Mayreau - I Like Big Boats and I Cannot Lie!

Well we arrived in Saline Bay, Mayreau three days ago. When we anchored we could see a huge cruise ship over in the next bay. We watched as their two tenders ferried hundreds of people to and from the island's gorgeous beach. Rather than deal with the crowds, we just hung out on the boat. All the cruise ship passengers were back on the boat before sundown and we got to watch the boat literally sail off into the sunset (it was one of those cruise ships with five giant masts and a bunch of sails).

Then yesterday morning we were jarred awake by the sound of a very nearby, very loud ship's horn. We looked out the port window and an enormous ship (the daily mailboat/ferry) was sitting in the water about 50 feet to the left of us, honking its horn repeatedly because too many other boats were anchored near the town dock. We weren't in the way, so we just sat out in the cockpit and watched four or five boats scramble to pull up their anchors and get out of the way. Later yesterday afternoon we did go ashore, and we found a gorgeous landscaped beach and a sleepy little town. We hiked up to the top of the hill where there was a tiny but pretty church with a fabulous view of the reefs on the windward side of Mayreau as well as the Tobago Cays in the distance. We had a rum punch at the Combination Cafe and glanced at some of the souvenirs. It seems that most people's livelihood here is dependent on the tourist industry. Even though it wasn't a cruise ship day and there were only a handful of tourists on the island, all the local ladies still had hung up all their souvenir t-shirts and colorful sarongs and had their tables arranged with artwork and jewelry. The island only has a population of 500 people, so it's a huge boost to the economy when a cruise ship comes and drops 2000 tourists off for the afternoon. Cruise ship season ends in March according to the bartender, so it makes you wonder what they do during the summertime.

This morning we were again woken up by a loud noise. This time it was the sound of massive anchors being dropped by the cruise ship that decided to anchor right behind us. Literally. We peered out the back port and they had dropped their first anchor about 500 feet behind us (which is pretty far back for a normal-sized boat, but a little close for a cruise ship!) Anyway, I'm sure their tenders will be zipping back and forth all day, dropping people off at the beach, so we are planning to avoid the commotion and go anchor in another bay.

Where we are:
Location=Mayreau, SVG
Lat=12 38.013
Lon=61 23.926