Day 513 - Trinidad

Today was a pretty day. I managed to score a ticket on a tour to a bird sanctuary. I didn't realize it was a bird sanctuary until I got there! We drove in a small bus for a good hour. I am not so great at staying awake in a bus. I dozed off & on as we wound our way up a narrow mountain road. At one point, we slowed down to see the steep hillsides covered in a mesh/netting type thing. All along the netting grew a vine & some strange kind of plant that produced a green vegetable. It looked a little like an avocado, but wasn't. I couldn't imagine harvesting all the vegetables by hand on those steep hillsides!


Arriving at the Ava Wright sanctuary, I walked out onto the platform & there were OODLES of pretty birds. Hummingbirds, purple birds, green birds, yellow... I have never seen so many different colours in one place before! It was fantastic! There were also a few large lizards that weren't so cool, but luckily they kept their distance.


Our group took a walk through the rainforest & found several different 'hangouts' where different species of birds could be found. Naturally, I don't remember their names, but you can see the photos of them below. There was a 'bell bird' that sounded like a cowbell ringing whenever the bird would 'chirp'. It was loud & the sound would really travel! If I had only wrote down the names of the other birds... darn. 


Oh & there was one passenger who told me off. For using my flash. Yeah. I commented to him how wonderful the tour was & how beautiful the birds were. He asked me where I was from. I told him Canada. He said he figured I was from the Americas because I was using my flash. He carried on to quip that using a flash is 'taboo' in Europe & no serious Photographer would be caught dead using a flash for wildlife. I explained that the flash actually helps the colours 'pop' on the birds & that I don't normally use a flash for outdoor photography. WIthout it, the hummingbirds look flat & dull. With a flash, their colours come alive & they looks incredibly vibrant. He didn't agree with me & I figured maybe I couldn't teach this Old Dog a new trick, so I did my best to avoid him for the rest of the trip. I was happy with my shots!


When I got back to the terminal, it was nearly sailaway. I had a bit of loose ends to tie up. Tonight was the leaving night for Bronwyn & Leana. I had arranged their leaving gifts. Usually the team will pitch in $10 or so to buy the leaver a gift. Often it is something from the shops & not always something the leaver wants or has room for in the luggage. 


I put on my creative hat & decided to suss out a spa in South Africa that would be close to either girl & get a gift certificate for a massage once they were at home. After that, I created a leaving card that everyone could sign & wish them well on their way. Of course, we arranged for some champagne toasts in the cabin, Amarula (a South African liqueur) as well as some snack food for our little get together. We went for dinner in the mess, as it was Leana's favourite meal tonight. After dinner, we gathered in the cabin, sat around & had some laughs, chats & good times. Eddie brought us some special Philippino salad he'd made. It will be really strange to have them gone tomorrow night. They will be missed!


Tomorrow we're back to Barbados. I wonder what the little island of perfection will bring...


xxxxMaria

 This struck me funny. I don't often see an Indian headdress outside of Canada!

 The netting to hold up the vines/vegetables

 The steep hillsides were covered in them!

 Pretty orchid

 Real Cacao pod!

 Hummingbirds... and plenty of other birds

 Apparently this is a really rare bird to see. I was the only one who saw it!

 Scarlet capped or something or other woodpecker

Nelis 

 Bronwyn tries red for a minute

 Becky tries red for a minute

 Nelis gets in touch with his Bob Marley side

Leana goes Britney for a minute

Day 501 - The Aquarium, Grenada

Since we had a late sail last night, we had a late arrival this morning. We docked around 1030 & shortly thereafter, Leana called & asked me if I wanted to go with her & Bronwyn to a beach. Of course!

We left just after 1100 & Leana directed the taxi driver to take us to the Aquarium. I hadn’t been further than Grand Anse Beach, so I was excited to see what laid beyond it! We weaved in & out of traffic, past the airport & finally turned down a VERY steep hill. It was so steep, in fact, that when the driver turned the van to park perpendicular to the hill, I thought surely the van was going to tip over. Of course we exited the van on the downhill side! Thankfully we lived to tell the story!

The Aquarium was BEAUTIFUL! It was a restaurant built at the foot of a rock cliff right on the beach. The waves were quite intimidating, but the water was inviting. We enjoyed some virgin piña colada’s & the scenery. It was a very impressive restaurant – many sections wrapped around the cliffs & trees, earthy décor, and of course, the view was unbeatable!

After our drinks were finished, we found a little tree to put our things under & went into the water. There were only about 6 other people on the entire beach. It was very quiet. Getting into the water was a challenge. I knew getting out would be an even bigger challenge.

We swam away from the shore for a short distance to escape the waves tossing us into the sand – there was quite a little swell for this prairie chick! These were definitely the biggest waves I’ve ever swam in. I’m not too brave when it comes to water, but I’m proud that I managed so well today!

We then swam parallel to the beach towards a darker patch of water where Leana knew there was more coral, thus more sealife. The sealife was actually really good! I haven’t had a whole lot of luck snorkeling from shore & finding plenty of fish, but today was a great exception! We even saw a few seahorses! My favourite! Leana & Bronwyn saw a funky fish that I missed, but I saw plenty of other fish. I don’t know the names of the fish yet, but I am trying to learn! I know I saw Blue Tangs, Sergeant Majors, Butterfly Fish, and those really pretty black ones with yellow tails & luminescent blue dots on their bodies.

We managed to gracefully exit the water & waves without drowning ourselves & Bronwyn caught a little sun while Leana & I bobbed up & down in the waves. We caught the same taxi back & worried about tipping the van down the steep hill – thankfully I didn’t eat anything at the restaurant, otherwise the chain of events could have been VERY different!

The girls did a little shopping in the terminal & then headed back for afternoon clinic. I returned to the ship & took my laptop off to do a little blogging. We were in port with a magnificent Windstar ship – one of the tall sailing ships. They are beautiful with 4 giant sailing masts. They sailed a little before our ship & when they blasted the ship’s whistle to signal their leaving port, I got a little nervous, so I packed up & headed back to the glorious Sea Princess.

The evening proved fairly uneventful. My right ear blocked today while we were snorkeling, so Jaco blew it out for me. It was rather disgusting, but the return of my hearing capabilities to that ear were worth it! In fact, it now feels like the left ear is blocked, as I can hear so clearly from the right ear! Jaco assures me that both ears are clean & clear.

The same ear blocked in 2003 – I was in Victoria with an old boyfriend. We were walking along the waterfront & he said, (or so I thought) ‘The trees sure are pretty’ – it was Autumn & the leaves were changing colour. I replied, ‘Yeah, they sure are.’ He looked at me like I was crazy & started to laugh. He asked if I’d heard him right & I repeated what I thought he’d said. He laughed harder & said, ‘No, I said, ‘Gee, I have to pee’’. Oops.

This should prevent any diving escapades, as well as any miscommunications… I hope.

xxxxMaria

Yours truly 

 Nice view!

 Bronwyn & Leana

 Funky place

Turtles!

Sunset as the tall ship sailed away