Trinidad And Tobago Day Seven: Tropical Rainforests And Beaches A Morning Exploring The Remote Village Of Grande Riviere

Trinidad And Tobago Day Seven: Tropical Rainforests And Beaches A Morning Exploring The Remote Village Of Grande Riviere

Trinidad Day Seven Grande Riviere morning beach (6 of 23)
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If you want to escape the 21st century and go back in time Grande Riviere is the place for you.  Located on the remote northeastern shore of the island of Trinidad it has escaped the traffic, fast food and hectic pace of our modern times. After a remarkable morning of watching the leatherback turtles on the scenic beach I decided to explore this sleepy village. 

I walked from the Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel to the main street. The owner of the hotel told me to hike up one of the few side streets in the village.  It climbed steeply up a hillside. I had walked up a few hundred yards on this street  the previous day. This time I walked past the colorful homes and the  many flower and vegetable gardens. Chickens and dogs followed me. I saw a few friendly local residents walking down to the center of the village but did not encounter a single automobile. I loved this village. The road soon left the houses below and I was on the edge of a tropical rainforest. 

The sounds of tropical birds echoed in the trees. They were hard to photograph but I was able to take a photo of this blue-gray  tanager having breakfast. 

There was one more home atop a hill. One I passed this I was an even thicker forest. I could see  the undeveloped mountains covered in rain forest in the distance. 

I loved the isolation and primeval feeling of the forest. A pair of parrots flew overhead adding to the tropical feeling. 

The road continued and I soon came to a clearing which I could see was an old plantation. 

I am not sure what was originally planted here but there was a mixture of tropical crops growing here now, including bananas, 

citrus fruits, 

and what I later learned was nutmeg and

 pomerac. I would taste one of these interesting pear/apple like fruits later on my trip. 

 

I continued past the plantation and found two houses at the end of the paved road.  A trail went on into the mountains but the tropical sun was getting higher in the morning sky. And it was intense. I didn’t bring water with me so I decided  to return to the village. 

On the way back I noticed what I thought were sensitive plants. I remember them form a science project in the 7th grade. A friend grew them as his project. It has been many years since I saw one. I decided to touch the leaves, and sure enough they moved! 

They were sensitive plants and they were growing everywhere. I never would have imagined, as a young elementary school student, that I would see these plants growing wild in the tropics. Here is a video I uploaded to my YouTube channel of  the sensitive plants. 

I was out about two miles  when I decided to head back. I will admit it was not a pleasant walk under the intense tropical sun. I walked down the trail, seeing this tropical nightingale on a wire in the village. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike. Trinidad And Tobago Day Seven morning hike. April 30 2019. 

I was glad to get back to my hotel and drink some water. I returned to my room for a rest and edit my photographs. I didn’t rest long. It was sunny and the roar of the ocean outside of my room wouldn’t let me remain inside.  I was soon walking on the beautiful tropical beach.

I walked from end to end, about a half mile , from the Grande Riviere river to a rocky outlet at the other end.  I  didn’t see a single person on my walk.  Perfection, in my opinion.

I only saw a few birds including this southern lapwing and, 

this, some type of sandpiper. 

I was hoping to see some early leatherback turtle hatchlings on the beach but there weren’t any. I did come upon this shipwreck, 

and the remains of a leatherback turtle that  appeared to have gotten  tangled in a fishing net. Sad.  

But not for the many vultures in the area. 

I was on the beach for about 45 minutes and didn’t see a single person. My kind of beach for sure. I was in love with this place. The sun was hot, and  it was around noon and  lunchtime.

I walked back to the hotel and had another delicious meal while I listened to the roaring of the ocean. .  Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike on the beach. Trinidad and Tobago Day Seven: Morning beach walk April 30 2019

To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise. Emilia Wickstead