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Sailing through the Caribbean Grenadines We got ready to head on out of Chatman bay but when we went to start the engine, Click, CLick, CLick. Damn starter was dying on us. After some futzing we finally got her going. We had a long way to go straight into the wind so we needed the motor. Shortly after pulling anchor the engine started acting funny as well. The engine speed would drop from 2500 down to 1800 and sputter for a minute before climbing back. Turns out the fuel filters were clogging up and decided they had about enough right then. Luckily the engine held out until we finished our engine assisted sail back to Bequia. Relief!
The next day we headed out for a long hike out to the turtle sanctuary on Bequia.
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After spending so much time aboard our boat we decided to do the long hike out to the turtle sanctuary instead of hiring a taxi truck. They have problems with trash on the island so you would often see old cars growing into the ground. There is a great pottery place along the way that should not be missed. |  |
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The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary is a must see when visiting Bequia. It was started years ago when a guy began collecting turtles after they hatched on the beach. He would let them mature for a year before releasing them thus preventing them from getting killed off during their most vulnerable year. The one turtle he kept from his first clutch and she still lays eggs and loves to have her shell scratched. He told us that he even takes her for walks by attaching a small rope to a hole in her shell and letting her swim around the ocean as he rows his boat behind her.
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   There were two types if turtles in his sanctuary. Green Sea turtles and Hawk bill sea turtles. The little guys were so cute! He also had a series of small concrete tanks for holding injured or sick turtles separately. |
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The shells on the green turtles presented layers of different colors and fine designs upon closer inspection. |  |
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| When we left the sanctuary we were told that this scrap had washed ashore and been identified as part of a space satellite that had crashed into the sea close by. Pretty cool huh? |  |
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Later that day we headed over to some ruins and a natural rock arch that we had seen while sailing into and out of Admiralty bay of Bequia. This ended up being a place called Moon Hole Ruins and is well worth the trip down. If you want to save some bucks you can take the dollar buss all the way to the end of its' run then pay for a taxi out to the moon hole.
I found this great write up about the place form Donna of MaxingOut.com. It's buried pretty deep in the page so I have replicated it from here.
Donna writes;
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Moonhole is an isolated community of houses, founded by the late American Tom Johnson in 1969. Tom and Mary Johnson's son, Jim, and his wife Sheena, live at Moonhole now and manage the rental properties. Tom and Mary Johnson were running Sunny Caribbee Hotel on Bequia in the 1960's. They used to go to the southeast part of Bequia to a small cove where a natural arch was formed in the rock for picnics on their day off. Eventually, they built overnight protection, then this expanded to purchasing 35 acres of land and building natural houses using stones, wood, and whale bones from the whaling factory at Bequia. There are no straight lines or angles in the buildings. The houses are built to include the contours of the land and rocks as well as the trees and plants. The rooms have at least one side that is open to the world around them. Tables and sitting areas are built out of stones and mortar. The beds have huge mosquito nets surrounding them. There is no electricity. They use solar panels for power, kerosene lanterns for light at night. Stoves and refrigerators are run on propane. People own the 19 houses on the site. Four of the houses have the owners living there year-round. The other 15 houses are used part-time by their owners and the rest of the time, Moonhole Company rents the houses out to people seeking somewhere "out of the ordinary" for their holiday.
When someone rents a house for their holiday, the staff of Moonhole goes in and sweeps out all the sand and leaves. They dust every surface. They put crockery and utensils in the kitchen, turn on the refrigerator, and put fresh linens on the bed and towels in the bathroom. Large woven hammocks are hung up on the patio. All of the houses have steps and paths going to the ocean and beach.
We climbed up and down stone steps and walked on stone paths to the Moon Hole arch. The moon actually shines through this arch/moon hole during the spring and fall equinoxes. Tom Johnson built the original Moonhole rock house for his family under the arch in 1969. Four years later, one of the rocks fell from the bottom of the arch and crushed a bed in one of the bedrooms during the day when no one was there. They moved out of that house into a new house that was built near-by, but not located under the arch. Back in the 1960's, 1970's, and into the 1980's, the only way to get to Moonhole was by boat. Now, you can drive to Moonhole on a paved road that becomes a sand track that becomes a boggy track and peters out at the gate. It takes a half hour to drive there from Port Elizabeth.
After the tour, everyone gathered on a large patio and had cold drinks while Jim reminisced about growing up at Moonhole. The group asked a lot of questions and he seemed to enjoy answering every one. Walking around the patio were three land tortoises. These tortoises were each about 10 years old, so they were quite large. They came up to us as we were sitting on the stone seats and walked on our feet trying to get close. These tortoises wanted us to rub their shell. Two days in a row of petting turtles and tortoises! Amazing!
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She really did a great write up on the place. Thanks Donna!
Here are my pictures from our visit. On the way to the place we passed all these piles of gravel that they had built little roofs over. We could not figure out why they were shading piles of gravel. Any ideas?
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I hope you have enjoyed our pictures! Check in to my home page for more pictures and fun as time goes on.
Jeremy B
© December 7, 2008
