Arrival at Tobago…..
July 26th – 30th, 2013 Time: -3 on GMT
We arrived at first light after a nice easy night of calm seas and lightening winds. The island was easily spotted at about 20 miles offshore. There are some tricky currents and outlying reef systems, so we wanted to arrive at first light, rather than in the dark. Approaching from the southeast side of the island, we actually could not see the Harbor of Charlottesville till we were almost inside. We noticed that most of the cruising boats were anchored just outside the beach fishing area off Pirates Cove. The water is a bit deep here, but the hold was good and we never experienced any strong conditions. It was a nice spot, calm and though deep; clear warm water.
After we had a bit of a rest, I took the dinghy over to our neighbor cat and asked the lay of the land about checking in, fuel, groceries, internet, etc. He gave me a great tip right off the bat. We arrived at about 6 a.m., but he told us whatever we said would be our time of actual arrival is whether they charge overtime fees or not. It has nothing to do with reality, just that\’s the way it is. So as there office was supposed to open at 9 a.m., I arrived at 10:30 and told them I got there at 9:45 . This saved me about 50-70 USD in overtime fees. So for those of you out there who think because when you go to check in, \”that\’s the time\”; it\’s not!
The town was small, very Caribbean \”mon\”, lots of very handsome guys with big Rastafarian hairdos… We found the shopping wasn\’t so great, but the internet OK. Fuel was pretty easy to get via jerry can and overall the people were friendly and helpful. We ran into two American ex-pats, who had been coming to the same residence in Pirates Cove for 10 years; one month a summer.
We fast learned from our new friends that one of the biggest industries on Tobago is the young guys, rasta hair a-flowing, depart all over the place at around 8 in the morning with one client. (Sometimes 2!). The client(s) are always middle aged women from North America or Europe. Seems that a nice picnic is arranged in a secluded cove and the clients come back looking very happy after lunch. Part of the appeal is clearly that these guys are often big time eye candy. No body fat, muscular and not wearing much. As such, it\’s a booming business. We even heard about a love triangle with a local guy and his two clients who were not supposed to meet each other….:-)
The next day, we invited our new cat friends over from their boat for a bit of breakfast and a tour and shortly after our new US ex-pat friends were on the beach and I went out to pick them up in the dinghy. They said in 10 years, we were the first cruising boat they\’d been aboard.
The next day, Nikki and I rented a car and drove around the island. It takes about 3-4 hours if you move. There are indeed some very picturesque coves on Tobago, especially on the north side of the island. We made some mental notes of where we might like to go, did a quick visit in Scarborough (the main town) and back to the boat. Everywhere we went, we kept seeing the local trade being plied in cove after cove… One of the downsides of this industry is that the local women really frown upon North American and European female tourists. They don\’t like them taking their man! The ladies are not as genetically blessed as the men seem to be, so gals….Tobago may be for you!…:-)))
Every once in awhile, Nikki would wander off on her own at a beach and would quickly be approached about a boat ride. We both got quite a kick out of it. Handsome guys! It was nice and quiet here, especially as it\’s off season for everything it seemed except the local boat ride/picnic industry was very quiet….:-)
We enjoyed hiking around the area, took some photos, which I hope to put in this blog and or the photo gallery upon returning to Los Angeles.
Tomorrow, we\’ll be off to a lovely cove on the north side en-route to Trinidad, this seasons final destination.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki