Sunday 24th November
A bird of prey centre brought an Eagle Owl to join us for breakfast. He just sat there unimpressed swivelling his head and staring at people with his big orange eyes but at least the bananaquits were absent!
An Eagle Owl visiting at breakfast time
We got talking to two chaps on the next breakfast table to us. They had just arrived the day before. They got talking to the owl’s minder and booked a rain forest tour with him for the next day. I think they agreed to pay 800TT$ for a morning trip.
Our plan was to go to Pigeon Point. We set off early before it got too hot and decided to walk but to take our time as Mrs TT is currently suffering from a very painful foot ligament problem called plantar fasciitis. About half way along the road I could see some clouds rolling over so we nipped under a shelter as the heavens opened. 10 minutes later and the sun was out again.
A typical November short sharp shower
There are some fisherman’s shacks along the road and a garish beach shop before you get to Pigeon Point itself.
Colourful shop-shack on the way to Pigeon Point
The road goes through some well tended parkland and a gateway but no one was taking the entrance fee. We spotted the covered pier that is in all the tourist brochures and bumped into someone selling boat trips, which is exactly what we wanted. Because we had our own snorkel kit, he dropped the price a bit to 100TT$ and told us to come back in at 11am.
We had a wander round and took some photos of the iconic views, then settled down to read a book until our boat trip was due.
Perfect sea and sand at Pigeon Point
A nice shady place to sit at Pigeon Point
The little glass bottom boat took us out over the reef before stopping for some snorkelling. The reef is a bit tame and nowhere near as exotic as the reefs at Sharm el Sheikh. They give you a life vest and throw out a lifebelt on a rope, which you’re told to stay in reach of as there is a bit of current. I saw a couple of cornet fish and a big green honeycomb cowfish. We then went to swim at Nylon Pool: waist-deep, crystal-clear sea but miles from the shore. It was quite strange.
Nylon Pool
We were back on shore by about 1pm and feeling a bit peckish but we’d spent all the cash we’d brought with us on the boat trip, so we wandered back down to the hotel and bumped into Ellis again. He’d brought his son and nephew down to the beach to play. We’d booked another trip with Ellis for this night to go to Sunday School, which is a steel band concert at nearby Buccoo. Both trips were 1,200TT$ or about £120, which we thought was good value.
Ellis picked us up at the hotel at 8pm and took us to Buccoo, which wasn’t quite what I’d expected. There were three street barbeque cafe’s set up along the roadside. We picked one with a fixed price buffet for 38TT$ each with plenty of choice. I had some barbequed fish, which was very tasty. A bottle of beer and a coke from the bar over the road was only TT$16 (£1.60!)
They’ve created a decked area where the steel drums were all set up. Next to that was a stack of amplifiers thumping out some good reggae music. Drinks were a bit more there. I think a tiny bottle of rum, a coke and a beer was about 60TT$.
Sunday School at Buccoo
The steel band started up at about 9:30 with some Christmas carols, which was surreal. Christmas in the Caribbean just doesn’t feel right! The atmosphere, though, was really good and thoroughly authentic. A real mix of tunes were bashed out and they were still going strong at 11pm when we left. I think there’s also a night club that gets going as soon as the band finishes.
Tips 4 travellers 