (excellent) and had a great beach barbeque for a fellow yachtie’s birthday.
Today, we arrived at the bottom of the island, ‘Store Bay’, having sailed along the west coast, stopping last night in the beautiful and secluded ‘Englishman’s Bay’. Early tomorrow morning we will head off towards Trinidad, where we plan to stay for the Carnival at the end of the month.
posted by Katie at 7:33 PM
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