f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

The Trinidad
experience
Blanchisseuse
A Paradise in the Northern Range
Boats at fishing depot
Louis B. Homer
Stephen Broadbridge
Discovering Blanchisseuse is like
“listening” to the fragrance of a perfume,
or letting music flood into your mind—the
landscape, beaches with waves lashing
against the rocks, the faces of content
villagers, and the silence of the hillsides;
everything there is different.
In spite of the construction of many
holiday homes overlooking the beach,
the vegetation and environment have
remained luxuriant. Crystal-clear sounds
of exotic birds all floating in the air add to
natural charm of the village.
And who knows, you may even be lucky
to find a trustworthy friend, male or female,
who would be willing to take you through
the village and explain its rich history. This
would include the old Roman Catholic
Church built in 1880 to serve the villages
of Blanchisseuse, La Fillette, Las Cuevas,
Paria and Brasso Seco. Since then the twin
bells in front of the church remain as a
living symbol of the beginning of Christian
worship in the villages. A short distance
away is the old colonial-styled police
station overlooking a large portion of the
village. The fishing depot serves as the
local parliament of the village. It is a place
where the fisher folk meet and exchange
their views in a friendly manner as they
await the return of the fishing boats.
Two outstanding symbols of time are
two-century-old concrete accesses with
over one hundred steps each leading into
and out of “Paradise Hill,” a small area
of the village where houses are perched
precariously on the hillsides.
If your visit includes sea bathing, and it
should, then include a visit to the beach
that is at the upper end of the village. The
beach is not easily visible from the road
so look for the Wilson Trace sign where
there is a concrete staircase leading down
to Jean Baptiste Bay, opposite the Police
Station.
At the mouth of the Marianne River, the
main bathing area, Blanchisseuse Beach,
extends westward and is approximately
1 km long, bounded on the eastern and
western sides by steep-cliff headlands.
Almost the entire beach is backed by a low
plain, covered with a mixture of coconut
palms, almond trees and mangrove. Where
the Marianne River meets the beach is
suitable for picnicking and camping.
Above all, the historic Marianne River
enters the bay at the eastern end. It was
this river and the washerwomen from the
village that were responsible for giving
the village the name Blanchisseuse. It is
said that when the French explorers were
navigating along the coast they found
women washing their linens in that river.
The village was then unnamed and they
called the river Ladies’ River, but later on the
French named the village Blanchisseuse,
which is French for “washerwoman.”
With the advent of washing machines
the villagers do their washing at home,
but they are still proud that it was the
washerwomen who were responsible for
the name given to the village.
Two years ago, officials of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
started a voluntary project to concretise
the name of the village by doing a mural
on the walls at the intersection of the road
leading to Paria.
78 The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago