The Tobago Cays

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The Tobago Cays, which incidentally are not in Tobago but in the Grenadines, are one of the most beautiful places on this earth. It is an archipelago of 5 small islands set behind a long Horseshoe Reef. After our quick 20 mile sail from Bequia, we anchored behind the reef between a couple of the islands in the crystal clear, gin colored waters. We had stunning views everywhere we looked, from the waves crashing out on the reef to the white sand beaches lined with coconut palm trees of the individual Cays. And it is so pristine, with no civilization in site and only accessible by boat. In fact, the Tobago Cays has recently been turned into a national park in an effort to preserve the natural beauty and abundant wildlife.

And the snorkeling in the Tobago Cays was fantastic! One of our favorite adventures was to snorkel with hawksbill turtles there. The park rangers told us where to go, so we tentatively dove in. At first we thought we were in the wrong place because we were just snorkeling around a giant bed of sea grass. But then we stumbled upon our first turtle, and then the next, and before we knew it were were surrounded by turtles - it was so cool! We were just floating among them, watching them eat sea grass and occasionally coming up for air. You could even hear them ripping up the grass and chewing, and now understand why our friends from the islands call turtles the goats of the sea. It was such an awesome experience. And luckily we were able to get great pictures with my new underwater camera. We had almost as much fun playing with the underwater camera as we did snorkeling with the turtles.

We ended up spending 3 lovely days in the Tobago Cays, snorkeling amongst the turtles and out on Horseshoe Reef- which was filled with beautiful corals and plenty of fish. And we just lazed around the boat, reading books and jumping into the ocean for a quick dip to cool off. We wished we could have stayed longer, to explore all 5 of the small Cays and Kayak amongst the reefs- but instead we decided to head back up to Bequia. Our very good friends, Chris and Kelly on S/V Verna Breeze, were going to sail a long overnight and finally catch up with us in the Grenadines. So we hoisted anchor and turned the Rum Runner north for a much anticipated re-union. But it was sad to leave the Tobago Cays, and we promised to return and spend much more time here in the future.

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Photos

Jen
Best snorkel ever!

Rum Runner
The Rum Runner anchored out in the Tobago Cays, one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Tobago Cays
White sand beach, palm trees, and gin colored water- doesn't get more picturesque than this.

Hawksbill Turtle
The Goats of the sea.

Surfacing for Air
One of the turtles surfacing for air.

Snorkeling with the Turtles
Jay snorkeling with the hawskbill turtles- so cool!

Horseshoe Reef
Snorkeling out at Horseshoe Reef- so many beautiful corals and teeming with fish.

Comments

[MOM]

The commentary and photographs are great! Are you getting paid by the Board of Tourism or is it really that beautiful? Sounds like you're enjoying the new camera. Love, Mom