Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago!May 5, 2009
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Dave and Port of Spain
Veiw from their apartment and Fran waiting for mini taxi.
This is a cashew fruit! You can see the nut/seed on the...
The original plan was to sail the boat to Trinidad so I bought a ticket out of Trinidad back to the States. Only problem was that Keld changed his mind and decided to keep the boat in Grenada. So I bought a ticket from Grenada to Port of Spain and decided to go down a few days early to have a look. Tobago is supposed to be beautiful and the rest of Trinidad has a reputation for a large range of birdlife but I really didn't have time to do more than see Port of Spain!
Then, I started hearing all the negative stories about Port of Spain! How dangerous it was! Killings and kidnapping! Not a good place for a woman travelling alone! I booked a guest house recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide and decided to be very brave!
Then Boney, the driver from La Sagresse said he had a friend in Port of Spain and I asked if he could organise for him to pick me up. I thought he was a taxi driver! Boney calls Dave in Port of Spain and Dave says he would not even drive me to that part of town!!! I was a little panicked!
We called Dave back and asked if he could pick me up and recommend a safer place. He agreed to pick me up. So Dave picks me up. A really lovely guy. Turns out he is a plumber/ tiler not a taxi driver and is just being nice. He takes me home and introduces me to his wife Fran and baby son Delandzo. They invited me to stay with them and they organized with their neighbour Atril,to drive me around.
So my trip to Port of Spain turned into a wonderful experience! I regret that I did not take more pictures! Sometimes I feel that getting out the camera will intrude on the people so I just have to remember...
There is some great local food. One snack is Pineapple Chow.....here is the recipe. Yummy!
Pineapple Chow
1 ripe pineapple
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 tblspn. minced cilantro
1 tblspn. lime juice
Pinches of salt and pepper
Peel and core pineapple and cut into chunks. Place in a bowl and
sprinkle with the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Cover and chill
overnight to allow flavors to penetrate the fruit.
Another favourite beach food is Bake and Shark. This is small bits of shark mixed with some type of batter and baked then served with bread. Then there is a whole pile of sauces and salad things to pile on! Yummy....
Dave and Fran want me to come back for Carnival.....I might just do it!
