I am back

Was going to say "I am home" but it is hard to decide where home is. This year I have been in my home in England, Canada and of course Trinidad. It gets even more confusing when you have three currencies in your wallet, and you block your Canadian Credit Card because you used your Trinidad password. Confused? yes I am. Thank goodness I do remember to drive on the correct side of the road.

This weekend we are going to Grand Riviere, to see the leatherback turtle hatchlings who will be returning to the sea. We are staying overnight in a hotel with balconies overlooking the beach. We are looking forward to dinner as there is a lot of local fish on the menu which is caught and brought straight to the hotel. You cannot get much fresher than that. The drive will be interesting as we are travelling to the other side of Trinidad, should be fun.

Whilst I was packing my suitcases in Canada last Saturday, Doug was busy planting saplings. Last year during a very dry season there were a lot of fires which destroyed trees and plants. RBC is involved in many local projects and this was one where volunteers planted hundreds of saplings in an area that had been destroyed. Doug was a little shocked to find that he had to walk up a mountain (his words) to get to the site, they had to clear the areas for planting, dig the holes, plant and water. Many bottles of water later and a very sweaty T Shirt the task was completed.

Busy day today catching up with laundry and ironing, even in paradise you have to do mundane jobs.

Having a wonderful time

With our little girl and favourite Son-In-Law.

The weather in Burlington is almost as warm as Trinidad, just perfect.

We have spent the past week running around to banks, doctors, dentist, optician,trying to get everything up to date. Today is a relaxing day shopping in the US. Tomorrow we are going to my favourite primitive store in St George. We will have lunch at the St Georges Arms and probably have their very naughty dessert "fried jam sandwich" so naughty but oh so good.

Friday Stefanie and I spent the day together as Doug went into Toronto to meed his friend Rob for lunch. We had a lovely day shopping and also went to a wharehouse book sale I bought so many books to take back to T&T.

Finished the day with a glass of wine and a chinese takeout.

Perfect day and perfect company.

Leaving this morning

For Canada.

Looking forward to seeing our kids and of course Buster.

Doug has to make this visit short as he is very busy with his projects being launched, he is only staying for 10 days and part of that will be spent working.

I am looking forward to shopping with Stefanie having a massage and a pedicure. I am also going to Toronto Zoo with Stefanie and Tim.

We will also be celebrating Tim's birthday on the 7th July.

36 Years ago today

Doug and I got married, how time flies when you are having so much fun.

Answered the doorbell a few minutes ago and received these beautiful flowers that smell so good.

Thanks Doug, looking forward to celebrating this evening at Angelos.

We saw them

And what an incredible sight.

We arrived at Matura beach to await the arrival of our guide. The guides are volunteers from a group called Nature Seekers. At one time the turtles were slaughtered and the hunters would carry what they could. An adult turtle can weigh 1000lb, what couldn't be carried would be left on the beach which in time looked like a graveyard. The T&T government declared it ilegal to slaughter the turtles and they are now a protected species in T&T. Nature seekers also host volunteer students from aroud the world who take part in the tagging and recording of the turtles. If a turtle comes ashore and is not tagged with a number, this will be done with a small metal tag in the rear flipper. The volunteers also microchip the turtles so they can be tracked anywhere in the world.

We had a short introductory speach and were also given the rules for turtle viewing. No bright lights are allowed on the beach, the guides had infra red lights to guide us. We set off along the beach which was pitch black with just the sound of the Atlantic Ocean.

After walking for what seemed like a very long time over very uneven sand the group was stopped by the guide and he pointed out a turtle that was coming in with the tide. It was huge, we estimated it to be about 8ft. Once she had made her way up the beach and settled on a nesting site we were allowed to approach her from the rear. She was already well into making her nest using her large rear flippers to scoop out the sand out to a depth of 2-3 feet. By the time she was finished she was covered in sand herself.

Once she starts laying her eggs, she goes into a trance and is not aware of anything around her, so at this time we were allowed to take photographs and touch her. It took a relatively short time for her to lay her 100-120 eggs and then cover them with sand and again with the huge flippers firm the sand over the nest to protect the eggs. The turtles return to the beach several times during nesting season and it is estimated that one turtle will lay approximately 1000 eggs. Unfortunately the survival rate for the hatchlings is not very high and it is estimated that only two turtles per nest survive to adulthood.

Whilst we were watching this turtle, we were lucky enough to see two more come ashore and start building their nests. After they have completed the egg laying, they rest for approximately 45 minutes and then head back out to sea.

We also saw some hatchling about 2 days old and were allowed to handle them. However it is important that they are left on the beach and not returned to the sea by a human. The hatchlings instincts of heading into the sea stays with them and that is why they always return to the beach they were hatched to nest as an adult.

We left the beach at about 11pm and decided we are definately doing this again next year but earlier in the season as there are many more turtles. I never thought I would ever experience something like this.

Enjoy the pictures.

Chillin!!!!!!!!!!!

Doug is off today for Corpus Christi Day.

The sun is shining the pool is inviting.

We be chillin and liming.

Hope you haven't been holding your breath!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for pictures of the Leatherback Turtles.

I went to the Forestry Commission to get our permits......................I should have known it would not be easy. Apparently they only take so many people on to the beach at one time and the night we wanted was fully booked.

So I booked our permits for Saturday 25th, I don't know if I can contain my excitement until then.

We have two holidays this week, Monday is Labor Day and Thursday is Corpus Christi.

Today we are going to Chagaramus as it is Fathers Day, I am treating Doug to an ice cream and later tonight we are having a whole rack of ribs between us. On our way back from Chagaramus we are calling into a colleage of Doug's for drinks and nibbles and tomorrow we are going for a BBQ with another colleague and family.

Life is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!