Tobago Cays
Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd November 2024
To our delight, moorings were available on the reef side at Tobago Cays. The combination of brilliant water, sun, turtles, breezes, showers and rainbows delighted us once again.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and picked up one of the moorings. We swam from the boat to Turtle Island. A looping path back to Cotinga showed us turtles swimming near the bottom. We spent some time watching boats arrive and visitors swimming to and fro. A dinghy laden with nine people seemed to defy belief. We kept expecting someone to fall out but it didn’t happen.
On Friday morning we took the dinghy to shore for a walk up the hill on the island of Petit Bateau. At several spots we got great views over the lagoon. The shading of the water from deep to shallow was particularly striking. More than one photo was taken! By the time we returned to the beach we were glad to find a shady picnic table where we cooled off a bit. In the later afternoon, we went snorkeling on the reef, tying the dinghy to red buoy. The sea was quite rough but we were able to work our way around several sections of reef. The fish were quite vibrant although much of the coral seemed broken or bleached. It looks worse than we remember it and in sections it looks like the enormous waves created by hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc on the foundational structure of the reef. In contrast to our previous snorkeling in Chatham Bay, the visibility was outstanding. The approach of a ~ 5 foot reef shark caused some elevation in heart rate! As we made our return in the dinghy, Mike dropped the rest of us off on the ocean side of Turtle island and we swam back to Cotinga, whilst he stood watch. We saw several more turtles underwater and a few sting rays. We made it back on board just as a dramatic squall created torrential rain and gusty winds.
What a spectacular place!
Gloria
Pete and jo - masters of the selfie
Distant storm clouds at sunset
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