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

Sunsets at Chacachacare

Evening of September 30

Evening of October 1

 We’ve been spending quite a bit of time at Chacachacare, away from the noise, lights, wakes, and diesel smells of Chaguaramas. We’ve gotten some good rain storms, which have resulted in some fantastic sunsets. Here are a couple of pictures, taken from where Mr Mac was anchored in Coco Bay, looking west over the island. Enjoy.

Macqueripe Bay Pics

Looking down toward the beach where we swam after our hike

The Bamboo Cathedral, with wedding set up at the end

Macqueripe Bay

Every Saturday, some cruisers organize a hike at Macqueripe, on the north coast of the Chaguaramas peninsula, about a twenty minute drive from the marinas. We’ve been wanting to go, and finally made the time for it this week. We hiked through the forest up and down some steep hills – beautiful views off of the north coast from the top – beside a golf course, and through a bamboo forest called the Bamboo Cathedral. A wedding reception was going on there – what a nice setting. We felt a pretty grungy in our sweaty clothes and muddy sneakers, walking by the canopies and beautifully attired people, but they were friendly. We ended up at the bay, where we went for a welcome swim in the beautifully cool water (Okay, cool is relative. The water was cooler than at Chacachacare, but still in the high 80s), before meeting for the ride home. This made for a nice, inexpensive afternoon of exercise and socializing. The only required cost was for the maxi taxi ride, $12 TT ($2 US) per person round trip. Our optional cost was for a cold libation at the golf course, Schwepps grapefruit drink. Trinidad is the only place we’ve found this, and it’s terrific – refreshing, not too sweet, and delicious!

P.S. I was going to attach a nice picture, but internet access is so slow that it wouldn't upload. Next time!

Back in Trinidad, Back in the Water

That's Venezuela over there under the clouds!

Sun-lit window in the old nuns' quarters

Shore-side ruin

Finally! Boat work is all done, and we’re back in the water. For the past few days we’ve been on a mooring at Chaguaramas. At only $5 US per day, it’s a pretty good deal for being close to shore, stores, and wifi. However, we rock and roll on the wakes of the fishing pirogues that zoom by, so we’re ready for a little peace and quiet out at Chacachacare for a few days. If you haven’t seen my previous posts on Chacachacare, it’s a small island about five miles west of Chaguaramas, a former leper colony with interesting ruins to explore and, the best part, water that’s nice to swim in! The water at Chaguaramas is really yucky, and we miss being able to jump off the boat to get refreshed. Especially since it’s been sooo hot and humid lately. Of course, there’s no wifi at Chacachacare, but I’ll write up some blogs to post when we get back!

Pre-dawn cloud formation

The Herscher Project: Face to Face

 Chris has belonged to an online writer’s group called The Herscher Project for a number of years now. The name comes from the town of Herscher, Illinois, where one of the group’s founders, Jim Bowers, lived. Jim has moved north to Michigan, but we managed to meet up with him in Kalamazoo, Michigan for dinner on our way to Chicago. After Comic Con, we headed south to spend a few days in Mascoutah, Illinois with Deb Cullins Smith, another Project member. Chris had never met Deb face-to-face before, so it was a great treat. En route, we actually stopped in Herscher for lunch and a photo-op in front of their town mural. We look forward to catching up with another Herscherer (Herscherite? Herschergonian?), Jamie Hughes, in Atlanta later this month. We love meeting up with people with whom we’ve become acquainted online (or on the radio, when we're afloat)!