A very wet dry season

Our first year here, in the dry season, it didnt rain for over 90 days straight.

We may be close to halfway through this year's dry season and it has rained most days. Occasionally, it really rains.

On the weekend, when we went golfing at Moka, the 4th hole was at the confluence of two rivers.

B.

Testing his candidacy

There is noise in the news that Donald Trump may run for president in the U.S. He may be test driving his popularity here in Trinidad by partnering with Angostura and promoting Single Barrel & himself. He is pretty good at that.
B.

Maracas Bay fishing

When visiting Maracas, we always walk the entire length of the beach.
At the western end of Maracas Bay, you will regularly see the fishermen bringing in their catch and their nets.
There are many fishing communities in Trinidad where this hard work is repeated every day.

B.

Kindle Bliss

...is reading a book on your Kindle in the shade at Maracas beach. Of course, I dont read much so there is always the opportunity for me to have bake & shrimp (or for many, bake & shark), beers for TT $10. and body surfing.

B.

Wine bottles dont bounce

We bought a bottle of wine at an auction at a Canadian Women's Club function. Unfortunately, we never got to enjoy it.
The bottle slid out of a lower cupboard in the kitchen and tapped twice on our white tile floor before turning the floor a lovely shade of red.
(I know you are thinking it but...) no matter how good the wine is/was, we did not wring out the roll of paper towels it took to clean it up, into wine glasses and drink it.

B.

Flat Stanley visits Trinidad

A friend here in Trinidad received a Flat Stanley from a youngster in the U.S. I offered to take Stanley to work and to tour a wellsite where we had drilling operations underway.
Stanley got his picture taken in front of the drilling rig..... With a couple of our drill bits.......

On the drill pipe rack.....And with someone who is smaller than he is....I think Stanley enjoyed his day with us.

B.

Trini Sunsets

Our apartment terrace faces west so we see some nice sunsets. We have always enjoyed the summer sunsets in Calgary but in the last month or so, the Trini sunsets have been quite spectacular.
Here are a few of them... This one does look a bit sinister...This is a sunset in Tobago when we were there for a few days.......
B.

Sunday afternoon lime 'down the islands'

There is a chain of islands off the north west coast of Trinidad (in the direction of Venezuela).
If you head out to that area - whether it is to anchor your boat in a secluded bay or stay at a cottage/house on one of the islands - it is called 'going down the islands'. We quite enjoy it. It is a social afternoon - folks bring cutters (aka snacks/appetizers), there is usually a well stocked bar and music. Friends with boats come and go.
There is usually a BBQ fired up...and some of the guests get fired up as well. It is one of the great experiences of living in Trinidad. Going down the islands is a treat for us. We meet new friends each time we do it and it is a fun time for the two of us to spend some time together.

At the end of the day, we cruise back to Port of Spain. B.

Fetes - a cultural staple of Trinidad

Carnival may be calendared for just 2 days before Lent but the Carnival season essentially begins after Boxing Day.
During that time period there are fetes scheduled almost every week. Some nights there are several fetes. They are basically big outdoor parties that are all-inclusive. Your ticket gets you access to open bars, numerous food kiosks and a large stage with several entertainers. Some fetes are huge with thousands of people attending while others are a bit smaller. We went to a couple this year including the smaller Victoria Gardens fete which is hosted in a park within the community. It was a great fete for us.Tequila was popular that night. This was our friend John's turn to stand in line for the Margaritas. Kes performed that night so Mimi was right up front for his performance. Here is a clip of Kes performing......

The crowd had a lot of fun.
B.

Soca Monarch Finals

Soca music is a huge part of Carnival. There is Groovy Soca, Power Soca and Chutney Soca.
We went to the Soca Monarch finals, where they crowned the best Soca performers in the Groovy & Power categories. The event was held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium (Crawford won 100 m at the '76 Olympics in Montreal)The Power Soca Monarch winner recieved TTD $2 million (~USD $300K) and the Groovy Monarch winner got TTD $500,000 (USD $80K). The event was an all inclusive - it included food, your drinks and sponsor stuff (mugs from bmobile, bandanas and vuvuzala noisemakers. The show kicked off with some great fireworks at about 9 pm. Each finalist performed one song. It went on until after 4 am in front of 30,000 fans. We lasted until about midnight. Mimi's favorite, Kes won the Groovy category with 'Wotless'. She has it as her cellphone ringtone now. We were in the VIP section but this special unit was available only to those in the VVIP section.
The D'John Executive Mobil Washroom - available for rent for the next major event you want to host!
B.

Skype with the grandkids

We work hard to stay part of the kids lives back in Calgary. We know that Rebecca & Sienna are growing up quickly. We have regular skype calls with them so they will remember our voices and if they can see us on the video, I can make silly Granda faces for them.
It is a treat when they recognize us.
B.

Training day

Mimi and I occasionally go to the Hyatt Hotel for a drink or dinner. The sushi there is quite good. The terrace lounge looks out on the Gulf of Paria and you can watch the Fast Ferry from Tobago or the Water Taxis from San Fernando come and go as well as the occasional cruise ship. On this occasion, the staff were doing a customer service assignment and our picture ended up in their powerpoint presentation.
B.

Tourist Smackdown

This poor British tourist got off a bus and then, when he was crossing the street, he was hit by the bus that pulled out to go around the stopped bus.He lay on the ground waiting for an ambulance. Finally after 30 minutes, two policemen bundled him into their police car and took him to the hospital where is recovering.
His condition was upgraded from Serious to Stable and they needed to post security at his room so the media wouldnt get into talk to him.

We dont walk very much around here.
B.

Port of Spain Panorama

There is a lookout on Lady Young Road where Port of Spain is visible below you. The photograph doesnt do the view justice but you do get an idea for the layout of the city on the Gulf of Paria.

B.

Visit to Barbados

We enjoyed a long weekend in Barbados back in February. We stayed at a place called Accra which worked out great.

We took the early morning flight and we were on the beach by 10 am.

We ate too much, enjoyed the beach, played tourist, met some nice people. It was a great break.

Note, this is not the Accra hotel - this is just a old house enjoying the tropical aging process.There is a promenade along the beach near our hotel....it attracts a large number of folks doing their morning walk or run. We walked it every morning.

We went into Bridgetown for a walkabout and lunch. It is a pretty laid back community.

The resort was set up very well and was that busy that it felt crowded. However, they were selective about where you put your feet up...

The local police force... have pretty cool police vehicles on the beach....
We treated ourselves to some nice dining (and drinking) while we were there.

I checked the local beer as well - Banks. It is very good.

I am not sure how many motorcycles they sell but the do have a Harley dealership on the island.

We are looking forward to going back.

B.