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Offline zuluwarrior

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San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« on: November 29, 2009, 05:32:08 PM »
San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder 
What is the offical name of the San Fernando Hilll and what is the height at its highest peak?     


San Fernando Hill (officially known as Naparima Hill) is a 180 metre (600-foot) hill that rises majestically out of the Naparima Plains. The hill is a landmark in south Trinidad and the city of San Fernando has developed around its flanks. The Amerindians called the hill Anaparima which means "single hill", although some have put forward that it means "place without water". It is believed that the Amerindians used the hill as a place of worship, with members of the Warrahoon tribe (Guaraunos or Warao) travelling in canoes from the Orinoco delta in South America, landing at Icacos, Quinam, Erin and Moruga and travelling overland to San Fernando. They believe that the hill is the home of their supreme spirit and ancestor hero, inventor of the first canoe and his mother their divine ancestress. It is said that up to the 1920's the Guarahoons still travelled from South America to worship on San Fernando Hill and then went to Mount Tamana. According to the Angostura Historical Digest Vol VIII they created quite a stir in San Fernando in the 1920's as they passed naked through the town.
San Fernando Hill is a limestone outcrop of approximately 100 acres. A photograph taken from Palmiste Estate in 1895 shows that the hill was originally dome shaped with a flattened center. Unfortunately for over 200 years the gravel from the hill was quarried and used for road construction, resulting in the hill being reduced in size by approximately one third. Protests by citizens' groups led to a halt to quarrying and the Hill was included in the National Parks and Protected Areas plan of 1980.

San Fernando Hill is now a place for recreation and relaxation. A process of reforestation has been implemented so that natural tree cover is now found on many parts. There are covered areas for picnics and the holding of functions, plus barbecue pits for outdoor cooking. Numerous benches are located on the hill so that you can enjoy the view, which is stupendous. Looking to the north and Northwest can be see the Point Lisas Industrial Estate and the coastline of the Gulf of Paria. The eastern and northeastern views show the Caroni and Naparima Plains plus the rolling hills of the Central Range. As you look to the southwest, the Pitch Lake at La Brea can be seen and in the distance the town of Point Fortin can be discerned.

It is possible to drive to the top of the Hill, however for those who like a more challenging route there are steps which leads from the bottom of the hill at Marryat Street to its summit. For the really adventurous there are several World War Two bunkers on the hill that are not readily accessible to the public. To get to the vehicle entrance to San Fernando Hill you proceed along Circular Road and turn at Soongs Great Wall Restaurant.
 
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Offline TriniCana

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2009, 11:11:00 AM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?



Online Tallman

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2009, 11:42:50 AM »
I used tuh rell explore dat hill back in de day. Picking all kinda fruit, chasing wild dog, sliding down steep embankments, ketching frogs. Going up in de night when Soong's Great Wall have bram.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline Deeks

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2009, 12:11:14 PM »
Zulu,
           I thought Naparima means "no water" as oppose to Arima which means "place of water". Clarify nah.

Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2009, 12:57:22 PM »
I used tuh rell explore dat hill back in de day. Picking all kinda fruit, chasing wild dog, sliding down steep embankments, ketching frogs. Going up in de night when Soong's Great Wall have bram.

Tallman, I might regret this, but what was the goal of ketchin frog? 


BTW: My great great grandmother was Warao, at least, such has been communicated to me by the ancestors, she died a few years before I was born.  Would have loved to do some research into Amerindian culture and in particular language
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Offline TriniCana

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2009, 01:58:21 PM »
I used tuh rell explore dat hill back in de day. Picking all kinda fruit, chasing wild dog, sliding down steep embankments, ketching frogs. Going up in de night when Soong's Great Wall have bram.

Well 100% B that line I'm more interested in.... :devil:


There's so much places I want to see on this visit, it not funny. I'll be more than tired when I get back to Canada :'(

Offline Peong

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2009, 02:03:09 PM »
I haven't seen it in maybe 15yrs.
Anybody have recent pics?

Offline weary1969

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2009, 02:17:00 PM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Online Tallman

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2009, 02:54:01 PM »
I used tuh rell explore dat hill back in de day. Picking all kinda fruit, chasing wild dog, sliding down steep embankments, ketching frogs. Going up in de night when Soong's Great Wall have bram.

Tallman, I might regret this, but what was the goal of ketchin frog?

We used tuh ketch some ah dem for bio lab, but sometimes man used to do dem wikkidness.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline TriniCana

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2009, 07:58:21 PM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(

Offline pecan

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2009, 08:46:27 PM »
I haven't seen it in maybe 15yrs.
Anybody have recent pics?

from my trip in August 2009





more pic s
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Offline weary1969

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2009, 09:18:32 PM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(


On d way 2 d temple by d sea. Come off d Freeport flyover drive 2 St. Mary's Junction cross  d lights drive 2 Jerry Junction turn right at Jerry Junction. Temple by d sea is straight down waterloo rd.
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline TriniCana

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2009, 09:22:11 PM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(


On d way 2 d temple by d sea. Come off d Freeport flyover drive 2 St. Mary's Junction cross  d lights drive 2 Jerry Junction turn right at Jerry Junction. Temple by d sea is straight down waterloo rd.


Mary and Jerry Junctions? Wha dey ass is dis  :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Online Tallman

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2009, 10:29:03 AM »
Zulu,
           I thought Naparima means "no water" as oppose to Arima which means "place of water". Clarify nah.

The original name is Anaparima, but de Spanish change it to Naparima when dey named de town San Fernando de Naparima. It look like dey eh sure if it mean "single hill" or "no water", bit I think most people tend to accept it as "single hill".

http://www.kacike.org/srcc/arima.html

Arima: What's in a Name?
Unfortunately, given that still too little is known about the earliest Amerindian inhabitants, a lot of gaps are filled in by guesswork. One of the most common assumptions is that the name "Arima," means "land of plenty water," possibly because there is a river running through the Arima valley (and this assumes that Amerindians used only one word for all kinds of water, whether salt-, fresh-, river-, or sea-water). This would not explain "Anaparima," or what is known today as Naparima Hill in San Fernando since there is no water on that hill, yet, the word "arima" forms part of that word. One of the translations of "Anaparima" that has gained currency is "Single Hill." That the word "arima" should mean "hill" seems plausible given the fact that the old centre of Arima is overshadowed by a foothill of the Northern Range, today called Calvary Hill. In studying dictionaries and word lists of the Cariban language from Dominica and the Lokono language in Guyana (an Arawakan language), the word "arima" makes no appearance in either case. This poses a problem. It might be the case that the word "arima" is, by elimination, a Warao word (Warauan being the third major language family of the Orinoco delta region). Anaparima was also a major ritual centre for Waraos (also known as Warrahoons in Trinidad, or Guaraunos in Spanish) from north-eastern Venezuela, and this seems to further the possibility of a Warao base to some of the names in Trinidad. However, it might also be a mistake to overstate the ethno-linguistic differences between the Warao, Arawak and Carib groupings, having lived in close proximity to each other for many centuries. Indeed, word lists from Trinidad, a major thoroughfare and transit station for Amerindian groups from across the Orinoco delta and the Amazon, may simply reflect the presence of a lingua franca. However, what remains implausible are the long repeated notions that Amerindians in Trinidad expressed entire sentences in single words, such as the famous belief that the Amerindian name for Trinidad was "Iere" (also erroneous), and could be translated as "land of the humming bird."

What we can surmise is that publications which suggest that Arima was named after Chief Hyarima of the seventeenth century are mistaken. First, the name of the area predates the appearance of the chief. Also, it is not plausible that the Spanish authorities would willingly accept naming a town after a rebel who had "murdered" Spaniards. It also seems odd that the name would be shortened to just "Arima." Moreover, "arima" also appears in the name of Chief Maquarima, one of the five chiefs freed from imprisonment by Sir Walter Ralegh in his raid on St. Joseph in 1595, so it does not seem that "arima" is a word peculiar to Chief Hyarima.

It might be the case that Hyarima is a compound word, combining "Hiari," the poisonous root used by Amerindians to kill fish in rivers, also a very tall plant, and "arima" meaning "hill." The symbolism then is that of a warrior who kills Spaniards like mere fish in the river, and a man tall and broad like a hill overshadowing a small village. Very roughly then we would have a chiefly name that underscores attributes of prowess and skill as a warrior, which we might translate imaginatively, not to mention crudely, as "Poison Hill," or, "Mountain Root" (a foothill might also be seen as the "root" of a mountain), amongst other possibilities. However, this is plain speculation.

The less exciting possibility is that "Hyarima" is another result of modern Trinidadian linguistic creolization, in this case the Spanish name "Hierronima," since there is nothing to say that "Hyarima" might himself have been an ex-Mission Indian who had been given, or had adopted, a Hispanic name, like so many other Amerindians living in Missions or in close contact with Spaniards. In addition Hyarima comes to us from Dutch sources, opening up the possibility of multiple mispronunciations and incorrect transcriptions occurring along the way, much the same way that caniba became caribal then cannibal and Carib and so on.

Two of Arima's most prominent cultural landmarks are those pertaining to its Amerindian and Mission history. The first is symbolized at by the statue of Chief Hyarima, erected at the western entrance to Arima, next to the Velodrome (one of Arima's modern landmarks). The second is embodied in the figure of St. Rose, renamed locally as "Santa Rosa de Arima." St. Rose is often hailed as "La Divina Patrona de Arima" -- Arima's Divine Patron.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2009, 10:01:31 AM by Tallman »
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Offline Peong

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2009, 11:54:51 AM »
Thanks pecan.
I think my earliest memory of San Fernando Hill was when it had 2 peaks, then one came down, then the other.
I remember walking up the trail and standing at the edge of a crumbling precipice where the hill's surface narrowed to a point.
It made my feet tickle.

Offline NYtriniwhiteboy..

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2009, 11:56:21 AM »
skipped nuff classes going up the track in the hill to go to the top. Buss meh tail good and proper coming down once too!
Back in Trini...

Offline weary1969

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2009, 01:24:33 PM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(


On d way 2 d temple by d sea. Come off d Freeport flyover drive 2 St. Mary's Junction cross  d lights drive 2 Jerry Junction turn right at Jerry Junction. Temple by d sea is straight down waterloo rd.


Mary and Jerry Junctions? Wha dey ass is dis  :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


Good Christian names in d heart on Hinduism u must luv it.
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline Deeks

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2009, 11:36:54 PM »
Tallman,
               Thanx for the info and clarification. U is a real borse!!!!!!!!

Offline Grande

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #18 on: December 04, 2009, 12:31:25 AM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(


On d way 2 d temple by d sea. Come off d Freeport flyover drive 2 St. Mary's Junction cross  d lights drive 2 Jerry Junction turn right at Jerry Junction. Temple by d sea is straight down waterloo rd.


Mary and Jerry Junctions? Wha dey ass is dis  :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


Good Christian names in d heart on Hinduism u must luv it.

It had somebody name Jerry in the Bible?

T&T welcomes back...the King

Offline weary1969

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Re: San Fernando Hill--a natural wonder
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2009, 09:29:52 AM »
You know I completely forgot about this place on my list of snapping landscapes....  :beermug:
Like I would love to visit the temple on the sea. But dunno if you hadda make appointment or what restrictions if any are there....Zulu you know?




Make sure on yuh way u stop and c d Hanoman statue and d Indian Museum

uhmmm where dat is?
Yeah man, send meh mudda lass born behind gawd back and get she loss >:(


On d way 2 d temple by d sea. Come off d Freeport flyover drive 2 St. Mary's Junction cross  d lights drive 2 Jerry Junction turn right at Jerry Junction. Temple by d sea is straight down waterloo rd.


Mary and Jerry Junctions? Wha dey ass is dis  :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


Good Christian names in d heart on Hinduism u must luv it.

It had somebody name Jerry in the Bible?

Yeah short 4 Jeremiah
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

 

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