Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad was sighted by Columbus on Trinity Sunday, 1498; fortuitously the island had three conspicuous peaks. Today the island has no significant Spanish population and little trace remains of the Arawak or Carib peoples who lived here in pre-Columbian times. The island nevertheless has a colorful mix of peoples: descendants of the Africans brought over to work the plantation system form the majority with the addition of peoples of Indian descent, brought over as indentured laborers after the emancipation of the slaves in the 1830s. Exchanging hands frequently between the French and the British, the latter took firm possession of the islands during the Napoleonic Wars. Trinidad and neighboring Tobago were joined as an independent nation state within the British Commonwealth at the beginning of the 1970s. The island is rich in oil and natural gas and has a relatively small population of some one and a half millions, although judging by the shanty dwellings that lined the highway on our way out of the capital, trickle down economics are barely succeeding.
Our destination for the morning was the Asa Wright Nature Center, high in the Arima Valley. A former cocoa, coffee and citrus plantation dating from 1906, the property came into the possession of the Wrights during the Second World War. Today this delightful property is the pre-eminent conservation center on an island with more species of bird per square mile than any other nation on earth. A highlight of the day - and the trip, for the serious birders - was a rare opportunity to enter a cave on the property to view roosting Oil Birds, a nocturnal fruit-eating bird with bat-like habits. After a splendid breakfast served on the property, many chose to follow the trails with the knowledgeable local guides for an introduction to the local fauna and flora. Some of us visited the coffee-drying shed and met the gentleman whose happy job it is to roast the beans for the Lodge. It was delightful to rest - freshly prepared coffee in hand - on the verandah and have the opportunity to view so many exotic species of bird at close quarters in the adjacent vegetation, looking out over a radiantly luxuriant tropical landscape. It is invariably a good sign when a visit seems too short: a universal sentiment this morning as we departed from the Asa Wright Center to return to the ship for lunch and another enchanting afternoon under sail.
Trinidad was sighted by Columbus on Trinity Sunday, 1498; fortuitously the island had three conspicuous peaks. Today the island has no significant Spanish population and little trace remains of the Arawak or Carib peoples who lived here in pre-Columbian times. The island nevertheless has a colorful mix of peoples: descendants of the Africans brought over to work the plantation system form the majority with the addition of peoples of Indian descent, brought over as indentured laborers after the emancipation of the slaves in the 1830s. Exchanging hands frequently between the French and the British, the latter took firm possession of the islands during the Napoleonic Wars. Trinidad and neighboring Tobago were joined as an independent nation state within the British Commonwealth at the beginning of the 1970s. The island is rich in oil and natural gas and has a relatively small population of some one and a half millions, although judging by the shanty dwellings that lined the highway on our way out of the capital, trickle down economics are barely succeeding.
Our destination for the morning was the Asa Wright Nature Center, high in the Arima Valley. A former cocoa, coffee and citrus plantation dating from 1906, the property came into the possession of the Wrights during the Second World War. Today this delightful property is the pre-eminent conservation center on an island with more species of bird per square mile than any other nation on earth. A highlight of the day - and the trip, for the serious birders - was a rare opportunity to enter a cave on the property to view roosting Oil Birds, a nocturnal fruit-eating bird with bat-like habits. After a splendid breakfast served on the property, many chose to follow the trails with the knowledgeable local guides for an introduction to the local fauna and flora. Some of us visited the coffee-drying shed and met the gentleman whose happy job it is to roast the beans for the Lodge. It was delightful to rest - freshly prepared coffee in hand - on the verandah and have the opportunity to view so many exotic species of bird at close quarters in the adjacent vegetation, looking out over a radiantly luxuriant tropical landscape. It is invariably a good sign when a visit seems too short: a universal sentiment this morning as we departed from the Asa Wright Center to return to the ship for lunch and another enchanting afternoon under sail.
