Port Elizabeth, Bequia,
The Grenadines
13.00.687N
61.14.506W
After a great night’s sleep, we awoke early and checked to see if we got a decent internet connection from where we were. Yep! We connected immediately (although it had a tendency to drop from time to time.) Kind of glad I picked up that month long subscription now.
Dale saw a cruise ship arrive, so he took off to pick up Mike and Gerry and continued in to Port Elizabeth, the town associated with Admiralty Bay to check us into customs before they were inundated with people coming ashore. Unfortunately, the immigration people had already left for the cruise ship, so they were forced to return later in the day for that aspect of our clearing in process.
We he came back, he had news that we were going on the turtle farm tour later in the morning. A quick check of the depth gauge showed 7.5’ of water so at 10 am, we all made our way back and climbed into the back of a pick up truck customized with seats along the sidewalls and a roof over the back. Actually, it was a great little ride.We arrived at the turtle farm and learned that their newest arrivals are hawksbill turtles and were discovered just as they were coming out of their nest. As a result, a pretty good number of the little tykes were scooped up and brought to the farm for rearing over the next year.
According to our guide, as long as the babies aren’t imprinted with the sights, sounds and smells of their birth beach, they can be released on any beach and imprinted later. They are brought to the farm and kept in pools with circulating water which is changed daily. Generally, they are kept together when they are tiny but if they are injured or don’t play well with others (biting seems to be the most common problem) they are kept in isolation tanks until they are healed. After a year, they are released back into the ocean from any number of beaches in The Grenadines.
Any nest can have up to 250 eggs and they are able to return half that number to the wild after a year. Our guide told us that although these turtles are endangered, some of the local island governments still allow hunting seasons on the creatures. Seems rather odd to me.
We hopped back into our “taxi” and started making our way back to the bay when we learned that there was a pottery store along the way. One quick stop to look through the inventory and we were back in the truck and on our way. It was picturesque and pricey.When we got back to Port Elizabeth, Dale sent me to pick up some cash while he returned to the boat to get the immigration forms he hadn’t brought with him. Big mistake. I haven’t been to an ATM in about 18 months. I put the card in, punched in the numbers, started talking with the security guard sitting nearby, pulled out the cash, and the receipt but didn’t get the card. I told the guard, she went and got a bank manager, who asked for an ID, then went in and tore the machine apart looking for the card. It wasn’t there. He came back and asked if I had left the area and returned; no, of course not. He asked again how it happened, I told him I got the cash, I got the receipt, I just didn’t get the card back. He asked me to please check because the machine isn’t supposed to dispense the money before the card is retrieved. You can imagine my surprise when I found the card in my purse with the money. To this moment, I do not remember pulling it out and putting it in my purse. In fact, I specifically remember reminding myself repeatedly not to forget the card. These senior moments are getting scary. Needless to say, I spent the next few minutes apologizing to the bank manager and the security guard. Then I had to go out and tell all of our friends and Dale why it took me so long. We all had a good laugh but you know, it really is kind of scary.
Mike & Terri and Dale & I continued to show Gerry & Nicky around the little town. We walked through the straw market and the Rasta vegetable market. We walked through a couple of the model boat shops, then eventually had lunch at a place called the “Salty Dog” where the guys could watch the cricket matches some more.We made it back to our respective boats and once we climbed aboard, Dale immediately donned his swim trunks to check the water level again. This time our depth gauge was indicating 6.5 - 7’ of water; we draw 5.5+ feet. With the wind starting to pick up, Dale wanted to check. He came back saying that he wasn’t happy. There was only about 6” of water under the keel and he could see where it had left an imprint on the soft sand below, lightly brushing along the most shallow areas.
So once again, we upped the anchor and did the anchor dance eventually dropping into 10-11’ of water. I stayed in the cockpit to watch us settle into our anchoring swing while Dale descended below to check for eyelid light leaks.
We ended the day along with MTNest on Orpailleur watching the sunset and eating the various hors d’oeuvers we each brought for the occasion. Good food and good friends; hopefully I won’t forget the fun I’m having.
Photo 1: The crew: Dale, me, Nicky, Terri, Mike & Gerry
Photo 2: Nicky getting a closer look.
Photo 3: 1 month old Hawksbill turtle.
Photo 4: Mike talking with proprietor of pottery shop.
