Henna and Tobago

Waking up to rain made me realize how fortunate we’d been weather-wise the whole trip, but it did require a change in plans.  Instead of hiking through the mountains, we settled for a quick dash behind the hotel and saw a frog who was clearly enjoying himself.

Inspired by the previous day’s holiday, we set out on a quest to get some henna done.  When our leads didn’t pan out, we headed in the direction of a billboard we’d seen advertising an Indian Bridal Expo. Sure enough, the fair was right off the highway and it was the final day.  We had to wade through a muddy field/parking lot to get to the tent, and were well-rewarded for the effort.  The tent was full of vendors selling all sorts of saris, Indian clothing, and any accessory you may need to go with it.  So pretty!  Almost wished I needed another sari.  After explaining our request, one vendor had us buy some henna from another stall and pulled up a chair behind her booth. Stephanie had both her hands done, and I opted for an ankle.

We waited for the henna to dry at the airport, as we ate fried chicken and waited for our flights—me to Tobago, Jeanette and Stephanie back to DC.  It was hard to believe part 1 of the trip was already over, and I knew I’d miss my travel buddies but I was excited for part 2.

The flight to Tobago was short, and upon landing it was only a few blocks to my hotel.  This whole area seemed pretty walkable, so I set out to see the beach and grab dinner.  It was odd being alone, and from the attention I received and the number of restaurants and hotels, clearly had more tourists than our previous stops.  I opted for a quiet night in and some reading.

Commuter Birds and Indian Arrival Day

We started our last morning with a final visit to the beach, which was well rewarded.   They’d found a nest of turtles that had hatched during the previous day, and had gathered them to release into the water when the dogs and birds weren’t around.  We got to help release one and it was so cute!  I know its odds aren’t good but I’m still rooting for it.  We also saw a few final nesting females.

Baby Turtle!

 

The day was a national holiday in T&T, but for a different reason. While Americans observed Memorial Day, Trinis celebrated “Indian Arrival Day”.  After slavery was abolished, they brought indentured servants from India (thank you, British Commonwealth) and many stayed, creating a delightful fusion in food and music (one popular genre here is called “chutney”).   I half expected to see Bollywood-style dancing in the streets, but ‘twas not to be.  We celebrated by driving to a popular Roti place for lunch.  Roti here is like a ginormous fresh tortilla, filled with all sorts of spicy goodness.  Again we faced the embarrassing questions where we couldn’t quite understand what they were saying, and even if we did, had no idea how to answer.  So we
said “yes” as they scooped in meats, veggies, potatoes, chickpeas, etc.—I now suspect tamarind sauce may have been involved.  It was interesting to watch the women make the rotis, but the place was sweltering so we got it to go and ate at our final accommodations:  Pax Guesthouse.  On the grounds of a monastery, it was an oasis of calm high on the mountainside and you felt like you were stepping back in time with the historic architecture and antique décor.

So delicious!

With full stomachs and a free afternoon before our next adventure, we went in search of some Indian temples mentioned in the guidebook.  For a small country with relatively few roads we still got turned around, but eventually found one of them which boasted a giant statue of Hanuman, and what appeared to be the evidence of a big party the previous night.

 Our big adventure for the day was the Caroni Swamp at dusk.  I was squeamish that we’d be hiking through snake-infested areas, but was relieved that we were in shallow boats instead.  Turns out the birding world here is quite small, as we ran into the same chap we’d had lunch with at the Nature Center a few days before and were on the same boat.  Our guide steered the boat through channels cut in the mangroves to access some small islands in the lagoon, pointing out wildlife along the way (thankfully, the only snake we saw was asleep high up in a tree).  Out in the lagoon, we saw them:  the scarlet ibus, national bird of Trinidad, coming in to roost for the night.  These birds commute to Venezuela daily.  OK, turns out it’s only about 15 miles away, but that’s still crazy to think about as a daily commute!  It was so relaxing to sit there and watch flashes of scarlet bobbing along the sky in various formations to land in the branches.

Through the mangroves to the lagoon

Commuter birds!

We returned to Pax in time for a candlelit dinner on the balcony, and were joined by some college students on a research trip.  Turns out the candles were part ambiance, part power outage (didn’t last too long, though).  Best Indian Arrival Day ever.

Sunday with Sea Turtles

For early in the morning, the beach was quite popular with folks taking pictures of the sea turtles.  We all seemed to have the same objective:  get a picture with a sea turtle and then try to get pictures with no one in the background.  Easier said than done, but I did my best:

with the tourists (for scale)

sans people (almost)

A quick breakfast and it was off to church.  I’d looked online and the nearest congregation was practically halfway back to Port-of-Spain, but the traffic was much lighter and with some help from our hotel we managed to find the meeting.  The congregation was small and super-welcoming.  As it was the 5th Sunday of the month they had a special lesson: cleaning the chapel.  Apparently they struggle with the same problem my ward does, and we had to laugh to see that some aspects of the Church are the same everywhere.

basketball court's in the back

After church we drove back to Grand Riviere, stopping at a historic lighthouse and seeing where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic.  Gorgeous spot, popular for picnicking. 

where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic

There was a surfing competition in a nearby village, and the traffic became absolute gridlock.  Some officers finally showed up to take control of the scene, directing Jeanette to park just off the road (practically in a ditch) to allow traffic to pass.  The first car was a mini-bus that passed so close we had to pull in our rear-view mirror, but once they’d passed and we were allowed through we found a spot and walked back to see what all the fuss was about.  Surfers from all over the world were there and it was interesting to watch a few rounds.

note:  we're driving on the LEFT side of this road

Back at our hotel, we decided to explore the full length of Grand Rivere beach and watch the sunset.  Aside from a group of local boys we had the beach to ourselves.  We read for a bit and I climbed a few trees that overhung the sand.  On our walk back we were met by a ranger, who informed us that because the beach closes at dark we weren’t supposed to be there and we’d need to pay a steep fine.  He seemed like a friendly guy, though, so during our walk back I chatted with him about music and asked him if he knew a former colleague of mine (he did).  By the time we got back to the station he just transferred us to another ranger friend who was giving a tour.  Thank heaven for Bob Marley and Suzanne Livingstone!

Leatherback Sea Turtles: the Michael Phelps of the Sea

Leaving Port-of-Spain, we started the day with a birding trip to the Asa Wright Nature Centre, a former plantation high up in the mountains.  Just the variety of birds we saw from the porch was impressive, and there were beautiful and interesting flowers along our short hike like the lipstick plant.

Jeanette and the lipstick plant

As we returned to the lodge, we ran into several LDS senior missionary couples enjoying a day off but wearing their name tags.  Small world!

Next stop:  the northeastern coast and the sea turtles.  Along the way we stopped for some delicious roadside food they fried to order and some fresh pineapples.  Off the highway, the winding road was barely wide enough for traffic in both directions.  We quickly discovered most cars opted to drive in the center as fast as they could, and were grateful there wasn’t more traffic.  Arriving at Grand Riviere, we checked in and were given one of their vacation properties that were just completed and hadn’t sold yet.  It felt so spacious for just 3 of us, and the view from the bedrooms was wonderful!

Stephanie and our suite

The view from our rooms—that's the beach just beyond these trees!

We went for a brief swim before sunset and enjoyed dinner overlooking the ocean as we waited for it to get dark.

Across from the hotel was the nature center where we purchased our pass and waited for a ranger to take us on the beach.  During the day we’d seen that the beach was all dug up with no smooth spots, and now we saw why—the turtles kick up a lot of sand in their nesting, and the beach was covered with nests!  We couldn’t use flashlights or take flash photos because it would disorient the turtles, so in the dark it was a little spooky to suddenly see sea turtles coming out of the dark water or notice a bit of sand moving nearby that turned out to be a turtle.  The sheer number of sea turtles meant that a turtle would usually dig up someone else’s nest in the process of digging their own, and they even had sea turtles meeting head on in their coming and going—apparently sea turtles don’t know how to back up or yield.  Their solution:  by pushing against each other at an angle, they rotate around each other until each goes on their way.  We were able to stay out there a while, but had to return with the ranger.  At that point, I wished we were with the researchers so we could stay out longer, but it was still an incredible night and this allowed us to wake up at sunrise to return to the beach and take photos of the last few turtles.

Leatherback Sea Turtles:  the Michael Phelps of the Sea
Since we actually only saw females coming up on the beach to lay eggs, I guess they’d be Michelle Phelps.  But their disproportionate front arm/fin span bore a strong resemblance to the swimmer.

A few reasons why they’re so cool:
• They eat jellyfish—who does that?!
• (unconfirmed) can out-swim a shark
• Their shells aren’t hard because they dive so deep it couldn’t withstand the pressure.
• They return to the same beach where they were born to lay eggs.  That doesn’t sound impressive, until you think that their life begins by digging their way out of the sand and making a mad dash in the dark to avoid the birds and dogs to get into the water.  The babies are on their own, but somehow connect with other turtles and swim as far north as Canada in search of their food (see above).  Years later, they manage to return to the same random beach where they were born to lay more eggs, and will continue to do so every few years.

Here’s how they nest:  a female sea turtle thrusts herself across the sand using her front flippers until she’s above the high tide line and starts digging a hole with her back fins.  Once it’s about a foot deep, she’ll lay a few dozen eggs (a little larger than a ping pong ball) into the hole.  During this time she’s zoned out so it’s actually the best time to pet her, which we did. When she’s finished, she’ll cover the nest up and for good measure, spin around in a circle to make it harder to see where she dug before heading back to the water.

Trinidad Day 1: The Archery Federation

"What are you doing here?"
Not the usual greeting I receive when I travel, but it makes sense.  Trinidad gets most of its income from oil, not tourism, so they don’t really get a lot of tourists, especially outside of Carnival season.  My interest in visiting was piqued when I made a map for work depicting nesting beaches for the leatherback sea turtle.  I was just about finished when they received data from the beaches of Trinidad that were off the scale—literally, I had to adjust the symbology to accommodate it. (You can see the map here).  While you’re lucky to see a few a turtles over the entire season at some beaches, you’ll see several in a single night at these beaches. 

My other reasons to visit Trinidad & Tobago:
·  Not as touristy as other Caribbean countries
·  Interesting ethnic blend:  40% Indian descent, 40% African descent, 20% mix and misc.  This made for some interesting music and
·  delicious food.

It took a few years to make it happen, but by that point I was able to convince two friends, Stephanie and Jeanette, to join me.  As we landed at the airport, we saw a chauffeur's sign with "Archery Federation" on it, which I adopted as our team name.  I’d expected to buy road maps once we got there, but there was none to be found.  Thankfully, the tourist maps were surprisingly sufficient for getting us around the island and I’d already done a little research.

As the cars drive on the left side, Jeanette was our designated driver and turned out to be a rock star at it.  We drove up through Port-of-Spain, and after dropping our things off at the hotel continued on to the northwestern shore for a Bake & Shark dinner at Maracas Beach. 

northwest coast on the drive to Maracas Beach

I doubt the meat is actually shark these days, but what I can tell you is that it was fantastic!  There was a counter of over a dozen unrecognizable condiments (chutneys, etc.), but I randomly chose several and the combination was delicious.

Bake & Shark

 We had a brief after-dinner swim at dusk and called it a night.