It’s the nearest place to paradise I’ve ever been. Imagine this huge expanse of horseshoe-shaped coral reef with every shade of turquoise stretching in bands across the seas, broken by bands of white where the Atlantic waves hit the coral. Then imagine these tiny islands in every direction with white, white sand and palm trees straight out of Robinson Crusoe plus a surprising array of greenery. Then add a background of warm sunshine and big white fluffy clouds. This, my dears, is Tobago Cays.

Don’t get carried away thinking it’s just the six of us communing with nature. I counted over 30 boats, mostly large and expensive looking. But it doesn’t matter, it’s such a This the first blogging day and what a day and a place to choose. We have arrived in the huge space, you can just ignore everybody else if you want.

This just has to be the ultimate playground. Decide: do you want to swim, snorkel, turtle-watch or just “be”. Any option will be divine. Even by Caribbean standards, the snorkelling is rated at the top of the tree and that’s what we wanted to do most. I’m the novice and still finding my feet. Mostly I follow Diana who knows I’m still gathering confidence. So, to have the option to stand on the bottom every so often but still be able to see the most amazing array of fish and coral is just ideal. As the icing on the cake, Diana and David saw two turtles on their swim back to the boat.

Sundown comes and I’m beginning to develop an unhealthy interest in the large very alcoholic drinks that come with it, but it does mean that another day of this is the only disappointment of the day.

Good news: David thinks we should stay at least another day.

Dinner now and I know that will be another delicious meal produced by Nia. We’ve tried watching a DVD on two nights but never made it to the end. Don’t suppose today will be any different!