Árdís - 01.01.1956, Qupperneq 18

16
ÁRDÍS
All oil companies combined employ thousands of workers and have
done much to promote better working conditions for employees.
Another point of interest is Pitch Lake, one of the wonders of
the world, but certainly not because of its beauty. It looks like a
lake gone dry. Someone has compared its surface to the skin of an
elephant, and the irregular creases to the folds in its hide. When the
sun is hot the temperature on the “lake” is around 110 degrees and
the lightest football leaves an impression.
It is neither pitch nor a lake, but about 114 acres of natural
asphalt. Walking out on the “lake” we found a gang of negroes
chipping out porous chunks of asphalt which were dumped into
waiting steel cars on narrow guaged railroad tracks which have to
be moved every few days to prevent their disappearing in the lake.
And in 48 hours there is no trace of digging operations. At present
they are experimenting with a machine to excavate the asphalt,
but are having difficulty in keeping it above the surface. At a
nearby factory the chunks are reduced to liquid and poured into
barrels and then taken to La Brea port only a mile away. Many
famous streets of the world have been paved with Pitch Lake
asphalt, but cheaper petroleum has largely replaced it. Rain water
fills the crevices on the lake forming small pools, in which tiny fish
called “guabins” are frequently seen. They feed on mosquito larvae
and algae, but how they get there is a mystery.
Owing to the variety of its resources, Trinidad has suffered less
from general depression than the other islands in the British West
Indies.
Our first swim was at Maracus Bay Beach. In 1941, Great
Britain turned over some of Trinidad’s finest beaches to the United
States under the destroyer-for-bases deal. As a treaty obligation,
American Seabees built a mountain highway (North Coast Road)
to this beach, formerly accessible only by sea. Although only eight
miles from Port of Spain it is as yet untouched by commercialism
and still has its jungle scenery.
On our way back we visited a citrus plantation (Major Knagg’s)
and there we saw the largest tree in Trinidad—the Saman tree.
This tree covers over IV2 acres. It is beautifully shaped and is
approximately 150-200 years old. It changes foliage four times a
year, closes up its leaves when it rains and at sunset. And as a
result rain can filter through, and grass and farm crops thrive