Cabritz and Ft. Shirley

Ok, so as promised we made the trip back to Ft. Shirley with the camara and checked out the ruins more extensively. It really is a remarkable place.

This is looking north over Prince Rupert bay at Cabritz peninsula. Fort shirley(the rebuilt part) overlooking. You can see how a fort on this peninsula is in good position for defending the bay.

Cannons looking from the fort back over the bay from the previous photo.

Hiking the saddle (which was cleared of trees during the time of the fort) between the east and west peaks of Cabritz brings you to the north battery which shows the signs of what rainforest plants can do to stone and morter after a two hundred years.

Here is leigh inside the ruins.

More ruins, cannon still aimed north ready to defend Douglas bay, and the British Royal insignia. All around the fort you can see cannons still sitting on the origional cannon stand with the wheels sunk in about 2-3 feet of mud. Most of this site is unexcavated... metal detector anyone?

Leigh doing her best captain hook impression on a 18th century cannon laying in position along the old wall running east and west along the north side of Cabritz, just as the British left it centuries ago. The archeologist in me is going nuts right now... things like this all all over there...unbelievable.

Looking north off Cabritz you can see Guadalupe in the distance, a french island. directly below this photo is a great snorkeling spot called Rose Garden.

These are all pictures of the east side of the peninsula at the Commandants quarters. You can clearly see how stately this two story sturcture once was. It had arched ceilings, and flagstone flooring. it also has two bunker rooms and a tunnel (storage perhaps) leading around behind the structure. I found a cenuries old iron spike- looks like a hinge pin to an old iron gate door to me.

You can see how the trees treat these structures, unimpressed with the imperial might that had them built, they get their branches in and literally rip the stone walls to pieces. Here is a peice of a wall or house suspended 5 feet off the ground... rule of the jungle applies here to be sure.

We saw this near the Commandants quarters. Standing 60 or so feet tall and spiny all the way up, 20 bucks goes to any amateur (or professional) botanist who knows what type of tree this is... and 1000 bucks to anyone who climbs it!

As always here, when we left the park we were treated to the always different, and always spectacular sunset over the caribbean sea...