Last Days in Tobago

Here we are again - I was a bit shocked when I realized we had not written anything for a blog since before going to Plymouth, Tobago. Of course Cheryl did her usual amazing job of putting in meaningful pictures of our adventures but it is time to write again.

Just to catch up - we did go to Plymouth, which is on Great Courland Bay. We were excited because the Doyle "bible" we use as a sailing guide indicated there was a dock there so we were looking forward to landing without having to pull the dinghy through breakers and then dragging/carrying it up above the tide line. As it turned out, there was a somewhat opposite problem. The dock was for ferrys and big boats so after tying up we had to kind of crawl belly first onto the dock. Oh woe is us!!

The town of Plymouth was kind of a neat small Caribbean village type of settlement. One main road, a deserted fort that they kept in fair shape (not restored but neat) and a bunch of friendly people. We walked around the first day and made arrangements to get a ride to another village the next day for a Traditional Wedding they were having as part of the Heritage Festival.

Saturday dawned to a very intense and, as it turned out, day-long downpour that put a damper on our plans. We were also visited early that morning by one of the fishermen who was net fishing the bay. Although it was a very large bay, he had strung his nets over quite an expanse. Truth be told I think he exaggerated a bit as to what he had laid out and in fact we never saw him again during our stay there but in the interest of good relations between the people of the islands and Canada, we moved the boat to just off the end of the dock. Not a problem except we lost our internet. The anchorage was not too bad even if a bit rolly. Tobago is a bit different from the islands that come down the chain from BVI in that it doesn't really run north/south as they do. The down side of this is that, since the winds are usually from the east, Tobago has no windward and leeward side and thus no place that is "ocean-swell free". Store Bay, where we first stayed and where we eventually went back to is as calm as it gets because it is somewhat southwest but even there the swells are noticeable most of the time. Rock and Roll heaven!

sunset after the storm

Since the weather was being affected by a number of tropical waves coming from the east we decided we would head back to Store Bay, do a laundry, some grocery and wedding shopping, clear customs in Scarborough and leave for Trinidad. Not all in one day of course! Sunday seemed to be a good day to move so we did, back to Store Bay and it's tourist beach shores.

Cheryl's interjection - Prior to leaving for Store Bay we spent an amusing hour watching the pelicans and seagulls. Doyle's guide had mentioned the unusual fishing technique of the seagulls in this bay. That morning we experienced it with our own eyes. The seagulls would wait for the pelican to catch a fish and then land on its head or back waiting for it to open its beak to swallow the fish.

The next few days we spent doing what we had planned but doing it in a leisurely fashion. Monday the laundry and a little shopping, Tuesday some more shopping for groceries, a meaningful souvenir and a gift, Wednesday we went into Scarborough to clear customs and immigration. I must say that here our Canadian "personalities" seem to be paying off. People have told us some horror stories about customs and immigration. Jimmie and Donna from Bluewater Cat and Tom and Rose from Sojourn both were threatened with 4,000 t/t fines and in fact a guy from Belgium stopped at our boat in Store Bay, I think mainly to vent about customs, and he says he was threatened with a 10,000 t/t fine (these are Trinidad/Tobago dollars, by the way - 6 to one of our dollars). Investigation showed, however, that all of the above had tried to bend the rules and "get away" with something i.e Jimmie didn't check out of Scarboroough, which he was told he should do if he was going to Charlotteville, and Rose didn't check out of Immmigration - not sure but I think she said it was too much hassle. Eddie, the guy from Belgium, didn't think he should have to account for where he was in Tobago - plus he was one of these very aggressive speakers - very "in your face".

Another interjection - On Monday while our clothes were being washed we took a walk out to Pigeon Point Heritage Park. We had been there before, but hadn't walked all the way to the end of the park. It is situated on an old plantation and is beautiful. The only thing left of the plantation is the jetty, but you can look across Buccoo Reef and Lagoon and walk along the white sand beach.




We went into customs with our paperwork correct and complete, the agent signed us out, we cleared immigration in an orderly fashion (it took 2 hours but that office is also their passport office and we were set to go - no muss, no fuss.

This blog is getting a bit long - not like me to go on and on and on is it!!! Don't answer that.

So, I am going to leave you in Wednesday evening with us going to bed early in order to get up in the wee hours of Thursday morning to leave for Trinidad. I promise you will get the next chapter shortly.