Coconut Court Beach Hotel (Barbados) Christ Church

I decided to take advantage of my paid vacation and spend two weeks in Trinidad and Tobago. My good friend Kevin Fortune, who I met in college, is from Trinidad and was a phenomenal tour guide. I stayed away from computers, cell phones and any reading materials related to the economy and/or the environment. <br><br> <br>

... Several days ago, a new couple arrived...Frank and JoBean, American ex-pats who live on the island of Saba. Frank is a retired optical surgeon, but JoBean still works and has a glass jewelry design studio on Saba. JoBean came to Trinidad as part of a joint project with Nature Seekers to design and manufacture local handmade jewelry, using materials recovered from Matura Beach. Specifically, discarded glass bottles....blue, green, amber, and clear...trash that's all melted ...

... and water bottles that were floating nearby. To the rescue!! Whoop!! Yeeeeeehawwwww!!!! Within minutes, Peter and Lee were once again seated in their double kayak, and Richard was perched atop his single. Ready to conquer the ocean, we turned our tips again toward the island. But something was strange. Peter and Lee looked ragged and floppy, and their technique left much to be desired. I hadn't noticed their technique before, but surely it must have led to the ...

... near the Rustic Shack, he came directly to me. I don't know why. In almost a whisper, followed by a scent of liquor, he said, "I'm interested in viewing the turtles." I wondered, is this what a poacher looks like? We were supposed to have left an hour ago; did he think no one would be here? I pointed him toward two staff members standing nearby, they had a brief conversation, and then the man departed. I went to Francis, Suzan's brother who has been a Nature Seeker patroller ...

... Lord of the Flies degenerate boys had hunted me down and were waiting beyond the fronds to slay me while my back was turned? What the hell was going on with the palm fronds? We finished up with our girl, and I slowly turned toward the patch of fronds waving their silhouette leaves, and began to approach. Then I noticed a ruckus, heard sand chunks slap against the leaves, and realized the shape of a Leatherback who had decided to dig her nest under the ...

Last night was difficult. Team Peter-Chris-Q somehow ended up with a hanger-on named Aaron who, we thought, was a Nature Seekers staff member. We had separated from the other half of our team, as we were now well-trained and able to be out in the world on our own. After some inter-team communication glitches, we located a beautiful leatherback girl who was barely visible in a sandy crater in the nether-regions of Matura Beach. Because leatherback nesting is marked by specific phases, the ...

... animals attacking me, I imagined that I would be the first tourist in Trinidad history to succumb to the choppers of a caiman. The newspaper story would be buried behind the obituaries but in front of the want-ads, so as not to create bad juju for the island tourism.<br><br>After standing there staring at the water and considering my hopes and dreams and limbless future, I confirmed with Christopher that although caimans did indeed live in the Orozco River ...

... Come leh we go, cock in de tree ah crow" And the guys part (chorus again) goes on top: "Come leh we go, an fisssssshh Come leh we go, an fisssssshh" It makes it sound like the waves you'd see on the boat, early in the morning, just fishing. :) It's so much fun! We have to squeeze in as many rehearsals as we can until the performances in Queens Hall on Monday and Wednesday. Queens Hall is like the Benaroya Hall of Port of Spain. AAHH! Fortunatly ...

In cellebration for our friend terry's birthday, we decided that we would have a Pookie. And boy was it GOOD! sitting on the edge of the dock, with a light drizzle falling, we felt like we were still in SA. Except that we were all in our shorts or Bikinis. it has been a long time since we have tasted something so close to the heart.

... six-foot bloody pulp. On the plus side, however, Blue Range is a nice, tranquil place. As the slope of the hill eventually levelled off some, the forest became more dense. Much of the rainforest was trees made of hollow, bamboo shafts that flared out from the soil like shine from a star. Everywhere I moved, winding clumps of tangled sticks and green vines clung to my feet and pulled at my sandals. Sometimes, there would be nothing in front of me but thick, thick green ...