This little island happens to be where they filmed the scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth danced around the fire and drank rum before she set the whole stash ablaze.

It felt like a dream. I wouldn’t mind being stranded here!!

After snapping some photos, Luis, Patty, Peter and I all went snorkeling along the deep drop off that encircled the island.

No sharks, thank goodness, but we did see an amazing assortment of underwater wildlife. We were almost finished swimming around when I looked up and saw some intimidating clouds headed our way. I told everyone we needed to get moving and get back to our boats. We had left everything open, sure that it wasn’t going to rain, but now it most definitely was going to pour.

The anchorage on Petit Tabac is very small, maybe big enough for two boats, and only suitable for day use in settled weather. A reef extends along both sides of the channel leading into the anchorage area, with a swift current outside the channel. As it was our first time visiting, we made the decision to not follow Brett Ashley all the way in, and we anchored on the very outside edge of the channel.

As the squall approached, we swam as fast as we could back to the dinghy where we left our camera gear. The rain hit just before we got there and the winds had picked up substantially. Peter looked over to check on the boat and let out an awful gasp. Brett Ashley was okay, but Mary Christine was teetering back and forth on the reef to the starboard side with each rise and fall of the waves. The approaching squall had swung the boat up onto the reef!!

We all flew over in the dinghy as fast as we could. Peter and I climbed aboard and started the engine while Luis and Patty stayed by our side in the dinghy. I was trembling with fear. The dogs were in the cockpit, barking profusely at the storm and confused by all the commotion. We never go inside until we have rinsed off with fresh water, but this was an emergency! I cringed inside as I climbed around soaking wet. The rain was coming sideways making it difficult to see anything as I tried to close a few of the isinglass panels in our cockpit.

With the winds rapidly increasing, it was not safe to go further forward toward the island. After checking the bilge to ensure we were not taking on water, Peter turned on the instruments and went up to the bow to release the anchor chain while I put the boat in reverse and Luis pushed us from the side. Though it felt like hours, it took at most three minutes before we were off the reef and safely floating in the channel again.

Luis immediately dove in the water to check for damage to our hull. Luckily there was no damage, only a few scrapes to our keel.

I backed us away from the reef into deep water and Luis stayed behind to dive and retrieve our anchor. What an angel. We told him we’d meet him back inside Horseshoe Reef. We motored away and a gorgeous rainbow appeared where we had just come from.

We tied off to a mooring ball and waited until Luis arrived with our anchor, struggling to calm our nerves. It has always been Peter’s greatest fear to have to let our anchor go in the middle of a squall, and now it’s happened to us TWICE!

We’ve since returned to Petit Tabac, but only by dinghy.

Would you risk it??

We are currently in the USVIs while Peter completes the courses needed for his USCG 100 ton Near Coastal Masters Captain’s license.

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The water is warm, clear and the most spectacular shades of blue. The islands are scattered far enough away from all civilization so it really feels like you’ve traveled to a secret paradise. Turtles, rays and fish are everywhere.

Our first time to the Tobago Cays was in September. There were no crowds, no other boats, no one to bother us. Just us and our buddy boat, Brett Ashley. Patty and Luis had been there countless times before. They led us in, weaving between the islands as I sat on the bow with my camera and a tried to take it all in.

The little white boat with orange trim belongs to the Rangers that come around to collect the nightly park fees. When there are only one or two boats visiting, the Rangers may not even bother to come collect the fees. They came to visit us the first two nights, but didn’t bother coming by again for the last three nights we stayed. If they do collect, it costs 10 EC per person, per night.

We anchored near the main beach and watched the waves breaking along the reef.

Luis was excited to go kiteboarding. With no crowds, launching from the beach was easy and he had the entire anchorage to himself.

During our stay we saw a good number of squalls come through. The holding was excellent and the reefs provided a good amount of protection. It felt much safer than most of the anchorages we’ve stayed in, despite the high winds.

It rained and rained.

We had lots of visitors…

We snorkeled and swam with the turtles. The sting rays scoured the anchorage for food scraps like puppies.

On the inside of the reef in very shallow water, the four of us went out snorkeling one afternoon. We were all exploring on our own, but stayed fairly close together. I took a routine glance around to check our perimeter when I spotted a very large 300-400 lb  Caribbean Reef Shark checking us out.  I looked behind me and disappointingly realized I was the only one that had seen the shark. My initial reaction was to swim backwards as quickly and calmly as I could to alert the others, but it was harder than I thought it would be to control my heartbeat. Peter immediately knew something was wrong just by the way I was swimming toward him. A familiar feeling came over me as I grabbed onto his shoulders and swung myself behind him kicking as fast as my fins would take me.

As a Southern California native, Peter has been in the water with more sharks than I care to count. He felt that the shark was swimming in an aggressive nature and motioned for us all to make our way back to the dinghy as quickly as possible. We kept our eyes on the big grey beast, got out of the water and called it a day. Though we probably were not in any danger, this fearful moment underwater was as equally terrifying as our Bull Shark encounter in the Bahamas.

After the adrenaline rush dissipated, we explored the beaches and hiking trails.

Dogs aren’t allowed to go to shore here, but Betsy and Gunner were happy doing their daily patrols on deck. In such a remote place, it was very reassuring to have guard dogs on watch. We had heard of several recent boardings in the area so we were on high alert.

The view of Petit Tabac was picture perfect.

At night, the golden sun would set over the horizon and darkness fell. The stars would fill the black sky and I would gaze up from our cockpit with amazement. It was the most incredible place I had ever seen. If it didn’t cost anything to be there, I would stay forever.

We are currently in the USVIs while Peter completes the courses needed for his USCG 100 ton Near Coastal Masters Captain’s license.

The post The Tobago Cays appeared first on Where The Coconuts Grow.

The Indian River Tour in Dominica is a great way to see some of the natural beauty this island has to offer. Named after the native Carib Indians, this river is the longest in all of Dominica and once served as an important route of travel between the mountains above and the sea below.

Who remembers the little house in the mangroves where Calypso lives? That scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here… We even got to go inside!!

Our guide, Titus, rowed us as far as we could go, slowly pulling up to a little wooden dock on the river’s edge.

We stepped out of the boat and followed a small trail up the hill toward what is known as the “Bush Bar.” The vibrant flowers and lush gardens were bursting with color.

Termite nests were everywhere…

Fresh Avocados…

Sweet cocoa beans…

Bananas…

Passionfruit…

Cinnamon bark and nutmeg…

Fresh squeezed juice was waiting for us at the top of the hill…

The most delicious guava you could ever imagine…

Sugar cane cut into small pieces were a delight to suck on.

The farmers sent us home with a huge handful of fresh lettuce, herbs, vegetables, spices and fruits, all harvested especially for us straight from the plentiful Dominican lands.

Fresh coconut water and coconut meat to snack on…

Fresh coconut is my FAVORITE treat!!!

Dominica is a beautiful island and we only got to see a small portion of the many wonders it has to offer. We will definitely return in the Spring to explore again!!

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