Golden Tulip Kapok 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.

... you were forced to do a balancing act amidst branches and palm fronds, and at the last minute, slide down the short ledge, into the wet sand, and sprint to the leaning palm tree trunk before the tide water washed up over your boots. And on this particular night, the last night, I was forced to leap up onto the palm trunk to avoid getting smacked by incoming water, and, later on in the evening when we were forced to leave our patrol zone due to high tide, Amada and I had almost ...

... 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 ...

... passed areas where fire pits had been assembled, and arrays of bottles had been discarded into the sand. And there had not been one single time, day or night, when we had been at this beach and not come across groups of men who seemed to have no permit and no recreational purpose on the beach.

....but there is no poaching, and, from the surface, everything is pretty in Trinidad.

The first time I went to the Dis-and-Dat Shoppe, which is a small convenience store ...

... humid to humid and sketchy. Chris, Peter, and I were located in Zone 13 on the outer limits of the beach, probably 2 miles from the beach entrance. The turtles were acting crazy, and were causing a ruckus on the beach that looked like remnants of a tractor pull. The sand was so torn up, walking was more a process of stumbling over dunes of sand. We came across more than one big girl who was busy digging in the dark and was throwing up the unhatched eggs ...

... Long Beach, where we were there to celebrate the 25 year anniversay of Henri & Gary. That included a pool-side BBQ, a formal dinner, and a Newport Beach harbor cruise. It was wonderful to see old friends there as well. After a packed wkend there, it was up to Santa Barbara to visit Don & Terry (family) for a couple days. It is always great to see them. And, of course, SB is a great place. I wasn't back in Dallas long before I started my first "real" adventure. With ...

... each judging point along the route, we busted out our sailor dance! The last judging was the big one for the National Carnival Commission and Micheal Lucien, who cooreographed and taught us our dance, was in the judging booth so we all had extra (really hyper) motivation to do especially well. I was in the front, and each time we did our dance for the crowd, I could not help but have the goofiest glee-filled smile on my face because it was so much fun ...

Trinidad & Tobago: Used a half marathon in Trinidad as an excuse to get away for the weekend. I was accompanied by another CIDA intern also dying to get away for a weekend. I was blown away by large buildings and traffic lights in Port of Spain. I guess I had gotten used to Georgetown and had forgotten how **** the infrastructure really is. Took a gorgeous ferry ride between Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago ...

... cartoons, whenever someone wanted to avoid Droopy Dog, he couldn't, because everywhere he went Droopy would already be there, waiting, regardless of when and where Droopy had been seen last. Likewise, "Uninvited Oaf" seemed to hauntingly appear behind the refridgerator door of one Venezuelan friend, in the closet of another ... "Haggatha", the witch, in addition to all of her atrocities, jealously didn't pass on messages to David and I when they were left by ...

... It's still there. Will you pick it up now, please?" "Justin, I said pass me the EYE of the salamander and the gizzard of the LIZARD! I have to make this just right. And whaddaya DOIN' handing it to me tail-first? You incomprehensibly witless lunk-head!" "Justin, would you put your foot up on the chair in your mother's house?" "Justin, did you just wake up this morning and not wash your hands? Well, aren't you going to wash them!?" "I'll get you, my pretty. And your ...