I served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, in 2010. Here are a few photos from our time in this remarkable place.
I highly recommend the video, if you have the time. All photos © Brent Plater, unless otherwise noted.
Wildlife
Scarlet Ibis, Eudocimus ruber
The national bird, easily observed in the Caroni Swamp.
Scarlet Ibis & Our Valley
From the Caroni Swamp you can get great views into the Northern Range, up into the valley where we lived.
Bat Expert Fiona Reid
Fiona Reid, author of field guides to mammals, came to Trinidad with Bat Conservation International. We were lucky enough to get an invite to speak to their group, and then they took us out on a bat hike, which was fascinating: opened up a new way of looking at the forest for us all.
Tent Bat
Several species of bats spend the day in little "tents" they make out of leaves. If one bothers to peer under leaves that seem to have "broken," you'll undoubtedly find some tent bats. And for years I just walked by, presuming the wind blew these leaves over!
Bats!
This one is Nariva Swamp.
Tamana Bat Cave
Tamana Bat Cave was impressive. Thousands, maybe millions of bats from various species come out at night.
Bearded Bellbird, Procnias averano
THE sound of Asa Wright.
Common Potoo, Nyctibius griseus
When you find one of these well camouflaged birds, you can call yourself a birder with pride.
Blue Morpho Butterfly
Crested Oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus
Green Honeycreeper, Chlorophanes spiza
And a very serious one at that. Asa Wright is a great spot for good views of this guy.
Blue-grey Tanager, Thraupis episcopus
One of the more common birds around.
Trinidad Motmot, Momotus bahamensis
Recently recognized as a distinct species from the Blue-crowned Motmot.
Yellow Oriole, Icterus nigrogularis
This guy came to our feeder just about every day. This photo was selected for the T&T Field Naturalist's calendar in 2013. My first published photo!
Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana
Another exceptional visitor to our veranda.
Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Certhiaxis cinnamomeus
Long-billed Starthroat, Heliomaster longirostris longirostris
This scarce Trinidad resident occasionally graced our veranda.
Purple Honeycreeper, Cyanerpes caeruleus
You can find this guy at Asa Wright.
Black-throated Mango, Anthracothorax nigricollis
This is the male.
Black-throated Mango, Anthracothorax nigricollis
This is the female.
Nesting Black-throated Mango.
Cicada
Common Black Hawk, Buteogallus anthracinus
Howler Monkey
Another primate you'll find in the Bush Bush Forest.
Porcupine
Another good find in the Bush Bush.
White Capuchin Monkey
Seen in the Bush Bush Forest.
White Capuchin Monkey
A young one.
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Glaucidium brasilianum
Often heard in our yard, but not seen until the last weeks of our stay.
Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea
Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus
Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata
Pied-water Tyrant, Fluvicola pica
White-bearded Manakin, Manacus manacus
A great sight at Asa Wright, this guy was one of many doing his little dance at a lek.
Red-breasted Blackbird, Sturnella militaris
Ruby Topaz, Chrysolampis mosquitus
Far more spectacular in person, believe it or not.
Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula ruficauda
Silver-beaked Tanager, Ramphocelus carbo
This rich, velvety bird is reminiscent of those old Elvis velvet portraits.
Southern Lapwing, Vanellus chilensis
Tree Iguana
Regularly seen. Unfortunately, highly desired for bush meat. Stay safe, my friend.
Wasps!
These wasps camouflage themselves to look like a cocoa bean. I don't know why!
White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Arundinicola leucocephala
There isn't a lot of great savannah habitat left in Trinidad, so we had to visit a large agricultural center to find grassland specialities.
White-necked Jacobin, Florisuga mellivora
Jacobin is a french word describing a member of a revolutionary club, and is now used to denote one who supports government intervention to transform society. A very good bird.
White-tailed Trogon, Trogon viridis
Rose and Orange-winged Parrot. Later this guy would bite my mom!
Our friends at El Socorro Center for Wildlife Conservation introduced Rose to this little bird.
Luckily Charlotte the Dog would not approve.
Violaceous Euphonia, Euphonia violacea
This is from our 2007 vacation to T&T.
Tufted Coquette, Lophornis ornatus
This is from our 2007 vacation to T&T.
Trinidad Piping Guan, Pipile pipile
Another shot from 2007.
Common Potoo, Nyctibius griseus
2007 photo taken at Asa Wright.
Leatherbacks
Matura Beach Celanup
Matura Beach is a protected area, and Nature Seekers, the local non-profit, organizes a beach clean-up to prepare the beach for nesting season. Hundreds of people from across the country come to help out.
Beach Cleanup with UWI Students
We worked with UWI students on our stretch of beach.
Sand Turtle Contest
In Trinidad's spirit of competition and game, the day concludes with a sand turtle contest, complete with judges and prizes!
Judging
It wasn't as close as it looked from this photo.
Weighing Turtles
The team weighs turtles and takes other measurements of their health while they are on the beach. The leatherbacks are unbelievably unperturbed by most of these activities: other species are apparently much more skittish.
Kristin and Turtle
Nat and Turtle
Rose and a leatherback, gazing at the same sight.
Rose Loves Turtles
What a babe! Rose carefully escorted this baby turtle to the sea.
Size Differential
It is hard to believe this little guy will get as large as this momma, if he makes it.
Leatherback Laying
Probably the most intense sea turtle experience anywhere in the world is at Grande Riviere in Trinidad. The entire life cycle is present during the right time of year, including the threats facing the species.
For Scale
Photo © Shaye Wolf. Leatherbacks are superlative in every way, including the largest sea turtles alive.
Hiking & Sightseeing
Arrival
After arriving we went to the Port of Spain Hilton, which has pretty good views.
View from the Hilton
Rose in the Savannah
Is she looking for a spanner to fix her radiator? No.
View from Fort George
A great vista spot, we took most of our guests here.
National Academy for the Performing Arts. A beautiful but controversial building: cost overruns, the use of immigrant non-labor union, the idea of creating a centerpiece building rather than spreading the wealth around the country were all concerns. Not to mention several problems that remained after construction.
Beyonce Comes to T&T
This was huge news, some controversial: she came on the heels of carnival, and people were worried that T&T would be too broke after all the fetes and mas to afford Beyonce tickets! Think before you do things Beyonce!!
Beyonce Concert
We were in the VIP section, refusing to pay the exorbitant VVIP or the VVVIP prices.
Beyonce!
We could barely see Beyonce, but she did Palance!
View on the Maracas Road
This was the windy, drivable way to Maracas Beach. Apparently it is also possible to hike there from our place over T&T's largest mountain, a much more direct route.
Maracas Beach
A famous, fairly accessible beach, where they serve "bake and shark" that Rose and I always took without the shark.
Tamana Hill Hike
We went on many guided hikes, which are exceptionally popular. Perhaps it's because the tropical climate makes it difficult for trails to be maintained, so it's best to go with experienced pros.
View from Tamana Hill
Hiking
In the US if you arrived for a hike with this many people, it might ruin your day. But in T&T it felt hopeful.
Hike to Falls
We spent a lot of time wading through gorges. Great fun until I lost my wedding ring: but miraculously found it on my first dive under water!
Falls
Collecting with Ricardo and Theron
Everyone should have a cutlass when hiking, because you never know how much of the trail the rainforest will have reclaimed.
Maracas Falls
Just a short distance from our home, this place was beautiful when it wasn't on fire.
Hiking Back from Oilbirds
Gary Aboud gave us access to his lands, where he is preserving one of the few oilbird caves. It was quite a hike!
Manzanilla Beach Road
From Central Trinidad looking North. A more desolate stretch along Trinidad's coast, it's another great spot for nesting turtles: along with access to the Bush Bush.
Bush Bush Forest
The place to see monkeys in Trinidad.
Matelot Fishing Boats.
I met with some of these fishers as I crafted regulations to protect leatherbacks from their nets.
Chacachacare Trip
A short but vigorous boat trip to Chacachacare was rewarded with good birds and a hike through its former leper colony.
Pedro and Venezuela
Viewing Sando
Palaash brought us to this spot with a vista of The South's major city.
Temple in the Sea
Mud
I saw some mudskippers and tried to run out and photograph them, until I sunk hip-deep in the mud!
Hanuman Statue
Pitch Lake
A fascinating tour of the pitch, where we learned both the facts and the truth of the area.
Pigeon Point, Tobago
Probably the prettiest beach on Tobago in the classic Caribbean sense.
Tobago
Compared to our first trip to T&T in 2007, we spent much less time exploring Tobago then expected.
Asa Wright Swimming Pool
T&T's Asa Wright Nature Centre is one of the world's great nature lodges. It also has this swimming hole. You should spend 3 days there when you travel to Trinidad, if you can.
La Belle Maison
La Belle Maison
We were referred to this home in the foothills of the Northern Range, not far from the UWI campus. It was expensive, but It's the nicest place we'll probably ever live.
The Veranda
We spent every morning and lots of other time hanging out on our veranda, watching birds and other wildlife that came through our yard.
The Veranda View
We could see these bats from our bathroom, through the small, screened opening between the walls and the roof. They were on the other side of the screen, not actually in the home!
The Office
The only air-conditioned room in the house: but also the one with the most mosquitoes!
Our Master Bedroom
Note the steps needed to reach the bed!
Our Kitchen
The countertops could sleep a family of three in a pinch!
Food
Doubles
Doubles are a cheap street food of fried bread, chickpeas, and spices. Everyone has a favorite, but the guide book says got to "sauces", so every vendor changed their name to some variant of sauce!
Backyard Fruit
Soursop, grapefruits, oranges, bananas, mangoes, and more all from our yard!
Channa
Everyone loved Rose's channa! Another Naparima Girls High School recipie.
Lentils
Rose picked this recipe from the Naparima Girls High School Cookbook.
Salad
Another one of Rose's specialities.
Fete Food
Some of the best food we had was at a Carnival Fete: all you can eat!
Our Favorite Trini Food Vendor
In the Grand Bazaar food court, of all places.
Picnic Food
Palaash and his friends took us out for a nice picnic on Petrotrin property.
Friends & Visitors
Palaash & Rose
Palaash was one of the first folks we got to know in Trinidad. He works at UWI and is involved with the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists Club, so we were able to communicate a bit before we arrived. He took a lot of time to show us around and make us feel welcome.
Dan Jaagernauth
Dan Jaggernauth leads hikes for many of the hiking groups in T&T, and really seems to enjoy the bush. We learned a lot from him.
Petranella and Pedro
We also met Pedro and Petranella on a hike with Island Hikers, one of the many hiking groups. The first day we met with them, we got lost on the trip....
Quarry Truck
And we had to be driven out of the bush by a quarry truck!
Cricket hamper
Pedro and Petranella took us to our first cricket match, and I won the door prize: a case of Carib beer!
A Few Beers Later.
The hamper came with this great hat.
One of the most interesting folks we met in Trinidad was Gary Aboud, a businessman who reinvests a substantial portion of his earnings into environmental causes. He has purchased a lot of land to conserve it, and is also a founder of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, a local environmental group. Here he is standing in a cave he is helping protect, which has a large population of the cave-dwelling oil bird.
Theron at El Soccoro
Ricardo & Gia run the El Socorro Wildlife Centre, and Theron helps out. During his day job, Theron is a Forestry employee and is getting a degree at UWI.
Sham
Sham, short for "short man," is the guide to see monkeys at the Nariva Swamp.
Me & Shawn Madoo
Shawn Madoo runs tours in the Caroni Swamp, a lovely way to end any day. Shawn is a fantastic birder and wildlife watcher, so you always see something wonderful on his trips.
Noreen and Eddie
Matt and Alysia
We took just about everyone to see Caroni Swamp with Shawn.
Matt and Alysia
Matt was impressed by the largest KFC in the world, located in Port of Spain's Independence Square, but the MIT grad felt T&T is a few lasers shy of a world class destination.
Bellbird and Potoo Find at Asa Wright
Kassie, Brendan, Doug and Shaye visited and we had an amazing wildlife blitz: but the Gulf oil spill also occurred while they were visiting which affected us all.
Brasso Saeco Waterfall
We all went to Brasso Saeco, a little emerging eco-town in the Northern Range, to meet Karl Fitzjames and learn more about local wildlife and birds.
Platers at Asa Wright
The Family came to visit and we went to Asa Wright to see some birds and wildlife.
Do So!
While we were there, PatricK Manning, the sitting President, was under attack from all sectors. He gambled and dissolved parliament, calling new elections. He lost to Kamla, and the crossed arms and "Do So!" slogan became a common saying after an elderly Trinidadian used the gesture to bar Manning from entering his home during a walk-around.
Cassandra and Rose
Cassandra came and we visited Asa Wright Nature Centre with her.
Hike to Oilbirds
Nat &; Jay came for a visit, and when Jay wasn't training to qualify for the Boston Marathon we went hiking to look for animals.
Jessie and Jeff
Jessie and Jeff visited and ticked off a few hundred life-birds on the trip! We also went to Nariva Swamp to look for the West Indian Manatee: we got to see glimpses of them, but just their noses!
Joe Fishing
Joe spent a little bit of his vacation money on a fishing charter, but unfortunately we didn't get many bites that day.
Joe Fishing Some More
So we took him to Tobago to fish some more.
Joe Hiking!
And we even got him to go on a pretty tough hike: he survived!
Joe and Rose at Obama's Speech Site
Obama is quite popular in T&T. He visited and met T&T's great cricket star, Brian Lara, at the Hilton in Port of Spain. Obama also gave a speech here.
Ruthie and Craig
We also got to walk the Bamboo Forest in a park near Chaguaramas, west of Port of Spain.
Ruthie and Craig at Ft. George
Ruthie and Craig came and we walked around Port of Spain together, including a drive up to Fort George for the views of the city.
Veranda Party
Theron & Ricardo, Petranella, Gia and her son, Bonnie & Richard, and Pedro's legs!
Carnival
T&T Carnival
Trinidad is the birthplace of Carnival. Neither Rose nor I were expecting to like it much, as neither one of us does much partying. But we had an amazing time: the entire event is quite competitive, so we watched folks compete for best band, costume, and other honors.
Junior Competitor
We started out with the kids carnival, because we figured the adults would party too hard for us. But the kids did too!
Even More Junior Competitor
Junior King Competitor
A Queen
Competition for the Queen of Carnival was most elaborate, with costumes scraping the sky and requiring structural support to wear!
Large Parade Competitor
There were a few bands that played mas, as it's called, with environmental themes to their costumes.
Ravi B and Rose
Ravi B was the "chutney" soca monarch for 2010: and Rose got to meet him at a local fete!
Steel Drum Competition
The steel drum competitions were interesting to watch: the bigger the band the more energy they seem to have. Much better live.
Rose Learns How to Play
The South
We skipped Port of Spain for the main day of parades, and our friend took us "South" to San Fernando to watch a smaller carnival parade down there.
University of the West Indies
UWI
The University of West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, can be reached right off the main highway. Just turn at the topiary!
UWI and the Northern Range
The campus might not compare to some, but the setting in front of the Northern Range is tough to beat.
UWI and Saman Tree
The main quad.
UWI Library
CLR James' papers are kept at UWI. He was originally from Trinidad, as was Stokely Carmichael. Trinidad's colonial past is interesting, but its more recent political strife may be more so. It had a robust black power movement in the 1970s, and we saw an interesting play about a march to Caroni where African and Indian people attempted to unify their concerns against the ruling political coalition at the time.
Lecturing
Econ Class
My students were all very easy on me, and I learned a lot about Trinidad and Tobago from them.
Class Presentations
Students gave presentations on using economic tools to address various environmental issues in Trinidad, from conserving the Pawi to litter to bush fires to smelter pollution.
David and Brent
David, who taught me about quality rum, and I, on a day we dressed alike.
Laws
When I wasn't lecturing, I was reviewing Trinidad and Tobago's laws protecting sea turtles to help improve regulations protecting the species.
Fisheries Division
The regulations I drafted were given to the Fisheries Division, but with the political changes it is unclear what will happen to them.
Public Comment?
We attended a policy making forum, where we thought we would give public comments like we do in the states. Instead, everyone who attended got into small groups for the day, discussed various concerns, and then they fed us all a meal!
UWI SPEC
They gave us privileges to use the gym, but the strict yet vague dress code got me ejected several times. I still say it was unjust.
Aqua Aerobics
After getting kicked out of the gym one to many times, Rose and I restored to aqua aerobics to stay in shape. it was fun!
Problems & Hope
Bush Fires
During the dry season, Trinidad's hills are ablaze. The year we were there was said to be particularly bad, but it was so heartbreaking: if only because so little is done to put the fires out. As far as we know, fire is not a natural component of tropical forest ecosystems: making it very different than the Western fires we need in North America.
Fire Campaign
Educational efforts are ongoing, but the only thing that stops the fires is the rain. The recent, new government is apparently working on a new plan to reduce fires, which ultimately cause massive flooding when the rains come
Caged Birds
Many people in Trinidad still compete with caged song birds, which are apparently worth serious money. Several song birds have gone extinct in Trinidad in part due to this practice.
Caroni Swamp
There are some impressive regulations and protected areas in the country.
Bad Traffic
Driving is insane in Trinidad: roads are bad, you drive on the other side of the road, and the drivers can be pretty aggressive. I damaged our rental car in an act of harmless stupidity to get a roti.
Cheap Body Work
But was able to get it looking good as new for about $150 US!
St. Albans Quarry
Sand and Gravel Quarries are a big problem in Trinidad, and seemed to us to be the number environmental issue in the country: until the bush fires started.
We Mean for We Green
Poached Pawi
We found this poached Pawi nonetheless on Gary Aboud's property. We reported it and gave the feathers we found to authorities.
Pawi Feathers
Pawi and Quarry Signs
An odd pairing of signs has triggered an idea in local enviros Gary and Rajendra: can we use the strong species protections for Pawi to stop quarrying in the species habitats?
Fishers for Turtles
Some great fishermen are working to save sea turtles in Trinidad.
Bush Bush Sanctuary
Trinidad is working on preserving important areas, and the protections have helped.
No Entry
And it becomes addictive...this is Rose and some friends on their first day in the country!
Absolutely No Books!
But the problem is that there is no enforcement, and so no one follows the rules. Even tiny ones, like this one on books....
No Parking!
...or this one about parking...
10 Items or Less!!
or even in the grocery store!
Who's that?
And I'm just as guilty.
Hopeful Signs
Still, there are hopeful signs everywhere....
Hopeful Signs
Hopeful Signs