NTITT’s “Hikers Digest”
Would you believe that one week has gone already in the New Year? Wow, time simply waits on no one whatsoever. At Nature Trekking, respect to the holidays, but whenever there is work to be done, it’s got to be done and my aim and motto is simply to please, educate and entertain whosoever acquiring my services to the max, and so shall it be.
Sunday 01st January 2012.
The start of the New Year and immediately NTITT launched its hiking expedition to “Rio Seco Waterfalls” in Salybia. A lovely group came out on this hike….the majority of hikers came from the German Embassy and their families together with some locals. Despite the weather being a bit overcast, the river and waterfall remained beautiful and boy did the kids had a grand time in the pool. There were a couple of elders who couldn’t make it to the waterfalls due to excess mud on the trail together with the slippery terrain as well; so they remained at one of the tributaries with a fellow hiker until we returned. All and all, it was indeed a great day for those who experienced the waterfall.
Monday 02nd January 2012.
At long last……a day of rest and what a rest I took. I did absolutely nothing for the entire day. I switched off my mobile and land lines for the day and all I did was slept, got up, ate, back to bed, on the computer, back to bed, had a bath, back to bed, had lunch, back to bed. A fantastic day indeed and one I would not forget in a very long time.
Tuesday 03rd January 2012.
Another quiet day and this time, I managed to get a couple of needed things done around the house. Went to Port of Spain and paid the bills. All and all, another quiet day and another well deserved rest was taken for the balance of the day.
Wednesday 04th January 2012.
Got up early and got myself ready for a tour I don’t usually like doing (personal reasons). I had to take a group of people of different nationalities staying over at the Trinidad Hilton on a bus/boat tour to the Gasparee Caves on Gasper Grande Island and thereafter for a sea bath on Monos Island. The weather was a good one for the majority of the day with the few slight drizzles here and there. I had Russians, Polish, Japanese, French, and Brazilians on my bus and I tried my best to showcase the historical aspect of Port of Spain to them. The tour to the caves went okay and much of my folks expressed pleasure visiting such cave. The balance of the day at the beach was very disappointing; although the water was great, the beach was very rocky and overall accommodation was not all that good, but as usual, we the Tour Guides has to expedite the usual damage controls in order for things to go as smoothly as possible. All and all, things passed okay overall.
Thursday 05th January 2012.
This day, I planned to meet with (2) great friends of mine and I organized a beautiful walk on the Northern Range up the “Fond Pois Doux Road” all the way to the summit of Mt. Vigie of Paramin. My folks met at my residence at 7am and we immediately made our way to the starting point and there we took the cool walk uphill where the vistas was nothing else but absolutely great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and lots of photos were taken of the valleys below us. The folks of Paragran Village were as usual friendly and chatty as we walked on. At the summit, we relaxed for some time admiring the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean Sea below us while I went about talking about some of the history behind Paramin. We eventually trekked back to the vehicle and made our way back home safely.
Friday 06th January 2012.
I went to the Trinidad Hilton Hotel and picked up (4) Polish clients who are very much into hiking and upon meeting me, relished the opportunity in seeing what Trinidad had to offer. We packed into my vehicle and we headed off to Blanchisseuse where I took them to the Marianne Waterfall via the forest and thereafter, river trekked back to the Spring Bridge. The weather was just fantastic and the forest trek passed just great and my clients relished the opportunity indeed. The waterfall was in great condition as we enjoyed the moment all by ourselves until we were eventually joined by another small group of other visitors staying at the Hilton. We departed soon after because the river trek was going to take longer, but lots more adventure was in store and boy was the adventure great……my Polish clients lapped up everything that was on offer and enjoyed every minute of the river exploration. After the river, I took them for our ever popular “Bake and Shark Sandwich” at Richards which went down as usual great. A fantastic day it certainly was.
Saturday 07th January 2012.
This was my big day, as a cruise ship was docking into Port of Spain and usually when these ships dock into the city, I would usually be contracted by an operator in charge of tours and assist in whatever tours available; not this time though as a couple of weeks ago, I made arrangements with a client who was on this cruise with other friends and they made direct arrangements to hike to Paria Bay and Waterfall with me and so, all arrangements were made. The weather was great for hiking and so, all was in place. The journey to Blanchisseuse was filled with history from my part and when the hike eventually started, from the time we walked, my (9) hikers immediately relished the surroundings which was certainly different from Seattle U.S.A. The forest trek was astounding according to them as they expressed that their experience to the Amazon in Brazil was a disappointed one as it did not live to their expectations as they wanted a forest experience and instead, they got exactly what they wanted right here and they enjoyed every bit of the hike all the way to the beach. At the waterfalls, they immediately plunged into the luscious pool before taking the walk back to the beach where we met with Cleve and his boat and we took the ride back to Blanchisseuse. The rugged coastline experience was also relished very much. The last leg of the day was again at Richards where they were treated to the bake and shark sandwich and carib/stag beer. Many of them expressed that the sandwich was the best tasting sandwich they’ve ever tasted…..truly an experience for all of my clients.
Sunday 08th January 2012.
NTITT’s second public hike for the New Year to Marianne Waterfall and River Exploration did not live up to the hype being advertised due to the drastic change of weather as compared to the past week. Dark gray clouds loomed all over the North Coast and I knew that the river trek would definitely be out. The forest trek to the waterfalls was a good one and was enjoyed by those attended, but when we reached to the Marianne River where we had to cross to get to the waterfalls, the water was very brown. We crossed and when we reached to the falls, the water flow was extremely heavy and the pool was also very brown and swimming here was not even a thought whatsoever. We hung around a bit before taking the trail back to the Spring Bridge where I took them over the bridge to one of the many secluded beaches where although the water was rough, it was clean and the majority of hikers enjoyed themselves in the water, but the persistency of the drizzle really put a damper on the day and so, we did not spend any quality time at the beach. We reached back to our vehicles and eventually departed from Blanchisseuse.
Activities this upcoming week.
Now as the Christmas is completely over and schools are now opened and many parents are heading back to work, it is expected that things have slowed down quite a bit and I have to admit that this is the period that I have to get much needed rest and relaxation for the past (2) weeks, it was action non-stop as it was hikes upon hikes. However, this coming Friday, I have a private hike to Paria Bay and Waterfall with some medical students and I also intend to make another visit to my secret river exploration just to ensure that all is in place for my upcoming hike to this place in early February month. I am also hosting my third hike for the New Year this coming Saturday in the valley of Madamas where we will take an easy hike to “Double River Waterfalls” very deep into the Northern Range. Check out www.naturetrektnt.com under “Events” for detailed information on this hike and pre-paid registration.
GENERAL INFORMATION.
Once again fellow hikers, keep the following dates in mind:
Saturday 11th February 2012: First time ever “River Trek” along the Matura River by any hiking club/company.
Saturday 03rd March 2012: NTITT’s first bus tour to Cedros Village and hike to Icacos Point. Stay tuned.
Friday 06th April 2012: All-inclusive beach lime at a totally secluded beach to be advertised soon.
Sunday 08th April 2012: Boat cruise Down D Islands on board the “Island Princess”, a 150 seater vessel.
Come one….come all and get to know your country.
Emile Serrette (NTITT)