Saturday, November 11, 1995 - Trinidad

Got Malu on the VHF at 7:30 this morning. Found out tomorrow's tour had been canceled, but there's still room on today's tour to the rain forest at the Asa Wright Nature Center. The tour left at 8:45 from Peake's chandlery and cost 145 TT's each, including lunch. I woke Roy up and told him about it. He was as enthusiastic as I was, so I called Malu back and told Robin we'd go. Then we had to really scramble. It was already 7:45. I threw breakfast together, we gulped it down, and Roy washed the dishes while I paddled in. He's a lot faster than I am. In fact, he was waiting at the chandlery when I got there. Then it turned out that the bus didn't actually leave until nine. Robin told people 8:45 so they'd get there on time. It was the same comfortable bus that takes us downtown. The drive to the nature center took nearly two hours. We went through Port-of- Spain and several small towns on the far side. Saw some small farms and chicken ranches. One coop had the poor chickens packed in so tightly they couldn't even walk around. Then the road turned north and began heading up into the mountains. It was very narrow and had many twists and turns and hairpin curves. Up, up we went. There was jungle all around us. The air was pleasantly cool. Finally we reached the nature center. It was housed in a wonderful old plantation house. We felt like guests of a wealthy British landowner. We were served tea and coffee on the verandah while we were waiting for the guide. We had a terrific view out over the rain forest. All kinds of birds were flying around and feeding. The guide was very knowledgeable and spoke flawless English. He pointed out many varieties of insects and trees and birds. Told us about army ants and leaf-cutting ants. Showed us huge nests that termites build in the trees. I've never been especially fond of bugs, but it was interesting. After the tour, we ate lunch in the dining room. It was elegant. China plates, silverware, cloth napkins. We had stuffed chicken breast, rice, okra, fried plantain, and salad. For dessert, we were served mixed fruit. Everything was delicious. After lunch, we strolled to a little waterfall and pool where people were swimming. Got back to Peake's at 5:30. What a neat day!