In my ‘Year of the Phoenix’, I’ve vowed to be more active, more outdoorsy, and more social. So when I saw Road Trip TT’s planned one-day excursion to Down D Islands (fondly known as ‘DDI’) on Facebook, I just had to do it. For starters, I’d never been DDI my entire life, and I’ve always wanted to go. Secondly, I felt bad that I’d been to see the Hato cave in Curaçao before I even got to see the cave on Gaspar Grande, or Gasparee island. Thirdly, it just seemed fun. Why not?
After pitching the idea to friends and family a month beforehand, I ended up going with one of my besties, plus one of my cousins and her friends. The excursion took place on Shouter Baptist Day, which, for those of you who don’t know, takes place every year on March 30th. My bestie and I both hail from Chaguanas, so I picked her up and we headed to the meeting point, which was located at Crews Inn, Chaguaramas. Despite my planning to arrive there at 8:30 AM, once again, I made us late, so we arrived around 9:15 AM. We were supposed to leave the pier at Crews Inn at 9:30 AM. So yeah, we were cutting it close. But you see, that’s what happens when you decide to have a fun night of drinking and partying the night before the holiday when you should be prepping for your trip the next day! Of course, I don’t regret the partying 🙂
We ended up having a late start, as the boat we were supposed to take had to make another trip beforehand. I’m so glad this happened, because it turned out that I forgot my phone in my car! The horror! I hurriedly scurried back to my car to retrieve my phone, so happy that it was there. I also managed to have enough time to purchase a bottle of water that cost TT$11.25, compared to its usual retail price of TT$5.00. What a markup! But enough about that. Finally, the boat returned, and it was time to board.
On the way to Gaspar Grande
The boat ride to Gaspar Grande made me feel like I was going to another country. The islands all extend off the west coast of Chaguaramas, and seem like an continuation of the northern range of Trinidad, or more technically known as the Araya-Paria-Northern Range Terrane (just my geology knowledge at play here), which extends from the Araya-Paria peninsula of Venezuela across to Trinidad. All the islands display steeply dipping hills, with only a small strip of beach running along the bottom of these hills. Their terrain also appeared to be rather rocky and dry, but the dryness could probably also be attributed to the dry season we are currently in, even though it hasn’t been an extremely-dry dry season this year. As we headed further west, I saw more presence of cacti, which reminded me of the arid, desert-like terrain of Margarita, Curaçao and Aruba.
Some people do live on the islands, or spend some time occasionally in their beach houses. I really do wish the islands were more developed, where there could have been more houses, more fun attractions, and more infrastructure. I’d certainly love to have my own place on one of them. I sometimes have the urge to be a hermit, and living in a lovely beach house on a remote island appeals to this fantasy. For now, if I’d like to stay on one of these smaller islands, there’s the option of renting a beach house, knowing someone with a beach house to stay rent-free, or staying in the hotel on Gaspar Grande.
I wish I knew more about the history of these islands. Chacachacare (say that three times fast), one of the DDI/ Bocas Islands, was once home to a leper colony run by nuns. All that remains of it now is a decrepit shack and the graves of the brave French nuns who cared for the ill. I’d rant again about how I wish the government did a better job at preserving our historic sites such as these, but I’ll end the conversation there. There was also a prison based on one of the islands, called Carrera, but according to Wikipedia, all operations there ceased since 2013.
Fun fact though? Chacachacare was apparently the Amerindian (our indigenous people) word for ‘cotton’.
Gaspar Grande/ Gasparee Island
At last we arrived. We stopped off at the pier that led us to a trail up towards the Gasparee Caves, our first destination. I felt so out of shape as we went up the concrete trail to the site of the caves. Along the way I spotted a sign saying where the island got its name from. I wish they provided more information about who that Gaspar guy was, but all I can assume is that he had to be someone important to have been awarded the island by Governor Chacon.
The sign letting us know who the island was named after.
Eventually, we arrived to a house where we rested for a bit.
The picnic site at Gasparee Caves
An uphill trek to the guns
The cave guide wasn’t ready for us yet, so we opted to do a hike to the guns I assume the Americans left behind. That hike was certainly an adventure! It was a rather rocky path, with dried twigs sticking out from either side. I stumbled quite a bit, and thankfully wasn’t injured. But I was glad I got it over with. I certainly won’t be doing that ever again.
The trip to the guns.
We returned to the house, and then began our descent into the caves.
The Gasparee Caves (of Wonder!)
I certainly wasn’t expecting what I came to see below. After we descended down this winding metal staircase, we eventually came face-to-face with this sparkling blue-green water at the bottom of a huge cavernous cave. Let’s just say that the Gasparee Caves put the Hato Caves to shame, hah! Let me just let the photos do the talking.
A panorama inside the caves.
Someone swimming (not me) in the water. I think I spy a fault in the rock!
The way back to the top.
Inside of the caves was like a sweatbox, so eventually my friend and I joined the people who decided to swim in the caves. The water was cold and just what the doctor ordered. It was also salty, ick. We didn’t spend much time there, because when we finally decided to go in, the Roadtrip TT guide said that we had to get back to the pier to meet the boat. Adventure over, for now.
Monos Island
Another fun fact: ‘Monos’ is the Spanish word for monkeys. It was or is still home to howler monkeys. In this part of the trip, we just spent time at the beach there. The beach reminded me a lot of Macqueripe Bay in Chaguaramas; it was Macqueripe-lite. The beach felt like a huge reward after spending so much time doing strenuous activities under the hot sun. We spent roughly two hours here, while a DJ played soca music for us.
The beach at Monos Island.
At 4 PM, we made our way back to the pier of the island, and waited a half hour for the boat to arrive. Our adventure finally came to an end.
My thoughts
I really truly enjoyed myself Down D Islands. It’s something I’d love to do again. I’d especially love to go back to see the Gasparee Caves, and maybe swim for a bit longer next time. I’d also love to see the other islands, particularly Chacachacare. It would also be nice to stay down there some time. For now, I’ll just relish in the memories, and leave you with this one parting video.
