Chacachacare
20 April 2008 | Trinidad
Devi
We decided it was time to air out our sails and startle the barnacles that may have started to grow since our return from the fresh water of the Rio Macareo. We have never explored Chacachacare Island and Scotland Bay even though they are only a few miles from Chaguaramas, so we left the anchorage at TTSA (Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association) and sailed the six miles to Chacachacare. We did have enough wind to sail, but it was so calm I decided to make pizza for lunch. My comment was "if it was this easy to sail around the world I would be all for circumnavigation.
Chacachacare is one of the islands in the "Bocas", or the Dragon's mouth; a series of straits that separate Trinidad and Venezuela. The islands reach out from the northwest tip of Trinidad toward Venezuela. At various times in its history Chacachacare has served as a cotton plantation, a whaling station and a leper colony. In 1924 a leper colony was established by Dominican nuns. The "leper colony" included dormitories for men and women, a doctors house, a chapel and a nunnery. In 1942, about 1,000 U.S. Marines landed. They built nine military barracks, installed coastal defense guns and built a road to the top of the 865-foot (260-meter) main peak. The last patients left in 1984. The tropical vegetation is reclaiming the buildings but the lighthouse on top of the island is still in operation.
We spent a lovely afternoon swimming in the clear water, watching birds and relaxing. The next morning when I went to cut up the bananas for breakfast I noticed that one was half eaten. I got really worried that we had a last pest aboard. After a bit of thought I realized that we shared our bananas with a fruit bat. We hiked up to the light house and sailed over to Scotland Bay. On the way to Scotland Bay we saw a pod of dolphins swimming next to our boat.