Copper Kettle Hotel Port of Spain

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>

... amazingly proficient in creating little works of art that I'd actually wear. On the first day of glass melting, I nosed around in the workshop to see what was going on...I was a little concerned at the odd blobby shapes of the jewelry that were appearing. Sort of along the lines of a macaroni string necklace that mom and pop wear just because the kid makes it. On the first day of glass melting, I would have bought one of the pieces, because by then I knew these guys and they ...

... and our guide were fading into the distance.<br><br>I looked for dolphins, sure that I was bursting along at speeds great enough to entice them into my bow line. I looked for sharks. I looked for whales. And, of course, I looked for turtles. All the while totally oblivious that the pack behind us was dropping further and further back. Finally, Ronald and I were cruising along behind the sweet and wild island, a dense cluster of tropical trees standing firmly ...

... that the guests at Suzan's have money, and cameras, and computers locked up neat and tidy in their rooms. Baptiste stays behind to keep the intruders at bay.<br><br>This afternoon, our one day off of the project, I was enjoying a nice afternoon lounge on the second floor terrace of Suzan's. The terrace overlooked Suzan's overgrown garden and, beyond, forest and jungle. This is where Trinidad's beauty is best on display...in the wildness of the flowers and birds and trees, in ...

... The final Carnival event for us was the Mardi Gras Parade of Bands. We were picked up at 6:30 am so that we could get good seats in the stands and we watched hour after hour of bikini-clad men and women shimmy and shake all their sparkles and other things. Anyone can "march" in the parade and regardless of the body shape or size, the "costumes" are tiny. Obviously a large number of these people did not read the directive we saw which was "DO NOT wear ah size Small ...

... rolled over, 'doubled'; get it? They come off the line about 5-6 per minute by a guy who resembles nothing more than a DJ wowing the crowd with his mixes. The trick is to eat them before the goop drips all over you and starts to get embarrassing- true fast food; eat it fast. It's also **** food. Mexican food can't hold a candle to this stuff. Don't try that at home. The music is good and the bars stay open all night on weekends. The food ...

... were blasting everyone with water from a huge hose...and everyone was just shouting and dancing around in the water, trying to get all of the paint and mud off. It was really amazing to experience this with so many people doing the same crazy thing. After J'ouvert we got back to the ...

Again hiring a car from the airport in Trinadad I headed for downtown Port of Spain (POS). With around 1.5 million people on this island, opposed to about 85,000 on Tobago, the roads are much better, faster and crazier! The people here are also less laid back, and a sense of urgency became apparent as I endeavoured to cross intersections in downtown. There are often no traffic lights, so everyone nudges across these intersections at the same time whilst attempting to dodge ...

... her upper lip out. The beautiful, blonde, bird-speaking Yennifer who shows her pink gums. Quiet Jasmine, who's delighted to talk to anyone. Javier and his Addams family moustache, whose head bursts backward into a crescent smile and low-pitched boom. "I'm better for the smile you give." - Phil Collins (Genesis), "Follow You, Follow Me" It's great. Hopefully, a bit of it rubbed off on me. More on my friends later. Have a nice one, Modern Oddyseus

... in body armor. They were the favorite toy of my best friend, Chris, and I as kids, and we spent eight hours a day creating Tolkien-like worlds with them. The crocodile represented my character, and though he was often up against a whole world of cobras and piranhas and weasels with machine gun arms, I never lost. It was a great era. Thirdly, I came with $320 and hopes of taking myself around South America with it. I was well-prepared for when my college friend, Brendan, picked ...