Trinidad

 

21 February 2014

It is interesting to observe the distinct personalities that these islands have.  Trinidad is a very busy island with lots of people and cars scurrying about. The buildings are higher and more modern in the downtown section of Port of Spain, where we docked, and the whole island is much more prosperous than the others we have visited. It is the second richest country in the Caribbean, next to the Bahamas. Oil industry is a big part of its economy.

Trinidad is only 7 miles offshore from Venezuela and is the southernmost island of the Caribbean. It was “discovered” by Columbus in 1498 on his third voyage.  Under Spanish rule for 300 years and British rule for 100 years, it became a British colony in 1889. Our tour guide is very proud of Trinidad’s Cricket and soccer teams and their massive stadiums.

On our island tour, we saw lots of preparation for Carnival including some impressive floats.  Carnival is a very important holiday for this island – the tour guide said that there are two seasons in Trinidad; getting ready for Carnival and Carnival.

There are some beautiful homes in the Port of Spain area, much bigger and in better condition than we have seen elsewhere.  There are also lots of Victorian homes in the area with ornate woodwork. These homes are now used for colleges and government offices. We stopped at the Royal Botanic Gardens, where the Governor's Palace is located, for a 10 minute stop which turned into a 40 minute stop because of the masses of busses stopping there.  I think we overwhelmed Trinidad with our huge ship.

The drive to Maracas Beach on the other side of the island was beautiful. Again, we climbed up to the island ridge and down to the beach with beautiful views all around.

The beach is a popular destination for the locals and has several facilities for beach goers. There are “Bake and Shark” huts scattered around where you can enjoy a native dish consisting of deep-fried shark on a roll of deep-fried dough called “bake”. Russ and I shared one plate and it was delicious. The restrooms were not as enjoyable – we had to pay for the privilege of using facilities that were not clean, had no paper, no soap and didn’t function properly. Oh well, all part of the experience.

Then it was an hour drive back to the ship through rush hour traffic. Back on board, we sat on the Lido desk and enjoyed Calypso music while the ship set sail for Brazil. That evening after dinner, we watched a show featuring “Dancing Gauchos” using what I would call poi balls (which are the Maori term) for a variation of flamenco dancing.  Very energetic and fun to watch.

 

We were greeted at the pier by some Carnival dancers.

One of the many high rises in Port of Spain.

The Red House which is the seat of Parliament for Trinidad.

The performing arts center.

One of the Magnificent Seven, a group of Victorian mansions in the richer section of Port of Spain.

One of the large residences along Chancellor Road.

A part of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

These are bird nests!

A guard at the Governor’s Palace.

The Governor's Palace. They built a semi-permanent covering to protect the workers and the building from the elements while it is undergoing restoration.

An overlook of Port of Spain.

Our ship became part of the cityscape for the day.

Maracas Beach, a popular destination for tourists and locals.