Our final day in Tobago saw us up bright and early for a visit to Store Bay Beach before returning to Trinidad.

A mere half hour or so drive saw us to our destination. On the beach, glass bottom boat captains, including "Sugar Lips, the sweetest man in the Caribbean," boisterously advertized their services.

At one point, my brother and I tried a hand at opening the tough husks on the tropical almonds growing around the beach (as they did at others we had visited). It proved to be a lot more work than either of us had anticipated, but after some caveman-like beating of a rock to the hulls, we were finally able to free an almond or two, and enjoyed the pathetic spoils of our labors.

I didn't swim at all at Store Bay, but rather spent my time there birdwatching as the others in my group primarily enjoyed the water. Bananaquits fluttered in and out of the open-air stores, and there were chickens all around the beach and market areas, including many hens with chicks. Some were nestled secretively in flowerbeds, and others more brazenly in the open.

The forest's edge lined one side of the beach, with groves of beautiful flowers peeking over a vine-covered wall. Hummingbirds zipped from flower to flower, nectaring where they could.

I spent a decent amount of time watching bananaquits visiting the dried vines along the wall, hoping for a close shot. It was quickly apparent that one was collecting nest material, and I was able to visually follow it to its nest, where I watched it build.

After a few hours at the beach we took advantage of the surrounding eateries, and I got some pelau. As we sat to eat on an outdoor patio, we were visited by stray chickens, who seemed accustomed to getting food from the diners. My brother, seemingly overtaken by some sense of morbid curiosity, experimentally offered them chicken, which they consumed without hesitation.

Before long we left the beach to return to the house and prepare for the afternoon ferry ride back to Port of Spain. I made one last quick exploration of the area, and found an unfortunately tailless, albeit still beautiful, little gecko.

On the ferry back, a gentleman said he recognized my brother and me, whom he saw taking photographs on the beach while he was jet skiing. My brother, who had taken a picture of a jet skier, pulled the photo up on his camera to find that it was the same man. This was the most remarkable thing about our trip back, which was otherwise uneventful.