Tuesday 17 August 2010

Toco Lighthouse

No trip to Toco is complete without visiting the lighthouse that sits on the north eastern tip of Trinidad. This is the edge of the island that looks out towards the Atlantic. The terrain on this coast is rocky and scrubby. The black rocks that line the beaches look like ancient lava. It is an evocative landscape that has something of the otherworldly.

On the day that we visited, we met Clint, the lighthouse keeper. A local Toco boy, Clint loves his job.

After a stint at the Chacachacare lighthouse, being back in Toco is a breeze. He loves it even though people say it's haunted. Haunted? I ask. Haunted? Yes, he says. Twice I heard my name called. No one there.
What about Chacachacare? No ghosts there? I ask, certain that I am going to get an earful of paranormal antics. But no, apparently Toco's lighthouse is the one that's really haunted.

We all climb to the top of the lighthouse to see the surrounding views of the coastline.Down on the ground again, we came across a little Noni tree growing in the midst of stones and rocks. It's the first time that I've come across the Noni flower. Noni has many medicinal qualities attributed to its fruit but I never knew that it also offered up this delicate white flower.

On the rocks leading out to the sea, this spider suddenly appeared, climbing out of a crevice in the rock.