Horseshoe Reef,
Tobago Cays
12.27.838N
61.21.427W

We started our day listening for weather and information about the incoming tropical wave and heard hardly more than we had previously; arriving sometime on Tuesday and leaving Wednesday. High waves to diminish by Friday. OK, nothing new, let’s go snorkeling.

We took our dinghy out to where there were little mooring balls placed along the reef. We tied up to one, tugged on our gear, jumped overboard and into an aquarium. Fish, coral, sponges, algae, not the gunky kind but the kind that looks like watercress and strings of peas. It was beautiful; it was great; it was why you learned to dive or snorkel in the first place. Everywhere we looked there was something different and there were miles of it. It was if someone had taken my reference books on reef fish, sea creatures and coral and dumped all of it into one place. I even saw some of the Flamingo Tongue snails and anemones with purple tips. All of it in 4-8’ of water. I could have stayed out there all day but after a couple of hours, Dale was starting to look like a prune.

We headed to one of the little islands that bordered the anchorage next. Dale wanted to climb to the top of the hill so I headed back to the water with Don & Diane off Cloud Nine. The water around the island was pretty boring, just grass and sand. That is until I spotted a couple of turtles.

I had been hovering above hundreds of various sized squid when I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a hawksbill turtle. I approached from behind it and was able hover over it while it ate the grass below. Every couple of minutes or so, it would surface for air and then head back down to graze some more. I was there waiting. I stayed as motionless as I could without drifting away. After a bit, two more turtles joined in the feast. Talk about up close and personal. Wahoo! What a day.

At 4:30, there was a cocktail hour on the beach, so we headed back and cleaned up for that. We met several more cruisers heading either to Trinidad or Venezeula. We watched wind surfers flying across the anchorage and another on a board, parachute surfing. We talked until dark about where we had come from and where we where heading before wading out to our dinghies and returning to our boats.

I know I’ve said it before, but days like this, are why we’re out here.