T & T Part 10: Cuffie River Nature Retreat

Retreat is a good word to describe the lodging at Cuffie River on the island of Tobago.  While it was quite different from Asa Wright Nature Centre, where we stayed on Trinidad, we enjoyed it very much, too.  (Click here to read about "Asa Wright - The Place and the People")

Looking toward the Nature Retreat from the bridge over Cuffie River.

The secluded location and grounds were beautiful.  We were the only guests our first night there, so it was really peaceful!

This bench was the perfect place to sit and bird-watch.

From there, I could view a row of hummingbird feeders.  There were Ruby-topaz Hummingbirds, like the one in the photo below, as well as White-necked Jacobins and Rufous-breasted Hummingbirds.  (See my post about hummingbirds here).

There were some other birds as well - like the Red-crowned Woodpecker who also liked the nectar.

A Brown-crested flycatcher landed nearby.

I enjoyed the beautiful flowers on the Yellow Allamanda bushes along the driveway.

Just like at Asa Wright, there were birds everywhere at Cuffie River.

You didn't have to go far to see them!

We took a morning hike our first full day there, with Desmond, our guide for the day.  We didn't have to drive anywhere... we just walked up the road until we came to the trail.

It's a pretty good road, but doesn't have much traffic on it, so we were able to enjoy the sights along the way, like the Passionvine blooming over our heads.

Then we reached the trail, which was also quite a nice walk.

A highlight of the hike was seeing some Blue-backed Manakins, which I only got some blurry photos of-- and a Urania leilus, (a day-flying moth) which luckily I managed to get in focus!

That afternoon we had free time and decided to hang out at the lodge.  We could have arranged a snorkeling trip, but I'm glad we decided to relax at the pool instead.

You can see one Swift coming in, and another has just 'dipped' - see the round ripples in the water?

By the way, we were still seeing birds while swimming.  Short-tailed Swifts kept us company by flitting close to us to drink from the pool all the while.

Motmots were there, too, on the dirt bank behind the pool and even on the railing.

We dined that evening by ourselves in the lovely open air dining room.

I thought the facilities and the decor was very pleasant, as was the staff. 

The birds seemed to feel right at home, too.

Smooth-billed Ani in the entryway

We were not the only ones who dined well.  This Chachalaca is feasting on some watermelon, just under our rear balcony.

The next day we were ready to go again... so off we went with our guide for the day, Gladwyn James.

It was a beautiful day to take a ride along the coast of Tobago.

There were gorgeous views of the Caribbean Sea from the high points and we made some stops along the beaches, too.

After a hike in the Gilpin Trace, we had lunch at a restaurant, then headed to Blue Waters Resort where we got on a glass-bottom boat for our birding trip to Little Tobago Island.

We got slightly damp from a rainstorm and simply from climbing the steep trail in the humidity, but it was worth it to see Red-footed and Brown Boobies, Red-billed Tropicbirds, and Magnificent Frigatebirds.

After a long day of sight-seeing and birding, it was nice to go back to Cuffie and relax again!

That evening there was another couple staying at the lodge from the UK and we enjoyed sitting with and chatting with them at dinner.  They have stayed at Cuffie many times before.  I can see why they return... it's a wonderful place!

T & T Part 9: The Critters

Are you enjoying our virtual field trip to Trinidad and Tobago?  It's taking a bit longer than I expected to write about our trip-- mostly because it's a busy time of year for me at home... taking care of the gardens and such.  I still have a few more things I want to show you, so I hope you will hang in there with me.  

Today's post is one I've been thinking about for awhile, mainly because I've been trying to come up with what to write.  Finally, I decided I don't need to write much, just let the photos speak for themselves.  As we all know, a picture is worth a thousands words!

Another dilemma I had was in choosing a title.  I decided on 'The Critters' instead of 'The Cute Critters'.  "Cuteness is in the eye of the beholder", to slightly modify an old expression.  You can decide for yourself which of the following animals you think fit the description of cute: adorable, sweet, lovable, delightful, or darling.

I'm pretty sure most of my readers will agree that this White-fronted Capuchin is cute.  He and his twin brother or sister were playing and eating up in the trees in the Bush Bush on Trinidad.

The little ones were adorable as far as I am concerned and the older one we watched for awhile was, too.

It was fun to watch him use his tail for balance as he went swinging thru the trees.

He was not too mannerly of an eater though, as you can see in the next video.  The first part is the twins (don't miss the part where one of them shows how bold he is and tries to scare me away!) and the second half shows the older monkey eating his nut.

The next guy might be considered cute.  It's a Red-rumped Agouti.  They are in the Rodentia order and at Asa Wright Nature Centre where we saw them, they were mostly looked upon as 'rats'. 

No one paid them too much attention after the first one they saw.  (Seriously, why would you when there are oodles of hummingbirds to watch?)

An agouti in the distance at the feeders in front of the veranda.

They are attracted to the area below the veranda for the same reason as the other creatures... the food.

Look carefully in the above photo for the Golden Tegu.

Do you think he's cute?

Maybe a little bit?  Would it help if I tell you they only grow to about 2 - 3 feet long and weigh up to 8 pounds (4 kg)?

We saw the next lizards at the Cuffie River Nature Retreat on Tobago.  They were scurrying around in the driveway beneath our balcony.  I don't know what they are called... but probably not "cute"!  What do you think?  I do like how one has blue markings and the other one has green.  Also, the Allamanda flower adds a nice touch to the scene.

The next cuties are domestic animals.  But I'm a farm girl from way back so I love cows.

This calf and a few goats were in a field along a road we were birding.  I couldn't resist photographing them, especially with the beautiful mountains in the background.  I don't know if the calf is a Guernsey (my favorite) but it sure looks like it might be.

These cows are also kind of cute, I think.  They might be stretching the definition a little, but just look at those faces.

Speaking of faces, here's looking at you, Mr. Crab.

This photo is just begging for a cute caption... if you have one, please leave it in the 'comments'.

He was one of the biggest ground crabs we saw in Trinidad, and we saw quite a few!  He doesn't look as big when you have something to compare him to though.

See the crab right along the wall?

Okay, we are going from critters that are definitely cute, to possibly cute, to.... well, I'm sure there is someone reading this who would say this last guy IS adorable, sweet, lovable, delightful, or darling!

While there is nothing in the photo to compare his size to, I will tell you he is about the size of a dinner plate.  In other words, BIG!  He's a tarantula we saw on a guided 'Night Hike' at Asa Wright Nature Center.  Our guide knew where to look for him (he lives in a certain patch of bamboo).   He was pretty neat to see-- from the distance of several yards away.  But, cute?  No!

I vote for the monkeys as the cutest, how about you?