Monday 2nd October
Humming Birds day
Today is the day the guys are coming to sort out the fuel tank. Don’t really want to be there for this. There will be at least 3 people sorting this out and it is going to be mayhem all day. So when Jessy James announces on the cruisers’ net that there are still some places on the bus to go and visit the humming birds’ sanctuary, I jump at the chance. We are picked up early, and I recognise a few faces on the bus (Ben from Wind Machine, sure we met him in Carriacou, he is with his dad and someone from the jam evening). The weather is not so good, so we have a bit of a city tour, with Jessy telling us all about Trinidad and the local area’s history. We are going up signal hill to get a fabulous view of Port of Spain and its bay. And it is magnificent with menacing dark clouds rolling in. The sanctuary is not very far from the town but the traffic is shocking. At the top of a hill, in the bush, we reach a steep suburban driveway, with just a little sign with the picture of a humming bird with the name Yerette. This very unassuming driveway and bungalow facade hides the most amazing garden with hundreds of bird feeders all around. Theo and Gloria are inviting us into their home to share their passion with us: humming birds. Humming birds are everywhere, buzzing around, bits of multi colours shards of rainbows darting between feeders, stopping long enough for us to marvel at the beauty of their plumage and the speed of their flights. It is amazing to be so close to these magnificent little birds and soon I realise that there are many different species, different sizes, different colouring. The garden is alive with the sound of music. The birds’ calls are echoing all around the garden, and the particular buzzing sound resonate and vibrate incessantly. The verandah has been turned into a lecture theatre and we must be 20 hanging onto Theo’s words. Very knowledgeable indeed, he passes on this knowledge with a true raconteur’s skill. Mingled into hard facts about the birds themselves, there is also history of the land and its myths as well as the people who lived there before Columbus. Fascinating stuff told with passion and humour, he had us under a spell for over an hour, all the while the incessant ballet of the humming birds continues around us, despite the spells of heavy rain. Lunch is served on the patio and it is absolutely delicious. The lady of the house, Gloria, has been busy all morning, I would guess, preparing this amazing feast of local dishes. It is just delicious, spicy and tasty. The afternoon session is spent looking in more details at some of the 17 species of humming birds visiting the garden. Theo is obviously a very talented and patient photographer. I could spend all day looking at these beautiful pictures, listening to his stories. Yerette is a very special place and it is a privilege to be able to share in the passion of Theo and Gloria, understanding the important place these little birds have in the eco-system of Trinidad.
Back at the yard, Ian’s day was a bit fraught, the fuel tank was emptied of its 120 litres of contaminated fuel and the arduous work of opening up 2 more hatches in the tank went on for the best part of the day. These were needed to provide access to all the recesses of the tank for cleaning. The tank is made of stainless steel and this presented a challenge to cut open in such a small and cramped space. It took best part of the day before they could actually clean up the inside and it definitely needed to be cleaned. The gunk at the bottom was thick and probably years old.
Still all done now, only the engine to finish off tomorrow and we should be able to go back in the water on the 4th as planned.