Speedwell of Hong Kong

Tobago Days

Author: Shirlz

Yesterday I reluctantly sailed away from Charlotteville, heading for Trinidad and the boatyards of Chaguaramas. The time had come to get started on the myriad of small, and some not so small, jobs that needed to be done to keep Speedwell seaworthy. I had spent more than a month in the beautiful setting of Pirates Bay.

 

Walking along the main beach in front of the village, I would often stop to watch the fishermen hauling in their nets. These were mainly filled with small fish which they then kept in floating pens and used as bait for their main catch. Each haul of small fish attracted hundreds of birds, eager for the pickings.

 

Pelicans, frigate birds, terns and laughing gulls. Village children would also scurry about collecting bags of the tiny fish that fell out of the nets. Free food for the taking.

 

The abundance of fruit along the paths and tracks that I walked was quite amazing. Everywhere I looked there was something lusciously edible waiting to be picked. Breadfruit, mangoes, avocadoes, star fruit, papayas, coconuts, cashews and bananas. Many mangoes fell to the ground and I was always able to collect a few that hadn’t yet been pecked by the birds or free ranging chickens, and were still in perfect condition. How could you go hungry in a place like this?

 

One of my more memorable walks took me along the road to Hermitage, a tiny settlement perched on a steep slope on the opposite side of the bay.

 

Near the start of the walk I picked up a full bag of avocados which were lying next to the road. A few heavily laden branches of an avocado tree had been chopped down and just piled up as refuse. The bag was rather too heavy to carry on the long walk, so I left them in a secluded spot a bit further along. They were still there for me when I returned about 6 hours later.

There were wonderful views across the bay and down to a small jewel of a beach tucked away and only accessible by boat.

 

The narrow road winds along the coast, climbing steeply most of the way. It passes through wonderful tropical rainforest and the birdlife is magnificent. The road is paved so I could gaze about me without having to watch where I was putting my feet all the time. I spotted motmots, jacomars, cocricos, oropendulas and hummingbirds. I am very happy with my newish 10×42 binoculars which make it possible to get a really good look at the birds.  Unfortunately my camera isn’t able to capture decent pictures of these frustratingly elusive subjects.

 

It’s a long and thirsty walk and my water bottle was soon empty. To my delight I came upon a beautifully contrived water spout running along a bamboo gutter. I took a well-earned break in the leafy glade and refilled my bottle with the cool clear water.

 

I had hoped to be able to buy a cold beer when I reached the tiny village, but the best they had to offer was a brightly orange-coloured, artificial pineapple drink. At least it was cold and I could sit at a small roadside table with the stall-keeper and his dog.

 

On Monday the village celebrated a Heritage Festival, demonstrating traditional recipes and music. I don´t really enjoy crowds and didn´t stay for long, but enjoyed watching two men use a long vertical saw to slice a big log into even planks.

 

A family of Remoras had adopted Speedwell and were always there waiting for any edible scraps that I threw overboard. I had never encountered these fish before and was fascinated by them. They have a big flat patch on top of their head that acts as a suction cup allowing them to attach themselves to bigger fish and take advantage of any food nearby while enjoying protection from their host. My group ranged in size from about 20cm long to more than a meter, big enough to make me a little anxious about swimming amongst them in case one might decide to become attached to me. I like my daily swims around the boat, so had to pluck up the courage to get in there with them. They seemed mildly curious but never bothered me. I usually swam with a mask and snorkel so that I could keep an eye on them. Most days there would be other brightly coloured fish visiting. Now that I’m anchored at Store Bay 20nm further on at the southern tip of Tobago, three of the remoras are still with us. I’m not sure if they are new attachees or remnants of the Charlotteville group. It will be interesting to see if they stay with us all the way to Chaguaramas.

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 23rd, 2016 at 16:32 and is filed under Birds, Cruising, Trinidad and Tobago. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.