The Grenadines is a group of Caribbean islands, some of which are part of Grenada, and some of Saint Vincent. After visiting Grenada, Carriacou and Sandy Island in the Grenada part of the islands, we were now ready to explore Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The first island to visit would be Union Island, where we would check into another new country…
Union Island & Tobago cays
Approaching the town of Clifton on Union Island you have to navigate some reefs, and then drop the anchor in between a couple of reefs. We were relieved when the anchor held and we could go explore ashore. While Max checked in, I took the kids to a cute little cafe for lunch. They chose waffles, which they declared to be good but not as good as mine. Hee hee! I had a delicious baguette filled with crab meat and salad. Yum.
The town of Clifton is cute, but a bit touristy for my liking, especially compared to the other places we have been to lately. When the sun started to set, it was time to dinghy over to Happy Island. Happy Island is a bar that was built on a reef, on a foundation of ground up conch shells! It is a cool little spot, and popular with charter boat folks. We sat down for a rum punch with our friends from Boag, Mrs. Chippy and Nikau, just in time to see the sun set and quickly jump into our dinghies to be home before dark!
The next day we sailed to Chatham Bay, just around the corner. It is a lovely large bay, with a couple of cute beach bars on the shore. Much more laid-back than the town. We snorkeled and swam the whole day, then gathered with our buddy boats on the beach to try the famous conch fritters. We had to wait a while because they were being made fresh. The kids spent the time exploring the chicken coops and pig pens behind the beach shacks. There were some adorable baby pigs. Zoë would have loved to take one home… Finally the conch fritters arrived and we attacked them with gusto. When the platter was half-devoured, the chef brought us the dipping sauce. Oops!
Snorkeling with Sharks
Next on our list of must-see places was Tobago Cays. They form an archipelago consisting of five small islands and lots of reefs. We navigated the reefs carefully and picked up a mooring ball at the marine park. It was one of the most stunning places we have ever been moored. We were close to the beach and saw lots of turtles swimming by. I was not able to take any photos that really do the place justice.
We dinghied over to one of the small islands, where we left the younger kids and some of the grownups to explore the beach. They swam, climbed rocks, and saw iguanas. I went along with the other group of grownups and some of the older kids, to do a bit of snorkeling over a shallow reef. It was amazing. There was lots of coral with the most beautifully coloured fish and other sea life moving about.
I have not done much snorkeling, and there was a strong current, so I was advised to stick close to the others. So I tried to stick with the group, while mesmerised by this underwater world below me. I heard the kids yell Shark! a few times, not in a scared way, but full of excitement. It freaked me out a little, but apparently they were small nurse sharks. Unfortunately, I was too late to spot them. Maybe that was for the best…
In the evening we all brought some food to the beach and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the picnic table. What an amazing place!
After all that excitement we needed a quiet day to get some stuff done on the boat, and buy some supplies. We made for the island of Canouan. We anchored in Charlestown Bay, which is a large sheltered bay, perfect for some quiet time! Apparently this is the only bay where you can anchor, as the rest of the island has been taken over by fancy resorts with private beaches. I went ashore with Kylie from Boag to do some shopping. The town was small and poor looking, but people were friendly. There was plenty of fresh fruit and a bakery. Just what we needed!
We have had a towable inflatable ring on board for a while, but our dinghy was too slow and the kids too young to really enjoy it. We recently bought ourselves a new, faster engine for the dinghy and the kids did a bit of growing, so it was time to give the Trouble Base another go! Max picked up our kids and the other boat kids one by one and took them for a spin. They had so much fun! Max enjoyed it just as much, if not more…
wonderful.Great to read about all your adventures you make me feel I’m there too sometimes.
Keep the blogs up they’re so interesting.
lots of love xxx
Zo leuk om dit te lezen en de mooie foto’s te zien. Goed voer voor een mooi boek te schrijven…….
We zijn zo ver weg van elkaar maar op deze manier beleven we het een beetje mee. Genieten van de kinderkoppies, hoe blij ze zijn en zo vrij als een vogeltje. Dit nem je ze niet meer af en zien ze er later graag op terug.
dikke kus, mama, papa ( oma en opa)