Lopinot Great House and grounds, carib_boy31
Lopinot.
Tucked away in the foothills of the Northern Range, this old cocoa estate dating back to the early 1800s is one of the most accessible historic villages in Trinidad. And steeped in local lore and legend. Ask any of the guides in the area about the ghost of the old Compte de Lopinot and his white stallion.
Two things set Lopinot apart for us as a photo walk location. First, how well it’s been preserved and continues to be maintained. The old Great House still stands, and serves as a museum of sorts. Ask any of the resident guides, usually villagers themselves, and they’ll be happy to give you a brief tour. Next time we’ll take some photos of the museum’s collection which includes two pieces of 200-year old furniture and preserved specimens of some very large and very scary creepy crawlies!
And second, there is just so much to see and explore. We didn’t even make it down to the river this time – who say river lime! – but a few of our walkers did.
Lopinot River, marsie4004
View from the cave, funkyplet
Undoubtedly, the highlight of this walk was the trip up to The Cave. Alternately dubbed the Bat Cave and the Soucouyant Cave, it’s a short walk (< 10 minutes) up from the main complex. There is a short clamber up a cliff, but nothing overly treacherous. Still, muddy conditions – yes, another rainy Lopinot photo walk – and general fear of heights kept most from going into the cave itself.
Next time, right guys?
Those who did were definitely not disappointed. One photo walker went armed with his tripod (soucouyant protection?) and captured several lovely long exposures inside the cave. This one shown was taken near the cave mouth, looking in.
Lopinot Cave, garethleigh
We got out of the cave to meet some gorgeous late-evening sunlight and just enough time to capture a few photos before another rain cloud threatened.
Lopinot Samaan trees, Marc Seyon/photowalktt
This photo walk also included a limited pre-walk shoot with a model on location. Thanks for being our guinea pig, Fana! We chose to limit this to just three photographers as it was the first time, but we’d love to extend opportunities this to other photo walkers over time. If you’re interested, either as a photographer or a model, let us know.
Fana, Marc Seyon
You can find more photos from this photo walk on Flickr in our group pool, or with the hashtag #photowalktt09.
Lopinot is one of those special locations we’ll keep going back to, so if you missed it this time don’t worry. We’ll return soon enough.
There are also a couple hiking trails that are a bit more treacherous, especially depending on the weather conditions. I won’t mention any mud mas shenanigans, but do tread with care.
Photo Walk T&T Elsewhere