Trinidad, Caroni Swamp

Northern Trinidad is home of the Northern Range, rugged mountains that extend across the channel to Venezuela, all the way to Colombia. Where the mountains are underwater, their jagged peaks create islands – these are the ‘teeth’ of The Dragon’s Mouth. Sea Cloud II turned south, passed through ‘Boca Dragon,’ and entered the Gulf of Pariah.

As the ship made her way towards Port of Spain, we gathered in the lounge for Lindblad Expeditions’ Geo Bee, hosted by Alex Trebek. Most participants were in teams of 5 or 6 people. Competition was fierce, and lots of fun; there were three rounds of questions, followed by a bonus round. One participant, when asked how they’d done, was advised by Alex that in the future, perhaps the best answer to a tough question might be “Present!” The top three teams received ‘valuable’ prizes of hats, bags, T-shirts.

In mid-afternoon we boarded minivans and headed south, through the city of Port of Spain and into Caroni Swamp. Two large, open boats brought us slowly down mangrove channels. Red mangroves dominated the landscape, their prop roots arched out and down through the murky water. Crabs and oysters clung to the prop roots; four-eye fish swam and skittered at the water’s surface. Little blue herons perched at water’s edge. The sharp eyes of our guides spotted tree boas and silky anteaters on mangrove branches, and a common potoo that was perfectly concealed high in a tree. As dusk grew near, we reached an open area in the wetland. Small flocks of scarlet ibis flew low over the water, and then seemed to disappear as they perched in mangrove foliage. The flocks kept coming and coming . . . and coming. The red color of the birds was impossibly brilliant. Now and then white egrets flew in and perched. The scarlet ibis and the white egrets perching on the dark green mangroves started to look like Christmas decorations flying in and decorating the green foliage.

As the light dimmed, rum punch was poured into cups and passed through the boats. The birds kept coming. The sight was indescribable . . . incredible . . . amazing. We asked for total silence from our group so that we might hear the birds in the trees. The experience was breathtakingly beautiful . . . really too great for words.

Today’s spectacles did not end with sunset. After dinner, on the Lido Deck, we had a Trinidadian culture show. A steel drum band played music, and they were later joined by a small group of dancers who did a limbo performance. Some of us attempted the limbo challenge, and then a much larger contingent joined the dancers as they snaked their way across the Lido Deck.