Valley Vue 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.

... hatchlings in his hand and presented me with one. "Q, for your last night, we're going to have a turtle race." We kneeled down in the sand, set out our two mini-Leatherbacks, and watched them twiddle across the sand, looping this way and that, catching their teeny flippers in bits of seaweed, and finally getting swept away by the incoming tide. My hatchling kicked ass.

My last nesting leatherback was in an area called "Paradise," which is a misnomer because Paradise is the ...

... bumbling and un-athletic people who had ever braved the high seas in a plastic kayak.

And then, as we decided to abort our mission to visit the island, disaster struck a second time. Peter and Lee got swamped by a giant swell as they floated sideways and both of them went into the drink. I happened to be close by when this happened, and it was actually the first moment I was truly worried. As Lee hit the water, she landed face down....and stayed there. It ...

... out onto the Salybia River. We put in at a small bay that butted up against a beach, and we headed up-river. Our nature experience got off to a fantastic start as we passed by a group of men who were standing waist-deep in the river hanging onto white foam coolers. They ignored the rest of my group, fixated on me, and started to yell things that I was glad I couldn't understand and wave me over to indulge on the local liquor. They appeared to be ...

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 ...

... nearly as many piece of equiptment or general space as the PLU gym, but it works for me. Yay for cycling and treadmill workouts! :) This weekend we visited a lot of significant places in Trinidad: the Chaguanas Market, The (Hindu) Temple in the Sea, a Chaguanas pottery shop, Jewels of Nature (percussion and jewelry shop), and the Caura River. Enjoy the following pictures! :)

... of the back of his car outside of the library after our class finished at noon. And the trick is to specify how spicey you want it - I opt for no spice, and somehow manage to get enough spice for my beige-food taste. :) But I'm getting better! It's just a senesation you have to get used to that just is a little weird, but really does add to the already amazing food here. Oh! So a double consists of a sause with chickpeas and an apple spice wrapped in fried bread ...

... joekel van een zonnepaneel en een windmolen!!! Dit moet ervoor zorgen dat we zonder problemen de koelkast aan kunnen zetten, de radio kunnen gebruiken en de laptops kunnen opladen. We zijn superblij met onze aankopen en verheugen ons op het extra comfort dat het ons gaat opleveren. Friends will be friends! Trinidad is ook een ontmoetingsplaats voor zeilers. Veel boten maken hier een laatste stop voordat het orkaanseizoen voorbij is. Al de eerste dag ...

... to Colombia. Venezuela is a poor country made on oil money and the people make you feel like you are intruding on their soil but dribble at the mouth for the American dollars. They haven`t yet learnt that tourism requires the odd smile and good service for people to return. Trinidad was lovely.It was really wierd seeing English signs everywhere and hearing English, although the "pigeon English" spoken is very hard to understand. We were amazed how the language could mutate ...

... things on top. At the night's party, I boasted to people, "Yeah, just call me Michaelangelo. If anybody needs to know where Dexter lives, just drive around looking for a gate that reminds you of the Sistine Chapel." Over the next three days, as I painted the gate fresh white, its appearance began to show signs of humbleness. Dressed in my painting gear - Dexter's old shorts, t-shirt, and cap - I toiled fruitlessly. I had to apply thick globs of paint to ...