Sunday is really the Fun Day of the week. Following a restful, God-filled Sabbath, Sunday sets the pace for my upcoming week. Sunday prepares me to endure the monotony that the world tends to project as the ‘norm’.
My cousin Kay, my friend Shan and I all visited the Caroni Swamp on Sunday 25th October, 2015. Oh my, how time flies!
At the Caroni Swamp
We’re ready to head down river!
Wikipedia has the following to say about the Caroni Swamp:
The Caroni Swamp is the second largest mangrove wetland in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located on the west coast of Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and northwest of Chaguanas, where the Caroni River meets the Gulf of Paria.
The Caroni Swamp is an estuarine system comprising 5,611 hectares of mangrove forest and herbaceous marsh, interrupted by numerous channels, and brackish and saline lagoons, and with extensive intertidal mudflats on the seaward side. The wetland provides a variety of habitats for flora and faunal species and as such, supports a rich biodiversity.
The Caroni Swamp is an important tourist attraction and provides an important habitat for the scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber), one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. It is also home to many other species of birds and houses The Caroni Bird Sanctuary, and is a protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention.
How could I forget the random kitten we saw hanging around. lol
So here we go! Let the journey begin!
Kay’s intent was to soak up as much nature as possible. She even brought a book to read.
We came across the following wildlife:
Blue Heron
Excuse the random tyre *sadface* pollution.
Crab
Mudskipper Fishies
Snakes in a Tree!
En route downriver
Can’t deny myself a sky shot
It almost looks like the clouds were trying to form a heart for me 😀
Ruined barrier
Apparently there were once barriers to separate the waterways.
Unfortunately, the bird watching towers were not maintained.
Fallen bird watching tower
Mangrove Seed
Then finally, I spotted my first Scarlet Ibis 😀
Can you see it?
Come on over! Come on over baby 😀
Now, into the lakes!
And onto the roosting island!
One of the many ‘islands’ where the birds roost
From here, we waited. The birds usual come in to roost after a long day out feeding and hanging with feathered friends.
Fellow waiters
And the birds begin their descent
Here they come 🙂
Egrets as they come in to roost
Scarlet Ibises
I tried to make this shot of the roosting birds lighter.
Birds settle in to roost
The sun went down quickly, and we had to head back to shore.
On the way back
I had to bask in the moment! Such a beautiful landscape.
As, the sun said its goodbyes, we entered back into the treeline. Luckily, we had no snake-falling-on-boat-passengers accidents. We merely suffered a crab-falling-on-already-totally-creeped-out-passenger accident. Lol.
O glorious sunset!
Another Sunday well spent on my beautiful home isle!
Until we meet again Caroni ❤
God bless and I hope you enjoy.
My Trini Heart Beats When... 