Visit Chacachacare
and it's Unique Trinidad Beach

...encounters of the Caribbean island kind

Join us for a trip down-the-islands to a unique Trinidad Beach, and for a day of adventure exploring Chacachacare - one of the Boca Islands, a diminutive chain of Caribbean islands that span the Dragon's Mouth between Trinidad and Venezuela on the coast of South America.

 A Day Down-the-Islands 

Come with us as we leave Port-of-Spain and travel west, our destination, Power Boats in Chagaramas, on the northwesterly tip of Trinidad.

Upon arrival, we're greeted by a forest of masts, a scene reminiscent of shipyards from a bygone era. Power Boats is populated in part by hundreds of yachts, a dazzling variety of sailboats from almost every corner of the globe. They're here, May through December especially, seeking shelter in Trinidad's relatively hurricane free waters.

 We're On Our Way... 

At dockside, our sleek Pirogue - a traditional hull design particularly suited to local waters - is plucked from it's shed like a 45 in an old jukebox, and gently placed in the sea.

Come along... jump on board; it's time to be on our way.

As we cruise past the diminutive Caribbean islands of Gaspar Grande (fondly know as Gasparee) and Monos, on our journey to Chacachacare - the most westerly point in Trinidad - you cannot help notice the beautiful island homes and Trinidad rentals scattered along the shore, their private docks peopled with families celebrating yet another spectacular day down-the-islands.

 Surrounded by Dolphins 

Midway across Second Boca, a pod of athletic, Bottlenose Dolphin joins us.

Everyone is immediately on their feet, hanging over the gunwales, hoping for a personal encounter with these intelligent beasts while they surf our bow wave, fellow travelers who glance up at you from the emerald deep. It's a struggle to pull ourselves away from this close encounter but we must move on to our next...

 Unique Trinidad Beach 

Chacachacare (commonly called Chac) is a unique Trinidad beach, a wonderful place to kick back, lime and recuperate. An ideal spot to chill out in the calm, waist high water with a cold Carib (an excellent local larger) in hand, and let your cares float away.

However, there's lots you can do at Chacachacare...

 Something for Everyone 

The calm waters of Chac Bay will encourage the athletically inclined to test themselves on water-skis.

Rays, who can often be seen playing on the bays sandy bottom, promise close encounters to novice aquanauts who explore this under-sea realm.

The salt ponds of La Tinta Bay, another interesting Trinidad beach on the south side of the island, whisper seductive challenges to the closet explorer.

The lighthouse, high on Chac's northwestern tip, invites hikers to an exhilarating stroll through a ghost town, and promises panoramic, seldom seen views of both the Dragon's Mouth and this group of pint-sized Caribbean islands.

 Islands Rich in History 

It is said that Christopher Columbus anchored in Chacachacare Bay on his third voyage to the New World, naming the bay Puerto de Gatos (Port of Cats) after unruly monkeys, which they mistook for wild cats, chased his crew off the island. Today, the monkeys are long gone and Chag stands silent, awaiting it's next big adventure.

Amerindians used Chacachacare (a name of Carib origin) and the Boca Islands, as a steppingstone on their epic voyage northward to populate the entire Caribbean Island chain.

Chacachacare was a successful cotton plantation of several hundred people with a school for 60 students, a whaling station, a leper colony, and during World War II, a US Base with over 600 men, there to man gun emplacements on the islands highest peaks.

 More Romantically... 

The real pirates of the Caribbean used these diminutive islands, as cover from behind which to attack richly laden Spanish Galleons on their return to Spain.

Until quite recently, my father-in-law tells me, you could find clay pipes (commonly used during the 1500 through 1800s) on the sandy floors of Chacachacare and Scotland Bays.

So, take care when you step on to this unique Trinidad beach because you may just find a piece of Trinidad history between your toes - the bowl of a clay pipe casually tossed overboard by the likes of Sir Walter Raleigh, one of Trinidad's first British Tourists, and others adventurers who explored this corner of the Spanish Main.