August-Tobago Part 2

Tobago Part 2: August 18-28, 2007

Click on the above thumbnail for a map during this time period

After we left Store Bay, we traveled up the west coast of Tobago, visiting the most protected of the anchorages. We spent time in Mt. Irvine, Great Courland Bay/Plymouth, Englishman's Bay, and Man of War Bay/Charlotteville. They each had their charm, but Englishman's and Man of War were perhaps our favorites. Steve and Linda (Seaman's Elixir) and Paul and Ginette (Sol Magique) were with us until we headed back south, and so you will see them in the pictures below. We had some great walks through terrific scenery. You will not see pictures of the waterfall at Parlatuvier, however, because Chuck had the camera on his belt and struck off on a difficult path (that Barb, Paul, and Ginette deemed too unappealing). Twenty-five minutes later he finally turned around and returned to a somewhat-worried-but-then-irate wife who had gotten the idea that he was wandering around in the wild forest or had been bitten by a poisonous snake or had fallen and struck his head on a rock (or all three). Au contraire, he was just following a somewhat unused path up along the side of the steep slope, in conditions reminiscent of the Hash House Harrier races in Grenada. Unfortunately for him, the party had found the correct path along the side of a little stream, and had found the falls sufficiently early on as to have ample time to gather up a certain amount of concern/impatience/irritation at his absence. Chuck likes the woods, and would do it all again but might do a better job of communicating how long he might be gone and where he might meet them. In this instance, Barb found an elderly man with a machete in a corn field beside the woods . She asked him if he had seen Chuck. He hadn't but offered her the use of his cell phone to call him. Incredibly enough Chuck was carrying a cell phone in his backpack, so that should have been possible, but who knows their own cell phone number? You can bet Barb has it memorized now.

You might notice in the photos below that our dinghy sports a front fender. We put it on while the dinghy is tied behind the boat. We have found that the bow eye on the dinghy does not like the swim platform and has chipped off the fiberglass in a number of places. We have been unsuccessful in our attempt to find a curved fender for the bow or to have some protection made. We plan to put a rubber strip around the swim platform to protect the fiberglass and continue our search for some padding around the dinghy bow cleat. Any suggestions would be welcome.

While snorkeling at Man of War Bay, we discovered that there were tiny little jellyfish-like creatures in the water that gave a mild sting. After about 50 feet and many stings, we decided to do a hasty retreat out of the water. We were pleased to discover that the sting did not last very long But the next day Barb found that she was covered with welts. She assumes she had also been attacked by creatures called sea lice. They are somewhat analogous to chiggers or red bugs found in Georgia, in that they leave an enzyme in the skin that causes for days a flare-up reaction much worse than a mosquito bite. The trick is not to scratch the welts or they won't heal for weeks. Barb seems to have a heightened sensitivity to sea lice -- this was not the first time she had a bad reaction when Chuck had none at all. Fortunately, her welts were gone in about five days. Even paradise has its down-sides.

We are in Trinidad as we write this, and are a little preoccupied with getting ready to fly back to the USA, so we are not giving Tobago its due. It is a beautiful island and we plan to go back there at every opportunity. It is one of our favorite islands.