12/26/2012

Even here in Trinidad at the marinas and boatyards Santa visited on Christmas morning with a dingy ride around the anchorage and a get together at the roti hut. A merry Christmas to everyone.

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12/20/2012

The mall at West Falls with it very pretty Christmas decorations and music.

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11/20/2012

An evening dining experience was arranged at The Lure restaurant with a whole suckling pig. There was 37 people from the cruising community who attended and a good time was had by all. The pig looked good and tasted delicious and all at a reasonable price. We now look forward to the next dining experience probably sometime in the new year.

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11/13/2012

Monday 12 November and I was persuaded to go out for a cultural evening down at the board walk in Chaguaramas, it was the evening prior to the main Diwali celebration. The entertainment was a free concert and a firework display put on by the Chaguaramas Development Authority and the Cultural Authority. Also available was local foods and drinks, I tried the corn soup d a bake and enjoyed the food. The evening started with the Trinidad and Tobago National Anthem followed by a traditional Indian group and dancers.

The main act for the night was Mungal Patasar whose is a world famous sitar player and his band Pantar, they played a wide variety of music with some very interesting solos by all the band members. The instrument collection included the sitar, tabla, drums, base and acoustic guitars, steel pans, saxophone, key board and a techno guy was how he was introduced, he added all sorts of sounds to the music. It was a very entertaining evening the music was loud Trinni style but pleasant to listen to. They played for a couple of hours and were followed by a spectacular firework display.

Diwali the festival of lights is observed in the month of Kartik(October-November) on the night of the New Moon.This night happens to be the darkest night of the year.This festival of Diwali is a 5 day celebration with Diwali day being the most important of the five days.Weeks before these five days, Hindus observe fasting, they clean themselves, their homes and its surroundings in preparation for Lakshme Pooja(worshiping of the Goddess of light, wealth and prosperity).

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11/13/2012, Trinidad

A short boat ride across the anchorage brings you to the island of Gaspar Grande where you will find the easiest accessible limestone caves in Trinidad. The water taxi took us to point Baleine landing area which was a former whaling station, but nothing remains of the station. The walk to the caves takes you up a 30 degree incline on the northern side of the island, about a 10 minute walk and then down to the cave entrance on the southern side of the island. You can only visit the caves with an official guide as they are part of the National Heritage Park of the Chaguaramas Development Authority.
There are steps down in to the cave and lights to guide you along, The cave is full of geological formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, flow stones, pillars, ribbon, fringed curtain and more. The blue grotto is a pool of salt water at the bottom of the cave and the light reflects down from above in the crystal clear waters. The cave was quite warm and humid inside and well worth the trip across to see it.

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09/25/2012, Trinidad

Life in the boat yard can be hard work but there are times to escape and relax. On Saturdays I go to the fresh fruit and vegetable market down in the Port of Spin at 0630 hours, where there is a wide variety of vegetables to choose from. The fish and meat market also have a good choice, we have had a red snapper or two for dinner. The shoppers bus also calls at the supermarket and is back to the boat yard by 0900 hours with all the weekends shopping. I then have a chance to do an odd job or two before I head off to Macqueripe bay with a group of cruiser to hike through the bamboo forest for one and a half hours with the opportunity to have a swim before heading back. During the walks through the forest we usually see some Capuchin monkeys playing around in the bamboo not far from the golf course. Last week we had a special treat and saw the howler monkeys, the were being very quiet just looking at us watching them. It's nice to get out of the boat yard for a while and get some fresh air and exercise and Andy gets a quiet afternoon to himself.
The picture is of a howler monkey taken by one of the hikers.

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