Crowne Plaza Trinidad 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>

... at the Nature Seekers office in the white diesel flatbed truck, as he had most nights. The truck was extra full, since the following day was a Trini holiday, meaning that the beach would be swarmed tonight with mobs of tourists. We took our final drive through the streets of Matura, busy this night with men standing outside shops and bars, exchanging un-understandable jaw-jacking with the young guys on our truck---then lots of laughter and watching them disappear into the distance ...

... bottom of the kayaks. Then I made out the shapes of three heads, floating above the water line next to the upended kayaks. At first it made me laugh and I yelled at Ronald, "They all capsized!" Of course I assumed that they were all fine, since, for godsakes, who would go ocean kayaking without knowing how to swim....right? And they were all wearing life vests. No worries! But it became quickly apparent, even at a distance, that Peter, Lee and Richard could not get ...

The Smiths have a song by this name, and it's rolled through my head more than once in my time in Trinidad. There's a weird dichotomy here that swings between the beautiful and the ugly...the gracious and the thuggish. Warm and friendly locals, clashing with derelict and unpredictable houligans.<br><br>A few nights ago, all of the teams were making their way off the beach and up to the "Rustic Shack"...an open-air structure that Nature Seekers uses as a visitor center for ...

... there what was in a "Bake and Shark". She looked at me as if I was from another planet and said, "Well, there's "Bake"...and "Shark". Well, that certainly cleared things up. And she was right: the Bake part was a lump of fry bread and the Shark part was, um, Shark. It was a tasty sandwich topped with lettuce and tomato. As far as the Corn Soup, we'd read something in one of our tourist books that we needed to heed. It said, "DO NOT buy corn soup from ah Rastaman name "Dutty".

... also come to Trinidad from Guyana--mainly other volunteers with PeaceCorps, WorldTeach, or organizations through the UK and Canada. We ended up just hanging out in front of a little shop on the side of the main road just talking, dancing, and just having a low-key good time. So the ...

... done, I headed off to St Benedictine´s Monastery to watch the sunset (lady at tourist office said it had great views of POS) and experiment with my new camera. It wasn´t the easiest place to find, and the road is accuately described in the guide book as "serpentine". After numerous U-turns I finally located the monastery only to discover that it faced east! With no sunset to gaze upon, I looked at the monestry and wondered what compelled me to spend previous lives in such ...

At lunch today I went to the bank - yet again (third time so far) to try to open a new account. I had heard so many negative things about the Royal Bank so I decided to try Scotia. Mistake #1. The day before, the Royal Bank said that I needed ID and a letter from my employer. At Scotia, it's a whole other story. They want more photo ID - I can't imagine what else they would need since I presented them with my passport, birth certificate ...

... for four if not for crafty Merlowe Elwidge, playing left-side hunchback henchman funny hat positioned at rear admiral, who himself was goosed out on a hamstring before wicket, and his slap-hand to the team's giant grass-hopper, who stomped Tashikiwan." Streets surrounding Port of Spain's "The Oval" sporting complex were bustling, apparently to see the giant chirping insects. I paid $30 (US$5) and entered into the seat-less common grounds. When the day's play began ...

... We drove to his uncle's boat. We left the forest-conquered green mountains of Trinidad's main island and sped to a smaller, more peaceful island and its clear blue Chacachacare Bay. In this setting, we "limed," which means we hung out. Helping Dexter and I make quick work of the rum and scotch in the cooler were Dexter's parents and a crazy Canadian named Shawn. I hadn't seen Shawn since I originally went "limin' with the Trinis" with Dexter and friends at Shawn's house in Miami. It ...