The Emerald Apartments & Plaza Trinidad

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.

... we moved on toward the beach. Arrival at the "Rustic Shack" and lots of pictures, everywhere, everyone, not wanting to forget the faces that I'm realistically certain I won't ever see again. And then the dark walk from the Rustic Shack to the beach, where the sound of human voices was replaced by the pound of the high-energy ocean. I was already exhausted, even before the trudge through the soft sand began this night, worn down by the shifty-wifty schedule, high seas rescues ...

... into their vessels.

So like something out of a scene from Baywatch, Ronald and I went into action, blasting across the ocean, the gap between us and our floating teammates closing at warp speed. We arrived in time to see Lee, with the help of Richard, attempting to hoist herself back into her seat. But to no avail, the kayak danced to-and-fro, and she was flung back into the ocean. Ronald and I zoomed up on both sides, expertly grabbing the bobbing ...

... that evening, she never mentioned it. In fact, she invited us all in to the living room to watch a DVD slideshow of her and Baptiste's wedding. I watched her when she didn't see me, and she smiled and smiled at the photos of her happy day streaming across the television screen.

There's something rough about this place with a strange beauty that meets you in most moments, but with a violence that's underneath the surface, swirling about, waiting to explode.

love,Q

This was our first time to participate in a Carnival Parade in Port of Spain Trinidad. Trinidad has one of the largest Carnival celebrations after Mardi Gras. We joined the group called Pulse 8 and danced through the streets of Port of Spain for two days. Our group had about 1000 people. When you join a group - you pay a lot of money and get a costume, all you can drink for two days, food, trucks with large ...

... last night and so far it's gorgeous. the water is that shocking aquamarine that is so enticing. i'm getting terribly brown and lazy. a bit rotund as well because the food is sooo good in the west indies! roti is my new best friend (sorry devon). roti is an indian bread but it's made differently here. they wrap veggies or meat in them like a burrito. it's spicy and deeeelicious! signing off to go and get my snork on... tin tin

... rhymes with shpeel shpan. Words can not express how excited I am to be taking a formal music class and learning a new insturment in its native culture! Two nights ago, Mr. Fullerton, a good friend of our program director, Barbara, took us on a late-evening tour of 2 mas camps and 3 pan yards. What are mas camps and pan yards you ask? This massive nation-wide celebration called Carnival takes place on Feb 4th and 5th, and basically everything shuts down to celebrate ...

... with coolers holding all kinds of beautiful rum drinks and water for the revellers. On Monday and Tuesday, people parade around the city in these "bands" and they drink and party all day long. The party goes from one end of the city to the other, and then goes back to the park and starts over the next day. It is said that the carnival activities rival those in Rio and top the festivals in New Oreleans. After Carnival, we flew over to Barbados to wait for the rest of the surveyors and boats to arrive.

... more entertainment as the hull needed cleaning. The hull was heavily coated in barnicles, crabs, sea enamies, and even some brain coral. We all spent the morning diving underneath with snorkelling gear and scrapping the wildlife off the hull. For all you yachties it was three foot deep flat hull with a 10 foot keel. Hundreds of local fish swam around us eating the falling coral. Very cool. Off to Trinidad on wednesday. Big Love dan & Kat Cooper Out

... the front gate. Dexter was beside me washing the car. I was in high spirits. I said, "I think it's pretty impressive that I only graduated from college in May, and I already have a job as a painter!" "There are lots of people who'd like to be in your position right now, boy," said Dexter. "I'm climbing the corporate ladder." It was a tough and tedious climb. The gate - my canvas, if you will - was twenty feet long. It was solid only at the top, in the ...