Today’s Affirmation:
Today I give with love
Late nights and early mornings, make for a very interesting day. Lucy and I had to meet the rest of our tour group for 5 a.m. for a sunrise kayak and nature walk in Nariva Swamp. However, a friend of mine was picking us up. The original meeting time was 4:15, which turned into 4:30 but was actually 4:50. It required a lot of willpower not to hurry my friend up when the tour leader called to say, he was already on his way. My mantra for the day was: It’s all happening perfectly.
We had three stops on the way, which of course resulted in further delays. We finally met the tour leader at 5:30 but we still had to wait for the kayak man. More patience. Finally, we were on our way just as the sun was rising. It was simply breath-taking driving along the coast in Manzanilla and watching the first rays of morning over the tops of the coconut trees.
We stopped at a very humble looking house just off the main road to the right. We were here.
Nariva Swamp is declared a Ramsar Site. The Ramsar Convention is an international convention for the protection of wetlands of international importance. Nariva is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago, which a vast array of habitats and wildlife. The swamp comes alive with the first rays of light, hence the early start.
Our tour Leader Courtenay Rooks is a National Geographic Naturalist. His tour was over-subscribed so he gave us a choice of kayaking or boating in. Lucy wanted to take pix so I opted to stay in the boat with her. It’s a 30-minute kayak into the swamp and then you get to Bush Bush, a land peninsular that juts out into Nariva Swamp and which is home to Red Howler and White-Fronted Capuchin Monkeys. The boat should be less than half that…that is…if the boat returns. So those of us left behind for the second boat trip had a test in patience, which I’m afraid I failed. But the bright side was that we discovered a Doudouce mango tree and well had our fill.
The boat arrived and we were off into a world of mangrove, palm trees and lots and lots of crabs. When we were back on land once again, we were greeted by a wooden structure or house which started and ended the trails. Now, Courtenay said walk with insect repellant. What Courtenay didn’t say was that you should wash your clothes in insect repellant, bathe in it, lotion up with it and then come on this tour. Mosquitos are everywhere and they bite through your clothes.
White-Fronted Capuchin Monkey, Bush Bush, Nariva Swamp
The trail is lush and green. The smell of nature is everywhere, the musky odour of porcupine, the mustiness of monkey urine, the greenness of the place. Tropical Forest dominates the area. It’s sensory overload.
Trail Walking in Bush Bush, Nariva Swamp, Trinidad. Photos: Lucy Masters
And then…MONKEYS!!! Bush Bush is a flat wide trail which makes it easy to spot them. The White-Fronted Capuchins were in the trees all around us. They were curious about us too, they kept coming closer. It was amazing. We saw some Howlers high up in the branches. We heard them too and let me tell you…it is one of the spookiest things ever. We saw a Toucan and we only smelled the porcupine.
The trails were nice and cool so you didn’t feel the morning sun. But after exploring the forest for about 2 hrs, our tummies were rumbling and it was soon time to leave. Going back the way we came, Lucy and I were on the first boat trip out.
Bush Bush, Nariva Swamp
We were absolutely looking forward to lunch in Plum Mitan. Another place I’ve never been to in Trinidad. Unfortunately, the boat had engine problems and this delayed our departure by an hour and half. PATIENCE.
We eventually had to leave Courtenay behind and head to Plum Mitan. Another long drive but thankfully the Sooknanans who are great friends of Courtenay’s were ready and waiting. They prepared a mouth-watering buss-up-shut country-style curry lunch for us. And boy did we eat. I had lunch on a banana leaf. Was YUMMY!!!
Curry Aftermath or as we say in Trinidad “Ethnic Malaise”
It was a great day. I discovered a part of my island I have never been to before. I had curry in Plum Mitan. And I had some lessons in Patience. Today’s gift, you guessed it, patience. I know that everything is happening in its own time at the perfect pace. Sometimes we have to tap into nature’s patient pace to learn that.