Hyatt Regency 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.

... These are the important lessons in my life...to see value and maintain strong character at the times when it feels most difficult. And because this was my last night on Matura Beach, and similar to my feelings about the people I met, I believed this was the last time I'd ever be here in my life.

So I paid special attention to all of the unique little characteristics of the beach this night, even the things that had driven me crazy....like the sand ledge in Zone 11 ...

... all of our teammates had disappeared. We assumed that Rodger and the guide had simply looped out of our sight to the far side of the island...but where were the others? I looked back and far off in the distance, between the rise and fall of the swells and the glints of sun bouncing off the water, I made out the shapes of two kayaks. But I didn't see any people. And the kayaks looked strange. I squinted and squinted and realized that was I was looking at was ...

... were not consistent with net entanglement or other fishery-related activity. These animals had large holes in their shoulders and crushed carapaces and one even had skull damage. And every night there were footprints leading out across the sand in places were Nature Seekers had not yet gone. And many times, it appeared there were sticks standing vertically in the sand in the exact spots where Leatherbacks had laid their nests. On our nightly walks on the beach, we ...

... up to a mini-rapids and dragged our kayaks over the rocks and onward until reaching a sandbar and some deep, dappled pools of water. We spent the afternoon alternating between paddling, swimming in the jungle water, re-entacting a photo shoot from Sports Illustrated, and scenes from Tarzan in which Ronald and Peter shared the role of Tarzan swinging from vines into the river.

During our night patrol of the beach, the weather had turned from moonlit ...

Well, it has been a crazy adventure, so far. Departing Ottawa at the end of July, and having the chance to visit family on my way back to Dallas (via Toronto) was another pleasure. Reconnecting with Mom & Dad especially, including a quick day trip to Niagara Falls was all good fun. It was a nice trip back to Dallas before Steve and I hopped a plane to California. We started with a fantastic day trip to Catalina Island. Hard to believe that we never got there before. We stayed ...

... with everyone else, regardless of age or size or race. Thousands, literally thousands of people participating in this joyous, hyper, friendly event for miles through downtown Port of Spain was just wonderful, and I feel blessed to be a part of it. The Trinis know how to throw a celebration, let me tell you!! The mas band us "whities" ^^; were a part of was the Mount Hope Connection whose theme this year was "A sailor is ah sailor is ah sailor," and as we ...

... of Joel's friends/family, checking out the nitelife, and of course going to the beach! The beach was absolutely amazing and I nearly had a heart attack on the drive up there because we drove up and down this big moutain so we could see the landscape really well. It was absolutely gorgeous.

... our co-workers. Her drive as an endless power struggle with her fellow employees with the ultimate goal of getting each other fired. "Uninvited Oaf" - like many Trinidadians who openly admitted to me of having no friends - was lonely. So, he tried to friend-rape the Venezuelans by stalking all of them into their houses and forcing his frustrated, interest-lacking speeches on them. My roommate, David, said of him, "He is like Droopy." David reminded me that in ...

... lip limps as steadfastly as a building ledge supporting a gargoyle. Of course, it's unfair of me to speak this way without allowing her to defend what she has against me. I figure she'd probably provide for evidence the events that led her to make the following remarks: (Imagine the screeching voice of a lady so shocked you forgot to replace a chair you moved that she's become violently sick to her stomach) "Justin. Good morning-last night you drank a plastic cup on the ...