Asa Wright Nature Centre - "Heaven on Earth" The bird feeding tables are located just below the great house verandah and filled initially each morning at 6 a.m. As you sit on the verandah, in the cool morning mountain air, and sip the delicious home-grown coffee, it is a delight to savour the breathtaking view. A feeling of peace is overwhelming as the morning mist rises over the Arima valley and the birds come in to feed. Truly heaven on earth.

Asa Wright Nature Centre - The Bearded Bellbird It was with great excitement that we had an excellent sighting of a male bearded bellbird. The signature bird of the Asa Wright Nature Centre, the male bellbird is striking with its "beard" of un-feathered, black mossy wattles. The female is olive green in colour with yellow under parts streaked with green. The call which is an extremely loud, anvil-like "bock" carried great distances.

Asa Wright Nature Centre - The Lodge An overnight stay at Asa Wright is all inclusive. The excellent cuisine served reflects the varied ethnicity of the people of Trinidad. A mix of West Indian Creole, Indian, Oriental and European style dishes are served. Rates include accommodation (cottages with private balconies), all meals, high tea at 4 p.m. and rum punch at sunset. Expertly conducted guided tours are also included on the network of well-marked trails through out the grounds. We joined in on a night walk and were amazed to see tarantula spiders and scorpions.

Asa Wright Nature Centre - Trinidad Asa Wright, a beautiful 26 room lodge on a 200 acre conservation area is a wildlife sanctuary situated at an elevation of 1200 feet in the lush rainforest of North Trinidad. The centre was originally a coffee, citrus and cocoa plantation. In 1967 a nonprofit making trust was set up which established a nature centre to accommodate naturalists and bird watchers, a first in the Caribbean. This nonprofit organization revolves around its nearly century-old house, with a verandah overlooking the spectacular Arima valley. At 360 metres above sea level the views of the rainforest are incredible and since the birds have been fed at this location since 1950, the verandah attracts a huge variety (up to 40 species per day).

Asa Wright Nature Centre - A Birder's Paradise With more than 430 recorded types of birds Trinidad & Tobago ranks among the world's best bird watching. Over 170 species of birds have been recorded for the Arima Valley where the Asa Wright centre is located. Situated within the grounds is the most accessible colony of nocturnal oilbirds in the world. While at the centre the birds we sighted were: the bearded bellbird, a channel billed toucan, numerous hummingbirds including the tufted coquette, ruby topaz and white crested emerald Jacobin, red-legged honeycreeper, green honeycreeper, blue gray tanager, male and female white lined tanager, silver beaked tanager, yellow oriole, blue crowned Motmot, crested orapendula and bananaquit, as well as many others we didn't identify. We didn't sight, but did hear the endangered oilbirds and a pygmy owl. The feeders were an absolute delight to view as a great profusion of birds of every colour imaginable gathered.

Trini Treats While on our outing we stopped at a road-side stand to purchase locally made candies (many unusual preparations of local fruits). We also had a chance to try sugar apple fruit and chenets. When opened the sugar apples contained many large seeds coated in white pulp which one "sucked" off then spit out the seeds. We found the chenets to be very similar to litchi fruit. They have smooth green skin and a large seed surrounded by a thin covering of sweet, slightly acidic flesh. A locally prepared breakfast treat that we've enjoyed is "sahina" which is a ground channa and dasheen leaf fritter. It is served topped with "chutney" (curried chick peas) and pepper (hot sauce). We're surprised to note that the local pizza chains have a large bottle of "pepper" (hot sauce) on the counter. The locals pour a liberal layer on top of their pizza. Obviously an acquired taste. Fresh fruits available locally are mangos, avocado, banana, pineapple, melons, oranges, limes and paw paw (papaya). The fruits are a delicious treat and we are told so also is the monk fish that we found for sale at the market. Funny looking fellow, for sure.

Trinidad - North Coast and Santa Cruz Valley The route from Chaguaramas to Maracas beach is one of Trinidad's most dramatic drives, teetering along 300 metre cliffs and tunnelling past precipices of teeming rainforest with the occasional view of faraway peaks swinging into sight. We admired the gorgeous setting of St. Andrew's golf course; located in Santa Cruz valley.

Maracas Beach -Bake n Shark Heralded to offer the best "bake n shark" in Trini is Richards on Maracas beach. We travelled, along with other cruisers, across Trinidad's northern mountain range to enjoy the tasty treat. Interspersed with the lush green of the rainforest was the brilliant red blooms of chaconia (wild poinsettia) - the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago. A swim in the surf at Maracas beach had our appetites keen and we had to agree it was by far the best bake n shark we have ever eaten. The drive through the mountains and rainforest coupled with the gorgeous location of Maracas beach made our lunch outing a treat for all of our senses. (Bake n shark is slabs of shark meat sandwiched between pieces of fried bread, topped with assorted garnishes).

What a Nut! While touring in Trinidad we purchased a brazil nut pod from a road side fruit and vegetable stand. The cost was 40 TT (Trinidad and Tobago dollars - approximately $7.50 Canadian). The Rastafarian salesman was very clear in his instructions for the pod (bluntly so in his description of the aphrodisiac qualities of the plant matter surrounding the nuts inside). We were to wait for the pod to pop open, which it did in 1 week, remove the nuts and lay them in the sun to dry (our pod contained 48 nuts) then "brew up" a beverage out of the pulp remaining. Needless to say we have new respect for the effort required to produce that "handful" of mixed nuts that we take for granted. Frankly I can't imagine how it is possible for us to purchase them so cheaply. While in Grenada we saw that each cashew is part of one whole fruit on the tree - one nut per fruit. The harvesting process must be immense. We will appreciate and savour them more from now on.

All the Monkeys aren't in the Zoo Photos of white-fronted, whining capuchin and red howler monkeys from our interactive encounter with them at Bush Bush Island in the Nariva swamp.