Setting himself up to land on the beach.

One morning we woke up to a westerly wind, pretty uncommon in the Caribbean at this time of the year, and instantly knew it heralded an ‘out of the ordinary’ day.  Previously, on our road trip around the island with Trevor and Linda, Doug had identified only one possible paragliding take off spot on the whole island (a steep terraced slope high above the picture postcard fishing village of Castara on the north eastern shore) but it could only work on a westerly.  With not a moment to lose, we lifted the anchor as the sun was rising and set off north for an hour or two, dropping anchor again just off the beach.

The contrast between ‘father and son’ take off spots. Dylan climbed to the top of Stellenbosch Berg (Mountain) in SA, with his kit on his back and in the bitterly cold weather, from where he did a high altitude solo flight with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.

Once on shore with his paraglider, Doug needed to get up the surprisingly steep hill to his spot. He approached a local (who Kate and I bumped into a few days later – and still recognized us) and the conversation went something like this:

Doug:  Morning there, I’m looking for a ride to the top of the hill, would any of you be going that way and help me out?
Local: Hey mon, wa you wont do un top der hill?
Doug:  I’m going to try fly off the top.
Local:  (Deep deliberate slow laugh emanating from his belly) hah hah hah hah, I gotta see this, jump in my car I take you up….

And that was the first time the Carabiners (so named ‘cos they tend to hang around a lot) got to see a man fly.  With the help of his disbelieving driver, Doug managed a rather tricky launch but enjoyed a laid back, hour long flight along the coastal ridge, among the frigates with views of the beaches, coves and islands surrounded by warm tropical waters, before executing a perfect landing on the narrow beach, much to the amazement  of the handful of tourists and locals – the scenery in startling in contrast to Dylan’s flight!

The paparazzi of Kate and myself made sure the historical moment was captured on film, Katie  taking the dinghy to below the launch site about 3km from the anchorage, and then to the beach to take some snaps (and in the process getting to see a fabulous sting ray in the shallows), and I managing to get a video of the antics, which I will upload soon.

So that’s my version of the morning – it would have been nice to get a personal perspective from the pilot but he is too busy being a Carabiner himself.

The day was still young so we took the dinghy around the point and did a drift snorkel along the shore, towing the dinghy with us.  How lucky we were to see a green turtle that settling into the sea grass among the rocks where we could do repeated dives to get a really close look.

A balmy lunch followed, and then Doug did another flight, complete with paparazzi.  Of course, the unusual wind had to have repercussions, and later in the evening the onshore swell built in the confined bay and we spent a wild and worrying night on a bucking bronco,  with a close lee shore.

Our day in Castara had been perfect , and it created  the catalyst we needed to start moving on.  We had some unfinished business though, that needed to attend to (no, no  fixed appointments, no deadlines, just little things to do). We had been waiting weeks for  Doug’s belated birthday present of a fabulous book called Reef Fish Identification of the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida, with interactive software.  Once back in Store Bay, Doug and Kate caught a taxi back to Scarborough post office to check for the umpteenth time for the parcel, and were relieved and excited to finally have it in their hands.  It is truly a compilation worth investing in with our lifestyle, and the DVD is an extension and elaboration of the book, incorporating videos, masses of photos and a personalized log of sightings.

We also needed to go back to Buccoo to say goodbye to the horses and get a few photos.  Katie’s initiative to get involved on a volunteer basis and was rewarded with making some lovely friends, spending time with the horses, having magical (free) beach rides and swims, meeting amazing visitors and in the evening, roaming among the fireflies where the horses are camped under the trees our on the shore edge.

Whilst back in Buccoo we decided to risk the wrath of the authorities and pay another visit to the Buccoo reef (off limits except for licensed tour boat), so we got up early and took a dinghy ride over to the reef . The snorkeling isn’t amazing but is very different from the shore line snorkeling in that here is more coral and vegetation.  We saw a large green moray, along with the normal array of angelfish, wrasses, surgeon, parrot, butterfly etc. Kate had finally dusted off the GoPro and had it with her which added a lot of excitement and focus to the outing, but frustratingly, there seems to be a gremlin living within as nothing recorded.  We also took a dip in Nylon Pool, where the depth drops off to 10metres or so within the confines of the reef (with our new interactive route map, you can click on satellite and zoom in to the reef and actually see the round deep pool on the satellite image).  Rumour has it that a dip in the pool makes you look ten years younger, so I was overboard in a heartbeat.  Not so Doug who either believes he already looks ten years younger, or doesn’t take heed of mythical rumours! Nylon pool was named by Princess Margaret in 1962 who swam here in her stockings during her honeymoon.

I had baked some early morning bran muffins so had packed a picnic breakfast of grapefruit juice, apples and muffins,  so with rumbling tummies we decided to get away from the reef before we got waylaid by the coastguard,  and head up into the Bon Accord lagoon, which is tucked up into the mangroves within the protective boundaries of the reef.  Bon Accord is an accepted hurricane hole, off limits to yachts unless a named hurricane is approaching, but makes a perfect spot to enjoy our breakfast picnic.

It was full moon that evening, and as the sun went down and the moon rose, we motored Katlyn back around to Store Bay.  It was a magic few hours with a pink and lilac sky and shimmering reflections on the water, which soon transformed into phosphorescent trails.

The next day we had sun downers at Coco reef hotel, which is the most beautiful setting and surprisingly well priced, and we left for Trinidad in the early hours of the next morning.

– Val

Have a look at the Gallery for more pictures.

Tobago, West Indies

(Steel drums, Rotis, Glass bottom Boats)
Bargain: Diesel at TT$1.50 per litre (R2.25) and Petrol at TT$2.75 per litre (R4.00)
Irritation/Quirk: Being hassled and propositioned by local Rusta gigolos, even with their baby on their lap and their wife in ear shot.
Cost of a coke: TT$18 (R27) tourist venue, TTS5 (R7.50) local venue.