From Caracas to Maracas
There is a wonderful beach around 20 miles away from Port of Spain called Maracas. It is probably the most famous beach in Trinidad with fine white sand and very tall palm trees. During the weekends, it is THE place to go to, and thousands of people descend on it for a day out, to swim and to eat the famous Bake and Shark, which is a delicious sandwich made of shark meat and salad.
One Sunday I couldn´t find a ride to Maracas beach and taxis wanted to charge an arm and a leg just to take me one way so I decided to make a sign and to hold it up on the main road in Port of Spain heading out to Maracas. I wasn´t expecting the reaction that I got from passing motorists. People were stopping their cars on the side of the road and taking pictures of me, or taking pictures from their cellphones as they passed. Cars were honking their horns and people were yelling words like ´nice one´ or ´I like it´. One driver stopped his car and offered me rum if I let him take my picture.
Eventually a car with 3 young ladies stopped and after taking my picture, they said I could join them for the ride to Maracas. The ride was nice and we had a good laugh. Apparently, they had passed me and then done two u-turns to pick me up. They told me that no one ever hitches a ride in Trinidad or makes a sign because it is not part of the culture and is a dangerous thing to do. Crime is rising in Trinidad & Tobago and there are areas in Port of Spain which are not safe to go to, especially at night. Foreigners have also been targetted. But if a tourist is street-wise and generally aware of their surroundings, they should be fine.
At the beach, I joined my new friends in having a big feast with homemade food and hanging out with their families. Everyone around me was celebrating something or other and there was plenty of home made food in every social circle. At sunset, there was an exodus from Maracas beach and the girls were kind enough to give me a lift back to my accommodation in Port of Spain.
There is a wonderful beach around 20 miles away from Port of Spain called Maracas. It is probably the most famous beach in Trinidad with fine white sand and very tall palm trees. During the weekends, it is THE place to go to, and thousands of people descend on it for a day out, to swim and to eat the famous Bake and Shark, which is a delicious sandwich made of shark meat and salad.
One Sunday I couldn´t find a ride to Maracas beach and taxis wanted to charge an arm and a leg just to take me one way so I decided to make a sign and to hold it up on the main road in Port of Spain heading out to Maracas. I wasn´t expecting the reaction that I got from passing motorists. People were stopping their cars on the side of the road and taking pictures of me, or taking pictures from their cellphones as they passed. Cars were honking their horns and people were yelling words like ´nice one´ or ´I like it´. One driver stopped his car and offered me rum if I let him take my picture.
Eventually a car with 3 young ladies stopped and after taking my picture, they said I could join them for the ride to Maracas. The ride was nice and we had a good laugh. Apparently, they had passed me and then done two u-turns to pick me up. They told me that no one ever hitches a ride in Trinidad or makes a sign because it is not part of the culture and is a dangerous thing to do. Crime is rising in Trinidad & Tobago and there are areas in Port of Spain which are not safe to go to, especially at night. Foreigners have also been targetted. But if a tourist is street-wise and generally aware of their surroundings, they should be fine.
At the beach, I joined my new friends in having a big feast with homemade food and hanging out with their families. Everyone around me was celebrating something or other and there was plenty of home made food in every social circle. At sunset, there was an exodus from Maracas beach and the girls were kind enough to give me a lift back to my accommodation in Port of Spain.
Hitting Skype before hitting the sky
When I was leaving Trinidad, at the airport I realised that I had not informed my bank or credit card company that I was flying to Colombia, and I needed to Skype them. The airport did not have any internet facilities but had wifi so people were using their laptops all over the airport. I managed to find a guy to let me use his mini laptop to Skype my bank and credit card company, while seated in a fast food restaurant.
The flight to Bogota from Port of Spain was via Panama City, which is a major route for most airlines. That airport is massive and has about a million gates. The currency is the Balboa but you have more of a chance of finding Rocky Balboa than a Panamanian Balboa, because it doesn´t exist. Their notes are all US Dollars but they call them Balboas for some bizarre reason.
When I was leaving Trinidad, at the airport I realised that I had not informed my bank or credit card company that I was flying to Colombia, and I needed to Skype them. The airport did not have any internet facilities but had wifi so people were using their laptops all over the airport. I managed to find a guy to let me use his mini laptop to Skype my bank and credit card company, while seated in a fast food restaurant.
The flight to Bogota from Port of Spain was via Panama City, which is a major route for most airlines. That airport is massive and has about a million gates. The currency is the Balboa but you have more of a chance of finding Rocky Balboa than a Panamanian Balboa, because it doesn´t exist. Their notes are all US Dollars but they call them Balboas for some bizarre reason.
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