We were very sad to leave Trinidad but have spent the past three days in ultimate girly bliss, bringing 'Sex and the City' to the beach. When we arrived in Tobago we immediately felt we were living the life of luxury as we were shown to the room we would be staying in for FREE, courtesy of Aunty Mary's position on the Board of Directors... The room can sleep six people comfotably, has two bathrooms and a dressing room. We got very excited.
The next day we got up early and headed to the beach. Store Bay is literally on our doorstep and waking up to be able to see the sea from our window is incredible. After spending the morning sunbathing and swimming, we headed to Kariwak for lunch - an amazing shrimp salad with the most incredible peanut punch. It was actually a mouthful of nutty heaven. Tuesday was spent in a simialr in Pigeon Point. This beach is a short walk away from the hotel and is the largest stretch of beach on the island. Unbelievably, we managed to find a Rituals cafe ON the beach. Rituals is a coffee chain that had a branch close to Mary's office which we would frequent of an afternoon. The sand is pure white and the sea is a beautiful mix of blues and turquoises and we spent the day alternating between beach and sea.
Today we decided to head into Scarborough, the capital of Tobago. After a quick trip to Rituals to get our morning fix, we caught the bus from outside the airport. Scarborough is a small town which gave us an idea of old-time Port of Spain. Our first stop was to visit the botanical gardens, a hilly area in the middle of the city complete with an orchard of mango trees. After taking a short rest under a tree and eating chennets we set of for Fort King George up a very big hill. We arrived there, very sweaty from our climb in the sun, and were rewarded with incredible views of the city and the sea, complete with palm trees and beaches, and a refreshing breeze. We spent a short time wandering around the fort before visting the museum located in the old Officer's Quarters. I got very excited by a collection of AmerIndian pottery dating from the pre-Columbian period.
We are just about to head to the beach for an afternoon swim and are very sad at the prospect of leaving tomorrow. Each time we have left somewhere so far it has just felt like we are starting another holiday! It feels very strange to be returning home after over two months away... See you all soon, love Alice and Hannah.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Saturday, 22 August 2009
We've been busy making the most of our last week in Trinidad, starting off with a return trip to Michael and Jacinta's land for our first spot of WWOOFing... We spent the morning there, digging up a bush of sorrel plants, preparing new holes in the ground with lime, ash and manure, and then replanting the sorrel in the shade of the pawpaw trees. It was tough work, particularly as the midday sun came up, but very satisfying - and we definitely deserved the spring rolls that Michael bought us for lunch! As ever, it was lovely being on the land, working peacefully, visited by exotic birds and eating mangoes and bananas off the trees. Afterwards, Michael and Jacinta drove us up Mount St. Benedict, where there is a turn-of-the-century monastery. We had a delicious afternoon tea, enjoying the cool mountain breeze and the glimmering views of the valley laid out below us, again feeling very peaceful and apart from the everyday bustle.
As usual we've also been busy in Port of Spain, which is very much all hustle and bustle. But we managed to find a break from that, too, in Ellerslie Plaza when Alice and I decided to take advantage of the super cheap beauty treatments here and have a proper girly day! So we treated ourselves to haircuts and waxes, and then, feeling very glamorous, a spot of shopping and ice cream in the Haagen Daaz parlour.
We finally made a trip to the famous Maracas beach - more a national institution than a place to swim - and Alice got to taste the much raved about shark and bake! The beach was, as ever, perfect: warm water with terrific and terrifying waves, pale sand scattered with palm trees, and sheltered by magnificent green mountains. We both enjoyed piling our shark and bake (fish in fried bread) with every sauce available (ketchup, garlic, tamarind, chadon beni, pepper..) and then devouring them in the sand. We had so much fun in the sea afterwards, jumping over and under waves and getting tumbled like little kids by the huge ones. When we got home, we had a really nice, big family gathering with my cousins and uncles
Yesterday we made it out to Asa Wright Nature Centre, a beautiful place hidden in the rainforested hills, which is one of the top places for birdwatching in the world. We learnt that Trinidad and Tobago has the highest density of biodiversity in bird species on the planet; this was illustrated to us by the huge variety of birds we saw just sitting on the veranda drinking tea - at least twenty species or more. The most exciting were the different varieties of colourful, iridescent humming birds which hovered right before us sipping sugar water, so that we were able to see their furiously beating, tiny wings in a blur, and even their thread-like tongues darting out of long beaks. Unfortunately it was raining torrentially, so many of the birds in the forest were hiding when we went on the trail, but we still got to see the rainforest, complete with rain! Also, I finally got to taste a termite (something I'd wanted to do in Venezuela, so I can tick it off my list) - it both smelt and tasted overpoweringly of carrots! And when we got home from Asa Wright, we went to our last party and ate our last Trinidadian roti!
Today we are making one last trip out to see Caroni Mangrove Swamp. Then tonight we fly out to Tobago, for a gloriously girly week of cocktails on beaches! Which will be fantastic, although we will be very sad to leave Trinidad and our family (Alice has been adopted) here.
Love to all, Hannah and Alice
As usual we've also been busy in Port of Spain, which is very much all hustle and bustle. But we managed to find a break from that, too, in Ellerslie Plaza when Alice and I decided to take advantage of the super cheap beauty treatments here and have a proper girly day! So we treated ourselves to haircuts and waxes, and then, feeling very glamorous, a spot of shopping and ice cream in the Haagen Daaz parlour.
We finally made a trip to the famous Maracas beach - more a national institution than a place to swim - and Alice got to taste the much raved about shark and bake! The beach was, as ever, perfect: warm water with terrific and terrifying waves, pale sand scattered with palm trees, and sheltered by magnificent green mountains. We both enjoyed piling our shark and bake (fish in fried bread) with every sauce available (ketchup, garlic, tamarind, chadon beni, pepper..) and then devouring them in the sand. We had so much fun in the sea afterwards, jumping over and under waves and getting tumbled like little kids by the huge ones. When we got home, we had a really nice, big family gathering with my cousins and uncles
Yesterday we made it out to Asa Wright Nature Centre, a beautiful place hidden in the rainforested hills, which is one of the top places for birdwatching in the world. We learnt that Trinidad and Tobago has the highest density of biodiversity in bird species on the planet; this was illustrated to us by the huge variety of birds we saw just sitting on the veranda drinking tea - at least twenty species or more. The most exciting were the different varieties of colourful, iridescent humming birds which hovered right before us sipping sugar water, so that we were able to see their furiously beating, tiny wings in a blur, and even their thread-like tongues darting out of long beaks. Unfortunately it was raining torrentially, so many of the birds in the forest were hiding when we went on the trail, but we still got to see the rainforest, complete with rain! Also, I finally got to taste a termite (something I'd wanted to do in Venezuela, so I can tick it off my list) - it both smelt and tasted overpoweringly of carrots! And when we got home from Asa Wright, we went to our last party and ate our last Trinidadian roti!
Today we are making one last trip out to see Caroni Mangrove Swamp. Then tonight we fly out to Tobago, for a gloriously girly week of cocktails on beaches! Which will be fantastic, although we will be very sad to leave Trinidad and our family (Alice has been adopted) here.
Love to all, Hannah and Alice
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
The past week has been very busy with lots of early starts. We have come in each morning with Mary to help out and then in after lunch have gone off exploring Port of Spain (and shopping some more). On Wednesday evening we went along to a book launch that Hannah's cousin Alicia had invited us to last weekend. The launch was for Trinidadian artist Che Lovelace's book, the first of a series. It was a fun evening and we enjoyed meeting Alicia's friends and admiring the paintings, which were all colourful, vibrant portrayals of Caribbean life. We also had a chance to speak to Che himself, who is very friendly and has literally done everything from surfing to filmmaking.
The next day we went again to an event we were invited to by Alicia, this time one that she helped organise - a rum and chocolate themed 'show and tell'. It was very interesting, with a short talk given on permaculture by Johnny Stollmeyer. Permaculture is the idea of creating a system of agriculture that mimics the relationships found in the natural environment and, as the name suggets, can be continuous. The talk was enlightening, and followed by Duane Dove, a Trinidadian who now lives in Sweden and the owner of a cocoa estate in Tobago and the first chocolate company made solely of Tobagonian cocoa. He even got on a Gary Rhodes program. After the talks we sampled his chocolate and chatted to various people for a while before heading home.
During this weekend the early mornings continued. On Saturday we travelled to what was described to me as the 'deep south' of the island, to Port Fortin and the Pitch Lake, which is quite literally a lake of pitch, the largest natural one in the world. From a distance it looks a bit like an overgrown carpark. Despite leaving fairly early, we didn't get there until past 1pm due to a horrific accident. Once we had arrived at the Pitch Lake we were taken down onto it by a tour guide, who rattled off facts whilst gazing into the distance, as if he was looking at an autocue. When Sir Walter Raleigh came across the lake in 1595, he got very excited and used it to baulk his ship. It is estimated that the lake is 75 metres deep and is thought to have formed at an intersection of two faults which forced a deep deposit of oil to the surface. It is a bizarre landscape, with ferns and grass growing in patches across it. During the rainy season, parts of the pitch sink to form crevices and the water gathers in pools. These pools have bubbles of frequently rising to the surface, made up of methane and nitrogen from below the surface. These same gas bubbles are responsible for forcing fossilised logs and branches, the occasional human skeleton, and even the remains of a mammoth. These human skeletons are believed to have come from a burial ritual that the AmerIndians performed in which the body of the deceased was place on top of the pitch and gradually sunk below the surface. Although much of the surface is solid and can be walked over, there are occasional softer patches where, if you stand for too long, you begin to feel yourself sinking slightly into it and leave a footprint.
The next morning we got up to go to a very early Mass before heading to the north-east of the island, to Toco. One of Mary and Peter's friends from Caribs RFC, Graham, had rented a house here for his family to stay in for a week or two and had invited loads of people for a bbq. The drive to Toco was very picturesque, along a windy road surrounded on either side by forest and, when we got closer to the house, beautiful, deserted beaches. Before we stopped at Graham's we continued along the road a little further to see the lighthouse on Galera Point. The lighthouse was built in 1897 and an inscription on the wall marks Queen Victoria's 50th year of reign. After we had spent a short time walking around the lighthouse and admiring the view of the Atlanic Ocean, we returned Graham's house where, within ten minutes, I received the comment: "Jesus, look how white you are!" as if after 20 years it would be a surprise to me. The house was place right by the edge of a hill that ran down to the beach, a beach that is shared only by two rented houses. The whole area was beyond idyllic. From the sea you could see the coast fringed with palm trees on either side, with no other sign of life other than the steps that led up to the house. The water in the sea was unbelievably warm, and because it was facing the Atlantic Ocean the waves were a lot rougher. We had a lot of fun being pushed around and diving into them. We also met a couple from Doncaster who moved to Trinidad almost a year ago, and whose voices we had heard at the rugby club last Saturday and got quite excited by the northern accent. I also got pink in spite of copious amounts of suncream.
We have already had a busy week, but will write a seperate blog at a later date.
Love to you all, Alice and Hannah.
The next day we went again to an event we were invited to by Alicia, this time one that she helped organise - a rum and chocolate themed 'show and tell'. It was very interesting, with a short talk given on permaculture by Johnny Stollmeyer. Permaculture is the idea of creating a system of agriculture that mimics the relationships found in the natural environment and, as the name suggets, can be continuous. The talk was enlightening, and followed by Duane Dove, a Trinidadian who now lives in Sweden and the owner of a cocoa estate in Tobago and the first chocolate company made solely of Tobagonian cocoa. He even got on a Gary Rhodes program. After the talks we sampled his chocolate and chatted to various people for a while before heading home.
During this weekend the early mornings continued. On Saturday we travelled to what was described to me as the 'deep south' of the island, to Port Fortin and the Pitch Lake, which is quite literally a lake of pitch, the largest natural one in the world. From a distance it looks a bit like an overgrown carpark. Despite leaving fairly early, we didn't get there until past 1pm due to a horrific accident. Once we had arrived at the Pitch Lake we were taken down onto it by a tour guide, who rattled off facts whilst gazing into the distance, as if he was looking at an autocue. When Sir Walter Raleigh came across the lake in 1595, he got very excited and used it to baulk his ship. It is estimated that the lake is 75 metres deep and is thought to have formed at an intersection of two faults which forced a deep deposit of oil to the surface. It is a bizarre landscape, with ferns and grass growing in patches across it. During the rainy season, parts of the pitch sink to form crevices and the water gathers in pools. These pools have bubbles of frequently rising to the surface, made up of methane and nitrogen from below the surface. These same gas bubbles are responsible for forcing fossilised logs and branches, the occasional human skeleton, and even the remains of a mammoth. These human skeletons are believed to have come from a burial ritual that the AmerIndians performed in which the body of the deceased was place on top of the pitch and gradually sunk below the surface. Although much of the surface is solid and can be walked over, there are occasional softer patches where, if you stand for too long, you begin to feel yourself sinking slightly into it and leave a footprint.
The next morning we got up to go to a very early Mass before heading to the north-east of the island, to Toco. One of Mary and Peter's friends from Caribs RFC, Graham, had rented a house here for his family to stay in for a week or two and had invited loads of people for a bbq. The drive to Toco was very picturesque, along a windy road surrounded on either side by forest and, when we got closer to the house, beautiful, deserted beaches. Before we stopped at Graham's we continued along the road a little further to see the lighthouse on Galera Point. The lighthouse was built in 1897 and an inscription on the wall marks Queen Victoria's 50th year of reign. After we had spent a short time walking around the lighthouse and admiring the view of the Atlanic Ocean, we returned Graham's house where, within ten minutes, I received the comment: "Jesus, look how white you are!" as if after 20 years it would be a surprise to me. The house was place right by the edge of a hill that ran down to the beach, a beach that is shared only by two rented houses. The whole area was beyond idyllic. From the sea you could see the coast fringed with palm trees on either side, with no other sign of life other than the steps that led up to the house. The water in the sea was unbelievably warm, and because it was facing the Atlantic Ocean the waves were a lot rougher. We had a lot of fun being pushed around and diving into them. We also met a couple from Doncaster who moved to Trinidad almost a year ago, and whose voices we had heard at the rugby club last Saturday and got quite excited by the northern accent. I also got pink in spite of copious amounts of suncream.
We have already had a busy week, but will write a seperate blog at a later date.
Love to you all, Alice and Hannah.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Today at the Halfway House it was Daniel's third birthday, so we celebrated with a little party of cupcakes and treats, and all the children got very hyper, and consequently very grouchy thanks to the E numbers... But as usual, it was a really fun day - we have been enjoying working there so much. It's so satisfying, getting to know the children's personalities (even the babies'!) and them getting to know us. Some of the newer arrivals, like the very precious Sade (who is about two, and seems to have the most perfectly self-sufficient interior life..), are really coming out of their shells too, which is lovely. Our last day there keeps being delayed! I think we are getting quite attached to the kids.
We've been doing a lot of sightseeing and shopping in Port of Spain both after work and on our days off. Last week we went to Emperor Valley Zoo, which brought back lots of childhood memories for me, and saw lots of indigenous animals. The highlight is always the birds - vibrant scarlet ibises (the national bird), adorable rows of screech owls, brightly coloured toucans, and huge, technicolour macaws that look even more unreal 'in person' than they do on postcards. After that, we wandered over into the fabulous botanical gardens for a late afternoon stroll, and then walked around the Queen's Park Savannah (the huuuuuge grasy park in the middle of the city, where all kinds of sports are played). As we walked back to the office, we took the chance to see the Magnificent Seven - a whimsically random collection of old houses, our favourites being the 'gingerbread' ones, with their faded paint and delicate white lattice woodwork.
We've also gone downtown Port of Spain a couple of times - our first visit took in a lot of the colonial architecture, like the Tim Burton-esque Lapeyrouse Cemetery, full of spindly family mausoleums, and then beautiful Woodford Square and the grand British-built Red House, the main seat of the government. This was even more exciting for me, since I am just reading V.S. Naipaul's memories of working there as a boy! And there has been a lot of shopping, taking advantage of all the great fruit stalls and rasta crafts, plus one pound pirate dvds! (We know own the 6th 'Harry Potter' already, despite having also seen it twice in the cinema on this holiday alone....) And when we are at Mary's for the day, we have just been enjoying patronising our 'local' coffee shop (we have one already).
On Saturday, we went with Aunty and Uncle down the islands again, for a big group event on Gaspar Grande. For the boat trip over, the rain was torrential - we have also been enjoying some really dramatic rain this week, loving the deafening sound of water on the roof and the breeze through the house; unlike in England, it is always followed by brilliant sunshine. Luckily we had some of that sun on Gaspar Grande, so the afternoon was spent sunbathing and swimming in the lovely, warm sea, going out far enough to admire pelicans up close. Alice is proud to report that she actually has (faint) tan marks! That night we went for a little party at Caribs Rugby Club, where we had some great food (of course..) and met lots of lovely and hilarious people! And on the Sunday we went down to the south of Trinidad to visit some more of my family - the Farmers - and had (surprise surprise) even MORE nice food and conversation.
Lots of love, Hannah and Alice
We've been doing a lot of sightseeing and shopping in Port of Spain both after work and on our days off. Last week we went to Emperor Valley Zoo, which brought back lots of childhood memories for me, and saw lots of indigenous animals. The highlight is always the birds - vibrant scarlet ibises (the national bird), adorable rows of screech owls, brightly coloured toucans, and huge, technicolour macaws that look even more unreal 'in person' than they do on postcards. After that, we wandered over into the fabulous botanical gardens for a late afternoon stroll, and then walked around the Queen's Park Savannah (the huuuuuge grasy park in the middle of the city, where all kinds of sports are played). As we walked back to the office, we took the chance to see the Magnificent Seven - a whimsically random collection of old houses, our favourites being the 'gingerbread' ones, with their faded paint and delicate white lattice woodwork.
We've also gone downtown Port of Spain a couple of times - our first visit took in a lot of the colonial architecture, like the Tim Burton-esque Lapeyrouse Cemetery, full of spindly family mausoleums, and then beautiful Woodford Square and the grand British-built Red House, the main seat of the government. This was even more exciting for me, since I am just reading V.S. Naipaul's memories of working there as a boy! And there has been a lot of shopping, taking advantage of all the great fruit stalls and rasta crafts, plus one pound pirate dvds! (We know own the 6th 'Harry Potter' already, despite having also seen it twice in the cinema on this holiday alone....) And when we are at Mary's for the day, we have just been enjoying patronising our 'local' coffee shop (we have one already).
On Saturday, we went with Aunty and Uncle down the islands again, for a big group event on Gaspar Grande. For the boat trip over, the rain was torrential - we have also been enjoying some really dramatic rain this week, loving the deafening sound of water on the roof and the breeze through the house; unlike in England, it is always followed by brilliant sunshine. Luckily we had some of that sun on Gaspar Grande, so the afternoon was spent sunbathing and swimming in the lovely, warm sea, going out far enough to admire pelicans up close. Alice is proud to report that she actually has (faint) tan marks! That night we went for a little party at Caribs Rugby Club, where we had some great food (of course..) and met lots of lovely and hilarious people! And on the Sunday we went down to the south of Trinidad to visit some more of my family - the Farmers - and had (surprise surprise) even MORE nice food and conversation.
Lots of love, Hannah and Alice
Sunday, 2 August 2009
This weekend we have been very busy with various trips around Trinidad. Yesterday we went down the islands to Monos Island where a friend of Mary and Peter's from the rugby club had rented a house and was having a BBQ to celebrate Emancipation Day. After arriving at the dock in Chaguaramas we got on a small water taxi to go across, travelling round the northern coast of Trinidad through a string of islands known as the 'Dragon's Mouth'. Although we have seen plenty of mountains covered in forest, seeing them from the sea gave us a whole new view of them. When we arrived about 20 minutes later in a little cove, we could immediately tell which house we would be spending the day from the number of people, loud music and smoke billowing from the BBQ. The food, as ever, was amazing - loads of salads, macaroni pie, crackers and dips, meat, banana bread and fudge. After we had eaten to our hearts' content, we danced to the soca and calypso music before swimming in the sea. Once we came home, we ate pizza and collapsed in front of CSI:Miami.
Today we drove to Chaguanas as we wanted to see some of the Indo-Trinidadian culture present on the island. We visited the Temple in the Sea, first begun in 1947 by a devout hindu who had moved to Trinidad from India. This current temple was completed in 1995, as the original was washed away. The temple itself is placed on a strip in the sea. The walkway that leads up to it is fairly narrow, with bushes bearing red hibiscus and white flowers on either side. Along the edge of the walkway in the sea there are several small statues left as offerings and a large number of colourful prayer flags. The temple itself is quite small and white, with blue painted details on the dais. Inside it is simply decorated - a carpeted floor and five statues of the gods.
After we had visited the temple we drove a short distance to the Indian Caribbean Museum, a small but interesting museum (that also happens to be much better organised than the National Museum...) detailing the imigration of the Indian population and the contribution to Trinidadian society that they provided. Here they had a small display of clothes, showing visitors what would be typically worn to a Hindu wedding, something that proved to be correct about half an hour later. We had visited another, very pink, temple in the same area, overshadowed by a 85 foot statue of Hanuman, the monkey god. While we were here, a wedding was taking place and we saw the arrival of the groom, accompanied by music and prayers. After spending a while watching the wedding before it entered the temple, we drove into the city to see the Lion House, built in 1927, where V.S. Naipul once lived.
This week we are continuing to work at the halfway house and for Mary. Love Alice and Hannah.
Today we drove to Chaguanas as we wanted to see some of the Indo-Trinidadian culture present on the island. We visited the Temple in the Sea, first begun in 1947 by a devout hindu who had moved to Trinidad from India. This current temple was completed in 1995, as the original was washed away. The temple itself is placed on a strip in the sea. The walkway that leads up to it is fairly narrow, with bushes bearing red hibiscus and white flowers on either side. Along the edge of the walkway in the sea there are several small statues left as offerings and a large number of colourful prayer flags. The temple itself is quite small and white, with blue painted details on the dais. Inside it is simply decorated - a carpeted floor and five statues of the gods.
After we had visited the temple we drove a short distance to the Indian Caribbean Museum, a small but interesting museum (that also happens to be much better organised than the National Museum...) detailing the imigration of the Indian population and the contribution to Trinidadian society that they provided. Here they had a small display of clothes, showing visitors what would be typically worn to a Hindu wedding, something that proved to be correct about half an hour later. We had visited another, very pink, temple in the same area, overshadowed by a 85 foot statue of Hanuman, the monkey god. While we were here, a wedding was taking place and we saw the arrival of the groom, accompanied by music and prayers. After spending a while watching the wedding before it entered the temple, we drove into the city to see the Lion House, built in 1927, where V.S. Naipul once lived.
This week we are continuing to work at the halfway house and for Mary. Love Alice and Hannah.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
