On one of our last nights in Carriacou (owned by Grenada) I snapped this picture from our boat , which is anchored in Tyrrell Bay. This is a multi-faceted bay where private yachts anchor as well as tug boats. The bay is protected with land on three sides and many fish swim beneath the water’s surface. We have stayed in this bay on several different occasions because it is a relatively calm anchorage that is convenient to local stores.

Well, it is a beautiful day today (after a fairly wavy night), so we went out snorkeling this morning before the crowds showed up. We found a good place to snorkel with quite a few fish of different colors, many in schools, nice coral, fans, etc. Chris even saw an eel. I took the GoPro along and was videoing the whole time.

We then went to the designated turtle location and actually saw some turtles. All eating the grass on the bottom in about 10 feet of water. You could just float above them and shoot video and they ignored you. There were also a lot of really nice star fish in this area. I was looking for rays, but didn’t see any – but when Chris got back to the dinghy she said she saw a ray and a lobster.

So I got back to my laptop and connected the GoPro to download the video – and no video. I think I forgot to click the “take video” button. The GoPro was on the entire time, just not recording.

So, instead, I posted a pic of a square-rigger cruise ship. They came in this morning and anchored a little ways away and have been ferrying people into the small island all day – “mask-up” everyone, even on the ferry.

The second pic is of the island. They have lobster BBQ here nightly. Don’t know if we’ll go – probably not if it is going to include a bunch of cruise passengers – yuck.

So we’ll have to go out again to get video – hopefully later today or tomorrow.

Here is a setting moon from very early this morning. It was a really nice sight.

— wedged between the incoming super-yacht (parked right behind us) and the Canadian-flagged boat.

(The super-yacht pulled in and launched a 20-foot dinghy with two 300-hp engines. A guy drove the thing right up on the beach in front of us, unloaded a tent and some chairs, and then went back to the super-yacht to pick up a woman who came out and set up the tent and chairs so the super-yacht passengers could enjoy them later in the day. And then it started raining.)

We moved to Tobago Cays this morning and it has been a truly unpleasant day – raining on and off pretty much all day and “cold”. We ventured out in the dinghy to check out the area and turned around when it started raining again. More later, this area is a designated wildlife park – where they collect park fees – and is supposed to be the “crown jewels” of the Grenadines, so I’m sure we’ll take some great pictures as soon as the rain clears.

So I’m posting these pics of a Catholic church at the top of Mayreau. The church was closed at the time (but was an operating church), so we couldn’t go in, was at the very top of Mayreau and was a beautiful church.

We’re still in Mayreau today. Had a hike the length of the island yesterday and also had drinks and dinner at two different establishments last night. (Also had a good talk with a nurse from Denmark – another story for another day.) I’m sure Chris will post a bunch of pics about the beauty of the island and the friendliness of the residents later.

For this post, I want to tell a quick story.

Our generator has been broken for several days now. The feed / cooling water pump seized and the fuse blew. We will need a new pump to fix it. Along with that, we needed a new fuse. The top pic above is a pic of the fuse. It is a standard 10 amp fuse that you can find at almost any hardware store and probably even some pharmacies in the states (and Walmart, Target, etc.)

Knowing that there aren’t many shops on Mayreau, I was doubtful that I would find one, but wanted to see if they had anything because the islands for the next 5 or 6 days are going to have nothing. During our walk, I had Chris walk into a grocery to check it out for what food they had (I had forgot my mask) in case we needed anything urgent. On the way out, the owner also walked out and said hi. I asked her if she knew where to get a fuse on the island. She didn’t know for sure, but suggested we talk with Arthur next door who runs a boat parts store. We were a little hesitant because just moments before, Arthur had been doing a little shoving of another guy in the street and we didn’t want to get in the middle of any local issue.

But we went back, walked up to his entry door, and asked if he had any fuses. I showed him the fuse and he said no.

Then things got interesting. He said, pointing to the junk car across the street (literally 15 feet from his front door), hey, why don’t we look in there? I though maybe he had a stash of spare parts in the car. The guy who he had earlier been shoving opened the door to reveal an old, junk car. The back seat interior is the third pic. What he had meant was that cars have fuses and why don’t I see if the junker still has some in it.

So I hesitantly crawled across the front seat to look under the dash (pic number 4 – nice butt shot, honey). The dash was a mess: broken, wires everywhere, pieces yanked out, dirty, and completely open to the elements. Anyway, sure enough, under the dash on the driver’s side (the right-hand-side), was the standard fuse box that most cars have. And sure enough, it had about (4) 10-amp (red) fuses. I tried to get them out, but couldn’t wedge my fingers in enough to get a grip, so I got out of the car and asked Arthur if he had a pair of needle-nose pliers. He did and handed them to me. I dove back into the junker and yanked out the 4 red fuses. They looked good.

I asked him how much he wanted for them and he said whatever I thought they were worth. I gave him $4 EC for all 4 and he seemed happy. I was also happy because I doubt there are any others on Mayreau or any of the other islands for the next 5 or 6 days.

I got back to the boat, plugged the fuse in and the generator worked for about 45 minutes.

P.S. The cooling water pump froze again.

P.P.S. When we went in for dinner last night, Arthur happened to be at the beach landing, recognized us, and asked how the fuses had worked out. I was surprised that he recognized us (probably not everyday he talks someone into salvaging from junk cars).

All-in-all a telling story about the friendliness and genuineness of the people we have met on Mayreau. More on this later as Chris tells about drinks with Bobby at Righteous & de Youths and about Dennis at Dennis’s Hideaway.

We went for a walk from one the southern end of Mayreau to the northern end – about a mile. Up a hill and then down back to the ocean.

On the northern part of Mayreau is Salt Whistle Bay. A nice little bay with many moorings and about 2 dozen boats. Very small shops, restaurants, and locals selling t-shirts hung on lines between palm trees on the beach.

At the northern-most tip of Salt Whistle Bay is a outdoor restaurant with booths made of stone and thatched roofs. I don’t know if the sign is legible, but it says “Ask for our lobster BBQ”. I posted this because it is a nice picture, but also because it reminds me of my oldest daughter, who is getting quite fond of “Lobster on the beach”, so much that I think it becoming a habit. And an expensive one at that.

BTW, that’s Chris on the beach beyond the dinghy tied to the palm tree.

This is the view off the front of our boat in Saline Bay.

Other than the occasional cruise ship and/or super yacht, the loud horn when the ferries show up, or the fact that it is popular with day-trippers this is a fabulous spot. And, frankly, all of those”complaints” pale in comparison to the upside.

We went walking on the island today with more pics to come, but this is good for now.

On our walk earlier today, we spotted a rastafarian restaurant called Righteous & de Youths. Righteous Bob happened to be sitting near the door and greeted us. He told us about his rooftop seating area where we could sip a cocktail and watch the sun set. This establishment had been written up in our guide book and, since Bob was so personable, we decided to give it a try. When we arrived, Righteous Bob again greeted us and asked his 6-year old grandson, Mario, to show us the way up. A group of four French sailors were up there and we joined them. About five minutes later, Bob made his way to the rooftop and started playing the bongos and singing. He asked me to try to play with him. After a minute, he decided that I wasn’t the best accompanist so he asked Steve to give it a try. Five or ten minutes later Steve was replaced by Mario. We had a really enjoyable time talking with Bob, meeting several members of his family, and learning about a bit of the culture on Mayreau.

We left Clifton after one night after checking in because it was just too crowded. The first pic above is Clifton from the East. You can see a lot of boats in a small, compact area and you can also see “Happy Island” on the left-hand-side of the shot. Happy Island is an island appearing out in the middle of the ocean (it is really just the end of the reef protecting Clifton) that is about 50 feet in diameter with a bar taking up pretty much all land space – pretty funny.

The second pic is the continuation of the first pic to its right (attempt at a panorama). This area is about 4-5 feet deep, protected from the waves, and completely open to the ocean breezes, so it is a kite-boarders paradise. There were several people kite boarding when we were there, one was even on a foil-board.

All in all, it was an interesting town and the restaurants actually looked enticing, but it was just too busy and too many people hustling.

So this morning we left. We are going to Saline Bay in Mayreau, the next island north of Union Island in the Grenadines. Also, the Tobago Cays are just to the east of Mayreau and are the real crown jewel of the Grenadines as they are a protected marine park with lots to see underwater, so that will be next.

I’m actually sitting in Saline Bay as I write this and it is very nice. More later.

Yesterday, we cleared into customs at Clifton on Union Island.

This picture is us waiting at a bar to be cleared by health authorities, customs, and immigration. We were clearing in along with about 5 other couples. I was convinced that the couple that spent the most money at the bar would clear in first, but after about an hour, we all got cleared at the same time.