Asa Wright

This has been another one of those places on my local bucket list. I always hear about it, but never knew where it was, or how to get there, so today I made the trip, and it was surprisingly easy to get to. It was a bit of a drive for me, took just over an hour to get there, but it was basically just one road you follow, which was also quite an interesting drive, having never been in that area before. The same road can take you all the way to the north coast, but my time was restricted today, and my goal was to visit Asa Wright.

Asa Wright Nature Center is a non profit organization, it is situated in the northern range, north of Arima and is home to 97 native mammals, 400 birds, 55 reptiles, 25 amphibians, and 617 butterflies, as well as over 2,200 species of flowering plants. This place is truly something to behold for the nature lover. There is a minimal entry fee for locals of just $30 TTD, which includes an hour and a half long tour of one of the trails. The guide pointed out many species of the diverse flora and fauna there, besides the hundreds of birds and all the vegetation, we saw an agouti, some bats, and even a crab. I never even knew about land crabs until today, I always thought that they only lived by the sea.

After the tour, we got back to the main house, and sat and relaxed on the veranda, around which had bird feeders, with many different species of humming birds feeding. There are rooms available for those that may want to stay a few days, and they even offer the option of lunch for day visitors. All the visitors (excluding myself) were from other countries, some from the Caribbean and quite a number of British and Americans as well, which shows that we have these little gems that people from all around come to experience, but we, as locals, seem to take them for granted.

Just before I left, I took a walk up to the clear water pool, which was a little swimming hole with a couple small water falls, another bit of information I was unaware of, else I would have walked with some swimming gear and dry clothes. Every time I visit somewhere outside of the city, the drive back home always leaves me a bit down. Having to head back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and face traffic, pollution, and concrete everywhere. On the brighter side, I am discovering all these great places that I can get a nature fix, and escape, even if it's just for a few hours.