Paradise

We spent the last three nights in the Tobago Cays, which are pictured above. The Tobago Cays are a part of the Grenadines - in the south. As you can see, there are five islands in the area, but none of them are inhabited. We were anchored somewhere in the middle of the three that are sort of facing each other. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been - if not THE most beautiful place! I mean - just look how many shades of blue there are in the picture! I couldn't believe it - it was incredible. I have never seen such gorgeous water anywhere! And while it was picturesque for sure, I actually don't know if I was a huge fan of the area itself! It was quite windy most of the time we were there, which didn't make for the most pleasant experience. The boat rocked a lot and the beaches weren't  really all the pleasant either, which was a bummer! 

{The view from the boat pulling in!}

The first day we arrived the kids were dying to go to the beach, so David took me and some of the kids to one of the islands in the tender. We had an easy enough time getting there, but it was a huge hassle getting back into the tender when he came back to pick us up! He had a hard time getting close to the beach the second time around and we ended up having to swim out to the boat. It was a bit difficult and a tad scary with the choppy water, kids, and beach toys! There were a lot of small rocks on the ocean floor too along with random boulder looking chunks of coral. Matthew loves playing in the water, so I kept worrying he would get tossed about! I didn't take anything but snorkel gear with me - it was so choppy I didn't want to get anything wet getting out of the boat. So, once I stopped worrying about Matthew, I did a bit of snorkeling. It was alright. I have been a bit of a pansy on this trip so far! I've been snorkeling several times and am usually the one pulling my friends closer and closer to the fish and other things...but for some reason I'm having to warm up a lot this time around! Jenn did say she saw a shark the other day...she told me before we left that the sharks here are "friendly"! I guess I've watched too much "I Shouldn't Be Alive" or something! In any case, it's probably a good thing I didn't follow through with my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist. (Speaking of which - have ya'll seen Blackfish?! OMG. Life career crises averted thanks to my dislike of the sciences.) Anyways, Savannah and I saw some white see through-ish fish that would come super close! We kept shrieking and it cracked me up. 

  

The second day (Saturday) we all went to another one of the islands to snorkel. That particular island is known for the turtles that swim around it! It took two separate rides in the dingy, because there are so many of us! I guess Jenn or I could have technically just jumped off the boat and swam over, since we were pretty close. People there were snorkeling EVERYWHERE! I did see about three turtles snorkeling around that area, but we didn't stay super long because of the wind. It was super difficult to get the dingy anchored and what not and the wind was blowing the sand so hard it kind of stung our skin!

{Turtle Island}

The third day was Sunday. Fortunately, two couples that we had met at church the week before were also anchored here! One of them was a second-time stake president, so we got to have sacrament meeting together. It was really nice! They gave the talks and even sang a musical number for us. I really enjoyed getting to know them - the two men in the group had known each other since they were boys. Their fathers practiced together as doctors and they had become doctors too. The stake president, Tom, was a retired cardiovascular anesthesiologist and I believe the other was a urologist. I loved their views on travel - as parents they tried to give their children experiences rather than things. It really reminded me a lot of my own parents and how they view life! I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had around this good old world because of them! Tom and his wife Sue, who are from Jacksonville, Florida, even gave me someone to contact in Tanzania! I guess they happen to know a fellow LDS doctor affiliated with the Mayo Clinic who is developing some type of radio-oncology clinic outside the hospital there near Mt. Kilimanjaro! I'm going to try getting back on the horse with my orphanage project while I'm out here, so I'm hoping this dude can help me with funding or even just help me figure out how to get a darn bank account there! Either way, it's a little exciting!

Ta ta for now ;)

XOXO