Grocery store in a truck

I travelled behind this truck for a few kilometers on the highway this morning.

Inside the truck was boxes and baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

 

 

 

And of course the requisite grocery cart.

 

B.

What's in a name?

There is a vehicle here called a Qashqui. Nissan named it after the Qashqui (pronounced Cash'ki) semi-nomadic tribe living in mountainous southwestern Iran.

It is a CCUV.

What is a CCUV? Well, it is a Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle.

Dont ask me how I know this. 

All I know is that Qashqui is an interesting name for a car and they are here in Trinidad.

 

A long way from Japan and from mountainous southwestern Iran.

 

B. 

Golf courses are typically not high risk spots for fires. 

 

It is a good thing because at the course we play at here it would take a bit of time to hook up to the closest fire hydrant.

 

B.

A bumper crop

In the Caribbean, in the rainy season, things grow very quickly.

I noticed this on the drive to work today.

 

 

 

Impressive.

 

B.

Great Race

The Great Race was held this past Saturday.

It is a race from Trinidad to Tobago. 

It started just outside our apartment. Different classes of boats but all very fast and very loud. 

They had a mass start, did a quick (very quick) loop in front our place and then blasted off to Tobago.

 

The winner (Monster) got to Tobago in 1 hour and 22 minutes. 

Some of the bigger/faster boats had support helicopters following them.

 

Some advertising cruising by before the event...

These folks were either looking for a front row seat or were in the 'slow boat to Tobago' category.

 

Only 15 of the 26 boats made it to Tobago.

 

B. 

I have heard of a shark attack....

.....but not a beer can attack.

 

This Carib SuperduperCan was seen stalking this perogue at Maracas Beach today.

It might explain why the Coast Guard was cruising the beach. 

 

No injuries were reported.

 

B.

Birthday!

It was Friday at the office.

We had a lime. We also had a cake. It had my name on it!

And it had the grandkids on it too!







 

I enjoyed the cake with a number of my staff....

The funny party about a cake like this is....no one can bring themselves to cut the kids up!

So - we ate around them!

B.

Promotional pairing for hurricane season

Lots of products are paired together for sale.

 

Chips and dip, rum & Coke that kind of thing. 

Here we usually see products like milk or cream that is about to expire taped together and sold 2 for 1.

 

But this one was I hadnt seen before...

You can get a combo pack of Duracell batteries and sardines sold as a 'survival' kit in the event of a hurricane.  

They probably wont sell many here because Trinidad is below the hurricane belt  - unless you really like sardines AND you need batteries. 

 

But as a sweetener,  they even throw in a free flashlight. Now we are talking - I bought two!

 

B.

Trini Travelling Zoo

Or a mobile farm.....or more likely, off to the market.

 

Not my clearest photograph but I can make out goats, ducks, chickens....

 

B.

Deja vu

The floor tiles in our office just failed (ok, we have had a few fail but finally a bunch popped - just like in our apartment). Time to be a bit more persistent with the landlord.

 

Being a 'worksite', one of my engineers marked the problem area with caution tape. It was a good idea.

 

The landlord of our office is NOT relocating us while he does the repairs and I know he cant match the tiles. I look forward to the patchwork solution he is going to come up with.

 

 

I should get some caution tape for future use in the apartment.  : )

 

B.

We're back!

After nearly 8 weeks of being out of our apartment for a 3 week tile floor replacement job, we are back home.

They did a nice job on the new floors and a nice job putting the place back together. 
After making 5 trips to haul our 'stuff' back to La Riviera and unwrapping all of the items we wrapped up and stored away, we settled back in to our apartment.

A couple of lumpy bits - the morning we got back, the defrosting of a bagel caused the microwave to pack it in and the bottom fell through on one of our deck chairs.

I borrowed one of our rig microwaves until it gets replaced.....and we have other chairs to sit in.

The place we were staying in temporarily was palatial, had a great gym but it was not home.

It is nice to hear the birds and tree frogs and see the trees out behind the apartment again.


B.

Rules and guidelines

Licence plates here in Trinidad have black letters on a white background......

 

 

and there are also licence plates with white letters and numbers on a black background.

 

 

But I dont believe there are licence plates with black Sharpee letters on a beige background.   

In fact, I think cardboard licence plates are frowned upon ...or maybe not.

This may fall under the difference between a rule and a guideline. 
Having a real licence plate in Trinidad might be just a guideline.
 

Just like the 80 kmh highway speed limit - again, just a guideline. 
A guideline that costs me dearly when I drive back in Canada where it is, yes, a rule.  A very expensive rule.

 

B.

A promotion 'cut short'

A local store is providing a unique 'gift with purchase'. 

Buy 'back to school' adidas gear and get a free haircut. 

 

I remember bad haircuts when I was a kid.

Imagine a free bad haircut.

 

B.

Tuesday night science

There is a theory (or old wives tale or great advice from good friends) that placing a spoon inside the neck of a bottle of bubbles will extend the life of champagne.  Go ahead - google it.

 

We thought we would test it ourselves on prosecco.

 

After 7 minutes - tasting excellent. Great bubble generation.

 

After 12 minutes - strong bubbles - no reduction in quality.

 

After 16 minutes - consistent bubbles - top me up.

 

After 23 minutes - experiment concluded  - no bubbles left to evaluate.

Nothing left to drink for that matter either!

 

Results - clearly inconclusive.

 

Will try again on Thursday

 

B.

Who has ever used a golf ball retriever.....on the green?

The lapwings are back at it. 

They have my number.

I cant play golf without knowing they are in my backswing.
One squack out of them and you duck and cover....or you are fending them off with whatever club you have in your hand.....even if it is a ball retriever.

This week, there was a lapwing nest just 10 ft off of the green. When there is a nest involved - you dont want to be anywhere near them. Unless you are playing a Pro V1.

Jeff put his approach shot on Millennium's 5th hole just a little too close to the nest.

No one leaves a Pro V1 behind.

B.

Practicing safe boating

You would just hate to lose a fine bottle of rum overboard......or in a flooded out basement in southern Alberta!

B.

Pre-Christmas Sale....in July

Which could just as easily be a post-Christmas Sale.....with minimal sign changes!

  B.  

Learning to speak Trini....by driving around

Stag is a popular brand of beer here in Trinidad.

 

Like any country, beer ads here are big and creative.

 

 

And this campaign is educational as well. 

 

 

While living in Argentina, I needed a Spanish teacher.

 

 

Here, I just go for a drive and I am learning a whole new language!

 

B.

Sunset looking east

Yes, the sun sets in the west.

Occasionally, you get a nice reflection of the setting sun off the clouds in the east.

 

Nice.

 

B.

Sunday at the races

While we are (still) out of our apartment, I watched some boat racing from the balcony of where we are staying.

An Air Guard helicopter was watching as well....

Here they are at the first turn...

Mr Solo  (two 850 HP engines) and his support boat....vrooom vrooom!

 

Going a touch slower than race speed....

 Assembling at the dock...

 

Mr Solo, with the throttle wide open...

 

Another boat, Monster...

 

B.

Spellcheck trivia

I did not know that spellcheck could not differentiate between an upper case and lower case letter.

This was in today's Guardian...

 

Or it may have nothing to do with spellcheck. LOL

 

B.

Hell or high water

From here in Trinidad, I watched how Calgary got hammered by the Elbow & Bow River flooding. I was very proud of how my kids jumped in to help others with cleaning mud & gunk out of their basements.

Katie tracked down one of the much sought after Calgary Stampede 'Hell or High Water' t-shirts for me.

 

I proudly wore it out in the field today.

YYC - so proud of your never quit attitude!

 

B.

B.

A history lesson

Recently, June 19th, was Labour Day here in Trinidad.

T&T’s Labour Day became a public holiday in 1973.  June 19^th is the anniversary of the 1937 Butler labour riots. 

This year, the local Guardian newspaper pincluded an insert which was the actual newspapers of the days around that time in 1937.  

 

Besides the local Trini news and obviously articles focused on the Butler Riots, it included international references to Hitler in the buildup to WWII....

 

and included articles on Amelia Earhart who disappeared around July 2nd, 1937.

 

 

It made for some interesting local & international historical reading.

 

B.   

I have been replaced....

While we wait for our apartment tile floors to be replaced (now into our 4th week), Mimi has found someone, ok, something else to hug.

 

The apartment we are staying in, is in a new building. So new that there are only 6 tenants in the entire complex of 100 apartments. 

 

It has a spectacular view, a great gym.....and obviously, a nice fridge.

If we stay any longer - we could be staying longer.

 

B.