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We have finally been able to see some of Trinidad, but work continues on maintenance on the boat – as ever! We went on a guided walk through the rainforest and saw so many tropical birds, plants and flowers we just couldn’t stop taking pictures.
A lovely lunch at the Asa Wright Nature Centre and some birdwatching. Our tour guides were testing us on our limited knowledge of wild plants, flowers and herbs. I did manage to recognise wild fresh cloves. What a smell! Nothing like the dry ones we are used to. 
You can understand why Trinidad is famous for its birds, they are so beautiful. It turns out it is impossible to get pictures of hummingbirds, apart from being very small, they just move way too fast. We also went on a boat (again) through the mangrove swamps to see scarlet ibis coming in to roost. Our waterproofs are being well used as the rainy season is in full force here.
We travelled a long way one evening to a protected beach where giant leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. They are the largest type of turtles and regularly grow to 1000lbs. That largest one ever recorded was 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and weighed 2000lbs! They don’t have a hard shell, its thick oily skin instead. They can dive deep, especially to escape predators, they have been recorded as deep as 1,200 metres before the GPS transmitter imploded from the pressure. We were very lucky as we saw one come in, excavate a hole and start laying. They are tagging all the ones they find so they can track them, as they are still endangered. Then they leave the eggs and head back up the American coast as far as the Arctic to feed in cold waters, mostly on jellyfish. One was tracked that travelled a staggering 13,000 miles in 647 days from Indonesia to the USA in search of food. It was amazing to watch her carefully and expertly dig a bulb shaped hole, lay they eggs and then carefully cover it over and head back to the sea. We also saw the baby hatchlings digging their way out of the sand and heading towards the sea for their first taste of the ocean. Clutches are as big as 120, but very few survive to be adults. We were allowed to pick them up, and then put them on a flat piece of sand near the sea and watch them make their way to the water. Very cute with incredibly strong flippers for something so tiny. On the walk back, we saw another turtle come in, looking for a suitable spot to start digging. What an experience!
On the way down to the beach to see the leatherback turtles, we were talking with our driver – the infamous Jesse James - about Trinidad food. It is a real mix of Caribbean, Indian and African. One really popular snack is chicken foot souse. I was asking about it and Jesse said would we like to try some, so we said yes. How bad could it be?? I imagined it being something like Oxtail soup, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. I have eaten a whole sheeps brain in Morocco so chicken feet should be no problem. When they were handed to us, I was truly shocked to see 10 wobbly, jelly like boiled chicken feet, toes and all staring at me. My first thought apart from shock was that at least the claws had been clipped off. This was going to be a challenge.
We did not want to be rude, so we started to nibble. ‘Eat’ would not begin to describe it as there is no meat on chicken feet, just the rubbery, scaly skin and some gristle and bones under that. The taste was ok – for the brief moment I was able to block out the visual of what I was putting in my mouth. Something akin to chicken stock or consommé with some chilli thrown in. But then I opened my eyes again, and the feet wobbling around in front of me, combined with the rubbery texture made my stomach turn. I could face no more. When we have worked up the courage, we MIGHT try the cow heel soup and gizzards that were next on the menu. But then again, maybe not.
We have also been to a couple of Texas holdem Poker nights. I ended up in a decent amount of credit at the end of the night. Very pleased as it was my first time playing and I was still struggling to remember whether a straight beats a flush. You THINK it’s lots of money, but $100 Trinidad dollars is less than £10 – but the big wad of notes just makes you think you have done really well. Next time out, Richard did well again – man he can bluff like a pro! My curiosity just kept getting the better of me and I was losing my large pot just paying to see if he really did have a hand or if it was another Neiland bluff!
We are planning to cruise round the Orinoco delta in a few weeks – our first big adventure, with no facilities, food or water. But we know the boat is set up well for being self sufficient and we are going in a support group with some other boats. So we are looking forward to some unspoilt wilderness. Just some Warao native Indians and lots of wildlife on the rivers.
I have just seen a turtle swim past Quintessence and also a ray jumped right out of the water. And now the tropical rain has just started.........
Our flowers, birds and turtles pictures are at:
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Sarah and Richard
xxx
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