Charlotteville, Tobago

Mr Mac anchored in Man of War Bay

Remoras making off with a piece of fish

Seining along Pirate's Beach

We recently spent ten days anchored in Man of War Bay, Tobago, off of the village of Charlotteville. It was our first visit to Tobago, which is the mellow sister to the more frenetic Trinidad. Charlotteville is tucked between high, green hills that echo with the sounds of parrots and chacalacas (the national bird of Tobago) at dawn and dusk. There’s a considerable fishing fleet here, consisting of pirogues with bamboo outriggers for trolling, and those that seine along the beaches. We were anchored off of Pirate’s Beach, and a fisherman came by one day to ask Chris if he could help pulling the seine. Chris had a great time, and was gifted with two incredibly fresh (and delicious) fish for his help. We had a school of remoras living beneath the boat that loved us for the fish scraps Chris threw them after cleaning the fish. The Charlotteville people were very friendly, and we got some great bread hot from the oven from Darlene, a vendor along the waterfront. One day we walked up the steep and twisty roads beyond town along the coast until we were forced to stop where the road was washed out from the rain (it’s not called a rainforest for nothing). We saw and heard all sorts of birds, as well as fantastic foliage and tropical flowers. We also did some terrific snorkeling around the bay; I’ll post some pictures in future blogs. This was truly a special place, and guess what: most of the time we were the only boat there. Tobago is a little out of the way, but certainly worth the time and trouble to visit.

A view of Charlotteville from the hills

It IS a rainforest, after all

Weaver bird nests hanging from the trees