Trindade –
not to be confused
with Trinidad
& Tobago
- is a tiny volcanic
island of 13.5
square kilometers
located 1,600
miles east of
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil (20°30'34.72"S
29°19'34.17"E).
It is a Brazilian
Naval Base staffed
by 60 men working
in three-month
shifts. Every
three months
Navy rotates
half the crew
and re-supplies
the island. There
are two ways
to get there:
using your own
boat and a special
permit; or you
may apply to
a long waiting
list to visit
the island on
a Brazilian Navy
ship. Our good
friend Bernardo
Linhares from
Salvador received
an invitation
from his friend
Admiral Jose
Aratanha of the
Navy, which made
the process much
faster. Bernardo
was unable to
go, so he passed
the invitation
to us. We also
invited another
friend to come
along, Fabio
Costa, a biologist
from Rio de Janeiro.
We drove from
Sao Paulo to
Rio de Janeiro
a day before
departure and
spent the first
night on the
75-meter long
Admiral Graça
Aranha, a ship
used for installation
and maintenance
of buoys and
lighthouses.
It would be a
very long trip
to Trindade Island,
three to five
days on the open
sea, depending
on weather conditions.
When you will
to eat and sleep
on a Brazilian
Navy ship, you
are allowed to
stay with the
higher rank crew
including the
Captain only
if you have a
university degree.
If not, you have
to sleep and
eat with the
rest of the crew.
The meals are
the same but
the rooms have
no windows or
ventilation,
except for a
few small fans,
and the beds
are so close
to each other
that there is
not much room
to roll over
after you lie
down. We stayed
in the infirmary
which is located
in the midsection
of the ship and
is the steadier
place since the
boat rolls mostly
bow to stern
(front to rear).
The worst place
is the bow where
the crew's room
is located. Do
you remember
the scene from
Titanic where
Leonardo di Caprio
opens his arms
on the bow and
yells, "I
am the king of
the world"?
Well, on this
ship, the bow
pitches up and
down rapidly
several meters
even on a calm
sea!
The meals were
very good, the
dining room was
nice and there
was even a waiter
serving meals.
The sailors don't
have much to
do after the
second day at
sea - after all
how many times
can they swab
the decks? To
avoid getting
seasick, Jose,
Fabio and I took
Dramamine three
times a day.
Our routine was
basically this:
wake up, take
a Dramamine with
breakfast, talk
a little and
go back to bed.
Wake up again,
take another
Dramamine, have
lunch, talk a
little and go
back to bed.
Wake up, take
one more Dramamine,
have dinner,
talk a little
and go back to
bed. So, between
eating and sleeping,
all of us - including
the crew - gained
weight. On one
of our attempts
to stay awake,
we tried to catch
floating shells
such as Cavolinidae
or Janthinidae.
I got an old
metal bucket,
removed the bottom
and replaced
it with a net.
I asked one of
the curious sailors
watching for
a long thin rope
and tied it to
the bucket. He
said the ship
was going about
10 knots; I smiled
but had no idea
what that meant.
I thought to
myself "10
sounds low".
NOW I know that
10 knots is very
high speed at
sea. It felt
like throwing
an anchor on
the road from
a car running
at 11.5 mph.
The string slipped
fast from my
hands and we
were almost unable
to pull the bucket
back! When retrieved,
it was totally
flattened and
distorted! And
of course, no
shells inside
what was left
of the bucket.
After double-checking
that all my fingers
were still attached
to my hand, I
gave up and went
back to bed.
I think the sea
was very calm
all the way to
Trindade, (I
can't recall
after taking
so much Dramamine).
There is no dock
for landing and
the sea is very
rough around
the island. Our
ship had a helicopter
for ferrying
supplies to the
island; that
turned out to
be a downside
for us because
it went too fast:
other ships have
to use a raft
(called "cabrita")
running on a
cable tied between
the ship and
shore. That process
can take up to
three days vs.
just 12 hours
with the helicopter.
After three long
boring days,
we arrived in
Trindade. We
would spend one
night in the
base's infirmary,
which had the
only vacant beds.
It is not used
much by the sailors,
so we had to
wipe off the
dust and spiderwebs,
especially in
the bathroom.
Have I told you
how much Jose
hates spiders?
Well, he used
a whole can of
bug spray trying
to kill spiders
the size of my
palm in the bathroom.
While he was
bravely spraying,
he did not notice
one of the spiders
which was already
dying behind
him. It slowly
came down on
its silk thread,
almost touching
his shoulder.
He jumped back
startled and
almost crushed
a sailor who
was laughing
by the door....
The only way
to communicate
with the mainland
was by radio
- voice or Morse
code. One of
the civilians
who came with
us was there
to send messages
using Morse code.
It was a predecessor
to e-mail back
then. Nowadays
there is a phone
booth which is
very busy all
the time. Cell
phones, of course,
do not work there.
A TV crew came
on the same trip
to make a short
documentary (a
lousy one as
I found out later).
With little daylight
left, we rushed
to the beach.
Trindade is a
volcanic island
with fantastic
scenery of colored
volcanic sand
varying from
black to orange
to bright red.
The vegetation
also is fantastic
- there are 124
species of plants,
11 of them endemic.
The most interesting
is a prehistoric
kind of giant
fern which grows
on the top of
the island, 600
meters above
sea level. Some
goats also live
there, descended
from some introduced
in 1700 by the
expedition which
brought English
astronomer Edmond
Halley on his
second Atlantic
voyage. The only
other animal
you see all over
the island by
the hundreds
is the red crab.
The sea around
the island is
very rich with
sharks, manta
rays and large
schools of fish
all year around.
Large Green Turtles
come to lay eggs
and are protected
by Brazilian
laws. The most
common fish is
a species of
Balistes (triggerfish)
called Pufa.
Its name comes
from the colloquial
Portuguese "Por
favor me pegue"
(Please catch
me) and is a
voracious species
which will eat
anything. One
of the sailors
took a basket,
placed a piece
of stale bread
in it and lowered
it into the water.
A gazillion fish
entered the basket
which he pulled
up. He then took
one of the fish
punched it few
times with a
knife and threw
it back into
the water. The
other fish voraciously
attacked it and
in a matter of
seconds nothing
was left - it
was like a piranha
attack!
We did not bring
any scuba equipment
as we would not
have time to
use it. So we
snorkeled a bit
(very cold water)
and found a few
common shells.
We found more
shells on the
rocks, such as
Nerites, Trochidae,
Leucozonia and
many other small
shells found
at the tide line.
We used a hand
dredge and brought
some grit back
home. It proved
to be very rich,
containing several
nice small species.
The scenery was
really breathtaking
but you must
be fit to get
to some of the
places. We had
to climb high
cliffs covered
with loose volcanic
rocks but our
efforts were
rewarded each
time we saw a
new beach behind
a hill.
There is a cemetery
on the island
containing a
few graves -
most are empty.
In the past sailors
were left on
the island for
more than 3 months.
That place was
amazing for us,
but I imagine
being stranded
there for more
than three months
without contact
with civilization
gets to be a
strain. Some
committed suicide
using a pistol.
Others jumped
from the cliffs
to the sea –
where lots of
hungry sharks
were looking
for food.
By the next morning
the chopper had
already finished
unloading the
supplies, so
it was time to
board again and
leave for home.
At least the
weather was nice
and the sea calm;
three days later
we've arrived
in Rio.
We took about
200 pictures
between regular
film and slides,
it would be at
least 1000 if
we had a digital
camera!