Asa Wright Nature Center

The Asa Wright Nature Center is high in the mountains several hours from our marina and we had heard such great things about it we decided to spend three days there with a group of friends.

The first picture here shows Walt "Will O Wisp", Mike "Casa del Mar", Scott, Sam "Encantada" and Ed "Dreamtime" and the second shows Honore "Will O Wisp", myself and Margy "Encantada" on the top and Linda "Casa del Mar" and Linda "Dreamtime" on the bottom. Mike and Linda and Ed and Linda have been with us since Georgetown in the Bahamas. Jesse picked us up early and stopped for a break mid way for doubles (hot pastry filled with curried chickpeas) and other snacks. The narrow twisty road with several previous landslides very evident, had steep drop offs and we sometimes had to back up to allow other cars to pass. This 200 acre nature preserve is at 1200 feet and was formerly part of a cocoa, coffee and citrus plantation. In 1950 William Beebe established a tropical research station nearby and became good friends with Asa and her husband. After her husband's death she established the property as a reserve. The 1907 estate home is a guest house now and we were lucky to stay in the main house.  Our bedroom had 20 foot ceilings and antique mahagoney furniture. It is a peaceful retreat with constant birdsong in the background. The broad veranda is the center of human and bird/animal life from 6 AM to bed time. Bird feeders hang all around and large tables with fruits laid out surround the porch on the ground. Hundreds of birds are visable at all times - it is mesmerizing.

Excellent guides are on duty almost all the time. Birders from all over the world come here and we had six very knowledgeable ones there for a week. They and the guides identified and pointed out over sixty birds for us. The birders themselves had identified over 140 each. Our cameras were in constant use both for the birds and the flowers that attract them. On the way back we drove by the beautiful north shore beaches. I'm dividing this story into several postings so that we can show more pictures - so, more to come.

Rincon Falls Hike

One of the best of our day trips was a hike to the Rincon Falls. We started early as the drive to the trail head was several hours. A steep and narrow road over the mountains led through small villages to the north coast road. The views were lovely and included several beautiful beaches. We left
our maxi taxi at a farm and visited the ducks, pigs and goats. Doesn't this pig look a bit like Babe? The farmer's home was quite comfortable and he allowed us to change both before and after the hike inside. Later he had us taste his curry goat and gave us all pieces of pumpkin and huge avocados to take home. We passed this gentleman on the road when we first started out. I think he was picking up trash from the road. We certainly didn't see any that day.
Our guide, Snake, is very famous around this area, partially for the 16 foot boa constrictor he keeps as a pet. His description of feeding it was pretty horrible - a staked live goat, once every three months. He introduced us to a recent addition to his menagerie - a much smaller boa constrictor. He's shown with Jesse here and a close up with the snake.
The hike was steeply uphill at first and we were all huffing and puffing. After an hour and a half we were treated to a small waterfall and pool. That water felt marvelous. Jesse climbed up the falls and slid down to much laughter. Another hour brought us to a very steep descent to the waterfall. The rest and swim had revived us all and thank goodness as this section was very challenging.
We used a rope to partially rappel down and other ropes to hold on to while traversing a narrow shelf of rock. The waterfall is over 250 feet high and in a very beautiful valley. Those are people at the bottom of the falls in the shot here which puts the height in prospective! The rainforest canopy sheltered us most of the day from the direct sun. Here we swam, ate snacks, and lay out on the rocks talking. Some of us dove off the rocks into the pool and climbed up under the lower cascades.


We went back up the rope and took another way back, breaking our trip again with another swim. This time in a river. Snake pointed out the leaf eater ants busily munching away at the bushes and carrying the bits off in a long line to their nest. Some of the pieces were much bigger than the ants! After a change at the farmer's home we headed down to Maracas Beach and Richard's, famous for his Bake and Shark. This popular treat is a freshly deep fried (yes, most everything is fried here) lump of dough that comes out crispy on the outside and somewhat hollow in the center. This is split and stuffed with shark meat in sauce and handed to you. Then you add any combination of condiments from a big buffet type table; basic salad things, spiced pineapple, garlic sauce, hot sauces. Fabulous! (After all this we had trouble staying awake for the trip back. 

Day trips with Jesse James

Jesse James is the best ambassador of goodwill that Trinidad could have. He runs all the tours and transportation for the cruising community here. His maxi taxis take us to the supermarkets and malls, music venues, movies and the sights around the island. We've gone on two really fun all day trips with him.
The first was to the Pitch Lake and stops at several Hindu temples. The Pitch Lake was described by Noel Coward as "Twenty two tennis courts badly in need of repair." Actually this million year old pit covers 89 acres and has been used by Sir Walter Raleigh and many since as a natural source of asphalt. Three hundred tons a day are removed from it and it is also a interesting tourist destination. Maxi taxis are overgrown vans that carry twelve people in somewhat cramped conditions. The drive down to the lake was along the industrial west coast through San Fernando, the second largest town in Trinidad. We stopped after an hour to have some "doubles" - hot pita bread like rounds of fried dough stuffed with curried chickpeas. This is a popular breakfast snack here and stands with lines of people in the morning are common. A guide led us through the knee deep water onto the soft asphalt center of the lake. At one point we could lift up the warm pitch and watch it form ribbons off the sticks.

We stopped for lunch and had another Trinidad specialty, roti. Various curried meats or vegetables are wrapped in large squares of warm flat Indian bread. We had goat rotis with very cold local beer - Stag or Carib. Most rotis have bones in them so eating them is a little tricky but they are always delicious. Next we stopped at two Hindu temples. The first is a small temple on a piece of reclaimed land reachable by a narrow causeway.


All of this and the temple itself were hand built by a inspired Indian (about half of Trinidadians are descended from workers brought from India in mid 1800s) forty years ago. The second was a very large complex of temple buildings and statues. This is used for many large weddings and other social gatherings. The largest statue is over 150 feet high. Twenty five percent of Trinidad is Hindu.

Tobago

The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form one nation but until last week we had only been in the first. Tobago is out of the mainstream of other Caribbean Islands. The furthest east and only 116 sq. miles, with a population of only 47, 000 persons, it has changed hands more times than any other Caribbean island - between Dutch, English, Courlanders (now part of Latvia), and French. The count is sometimes 24 times, sometimes as high as 31. Along with Trinidad, it once was part of the South American continent. We took the fast ferry over, a huge jet catamaran that takes 2. 5 hours. The trip along the north coast of Trinidad was lovely. Eighteen of us, nine couples, traveled together over and back. We played dominos and talked both ways. On the way over a bomb scare delayed us a few hours, unfortunately spent out in the hot noon day sun.


Scott and I were going to visit our friends Ed and Linda from "Dreamtime" who were staying in a condo at the South Point Beach Club, a RCI timeshare resort. The others were all staying on the other side of the island at Speyside. We rented a car for the four days and managed to see most of the island. It is very mountainous and the center portion contains a rainforest that has been protected since 1765. Lovely and in most cases undeveloped beaches line the coast. The road is full of hairpin turns and is often very narrow and full of potholes. The four of us hired a guide, Renson Jack, a former forest warden, for a day. He took us into the rainforest for a two hour hike and pointed out all the flora, fauna, birds and animals. He gave us a good overview of the history and politics of the island. He is a environmentalist and very discouraged with the cavilier attitude of his government. Still this is a out of the way island and has been much less invaded by rich tourists and businesspeople. We also hiked into Argyle Falls with three tiers of cascades.

Scott was able to go out for two dives near our resort. The weather wasn't perfect but he really wanted to practice his newly learned skills. We all hung out at the pool, beach and generally relaxed. One night the resort had a limbo competition - really a performance with flaming torches and limbo pole. Linda and I were the performer's "assistants". When I went to try the limbo, the pole was still scorching hot and I wasn't limber enough. I now have a four inch long burn on my chest as a memento. 
We enjoyed this visit so much we may try to get back there one more time before we leave to head north. Meanwhile it's back to supervising workers, stripping and varnishing - and bridge, dominos and of course, too much eating and drinking.

Trinidad Cancer Run

Weeks ago I and seventeen other cruiser women signed up to participate in a Trinidad Tobago Breast Cancer Awareness Walk/Run on September 9 in downtown Port of Spain. This was a 5K course around the historic Queens Park area and over 4, 000 women took part. We gathered at the start in a huge athletic field and did some preliminary exercise/stretches. The race began at 4 PM after the worst heat of the day but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was still very hot. We all drank several bottles of water before even starting and refueled at water stops along the way. There were several starting locations for independent entries, corporate entries and mother/daughter teams but it was still really crowded for the first five minutes. I started off with one women but became separated after a while and walked/jogged alone. What a wonderful feeling to be among so many women, all gathered in a great cause, many of whom were survivors themselves. The route was very scenic and at least half the time in the shade of trees so the time passed very quickly. My final time was 46 minutes - not too bad as I haven't been doing a lot of walking here. All of our friends finished the race, one in 36 minutes (and one in 70 minutes) and everyone was excited and feeling fine. Various sponsers handed out feebies at the end, the yougurt, cookies and cold drinks were particularily welcome. Scott, the only man to come along, took pictures of us all and cheered us on. The local news station filmed interviews with Scott and Diane from "Cloud Nine" who organized the group and is a 11 year survivor herself. Both interviews were featured on the evening local news. It was a memorable event! 

Carnival in Grenada

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   Our second marvelous experience was Carnival in Grenada. Six of us flew there, Linda and Mike from "Casa del Mar" and Kathleen and Roland from "M'Lady Kathleen" and ourselves, after a six hour delay at the airport in Trinidad. Our hotel was the location of the judges for the big parade and close to all the action. A group of huge speakers were set up across the street and Soca music played all day and most of the nights. The noise level was the only downside - it was deafening really. They had a indoor/outdoor cafe overlooking the street and we spent a lot of time there, eating, drinking and watching the constant activities outside. The venue for the evening events was only a five minute walk away.
Our first evening was "Panorama" where the top eight pan bands on the island played. This is a big spectacle with up to 80 percussionists in each band and up to 140 instruments. They play, dance and do comic routines, all in colorful costumes and ome with a coordinating sets. The second evening was the presentation of the eight kings of queens of each band in competition for the overall king and queen. The costumes were very elaborate with the poor queens in particular often having to be helped off the stage after their presentation. This was followed by a Calypso competition.
The third night was the participatory parade - it felt like a good proportion of the island was there. On our arrival we purchased a "package" for the Cable and Wireless team. This included a T-shirt, baton with LED multicolor lights dancing up and down, whistle with LED lights, drink coupons and hard hats. We met with our team and practiced elementary movements to the theme music and then hundreds strong joined the masses dancing through the streets from other teams. Every team had a long speaker truck and dispensed beer and soft drinks. Each presented for the judges in front of our hotel. This was a raucous and fun time for all. We got only a few hours of sleep that night before waking up at 4 AM for Jouvay, this is a morning ritual involving motor oil, paint and costumes.

Thousands all over the island roam the streets, many dressed in devilish costumes, rubbing the first two items mentioned all over their, in many cases, scantily dressed bodies. All continue to drink the beer and rum which flows continuously. Stands with food and drink line all the streets. Grenadians are lovely people and there were no serious incidents of crime during Carnival. We all felt very safe on the streets, even at night. People did not grab you but asked permission to dance or hug. We wore old disposable clothes and joined in - fairly decorously. The foreign medical students were very obviously having a marvelous time - they hung around our area as the school is far away.

After another few hours of sleep it was time for the big parade. This is the last day of Carnival and the culmination of a year's work for . many areas of the island. Eight groups, each with a main theme, presented a series of costumed men, women and children, along with music and performers. Most groups had hundreds of participants, all elaborately dressed and all having a marvelous time. We had rooms in the front of the hotel with balconies and had invited a number of cruiser friends to join us. We set up a hospitality bar and snacks and watched the hours long parade. Each group did a special presentation in front of our hotel so we had a great view. Carnival was wonderful and we feel so lucky to have seen it here, where security isn't a concern.

We also had a lovely day out with a number of boat friends anchored at Prickly Bay, including a great BBQ on the beach. Our flight back was on time and it was a relief to us all to find our boats all safe and - yes, blessedly quiet.

More Grenada Carnival Pictures

Men and women like this fellow above right play to the crowd as they march along. Others are team players and stay in line.

Carnival is such a fascinating and colorful time that one entry simply doesn't cover it! Here are more pictures from our trip to Grenada's Carnival in early August, 2006. Each area of the country had it's own theme and their candidates for King and Queen were dressed to reflect this. I've included several representatives here.
The picture taken at night is rather dark of course but The Blue Men show up much better if you enlarge it by double clicking on the photo. At Jouvai, and throughout Carnival, men (occ. women) cover themselves in motor oil or paint. They sometimes carry a pail of it as well. It's pretty hard to avoid getting some yourself so we dressed in throw away clothes for Jouvai.

We saw these "King" and "Queen" candidates on the second night of the Carnival at the outdoor stage. In some cases their costumes were even more elaborate. They had to pare them down to walk in the parade! One advantage of a simpler lighter costume is that allows the person to dance and engage the crowd. This "angel" Queen Candidate is a good example. The superstructure of the outfit is supported by a harness around her midsection. She's probably trying to take some of the weight off her shoulders with her arms - but still smiling and strutting.

One theme was "African Sunrise" seen here just above right and to the right. Another, "T'ings We Love", with flowers and butterflys etc. is shown in the top left picture for a group shot. This featured more children than all the rest and had one particularly adorable "bee", about 2 years old, above left.