PORT OF SPAIN BRANCH

THE HIKE

Nothing can beat a well planned Branch activity. However, some of these activities do not seem to go as thought. One such occasion was the hike from Santa Cruz to Maracas beach on Saturday 10th March, 1991.

Members were as usual asked to met at the chapel which at that time was located at 97 Tragarete Rd., Woodbrook. The first names of those who went were; Reuben, Jasmine, Vindra, Hanna, Vashti, Gary, Gavin, Mario, Trisha, Eddie, Venus, Donna, Nigel, Felicia and myself. We started out to Santa Cruz at 9:00 a.m. after parking our cars. Our trail leader, who I've decided not to name, set us on our way. It had rained the night before making the atmosphere damp even though the day was sunny. Our leader, fearless of being lost by changes to surroundings due to past climatic occurrences, continued to show us the way to what he believed to be the trail to Maracas Beach. Fortunately, I recorded the day's events in much detail in my journal.

( Refer to the map of our hike for details of how we became lost. 'The numbers below correspond with the numbers on the map. The arrows show the direction of our journey.)

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(1)one - This is is where we started.

(2)two - By 10:03 a.m. we were as lost as a person in the dark. Our leader took us west instead of east -- the correct way.

(3)three - We decided to follow a river heading north. By this time I was now the leader trying to get us out of this predicament. The time was now 11:45 a.m.

(4)four - Still going west, we came to a 30ft.. drop which without rope, a grappling hook, and a few nerves, would have been impossible to descend. We decided to go south west up a hill and find a path around it. Those behind us started to become apprehensive of our movements through the mountain. The whole situation was made formidable by thick growth, shrubs, and trees constantly surrounding us. It made great difficulty in deciding what was even 25ft. ahead. Our only mark to which we could use was Maracas Bay. We used the beach as a goal, but our walking did not bring us any closer to our sandy surf.

(5)five - The forest now became like a high brick wall to us.

(6)six - At last! We found a path going down. We were fooled by our desperation as it led to another 20ft. drop that looked to the Sisters like a 200ft. Reuben called us all together and said a prayer for a way out.

(7)seven - Our regretful trail leader and myself did some reconnaissance, but we became troubled by the steep angle of the mountain that surrounded us. The time was now 4:00p.m.

(8)eight - An alarming drop of 1000ft. put a gloomy hope on ever getting out. 'This was no longer a hike, but a survival game.

(9)nine - An interesting thing to note was Gary, who suffered a mild physical ailment that weakened him, was right behind me by this time. Gavin lost his cooler full of drinks to the mountain after he slipped.

(10)ten - We reached an area which had many jaggered rocks - it would require careful placement of ones feet and hands to get down. Earlier we were exercising great dexterity on our butts by cutting through stinging nettle which seemed to tower all around us. Now and again you would hear someone scream or moan loudly as we became vulnerable to nature. Fallen trees caused us to be ducking and crawling.

(11)eleven - We reached a rock. I remember sitting on it contemplating having to jump down into a shallow pool below. There was no turning back now and yet there was no way to climb down except to put away all fear and jump. I thought to myself, 'why doesn't Gary (who sat behind me) just push me to take away the dread of jumping down on my own. I later found out from him that he thought of pushing me, but decided not to. Anyway I jumped! Gavin and Reuben followed. I distinctly remember Gavin's jump was like a ninja and Reuben's leap into the pool.

(12) twelve - T'was now 6:00pm and we could not see 10ft. in front of us. No one brought torches, because no one thought we would need it. I guess we should always be prepared. We walked through water following its downward direction. I remember feeling like a soldier behind enemy lines. We all held hands to stay together as the darkness of the night set in. I would mention that you can only tell the character of someone by testing and seeing how they handle difficult circumstances. It was amazing to see who cried for mommy and had many tears flowing from their eyes as they stood on Reuben's, Gavin's, and my hands, neck (yes,neck!), and shoulders to get down from the rock. A test of one's emotional senses really shows how much faith the individual has.

(13) thirteen - We met a farmer named Ricky. Ricky stood near his old house as he showed us the way out by the pointing of his finger. It was fantastic to find someone.

(14) fourteen - We reached the beach. It was delightful to feel the sand of Maracas blow against our faces. We arrived a bit late though as it was not sunny and bright, but glossy and dark. 'There were no people bathing, but only high waves crashing. There were no food stalls open, but instead closed signs showing. The moon was out in array and the Mormons had now arrived on the beach for their activity. Did we sit around and mope or feel depressed - NO! We went into the cold waters and swam, and ran on the beach, while the others got a ride to go pick up the cars. Me did not leave Maracas until 10:30 pm. You cannot keep the Mormons from having a good time. Those who came on the hike bore their testimony afterwards of how they felt and what they learned.

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