Hiking Chacachacare

Narrow shoreline path

Cool orange seedpods

Grave of Sister M. Henri Reverdy 1843 - 1873

Hiking around Chacachacare is interesting. There are the ruins of the leper colony that used to operate on the island (tucked amidst the vegetation, with bats flitting about the shadows inside, and vultures scraping their talons on the metal roofs, these ramshackle buildings are neat in a creepy kind of way), a sad little graveyard for the nuns who died here, beautiful views of Trinidad to the east and Venezuela to the west, low-lying beaches and high hilltops, and always wonderful vegetation and butterflies. This past trip we hiked from the nunneries around to the main dock, then scrambled up the scree to the hilltop above the spit of land that separates Perruquier and Tinta Bays. The views were great, though the heat radiating off the rock was vicious, and I swear the vultures, which were flying just beyond the cliffs where we stood, were eying us with interest. Some of the trails were pretty overgrown, and Chris made good use of our machete to get us through. My goal was to get across the ridge to the southern side of the island, but no luck this way. However, on the way back to the dinghy, we found an offshoot trail that went east up the northern side of the hill, then doubled back and went west down the southern side of the hill – BINGO! – but by now we were hot, scratched up, and almost out of water. Next time…

Atop the hill overlooking both east and west sides of the spit; Mr Mac is anchored in the background