The Scarlet Ibis

Currently Slow-Mocean and crew are in the Manamo River in the Orinoco Delta Region of Venezuela.  This is turning out to be the greatest trip we have ever taken.  Too many sights and experiences for my feeble mind to put into writing but I will try and write about a few.

The Scarlet Ibis is a beautiful bird reminding me of the white crane you see in Japanese art with the black wing tips.  This bird has at least one striking difference and that is its scarlet red plumage.  The bird seems to forage under the mangroves and along the beaches and low water estuaries.  They remind one of Pink Flamingos only smaller and a much deeper red.  One of the first species of birds we saw as we were entering the river mouth in Perdinales was the Scarlet Ibis as they foraged along the river banks and sat perched in low lying limbs.  Further up the river they flew ahead of the boat and perched high in the trees until we approached then they moved on again and waited as we caught up. 

Ibis Island is a small river island perhaps a half a mile long and eighth wide.  It is a forested island covered in thick branching trees.  It is at the south end of the island we were told we should anchor the boat and view the Ibis.  We anchored about 200 yds south of the island and due to current and water depth etc, I felt like playing it safe so we did not get overly close to shore, this time.  As dusk approached many Ibis could be seen perched high in the trees surrounding the island and a few were landing at the southern tip as we had hoped.  Truly a great place to watch this bird.  Then as the light began to fade birds started flying in from every direction in classic V formations much like Canadian Geese.  They would head straight into the island and land, five, ten, fifteen at a time.  It was great to watch and as we watched it seemed that a thousand birds were perched on the island.  The inevitable happened as the mosquitoes moved in for dinner and started moving us inside.  As we turned to run in, thinking the show was basically over, we noted a huge wave of birds in the distance headed directly for the island.  Amazing I thought.  I had never seen that many birds flying together at one time.  Not even starlings in a grain field had these numbers.  I looked around and the sky was filled in every direction with birds coming to roost and they looked like waves on the ocean as the lines of birds undulated and glided ever closer. 

As the evening wore on we watched the green trees transform into what appeared to be trees bearing giant red fruit.  As more and more birds arrived the trees started to resemble the red flamboyant trees in the island s and as the sun descended the island was nearly one shade of red.  Because we have such cheap and useless cameras we of course have nothing but grainy, poorly lighted and absolutely dreadful pictures.  So sad our good friend Trish decided she would not accompany us.  Her 200mm SLR would have had a hay-day. 

In the morning we awoke before the sun was up and we quietly went on deck to listen as the morning quiet was transformed into a cacophony of sounds when the Ibis started to wake up.  As with the night before a few birds here and a few birds there started flying off to points unknown.  Then as the sky lit a bit more formations of birds emerged and flew into the distance.  In the distance a motor was heard and a Warao Indian came rushing past the island to get a better look at us, and the great flock arose and dispersed into the morning sky. 

Pictures to follow, once we get enough bandwidth to send some, but to be honest they are not so good.

Festival of Lights

Were a little late on this post as the festivities have been over for a couple weeks now. We were fortunate to be taken to a Divali celebration here in Trinidad.


I don't imagine many people equate Trinidad with India or Hinduism or for that matter many people probably don't know what Divali is. I will not enlighten you here, I'm sure. All I have been able to gather is that it celebrates the return of Lord Raama from his battle against the evil Ravana.

On his return the people lit small clay lanterns along his path so that he would be able to find his way home. The lines of lanterns are called Divali and it is now called the festival of lights. If your a Hindu or listen to too many Cat Stevens albums and you wish to take issue with my interpretations please don't bother. The point of all this is that the people here in Trinidad are not only of African decent as many would imagine, but also of East Indian decent. It is because of this population that Divali is a big deal here.

We were taken to the town of Felicity which I was told consist of 90% Hindu and 10% Christians. We entered a local temple and were welcomed by the caretaker who presented us with a quick story of Divali over a squawky PA system, which when combined with his accent sounded like the teacher in a peanuts cartoon.

There was a beautiful young lady who danced to a couple of songs and then a trio of drummers came in and did a bit of drumming. They were all quite good. To be fair the caretaker was a very nice man as well and we had a great conversation after the mike was turned off.

Our host and tour guide, Jesse James had a traditional meal set up for us and it was served on Large leaves. The food was vegetarian and because it was a religious holiday we were asked to not eat any meat or consume alcohol that day. Most of the Hindus we met had been fasting for over a month. Luckily I love Indian food and can't get enough roti so this meal which would locally be called a bus-up-shut was just perfect despite the glaring lack of meat on my leaf.


Once we finished we were told to take a walk around the neighborhood. Not something one would consider doing at night in this country, or any unfamiliar town.

We were treated to some of the nicest people one could hope to meet. As we walked people were in front of their homes dressed up in their "Sunday best" lighting the Divali lamps.

Fortunately the wind was minimal and there was no rain. The lamps are fashioned from clay.

The lamps were often placed on the ground or on the wall in front of the homes.

Bamboo was also split and woven into different shapes with the lamps or other lights affixed. A simple two rail fence fashioned from bamboo was also common. The lamps are filled with coconut oil because it creates less smoke. With this many lamps burning, smoke would have been a concern.

Fireworks were also present as was the use of what we used to call spud guns. These were made from large bamboo logs and filled with diesel. They work like a cannon and apparently send quite a few people to the emergency room every year. As we walked along people would be quick to greet us and start conversation. They also will give sweets to the guests who come by.

The sweets consisted of hand made treat bags which contained a dough like sugar cookie dough and perhaps some pieces of fruit. Nothing fancy and nothing store bought.

You know this was one of the best holiday celebrations I have ever witnessed. It combined aspects of Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and Independence day all in one. With the exception of the local cell phone company lighting up a block or two with posters in the background there was no commercialism and the spirit of friendship was abundant.

I wish there were more holidays like this one. It was beautiful, peaceful, and left everyone I saw that night with a huge smile. Perhaps because they didn't have a ton of new credit card debt.

Greetings from Trini

Had a great sail down to Trinidad and found a YSATT mooring to keep us tethered to the anchorage.  So far Sunny has kept me busy hauling around her bags of shopping goodies.  We took a nice tour to the Divali celebration and hope to get some pics posted soon.  We are preparing to head further south to the Orinoco Delta and visit the Warewoa <sp> Indians and check out a rain forest river delta with howler monkeys and great flocks of brilliant birds. 

Stay tuned