Eastern Main Road to Asa Wright

The Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC) is a “Not-for-Profit” Trust established in 1967 by a group of naturalists and bird-watchers to “protect part of the Arima Valley in a natural state and to create a conservation and study area for the protection of wildlife and for the enjoyment of all.” It is the oldest nature center in the West Indies. Comprising nearly 1,500 acres of mainly forested land in the Arima and Aripo Valleys of the Northern Range, the Centre’s main facilities are located on a former cocoa-coffee-citrus plantation, previously known as the Spring Hill Estate. This estate is surrounded by tropical rainforest with a lush forest canopy. The center offers lodging and we were heading inland east to spend a night there. It's not in our nature to just go and not find out all the other things to see along the way. Lin's Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago came in very handy. For instance, as we passed what we thought was a lighthouse on the highway in the middle of Port of Spain, we read that it was, indeed, a lighthouse in the center of Port of Spain, quite far from any water. It appears the Port of Spain Lighthouse, an hexagonal tower, was built in the 1880s. When the shoreline was extended, the St. Vincent Jetty upon which the lighthouse was originally built was demolished and the lighthouse ended up in the city center. As a navigational aid, the original purpose of the light was lost. At some point (perhaps in the 1980s?) some restoration work was done on the tower, but by 2004 it was in poor condition, with a lean of about 5° which remains to this day. It gets painted different colors every so often to commemorate sports events or holidays. Today it's white. The leaning tower of Port of Spain?

lighthouse in port of spain trinidad

We traveled through St. Joseph, the oldest town in T & T. Founded in 1592, it was originally named San José de Oruña and served as the capital of Spanish Trinidad until 1783. We passed by the beautiful Mohammed Ali Jinnah Mosque in search of Trinidad's oldest church, St. Joseph's. It was easy enough to find, just up historic Abercromby Street.

st josephs church in trinidad

In actuality, we weren't really looking for the church as much as the old graveyard in its backyard. A closed gate in front of the church barred all access. We weren't sure how to get in until a lovely lady, Marie-Michele, caught our attention. She had just come from the churchyard and we asked her how to get in. She told us the church was in rough condition (very evident as we drew closer) and was undergoing renovations. The graveyard, however, was accessible and she showed us the way. A lovely creche was on display in the church's side yard.

creche at st joseph in trinidad

In addition to several centuries' old Spanish, French and British tombstones, there was one in particular for which we were searching. An unknown pirate was supposedly buried here, dating from 1682, a skull and crossbones carved on the headstone. Marie-Michele had never heard of it. She asked a worker. No idea. We searched and searched and found nothing. Just as we were leaving, I spotted the tombstone … hidden in plain sight. It was a large monument … larger than all the rest … and clearly displayed the skull and crossbones, plus the original carved date in marble. Pretty pleased with our find, we bid adieu to Marie-Michele who extended an invitation for tea at her house. Wow!

pirates tombstone in trinidad

 

pirates tombstone in trinidad

We returned to Eastern Main Road and headed further inland. The next stop, Lopinot, was further off the beaten track, but considered an historic site and we decided it was worth the trip up into the foothills of the Northern Range. Again, a serpentine, narrow road and Lin and I were grateful that David was driving and we weren't.

Named after the respected and well-loved Compte de Loppinot, the former plantation, La Reconnaissance, was a cocoa estate. After Loppinot died, the estate was abandoned. In the 1970s, the T&T Tourist Board took over the property, restored it and it now serves as an historical site, park and small museum. We crossed over a rather decrepit bridge to see the plantation house.

bridge to lopinot historic site in trinidad

The plantation house is lovely and we could understand why the Compte chose this area for his plantation.

main house at lopinot in trinidad

The house contains some small memorabilia from the plantation era including some of the original furniture and parang instruments. Have a listen to some parang music here.

 

parang instruments at lopinot

We wandered through the grounds until Kevon found us and guided us along with lots of historical and local information. We passed by long drying sheds and wandered easily in the shade of giant samaan trees. He took us to the family graveyard, which like others we'd seen, was grown over and uncared for. He asserted that the reason for the unkempt graveyards had much to do with local superstition and fear of the burial grounds. It's said that on full moon, stormy nights, the Compte rides a white horse around the grounds. Ghosthunters International has even done a segment on the legend.

lopinot family tombs in trinidad

Back to the Eastern Main Road, we headed to Arima and found the unmarked cut-off road which led up, up, up once again to Asa Wright Nature Centre, our destination for the next day or two. After negotiating still another circuitous, unmaintained, potholed, steep narrow road, we all sighed in relief as we saw the entrance sign for Asa Wright.

Check back tomorrow. Asa Wright Nature Centre is a magical place.

Along Trinidad's North Coast

Not far from the Orange Suspension Bridge over the Marianne River is the Laguna Mar Beach Hotel, owned and operated by 82-year-old Gottfried Franz Zollna, aka “Fred”. The Cocos Hut restaurant is the only restaurant in Blanchisseuse and since it was time for lunch, we stopped. Blanchisseuse, by the way, translates to washerwoman and was so named because the local women did their laundry in the Marianne River. cocos hut in trinidad

The restaurant is located in a converted cocoa drying house. It's a pleasant venue with outdoor tables on a covered veranda, sheltered from the street by lush flowers and shrubs. Butterflies and birds flitted about as we drank cold beers and rum punch and made our choices from the menu. The lunch itself was nothing special, but Fred was a charmer. We spent a good portion of our lunchtime chatting with him about his colorful life from post-war East Germany to Canada to California to the US Marine Corps to Trinidad.

with fred in trinidad

As planned, we made several stops on the return trip. The first stop was at the ill-kept Our Lady of Mount Carmel cemetery. Overlooking the Caribbean, it was a beautiful spot, but the gravestones were overgrown and crumbling.

cemetary in trinidad

We stopped at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church as well, a few miles up the road. It was a small, picturesque little country church with two bronze bells out front ready to beckon parishioners to Mass.

country church in trinidad

Simple, but lovely, the inside of the church was still decorated for Easter.

inside the church in trinidad

The best stop, however, was at Las Cuevas Beach. Las Cuevas, the caves in Spanish, was busy, but the wide expanse of beach accommodated everyone comfortably. The caves along the beach afforded great little nooks and crannies for people to seek shelter from the sun and set up their picnics.

the caves of trinidad

As always, we were looking for the sameness in people as well as the differences. We observed parents carefully watching their children on the beach. Children made sand castles and played in the surf. Universally, covering up your brother with mud has always been a particularly enjoyable beachfront pastime.

beach fun in trinidad

We headed back down the serpentine road to Port of Spain and to Chaguaramas. Our friends on Wind Wanderer were leaving to head back to Australia and we wanted to wish them farewell.

Tomorrow we head out for five days of touring Trinidad. We're all packed and ready to go. Come along with us.

Arrival, Earthquake & the North Coast

Lin's flight arrived early, believe it or not, at the Piarco International Airport and we were there waiting to greet her. We whisked her away as fast as we could whisk in late afternoon traffic and before you know we were sitting comfortably in her little apartment on the waterfront at Power Boats, sipping wine and unwinding. Dinner next door at Sails was pleasant with a light early evening breeze that followed a short, but cooling downpour earlier. Mr. Melody, the evening's entertainment, “kareoke-d” old BeeGee songs and the greatest hits of the 70s & 80s. We enjoyed dinner and left before he came to our table with his microphone. We were up early the next morning and, while David chatted with Rawle about his day's work plan for Nine of Cups, I headed down to Lin's for a morning cuppa. We sat on the deck outside her apartment, chatting and planning the day when the deck suddenly started to vibrate and sway. We thought, perhaps, somebody heavy was coming up the stairs, but no, there was no one. Then, it happened again. An earthquake … a tremor really … to start Lin's first day of vacation in Trinidad. We found out later it was centered off the coast of Venezuela and registered 5.7 on the Richter scale. No damage done.

Trembling finished, we headed off for points along Trinidad's North Coast. Lin had brought a Rough Guide to Trinidad and Tobago with her and it provided a good resource for things to see and do along the route. We climbed up, up, up across the Northern Range along a circuitous, switch-backed, narrow road that seemed barely wide enough for one car, never mind two way traffic. Deep ditches lined one side of the road, perhaps handling run-off during the rainy season. The other side of the road was a steep drop-off to the abyss below with guard rails and curbs sometimes in place. Drivers are crazy here. They speed, tailgate and pass mercilessly. After a rather exciting drive, we came to the lookout at the top which provided outstanding views of the Caribbean Sea below.

trinidad vista lookout

A few vendors were selling sweets and we chose some to try. Our favorite was chip-chips … a dried coconut and brown sugar concoction that was sweet enough to last for a month. The spiced cherries and mangos we sampled were definitely not to our liking and after a gingery taste, they were discarded in the nearest trash bin.

buying sweets in trinidad

We continued along the North Coast Road, the road descending steeply now to sea level. High cliffs gave way to thick foliage. We saw teak and old banana trees reminiscent of the plantations that once dominated the area. Stands of bamboo arched over the road. We caught brief glimpses of the sea and finally white sand beaches replaced the thick foliage and rocky coast. Spindly coconut palms dotted the shore and we were in Maracas Bay, one of the more popular beaches on the island.

maracas beach trinidad

 

We found the Maracas Bay Village to be more interesting than the main beach which was quite crowded with beach-goers, vendors and take-away joints, despite the fact it was a weekday. The village beach, though smaller, was picturesque with its brightly colored fishing boats and life guard shack.

maracas bay trinidad

A gazebo, apparently a new addition, adorned the pier and seemed to be the meeting place for young people. People fished off the end of the pier.

maracas beach gazebo in trinidad

We walked barefoot in the sand along the beach, stepping over mooring lines that moved higher and lower with the surge. A committee of vultures (yup, that's the right collective for vultures) milled around the fishing boats, scarfing up old fish guts and whatever else they could scavenge.

vultures of maracas beach in trinidad

We continued on the coast past several more beaches and through tiny towns, around sharp corners and over one lane bridges that forded the many small rivers and streams in the area.

one lane bridge in trinidad

Our destination was the Orange Suspension Bridge across the Marianne River at the end of the road in Blanchisseuse (Blahn-she-shers). We'd seen several pictures of the century-old bridge and thought it would be a great photo opp. Our plan after the bridge was to backtrack, stopping at places of interest we'd missed on the journey out. Lin's Rough Guide was a couple of years old and did not reflect the fact that the bridge had been condemned and replaced in 2012. The old bridge was left in place as a pedestrian bridge and historical site, but was not particularly photogenic despite its history. We took pics anyway.

orange suspension bridge trinidad

on the orange suspension bridge in trinidad

Join us tomorrow as we backtrack along the North Coast Road, have lunch with an 82-year old German/American ex-pat and cavort in the Caribbean Sea at Las Cuevas Beach.