Just at the Side of the Road!
This was one of those extremely unexpected finds of hidden gems that you can only get when you're aimlessly exploring an unknown area. I was actually headed to another popular river when just at the side of the road, and I mean literally just off the side, bright green, almost gem like water glistening in the sun caught my eye. It turned out I had just stumbled upon Shark River which is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and clearest rivers in Trinidad!
From the aerial view above, you can see just how close to the roadside it is. The area is quite remote and the roadway does not at all disturb the immersion in nature that you get from bathing here. You can see just how close Shark River is to the ocean as well that has a lovely color! I was informed that It is called Shark River due to sharks swimming up river long ago and so they had some sort of presence there but no longer in these modern times.
I realised why this was such a surprise to stumble upon as well as sign is dilapidated and overrun with bushes! You can also see that there is a large pole in front of it with a traffic sign as well which obscured it even more. I hope councillors for the area maintain the area soon as it was much needed.
I quickly parked before the bridge that allowed the traffic to cross the
river on the roadside and quickly got to checking out the situation. You can imagine my excitement! Always such a pleasure to find something unexpectedly especially during a four hour drive away from home! What I would find, though, would exceed all expectations.
There was a short beaten pathway downhill off the road that I descended carefully and what I saw made my jaw drop! It was a magical crystal clear emerald stream that surrounded by breathtaking nature! Believe it or not, it gets better! For a first impression, it was outperforming every single river I had ever visited in Trinidad so far and I have been around.
There were people already here enjoying what Shark River had to offer. I noticed that no one was just jumping into the waters and I thought that it was because it was cold but upon further observation, there were huge fishes that they were admiring and were careful not to disturb them!
Usually in riveres here in Trinidad, there would be small tadpole like things in the water but here, there were these large fishes that were so therapeutic to just sit on the banks just look at as they swam back and forth in the clear stream with tranquility. It made me reluctant to take a dip!
I decided to explore the left side of the river under the bridge first as there seemed to less intriguing things on this side. There were a lot of rocks that would usually be under the water but since it is dry season here on the island at the time, the stream was quite small and narrow.
There was less depth here and the river was quite shallow allowing for more turbulent flow amidst the rocks that produced a calming rushing water sound that I sat on the rocks and listened to for a while. This was quite the contrast to the lower down river with the fishes before the the water flowed quietly and calmly.
Above was the view from near the bridge down stream. You can see there was much more beauty to explore and so I wasted no time in heading in that direction to see what else I could document! The colors of the water and trees alone had me feeling like I was in a magical shaded paradise!
I could not get over the clarity of the water! It was so clear in fact that here the water looked so shallow but it was extremely deep, so much so that you can immerse yourself fully. It was quite alarming at first and as you may know it is much harder to float in sweet water as opposed to salt water.
Even lower downstream, there was a magical and almost glowing area where the river meandered before heading towards to ocean. This resulted in a pool where the salt water mixed with the river water and created a different more vibrant color of water! It was so mesmerizing that I felt that if there was a fountain of youth that the Spanish conquistadors were searching the Caribbean for, it would look exactly like this!
There were rock formation that complemented this magical pool of sorts that enhanced the fantasy feel. You can see from the aerial shot how the waters flowed into the ocean just after allowed for the free mixing and hence the color difference, or so I assume.
The river mouth was quite narrow due to the aforementioned dry season. The trees that lined the banks just before the ocean along with the colors of the water made the whole scene look so beautiful. I could not believe we had these hidden gems right here on our island.
For something found just at the side of the road this is as priceless as it gets. I'll say it again without hesitation, this is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever seen in Trinidad that is easy to get to (without an elaborate hike) with such beauty and magic! There was so much to take in and appreciate and I think it would deserve another visit in the near future for sure just to fully appreciate this hidden gem!
Hiya, @livinguktaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Travel Digest #2185.
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