Toucari is on the road between Portsmouth and Capuchin. Leaving Portsmouth, bear right where the road goes straight into Fort Shirley on the Cabrits and pass through Douglas Bay. Where the road forks into toward Capuchin or the Northern Link Road, bear left towards Capuchin. You will ascend to Morne a Louis (some very nice homes on the left overlook the back of the Cabrits) and then down a really steep and tortuous set of hairpin curves with high rock walls into Toucari Bay.

The street at the bay has a nice new sidewalk, and there’s a dock and swimming beach on the left as you enter. There’s also a nice refreshment spot, Angela’s across the road from the beach. Toward the far end of the bay you’ll see a seawall. At the far end of this seawall is a very small sand beach next to a cemetery. This is a great place to snorkel. Go straight out and then right. There are reefs all along the way with abundant fish and coral to view.

And here’s something really interesting: There is a stairway at the mid-point of the seawall. And about 20 yards into the bay directly in front of the stairs you will find that volcanic gas bubbles up from the sandy bottom. Some gas vents remain open and bubble constantly. Others open to emit a bubble and then close until emitting the next one. There are a few rocks with vents in the area too. The gas bubble field is not as extensive as the one at Champagne, but Toucari is free. And while both Champagne and Soufriere (where we’ve heard there are also undersea bubble vents, we have not been there to see them), Toucari is in the north, while the other two spots are near each other in the south.

Another thing about Toucari: Ask around when you arrive and you can probably find someone to take you out in a boat around the bay cliffs on the end near the cemetery. Above the water you’ll see some interesting caves in the beautiful cliffs, and very close to the cliffs in shallow water (shallow enough for snorkelers) there is a very old wreck of a wooden ship that you can explore. The wreck is open, there is no hull to go into; you can swim around and over the wooden ships’ ribs that rest on the bottom. There are plenty of tropical fish there too.

Take a leisurely snorkel swim from the coral end to the dock end of the bay and you are likely to spot sand dollars within an easy snorkel dive to reach.

This post was guest blogged by Dan Tanner

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