LAST DAY ON HOLIDAY, TUESDAY MARCH 10
Too soon we are at the last day
. This has been a great group, for the most part. A few people have gotten on my nerves but not every day and not often. That's saying a lot because usually there is someone at the very beginning who hits me the wrong way and I spend the rest of the trip trying to avoid them.
This morning we are up to the Asa Wright Nature Center to see the hummingbirds. There are some 17 species of hummingbirds in Trinidad and Tobago and about 13 different species hang around the Nature Center where you can sit on their veranda and have them come to within a few inches of your camera. So looking forward to this. Again it’s a long drive up the hill to the center. When we get there and walk out to the veranda, there are many people sitting there already watching the birds. Looks like about 15 feeders or so plus a couple of long plank feeders on the lower level for fruit eaters. It is amazing. So many brilliant hummingbirds just right in front of my face. Surely I can get a good photo of at least one!
We are offered a hike into the woods and my hubby and I join the group
. I pick up a walking stick that is sitting next to the door. I had read somewhere that these were for the guests. Several group members did the same after I had gotten the first one. We were walking downhill over a lot of roots and rocks. We stopped for him to show us some of the leaf cutter ants which are really tiny and carry these big pieces of leaves that they have chewed into small triangles which are still bigger than they are. I could hardly get close enough for a photo.
Our guide then hit one of the walking sticks (mine) against the ant mound and huge warrior ants came out to investigate and these buggers are right huge comparatively speaking. Wouldn’t want to mess with them. He put the ant on my stick and held it up for us all to see. I made good and sure it was gone before I took up the stick again.
We went a bit further and it started raining so we backtracked to a shelter which was already full of people so hard to get under it but we didn’t get too wet
. We were looking for oilbirds and heard one but never saw one. And looking for the golden headed manikin lek – not sure I have the name quite right. And we apparently did see one but he was so far away that I didn’t get a good photo. Also one of the hummers which is on everyone’s list but is the hardest to spot at the feeder.
We didn’t go very far before we turned back and got back to the veranda just about in time for lunch. Lunch was buffet style and served in a large room for all the guests. You can spend the night at the center as well and I think it would have been pretty cool to do that but I might have gotten a bit tired of sitting and staring at birds after several hours. Don’t know as I have never done it.
After lunch, we went back to the veranda. There was a large black bird with blue eyes and a brilliant yellow tail. He swooped and flew around so fast that I could never get him with his tail open
. He stopped frequently on the plank feeders for the fruit. He also had a lot of nests hanging from the tree. They looked like bushy "tear drop ornaments" hanging. He is related somewhere to the weaver bird we have seen in Africa in the way he does his nest.
A couple of agoutis came along too and were picking fruit up off the ground from where the birds had dropped it. More hummingbirds everywhere you looked – standing on the feeders and just hovering around the feeders while they ate. Remarkable.
This could have been a nice cap to my day but we still had some more sightseeing. We have covered much of the island but you couldn’t prove it by me because I wasn’t ever sure where I was. Our local guide said she had left home this morning at 5 a.m. to drive into Port of Spain so she would be at the hotel at 8. OMG. She said that was rather typical. I know when we hit rush hour time, the roads outside the hotel were not moving more than a few inches ever few minutes
. I’d hate to be on the road for several hours.
We are heading towards a Hindu Temple by the sea. When we got there to the appropriately named Temple by the Sea, it was closed. Rather disappointing to spend so much time driving around and not get in to see it although we had pretty good views of the interior from the windows. It was out on a spit of land in the tidal flats and the tide was out. A couple of boats were marooned in the mud until the next high tide. The wind was quite brisk so the flags around the temple were flapping and snapping in the breeze. There were also small miniature Hindu gods and figurines around several of the trees where people have given offerings. Back on the mainland were three concrete foundations with sandy holes in the middle. These were the sites where they carry out the cremations.
Next we drove to the large statue of Hanuman, the monkey god
. A Hindu priest had erected this statue in a largely Hindu neighborhood which included a school and what might have been a temple but was also closed. It might have just been a venue for celebrations. I never did find out what it was for. We walked around the statue along with a Hindu couple that was reciting something in Hindu as they walked.
Back in the bus and back into Port of Spain. Luckily we are going against traffic. Our poor guide, we passed right by her apartment but her car was at our hotel so we couldn’t do her a favor and drop her off there.
We had agreed with one other group member that we’d all go fabric shopping if we had time because his wife is a quilter also (I’m a quilter) and he was sorry he didn’t get any in Suriname. He wanted to walk into town. We saw how far it was and decided we’d take a taxi. So had the hotel call for a taxi which took 15 minutes. It was around 4:30 or so
. The hotel said the stores were open until 5:30 or 6. The taxi is not moving very fast as we aren’t sure on the store we want but stuck in traffic and he tells us that the stores close at 5. Yikes. We pay and get out and go into a Mardi Gras store we saw but it just had costume items. Our guide had told us that people wanted to make enough money to buy their Mardi Gras costume the next year. Ha ha.
So we start walking fast down the street and popping into stores that look like they might have fabric. Not finding any so I asked a clerk and she said head further down the street to somewhere and I couldn’t understand the name. But we kept walking, even past an area where there were no stores. Finally we got to some stores that seemed to have fabric and popped into the first one and there was our other group member, getting some fabric. Yea. He had much better instincts for finding it or much better instructions.
We ran in and I started pulling out cotton fabric to be cut
. Hubby went across the street which looked like another fabric store and found out the best place was around the corner and further down a bit. We told our friend and he took off for that store. We finished and then we took off for it too and were a bit confused on which way to turn at the next corner but we found it. Walked in and our friend was completing his fabric purchase. It was just 5 minutes to 5 now but they graciously stayed with us while I chose about 10 different fabrics. Finally I have paid and they let us out of the store and we were second to last ones to leave.
Know we have walked down the street a bit but thought that it was just walk back to the park and around two corners and our hotel would be there. Wrong! We were over a mile away, more like two miles. So around the corner and to the end of the park, around the corner and to the next jog in the park and around two more corners before we finally got to our hotel. My dogs were barking!
This being our last night, we were all having a dinner together to say goodbye
. As some of us are leaving very early in the morning, (One beat us by an hour leaving at 5, we were leaving at 6), Chris decided to have the dinner at the hotel so we could all crash as we finished eating or stay and talk. As usual, he’d had us stop by and pre-order our meal. While this seemed to really confuse the staff, have to say that in the long run, I think it worked very well most of the time and did save us a lot of time.
We were in a very small room but we all squeezed in and soon our dinners were arriving. A lot of drinking and laughing and promises to keep in touch and hopefully see each other again on a trip somewhere. So eating and then repacking and getting ready to leave the next day. A very good trip and well run, except for the border crossing. Good guide, except for the border crossing. Good local guides. I’d return to Suriname. I’d return to Trinidad although I’d rather go to Tobago and check it out next time. I probably wouldn’t go back to Guyana unless something special were discovered or someone offered me a free trip or it was attached to something else really grand. But I’m glad I hit all three now.
Last Day of Holiday
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Port of Spain, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
Other Entries
-
1Heading Out for a new adventure - new countries
Feb 2612 days priorLondon, United Kingdomphoto_camera1videocam 0comment 0 -
2Georgetown and the Essequibo River
Feb 2810 days priorGeorgetown, Guyanaphoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
3Baganara Resort Visit
Mar 019 days priorBaganara Island Resort, Guyanaphoto_camera10videocam 0comment 0 -
4Kaieteur Falls and Georgetown
Mar 028 days priorGeorgetown, Guyanaphoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
5Border Crossings - Poo
Mar 037 days priorParamaribo District, Surinamephoto_camera0videocam 0comment 0 -
6Paramaribo, Suriname
Mar 046 days priorParamaribo District, Surinamephoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
7Kabalebo Jungle Resort
Mar 055 days priorParamaribo, Surinamephoto_camera10videocam 0comment 0 -
8Full Day at Kabalebo
Mar 064 days priorParamaribo, Surinamephoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
9Last 1/2 day at Kabalebo & back to Paramaribo
Mar 073 days priorParamaribo, Surinamephoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
10Heading to Trinidad - Last Country of Tour
Mar 082 days priorPort of Spain, Trinidad and Tobagophoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
11Bake and Shark
Mar 091 day priorPort of Spain, Trinidad and Tobagophoto_camera5videocam 0comment 0 -
12Last Day of Holiday
Mar 10Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobagophoto_camera10videocam 0comment 0
2025-02-07