Gasparee Caves

The bus was scheduled to leave at 8a.m. sharp, so in true Trini fashion, we left at 9:30. Probably later. It was a long drive to the cove, and there we had to wait until it was time to take the tour out to Gasparee Grande, the islet in which the Gasparee Caves are found. The tour was on behalf of the Chaguaramas Development Authority which subsidized the cost of our cave tour since we were from the University. Thank freaking God.
There was a steep walk to the caves, passing sink holes along the way. The entire islet is ridden with sink holes and the guide told us that the caves were essentially two very large sink holes. We entered from the side.

It was a steep walk down and if it wasn't for the railings, I would have crawled. There were lights installed - green, orange, red, yellow, to illuminate the caves. The guide drew our attention to stalagmite and stalactite formations that looked like a couple and an old man, and to shadows formed by the unique placement of the lights to show us Buddha, Michael Jackson and a woman with a baby. Very touristy, I know. I will admit that the caves were very pretty - some bits of the stalagmites even shimmered in the light.
The water looked dark, depressing and bottomless and the story of the NatGeo disappearance made it all the more dark, depressing and bottomless. I would have liked to see one of the blind fishes though.
We went back to a house on the hill (hehe) where we had lunch and then headed back down for the docks. I saw this little one on the top of a cactus. We were told that the fruits are very sweet.

If it wasn't for my lack of camera skills with regard to dim light, I would have better quality photos. If it wasn't for my lack of common sense to bring a fresh pair of batteries before I went down there, I would have more pictures. If it wasn't for my procrastination and general laziness, I would have posted what I managed to salvage a lot sooner. After all, the 'hike' was last Sunday.
Click the pics to expand/ see more.