Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Saturday night we took a van with a group of other cruisers to hear a steel drumming event in a Port of Spain panyard (an enclosed area where steel bands practice). The panyard is in the Lavenille area of the city which happens to be a crime hotspot in Trinidad. Our driver, Derreck gave us stern instructions as we drove out of our cruising hotspot toward the darker side of the country. "Do not leave the pan yard for any reason! Walk directly from the van through the large doors and do NOT leave there! It is not safe. If you stay in the yard, you will be fine." Naturally we walked quickly from the van through the large doors into the pan yard. There we stayed from 8-11:30. As usual, we were the only fair-skinned people there, which always gives one the feeling we're seeing the heartbeat rather than a gussied up presentation of local life. Jesse James and his Members Only taxi service is great at finding events for the cruisers that most tourist companies would avoid. I suspect the area is no worse than the seedy sides of the majority of cities around the world, but who wants to test out that hypothesis? After all, seedy is seedy. Once inside, it was like being in an inner city school yard, concrete everywhere, a warehouse storing drums, trophies, offices, classroom supplies, restrooms and enormous, signs offering upbeat words of encouragement, such as rejuvenation, magnificence, discipline and determination. There were three groups playing, and our favorites were the Renegades and The All Stars. Their enthusiasm was electrifying, an evening to remember.