Yes Tourism - Rainforest Tour

[Lee Somerton]

What a revelation! There ARE companies and people who want to show you the best in the best way possible and Yes Tourism and Patrick Dankou encompass this attitude.

We booked a rainforest tour for Saturday 24th June. 'Wait for Patrick to pick the you up at 8.15 at the hotel' we were told. Lo and behold at 8.15 Patrick and the little Mercedes bus arrived and everyone crowded to get on board. Yes everyone, because a number of people also going to the rainforest on another tour mixed in with those waiting for Patrick. Initially, my heart sank, as I thought we were going to be part of a large party (one of my pet hates on tours, so impersonal!). Luckily, once the mix-up had been rectified, it turned out that the two of us were the ONLY ones on this tour. If I recall, Patrick mentioned he would normally only take something like a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 2.

We were taken up the Atlantic side of Tobago to Roxborough, where we turned inland into the forest. Once parked up Patrick took us on a fascinating trail into the rainforest. I must confess I have forgotten the names of all of the birds and plants that he identified, except the Motmot, of which we saw plenty. I have even forgotten the name of the bird whose young ended up being the Mot Mot’s prey that day. Whatever he spotted, though, we were given plenty of time to pick them out using his own binoculars and a smaller pair that he supplied for our use.

We were taken down the trail, past one waterfall (where we saw what I thought was quite a big crab) and down to a second waterfall, where we turned around and made our way back. Apparently, it can be arranged to go even further along the trail by arranging for someone to meet you with the bus at the other end (something we’d probably like to do next time).

On the way back, we passed the group comprising the people who almost gatecrashed our tour and counted about 15 to 20 people. It looked as if it would be difficult for the people at the back of this long line to identify what was being discussed at the front because of the lack of manoeuvrability on the trail. However, when we ‘compared notes’ back at the hotel, we identified different things that had been seen by each group.

I have to say that our three person group felt much more in tune with the nature of the forest and we were glad we had not been part of such a large group.

Following the rainforest tour, Patrick took us to a restaurant serving typical and tasty Caribbean food and then back to the south of the island via the Caribbean coast..

We arrived back at the hotel at about 4.00, having gone via the Yes Tourism office in order to pay by credit card (U$45 per person + U$15 lunch per person).

A thoroughly enjoyable trip made even better because we had a guide who obviously enjoys imparting information on a subject he cares about.

Well done Patrick and Yes Tourism.