Árdís - 01.01.1956, Síða 22

20
ÁRDÍS
in the path of the trade winds. This makes it a popular holiday
spot for Trinidadians.
We stayed at the Bleuhaven Inn, at one time an old plantation
house and converted into a hotel by an ex-British Naval Com-
mander. The balcony on our room faced the beach and one could
see the breakers and the ever-changing colors of sea and sky.
The first morning we saw natives fishing with huge nets. The
nets were approximately 1,500 feet by 12 feet. About twenty natives
waded out with the net in a boat and had it form a semicircle,
jumped about to chase the fish in. They first pulled the two ends
ashore, thus trapping the fish and then pulled the whole net in.
The catch in the first net that was hauled in was disappointing,
only two large fish and many small ones. The second net contained
over 200 fish. The excitement was terrific, twenty odd men yelling
and screaming with delight. They have been known to catch as
many as 1,000 fish at one time. After the catch was on the beach,
a gentleman began calling by means of a Conch shell. I asked an
old sunscorched man what he was saying. He informed me that he
was calling the people from the nearby coconut groves to come and
buy, but that he also was using bad language because they were
not coming in sufficient numbers. I asked him what he meant by
bad language, but he only laughed and said, “Nice lady, you
wouldn’t like those bad words”.
Next morning we went to see the famous coral reef which
stretches along the south section of the island about % of a mile
from shore. This trip can only be made when the tide is low.
Our guide, who weighed only 400 pounds, ■ not f at but very
muscular, the largest man I had ever seen, was pleasant and intel-
ligent. People told us that he was so strong that sharks avoided
him. We were equipped with a breathing tube and close fitting
goggles and running shoes as the coral is very sharp. Then one
floats or swims on the surface of the water. The coral forms a series
of underwater caverns inhabited by multitudes of magnificently
colored small fish of every shape imaginable. And I can truly say
that no one can imagine or visualize this fairyland without seeing
it for himself.
We were there nearly two hours and I must admit were all
weary after the journey. Our guide took pity on me and offered to
guide me to places I otherwise wouldn’t have seen. His arm was