A trip to Chacachacare

Sherma Mitchell and Belinda Charles of the Ministry of Tourism accompanied the media.

Mitchell, manager of Corporate Communications said: “The staycation initiative is not something new, it happens with every tourism destination and it is a way also of enhancing national pride for people to actually appreciate what we have here.” On our way to Chacachacare, boat captain, Elton Pouchet, pointed out a number of smaller islands and also identified the first and second bocas. However, most interesting was how close we were to the coast of Venezuela - just seven miles away from Chacachacare, but ten miles from the center of Port of Spain. It was a sight to behold.

Chacachacare is actually one of the Bocas Islands, which lie in the Bocas del Dragón (Dragons’ Mouth) between Trinidad and Venezuela, with Chacachacare being the westernmost of the Bocas Islands and belonging to Trinidad and Tobago, while Patos Island, which lies further west, was ceded to Venezuela in 1942.

Our first stop was at the infamous Salt Pond, located on the south west of the island.

Stumbling on the rocks and pebbles below waters waist high, the group walked to Bande du Sud beach and immediately headed to the pond, as a swarm of mosquitoes greeted us.

But little did we know that the pond too, was also riddled with the pests.

The tour guide explained that the water evaporates in the pond, leaving behind layers of salt. Also, due to the high salt levels, the water is usually very hot.

From the pond, and back onto the boat, Pouchet took us on a guided tour of various buildings and landmarks, including one that was once inhabited by nuns who created hospitals and care centers to take care of persons infected with leprosy from the 1920s to the 1950s. Three buildings, which still stand at the top of the mountain, were known as the Marine Bay Convent and included an administrative building and a chapel used specifically by the nuns.

At the back of the convent is a small cemetery where 12 nuns, from Portugal, France and one from Trinidad, Sr. Stephanie Arneaud, were buried.

Pouchet said in 1921, when the lepers were brought to the island, the men and women were separated. The men were placed in Cocos Bay and the women in Sanders bay, a bay that was home to the main generator of the island as well as a customs house, used to keep all the records of the patients and the nuns alike.

Pouchet said a 150 feet inland, a pundit site where a Hindu pundit used to pray with some of the patients for healing still stands.

Following a tour of the ruins, we cruised for a bit before Pouchet anchored the boat in what he said is known as the Trinidad nylon pool.

The bay is known as Perruquier and was one of four whaling stations when whaling was vital to gather blubber for light lamps and cosmetic uses. There we had a picnic lunch, with some people opting for a swim in the warm water.

Towards the end of the tour, Pouchet pointed out some popular bays of Monos Island, lined with a number of elaborate vacation homes of the more affluent members of our society