Grenadines and Tobago Cays

Tuesday morning I went for a little snorkel and did some shopping. In the afternoon I went alongside the dock to fill up the water tanks. Than I motored to Palm Island, that is a resort island (before it became a resort it was known as Prune Island) right across from Union. It is so close, it really is not worthwhile putting any sails up. I anchored right up to the beach, could have swam ashore, but instead went for a little tour with the kayak. Then I had a beer at the resort bar, ouch! That one hurt in the wallet, but alas, it was only one. During the night the swell increased, and it started to become very rolly. Got up right with daylight, and after breakfast lifted anchor and went for the Tobago Cays. That is group of uninhabited islands that has been made a marine park. They come by your boat to collect the park fee (10 EC$ [Eastern Caribbean Dollar, 1EC=2.60 U$]). Anchored right in between the islands, behind the protection of the reef. Really a beautiful sight, no matter which direction you look. When I snorkeled to look at my anchor (which you can see from the surface in 10 meters of water!) I saw my first shark! It was actually a nurse shark, about one meter long, they are not a threat to humans (it actually looked quite friendly, though it barely seemed to take note of my presence). After the morning coffee I took the kayak to the edge of the reef and went for a little snorkeling around the corals. After that went to one of the islands, near the beach there were a few sea turtles in the water. Though they are hard to see, they only stick their head out of the water, and disappear rather quickly (especially for a turtle). The sights here are great, from the anchorage you can see the small Cays, and further in the distance you can see the bigger vulcanic islands (like Grenada, St Vincent, Petic Martinique). Distances between all there islands are a lot smaller than I expected.