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My name is Kimlee Peters Smith.
I am 12 years old and live in Port of Spain, Trinidad. I am an avid
kayaker. I have been Kayaking for four years. I learned to enjoy kayaking
from my uncle ."
Canoes are the perfect way to explore the
wilderness. They are small, lightweight and can carry weeks worth of gear
and food but still be easily carried overhead from one river to the next
or around a blocked part of the river. A canoe moves silently through the
water, leaving no pollution or even a wake behind. Rather than being an
intrusion on the environment, a canoe becomes part of it, making it easy
to get close to wildlife without disturbing it. Canoes can also go nearly
anywhere there's water. An unloaded canoe needs less than a foot of water
to float, making it possible to explore shallow backwaters and streams.
Canoes have been used in the region for as long as people have
traveled there. The first canoes were probably "dug-outs", made from a
single tree trunk hollowed out to shape the hull. The Amerindian certianly
used this small craft to sail from the South American Mainland to the
Caribbean islands long before the arrival of the Europeans, who came in
their big ships.
Persons of All Ages with a spirit of adventure
and an appreciation of nature and history will enjoy paddling the slow
moving waters of the wetlands. A little physical ability but no prior
experience is necessary to participate. First-timers will have no trouble
paddling stable river kayaks with some instruction. No age limits, but
small children will be placed in tandem kayaks with parents.
We
Kayack up many rivers in Trinidad. The River is the ancient road of
commerce that served plantations from the 1700's.
Colored by the
flowers of the swamps through which the river gently meanders, we watch
for ducks, owls, kingfisher, deer, spider lilies, egrets, and iguana. We
have seen monkeys, anteaters, turtles and river otters. The area is now a
refuge to colorful songbirds and basking caimans.
You can swim in the
beautiful waters,go fishing, explore the area, or walk the well marked
trails.
Suelin: Hey did you know that the word "Canoe" is a native
Amerindian word which refers to the dug out boat? "Corrial" a canoe made
out of a hollowed out tree log.
Dominic; Yes and we can thank the
Amerindian for many words in our english language that we use
today.
Suelin: And we can also thank them for our adventure today as we
took a Kayak ride up the Blancheusse river, by the way the word Kayak is a
Amerindian Eskimo word too !!
Kimlee: The way of a canoe is the way of
the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten. The open door to
waterways of ages past and a way of life with profound and abiding
satisfactions. When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that
canoes have ever known.
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