Archiv
CW 13 2002
24.03.2002 - 30.03.2002
Today is Sunday, March 24, and we're in the Crews Inn marina in Trinidad.
The BBQ has been on since 8am and a few chicken legs are grizzling on it.
No, that's not what we usually have for breakfast, but today we're going on
a little trip and we also want tot take those with us as a snack. We're going
out for breakfast today - we're invited on the S.Y. Julia. Erich and Julia
pick us up at 9am. As soon as we step aboard the smell of freshly made Palatschinken
tickles our noses. Mmmmm!
Ute's in the kitchen making those thingies. With different preservatives,
fresh fruit salad and some nice coffee we get a delicious breakfast and are
ready for our joint trip.
| Everyone gets their stuff together and shortly after 11am we're ready
to leave. First we take a car towards Port of Spain and by chance we see
a procession in the streets of St. James. The Muslims are celebrating
a festival called "Hosay" today. A festival lasting for 3 days,
marking the end of 40 days of fasting. Here in Trinidad one of these festivals takes place on almost every month of the year, but always celebrated by people of different religions. Due to the colonial history of the island there are people of many different races and different religions living together now: people and cultures from Africa, India, Asia, Europe and the Middle East brought many traditions and religions to this country. 25 % of the people believe in Hinduism, 6% in Islam, 15% are Anglicans and the Roman Catholic Church has a majority, with about one third of the people. The rest are Muslims, Jews and others. We find parking, leave the car, and also standing at the side of the road we wait for the procession to start moving. It's not a large procession, but the carts that are being shoved and pulled through the streets were surly made with lots of devotion. Only 5 or 6 wagons, each showing a small temple. Decorated with flours and lots of glittering things, they are accompanied by men sounding large and small drums as |
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| well as little cymbals. The group leading the procession is carrying a construction that is supposed to resemble Husseins grave. It's carried by men who are only wearing white socks on their feet. They carry it on their shoulders while turning left and right in circles. Seems to be heavy, that thing. We stay until the last group is past, then we carry on to our original destination for today; the Caroni Swamps. Covering 80 square km the Caroni Swamps are the third largest swamps on the island and are home to more than 138 different kinds of birds. Among those are many kinds of ducks, hen, sea gulls and doves, as well as rare kinds of herons. |
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To ensure the safety of those animals only certain routes are aloud to be
travelled and only with small boats.
We arrive at the Caroni Swamps at about 2pm and before doing anything else
we first enjoy our little picnic.
The tours through the swamps only start at 3pm or 4pm since lots of the birds
only return to their sleeping places in the evening.
So we get tickets for a 4pm tour and until then we drive around a little.
We find a nice place, have a cup of coffee and return to the swamps. Arriving
there we notice that the parking lot is a lot fuller and lots of tourists
are standing around, waiting. But before we get going there's something important
to do: apply lotion. And double: one for sun protection and one with mosquito
repellent. We get into a green wooden boat together with about another 20
people and a guide steers the boat. Off we go!
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We drive through the mangroves on small canals. The noise from the outboard motor does take some time to get used to, but trying to row through here would be madness. If our guide or one of the others spots something we stop so we have time to watch the animal. At first we see lots of crabs and oysters growing on the white mangroves. These mangrove swamps cover 4 square km and are a national preserve area. Our next stop is quite spectacular: on a branch hanging over the canal right in front of us lies a snake; a Mangrove Boa. Oh dear! I hope she's not having any bad dreams and falls down! Good, we're taking off again. |
Our guide stops quite often to show us certain birds and tell us their names,
but unfortunately we can't understand him very well. Behind us in the boat
seem to be some experts, so to say ornithologists, throwing Latin names and
classifications at us. Even though we don't know the names of all these animals,
that doesn't make it any less interesting to watch them.
Sometimes our guide imitates the bird's calls and they actually respond. We
see lots of herons, standing, taking off, flying and landing. But the main
attraction here is a different bird, the Scarlet Ibis.
The Scarlet Ibis is one of Trinidad and Tobago's national birds.
There are a few special places in these swamps that the birds return to in
the evening. On our way we see another creature that demands a little respect:
a caiman. Or, in an amateur's term: a crocodile.
It's lying in the water, close to the bank, motionless, and all one can see
are the eyes and the forehead - that is, as far as a crocodile, or caiman,
has a forehead.
It's lying so still, it looks unreal.
After driving through the swamps for another 15 - 20 minutes we arrive at
the area where those Ibises spend the night. Four other boats are already
there, waiting for the show to begin. And "show" is just the right
word.
| In the small bay opposite from us a few of those impressive
birds are already standing around, with a few different, white birds among
them. It's approx. 45 minutes to sundown as the first Ibises come flying over the treetops. At first there are only a few, then they become more and more and finally there are flocks of about one hundred birds arriving. The Scarlet Ibis is about 64cm long and has a wingspan of about 1m. They owe their names to their impressively coloured feathers; pink to dark red. Actually, when they are born, they are all black and the red colour of the feathers only develops after the second year. All the feathers turn red, only the tips of their wings stay black. |
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Now and again one of them flies right over us and we get
to see these beautiful birds with their impressive feather-dress from
close up. These birds used to be hunted mercilessly, but fortunately today they are under protection in Trinidad and partly in Venezuela as well. They breed in the Venezuelan Orinoko-Delta between April and July. In that time they lay 2 eggs that hatch after 21-23 days. Afterwards they return to Trinidad where approx. 3000 brooding couples nest. Now, in the evening, they return from Venezuela to sleep in the treetops here. For us it's also getting time to return so we start making our way back. At times that's rather difficult since the water is running out by now and our small wooden boat gets stuck a few times. |
But our guide knows what he's doing and manoeuvres us out of the swamps.
Unfortunately a stink has developed since, due to the shallow water the mud
comes up into the air and starts smelling. At times that is rather unpleasant.
We see another snake and in the canal where we saw the caiman earlier, we
get to see it again, but this time looking quite alive. It is real, that's
the proof!
We've seen lots of impressing and interesting things today and after a slow
journey back to the starting point we return to our car and make our way back
to Chaguaramas. On our way we stop to eat at a Chinese restaurant and that
was it for today.
Monday is somewhat a working day again. Thomas does some maintenance on the
generator and I have a few things to do in Port of Spain. In the afternoon
we take out the catwalk since it needs to be repaired. In the moment that
seems to be the only part of the ship we can have repaired, since nobody is
able to tell us what is causing our problems and no other damage is visible.
And we don't mind that being all.
Well, one thing's for sure: without the catwalk we can't leave, so we do hope
it'll be fixed before Eastern so we can go back to Tobago.
Until then we'll definitely find things to do and to explore, but that's for
tomorrow. For today we sit with Ute and Erich, have a drink and let the day
end slowly.
Unfortunately Tuesday brings us sickness. Maybe something from the Chinese
restaurant wasn't quite ok? You never know. Well, we have to be back on our
feet by tonight; after all we're going on a big tour, turtle watch, looking
at turtles!
Until then we try to recover a little, do some laundry and a little of this
and that. At 5pm Jesse James picks us up. Ute and Erich are also coming so
Jesse takes us all to the east coast. During a short stop we quench our thirst
and satisfy all other needs, before we go off into the pampas.
After driving for a good two hours we reach Matura Bay. Everyone out and off
we go, heading for the beach. Our guide for tonight is already waiting for
us. Her name is Marissa and she is one of the people who work here in an honorary
capacity. She gives us instructions on what to do if we see a turtle, tells
us that her colleges are posted along the beach and will radio every sighting
of a turtle and tells us why we shouldn't flash our torches around (more on
that later).
But what kind of turtles are we waiting for here?
It's the Leatherback Turtle. These turtles are the world's largest kind of
sea turtle and they can weight up to 725kg and get up to 1.85m long. Giants!
From May to August the female turtles come ashore on certain beaches in Trinidad
and Tobago to lay their eggs here. And that's what we've come to witness.
Of course nobody knows exactly when and where a turtle will come ashore so
we have to wait. Jesse brought a snack to make sure we don't starve and he's
serving us tasty sandwiches, fruit, coffee and juices. We're ready for the
night to come - and it comes. We've almost got a full moon tonight and it's
rather bright. Hour after hour go by and nothing happens. We doze off now
and again, but one doesn't sleep to well sitting halfway at attention, leaning
against a tree, especially if you're sitting in wet sand. We're all pretty
tired and don't believe that a turtle is going to come ashore here today any
more.
But just after midnight Marissa is told via radio that a turtle is trying
to come ashore in the East. So we all go there. That's right on the other
side of the beach and we walk through the sand for at least half an hour.
The tide is coming in and at one place we have difficulties getting across
without getting our feet wet. Unfortunately, as we arrive at the designated
place there's no turtle to be seen. On our way we saw a dead turtle laying
on the beach; one that got entangled in a fishing net, that's all. So we have
to walk all the way back again and keep on waiting. Still on our way back
we're told that there's supposed to be one right in front of us. But where?
Well, in the opposite direction. So we stomp along in another direction. But
this time it's not in vain. There she is! She's already buried herself with
her front legs and with her back legs she's digging a hole into the sand that'll
hold the 80-125 eggs she will lay. It's fascinating to see how precise she
is, forming shovels with her legs and literally throwing the sand away with
them. The hole is definitely at least half a meter deep and a good 40cm broad.
As soon as she's finished with the hole she starts laying the eggs. Only now
are we allowed to film her and take pictures. We're even allowed to touch
her. Amazing! All of this seems to be putting quite a strain on the animal.
First, having to drag herself ashore, then digging this hole and now laying
the eggs… And in the end she'll close the hole again. One can almost
see how strenuous this is by the way she opens her moth and raises her head.
By the way, this is the only kind of turtle that can't withdraw their head.
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Also amazing, is the fact that they never sleep, swimming all the time, always
awake. That's why their legs are pure muscle and unfortunately were a very
sought after meat, which was the reason for them being senselessly slaughtered.
Awful! But fortunately those times are over now. These sea-giants used to
be butchered away on these beaches. Fortunately that can't happen any more,
since today these beaches are closed off. Besides these honourably workers
stand guard here as well.
While she's laying her eggs she's measured and registered. A microchip is
inserted into the skin with a needle and with a scanner she can be identified
through that chip anytime. This one hasn't been registered on any beach before,
otherwise she'd have a registration number on her back legs. So she's getting
that today. She's 161cm long and 117cm broad. Isn't that huge?
Her weight can only be guessed and they say it's between 800 and 1200 pounds.
The age can also only be guessed. The only thing we now about the age of these
animals is that they start laying eggs at 25-30 years and only from then on
can they be registered. Therefore their aging can only be documented from
that time onwards.
These animals ability to orientate is amazing. Actually these creatures can
hardly see, they can only recognise light or dark. Light means water and dark
means land. That's also the reason why theses animals only come ashore at
night and why you're not supposed to flash torches or similar lights around.
If it were light on the beach they'd think it's water and turn around. Not
coming ashore could be deadly for these creatures because if a turtle has
eggs in it and doesn't lay them within 2 days, it might die.
But that's not all. To lay their eggs these turtles return to exactly that
beach on which they were born. Bearing in mind that these animals are actually
at home in the northern Atlantic (e.g. by Africa) it is really astonishing
that they find their way back!
In the mean time she has started covering the eggs with sand again, also doing
this with utmost precision to avoid breaking the eggs. She's shovelling the
sand back into the hole with her front and hind legs and with the latter she
presses the sand and compresses it tightly. When she's done with all that,
which of course takes some time, she'll also cover her tracks so others can't
easily see where the nest is. Last year more than 1600 turtles were counted
in Trinidad. Theoretically these animals can lay eggs every 10 days and last
year the same turtle was seen on the beaches of Matura 11 times.
Now the eggs stay in the sand for 55-70 days, then the little ones start to
hatch. It takes the babies 5-6 days to reach the surface. Quite a way! But
only after that the most strenuous part starts: driven by instinct the little
ones start waddling towards the water. During that part, lots of them are
already eaten by birds. But even those that make it to the water haven't made
it yet, since dangers await them there as well. Only about 60% of those hatched
make it into the water and from those only 1 or 2 survive and reach maturity.
Wow, I wrote quite a lot about these giants now, and there'd still be so much
more to say. But, if possible, we want to come to one of these beaches again,
preferably when the little ones hatch and then there'll be more to write.
By now it's already quite late, or rather, quite early in the morning.
So we march back to the bus and, look, there's another one coming. This one
is rather young and "new to the game". I'll tell you next time how
you can see that. Even though we only saw two leatherbacks it was well worth
it. After all this is only the beginning of the time period in which they
come ashore to ensure reproduction. Apparently later more than 100 turtles
per night come ashore!
We're back aboard at 4.30am and dead tired. Off to the bunks we go!
But we can't sleep late; at 8am someone comes aboard to deliver a spare part
we ordered. Oh well! Actually it's too hot to sleep anyways.
At 8am it's already fairly warm and by 10am (the latest) the thermometer shows
30°C, in the shade!
Today a few people are coming aboard again to do some work. Our freezer and
fridge system needs improvement since it's using too much electricity the
way it is. So Thomas looked around for possible solutions and now they have
to figure out what can be done. Since we want to leave on Friday there's plenty
to do, but we won't make it too long today - we do lack some sleep.
On Thursday shopping's the thing to do since we want to go on tour again.
So we'll need provision, after all, shopping in Tobago isn't too great.
We take the car - we being Julia, Erich, Ute and myself. We arrive at 10am,
at a kind of wholesaler, just the right place for us. So we go on a huge shopping
tour and drive back. After putting everything away I've got another appointment.
At the hairdresser! It's about time, the last one was 5 months ago and I pay
dearly - a lot has to be cut off. Oh well, what can't be changed, can't be
changed!
Somehow everything has to be done quickly today and there's still plenty to
do.
Back aboard the men that'll put the catwalk back in are already there. So
we're seaworthy again and ready to leave. Unfortunately that thing looks rather
crooked after they put it back in and we decide to test it here first. So
we'll go to Tobago later and spend Eastern in Trinidad, sailing around here.
Therefore we can bring our speed back to normal, handle everything normally
and that's it for today.
Normal also means that we'll (as is the custom) cook Easter eggs on Good Friday.
Colouring the eggs isn't possible though since buying dye turns out to be
extremely difficult if not impossible. And colouring brown eggs with onion
peel, well, that doesn't sound too great either. So we'll paint something
on them manually, but that doesn't last either because the eggs need to be
kept in the fridge and a few minutes after taking them out the colour starts
running. Fine! But we will bake a loaf of Easter bread, a kind of yeast-based
pastry with raisins and almonds.
Good Friday is a holiday here and everybody is out and about.
Ute and I are up early on Saturday because we're going to the fruit and vegetable
market in Port of Spain. We leave by car at 6am and half an hour later we're
in our element. Sadly it's rather unpleasant here today. We get stupid comments
quite often and are harassed by beggars. While buying meat somebody tries
to cheat me, Ute's backpack is opened and finally someone takes my bag of
meat. I follow him immediately and really find that man and we're able to
sort out this misunderstanding. That's enough! We make our way back home,
stop at the supermarket and get back to our ships. The afternoon is spent
putting the shopping away, using some things and preparing others. We also
try to make some dried meat ourselves and if that turned out and what the
Easter bunny brought us and …
… what the next week brought us
… here, in one week:
same time, same place!
so long
Diana + Thomas
By the way, daylight saving time has changed again and now you can reach us between 14 and 15 hours MESZ (central European daylight saving time).
The culinary tip is going to be an easy one this week:
Baked cauliflower with salt potatoes
1 cauliflower, washed and cut into single "flowers"
150g cooked ham
100g cheese, to melt over it (slices or ground)
150ml milk
½ cup sour crème
salt, pepper, nutmeg, herbal salt
Cook the cauliflower in salt water until it's slightly tender, drain, let
it dry off and then put it into a baking dish. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg
to taste, herbal salt if you wish, cut the cooked ham into strips and lay
them onto the cauliflower, cover everything with cheese.
Mix the milk with the sour crème, add spices to taste and pour the
mixture into the baking dish.
Peel potatoes (amount according to need), cut into dice, also cook in salt
water until tender. At the same time put the cauliflower into the oven, preheated
to 200°C.
By the time the potatoes are done the cauliflower will also be ready. If you
want to and can, you could turn the ovens grill on for the last few minutes.
Enjoy!
