Trini 2 De Bone: Body Pittin'

I was just going to go to the beach up Maracas way on the the Northwest Coast of Trinidad, or maybe back to Las Cuevas, which is prettier and calmer and where I spent most of Tuesday floating on my back looking up into a criminally blue sky. But my sister proposed we go instead to Toco, along the rugged Northeast coast, the point of which juts out to separate the Caribbean side of Trinidad from the Atlantic side. I had been to the cliffs of Toco, but never to the beach, so away we went on an adventure.

The ride up took us through some bustling towns,, and but soon we were on cool rain forest roads, passing through sleepy villages and windy roads, and over bridges built with planks. It's the dry season, so there aren't many biting bugs, and the yellows flowers of the poui trees are in full bloom. My sister regaled me with stories of our family and past adventures, and she mentioned that it was sea turtle nesting season in that region, asn so we started planning a night to go before I left. YAY!

So we get to Toco, after driving along these dramatic cliffs that lead to the sea on this part of the island, and it's jsut diyllic, with a few people and plenty coco palms, which we parked far away from. (You now why don't you, dear reader?) I bathed in the sea for a few hours, and my sister sort of napped in the car (don't ask, she's weird) and played the radio.

I got out about 6, and since it was so late, we decided to just make a night of it and stay out and go down the coast to Grande Riviere to see the turtles. YAY! Except, there were a few problems.

1) The car wouldn't start cuz the battery was dead. (see radio playing above)
2) Everyone at the beach (with whom I spoke as I scounted for jumper cables)swore up and down that the nearest gas station (at Cumana) was already closed for the night, and we had less than half a tank of gas. Not enough to get to Grande Riviere and back to civilization.
3) We had less than $100 TT between us (less than twenty buck US) and we somehow had to pay for the permits, the guide, gas, and maybe some food (I was starving. My sister proposed I eat smoe Crix -- nasty crackers that taste like very bad communion host.

But guess what dear reader??? All problems were solved, with the help of a very sweet Maxi Taxi driver, we found jumper cables, then we ate dinner in a nice restaurant near the beach of the turtles that took my Visa card, and they even gave me some extra cash. The Cumana gas station was open, and we got gas. So we got to see the turtles!

It is indecribable, really. Our guide, Gavin, took us onto the beach in the dark, as he only used his flashlight very infrequently, so as not to disturb them too much. Enormous leatherback sea turtles, like 800 to 1200 pounds, dragged themselves from the sea onto the beach and started flapping their fins in a circular motion that Gavin said was called body pittin' -- creating a secure space to make the nest.

Then the turtle carefully curls its back fins and scoops out -- left, right, left, right, finfuls of sand to make a hole two to three feet deep, and lays its eggs. When it lays its eggs it goes into a "trance" where they don't notice anything and you can touch them. So I petted her!!

Okay, my internet time is up. More later. I home tomorrow! Waaah!