Horseshoe Reef,
Tobago Cays
12.27.838N
61.21.427W

Welcome to the world, Heather Bryce Boyd, our newest granddaughter! We can’t wait to meet you! Congratulations Kyle and Veronica on the newest addition to your family. Valerie and Alayna, you two are so special to be blessed with a new baby sister.

We had started our day heading back out to the reef for another snorkel before the weather turned bad. We picked another location and, as yesterday, were mesmerized with the sights around us. I hit the books as soon as I returned yesterday trying to identify all that we had seen, so now I knew that it was green grape algae and watercress algae that was so bountiful in this area. A little 3-4” longfin damselfish took exception to Dale trying to reach a shell near its territory and would strike out against his glove. Have you ever heard yourself giggling underwater?

I started watching for Blenny and Gobi, the tiny fish that make their home in the coral. They come out of where they reside in the coral and perch themselves up on their pectoral fins looking out at the passing watery world. The Redlip Blenny was colorful enough to draw my attention. After that I started noticing that there were lots of different kinds of Blenny but the Redlip one with its orange fins and red lipstick was easy to spot.

I had followed Dale around for the first part of our trip and when it was my turn to lead, I started following some of the deeper paths so that I didn’t have to keep tucking my tummy up as we passed over coral that may have left a lasting impression should I make the mistake of touching the wrong one. I was wearing my magic dive gloves which, of course, make me invincible or at least braver when I have to reach out for something that might be yucky.

We passed a couple of small Permit, which according to my book, must have come in from the deeper water to feed on the crustaceans on the reef. I’m not sure how I did it but somehow I led us to the outside of the reef. Once again the wonder that was before us was beyond description. The colorful wall of the reef fell into a neon blue abyss. The scene was like those you only see in movies. We were awestruck again.

We followed it for a while until I noticed that Dale was trying to catch my attention; the foul weather we had been waiting for was approaching. I turned in the direction he indicated and tried to thread my way back through the reef but promptly realized that where I was, was too shallow to cross. I tried to turn and go back the way I had come but kept getting bashed by the breaking waves, trapping me where I was.

Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard spot, I didn‘t want to touch the coral and damage it but the larger waves were forcing me into shallower and shallower water. In seconds, it became obvious that it was me or the coral, I tried to keep from getting cut up by using just my gloved hands and finned feet while I made my way back through the waves by pulling myself along the coral (praying I didn’t grab a sea urchin along the way) but the sheer force of the waves would smash over me forcing me down into what I was holding onto. I felt like a rag doll. Dale saw what was happening and let go his purchase further away and came to my rescue. He had to time the waves so that he could dart in and grab me while I swam for all I was worth in his direction.. A couple of bruises and scrapes later and I was free. We swam back the way we had come and found the big hole in the wall to return to our dinghy.

We made it back to the Palace just as the winds reached 30kts and the rain came pelting down. What did we do? We grabbed our long handled brushes and started scrubbing with all of that fresh water of course!

We finished our afternoon between squalls by heading over to Doris & Tom’s boat, Exit Strategy. It was Tom’s 61st birthday and the 10 guests played Mexican Dominos for the rest of the day. Actually, a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon.