Exploring Maracas Falls-Stop Wondering! Start Wandering!

Maracas Bay, Las Cuevas Bay, Angel Falls
So after getting lost driving through San Juan/Santa Cruz trying to get on the Maracas Road, i took a few wrong turns, which always surprises me because it looks like a straight shot on Google Maps so I'm all "I've got this" and then I'm like a mile off track in two seconds. Ugh.

It took about an hour up the little windy road to get from Port of Spain over to Maracas Bay. And it was worth every second of it. So beautiful and not at all what I expected after only seeing the main city!

We didn't stay long at the beach because A) We've had enough beach time for awhile. B) We didn't have sunscreen. and C) We really wanted to hike to the waterfall. I love hiking. I love rain forests. I love waterfalls. So, yeah, I was excited.

I had several different screen shots and directions saved on my phone to try and get to Maracas Falls, but it was harder once we were out there. The roads are not marked at all. Like, no signs. So we definitely drove right past "Zorro Alley" off the main road. 

As our country is rich in oil and gas, we are totally not reliant on tourism. Hence, tourist infrastructure is severely lacking. There is no signage. Tourist attractions are often inexplicably closed. There’s a dearth of public transport to get to places. Above all, there is no exploitation of sites of interest. Anyway.....back to the waterfall

And then from there, the directions said something like, "The hike generally starts after you cross the second stream." Except there were like 10 things you could possibly call a "stream" on the little one-lane road. 

We pulled over and hiked up on trail we thought looked promising, but only ended up at some guys house on a hill. (stupes) He was out working in his garden, and through his broken English, said the trail to Angel Falls was further down the road.

Then we ran in to some youths and the road. I hung out the window and asked where the trail was, and they all three said, oh no, not here, you have to go back out to the main road and go to Rincon. I knew that was false. (cause i've totally done this before).  So we ignored their advice and kept going. Parked again, tried another hike up, and I was just sure that was going to be it. But again, ended at another guys house. Ugh. 

Anyway, eventually after 5 attempts we found the waterfall... 

The trail was a little treacherous. Definitely not easy to navigate, and there were ropes to hold on to to make your way up and down to the base of the waterfall.

It was just so gorgeous when we made it. I mean I could have sat there all day. The sounds and the sight of that water rushing down in to the green gorge. And not a person around. Aaahhh yes. This was definitely my favorite thing on the trip so far. I would take rain forest hiking over a beach any day.

 

Back down, it didn't seem to take near as long to get back down as it did to get up. I guess that's what happens when you don't get lost 5 times!

So we went  back to Maracas Bay to get some Shark & Bake at Richard's place across from the beach. 

We stopped a couple of times on the way back home to see what we could see, but never really found anything too good. The good spots are the bays and the rain forests. The city is nothing much.

I mean, I guess this view isn't bad. ;)

Such a dramatic day.. in beautiful Trinidad!