Swimming with Turtles.

The first day our tour was at St Maartens (of 8 woman to each man fame), yesterday was Barbados and today was St Lucia. Yesterday was amazing. We set off on a catamaran and were handed snorkels and lifejackets. The six Caribbean crew got everyone loaded on board. I was a bit surprised to see one lady in a wheelchair and crutches get on board and even more surprised to see her snorkel with the rest of us but good for her, she was determined to do it. We had to make a detour to offload an elderly lady who was not feeling well. (Par for the course).The smiling jolly crew with their dreadlocks donned bright orange tee shirts and leapt into the water saying follow me if you want to see a turtle. There was a flurry of legs and arms but sure enough I got behind him and saw a turtle below me. A lady on the boat had said ‘whatever you do, do not hold your fingers out to them as they will think they are food and they have vice like jaws. I saw a bigger one approach so I kept my hands in my life jacket but it was very exciting. Fortunately did not spot any sharks.

We thought it was just free soft drinks plus a lovely lunch on board, but no, all the booze was free and quite a few people got fairly plastered……and no doubt gave an even bigger tip at the end. With West Indian music blaring out and the charming crew flirting with all the old ladies — there was even dancing on the deck. These West Indians sure know how to give you a good time.

Today in St Lucia, the heavens opened and on our cruise up the coast in another catamaran, again the crew were dancing about on the deck, plying us with rum punch which was 80% proof. There was barely anywhere to sit that was not flooded but they just got out towels and mopped up the water. Again we had a very jolly time……..Andrew and I were wiped out when we got back to our cabins…….too many rum punches I think!