St. Joseph 10 November 2007 Les på norsk

A tale of beauty

**A HINT OF THE CARIBBEAN** Raquel Joseph from St. James had her debute as a photomodel together with us at Underveis. We invited her to go on a short jungle trek with us, and gave ourselves the work title "Beauty". Both the nature and the people here have taken to us with their beauty.

NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES

ST. JOSEPH: Trinidad and Tobago is blessed with an incredibly beautiful nature. Lavish, emerald green and quite overwhelming for a Norwegian. Also the people here, who originate from all the corners of the world, are beautiful.

**WATERPOND** A small river cut through the forest, and just beneath a small waterfall, a shallow pond with some fisk in it. The fish tickled our toes as we waded around the pond photographing Raquel, who posed as if she had been a super model all her life.

FACTS ABOUT THE RAINFOREST

The tropical rainforests encompass some of the most varied and species-rich ecosystems on earth. Originally, the tropical rainforest covered some 12 million km2, today between 7-8 million km2 remain. If the destruction of tropical rainforests continue with todays speed, practically all of it will be gone in 40 years.
The rainforest in Trinidad and Tobago is considered some of the last completely untouched rainforest on the planet.
# South-America, with the Amazonas, Eastern Brazil, the West Indies and Latin-America comprises the largest rainforest area, and makes up around 57 per cent of the worlds total tropical rainforest.
The climate in these regions is caracterized by: High temperatures, an annual average of 25 – 27 degrees centigrade. Lavish precipitation, frequent rainshowers: Minimum 2,000 mm a year, often more. Few seasonal variations, the climate remains the same all year around. Soil: Poor laterite earth. Rapid transformation of decaying branches and foliage into energy for growing vegetation.
The animal life is caracterized by a large number of species, but relatively few specimen of each species. Like the plants, the animals also live in different levels or stories of the rainforest.
Many scientists believe that there are around 50,000 different sorts of trees in the tropical rainforest. (Norway has fewer than 30). The rainforest today represents the last ecological treasure hold of the world, and no one knows what we may be missing out on if the plants and animals are wiped out. Close to 1,000 species are extinct every year.

(Sources: Oslo University, Aftenposten)

**RAINFOREST** The rainforests in Trinidad and Tobago are reckoned as one of the last untouched rainforests in the world. Hot, damp and green, withan abundance of animals, fish and birds everywhere.

**NOT PIRANHAS** In the river small fish swam about, tickling our toes as we waded around looking for the perfect photo location.

St. Joseph, 10.11.2007