International cricket match referee, Devdas Govindjee shares his Caribbean travel experience with all the blog readers. I was joking with Dev, that he has in fact become a travel correspondent for this blog.I am so blessed to be acquainted with such a wonderful human being who loves to impart and share his knowledge and experiences with the rest of the world.
UPDATE 1 ST KITTS
It has been quite a long break for me from sending out a mail updater- since my return from the U/19 Cricket world Cup in Bangladesh I have had shorter stints in the UAE and then in Zimbabwe & then a lovely break back in Port Elizabeth.
The trip out to CPL 2016 started last Monday 27th June with flights out of Port Elizabeth to Heathrow London- from Heathrow had to make our way to Gatwick for the flight out to Antigua for a short stop-over & then into St Kitts.
By the time I settled into the room at the lovely Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino it was 7.30 with my luggage following at around 11.30 pm – that would mean it would have been Wednesday morning back in South Africa ( 6 hours time difference)
Wednesday was taken up with visits to Warner Park for the venue inspections and then an early evening meeting with the two teams that were playing the first game here on Thursday 30 th.
Warner Park is the home of the St kitts & Nevis Patriots which this year is being captained by Faf Du Plessis of South Africa- they also have Tabraiz Shamsi the unorthodox left- arm spinner & PE’s own Jon Jon Smuts playing and have SA’s Eric Simons as coach .
Since all of that, there has now been 3 matches completed and the 4th and final match here this evening at 7. Everything has gone wonderfully well and we have had days off on Friday as well as yesterday and of course match days as well if the match starts only at 7 pm. The Sat Match was at 12 and Sunday we had a 4 pm match.
It was wonderful to get back into the city centre of Basseterre- the Port Zante area in particularly vibrant on the days when a cruise liner docks with all the Indian owned jewelry stores doing excellent business with the tourists – depending on which ship is docked they could be from the USA or other parts of the World.
Sun 17 July 2016
This mail was started while I was still in St Kitts but never got down to completing it for various reasons- mostly as a result of the busy schedule that I have had.
After St Kitts and the matches there, we left on Wed 6 July for Georgetwon Guyana- the home of the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the stadium is called Providence Stadium.
It was my first visit to Guyana and it is fascinating that Guyana is actually on the mainland of South America! Please google the map !! It is Suriname as Eastern neighbours, Venezuela as Western & Brazil as Southern neighbours. It is the only English Speaking country in South America but forms part of the Caribbean.!
Georgetwon has it’s own charm but do not expect to find it anything like a typical West Indies Island- it has more of a colonial city feel with colonial names and statues still a reminder of the links they all maintain with the Crown!
Our hotel was the lovely Marriott overlooking the ocean but also a reminder that Georgetown is a River port with the Demarara flowing into the Atlantic.
Found some interesting walks that we could do each morning along the Seawall remembering that much of Guyana is below sea level.
Each Island /Country in the Caribbean has it’s own currency as well as it’s own exchange rate so one has to get used to having all sorts of Dollars/Coins in one’s wallet.
The atmosphere in the Providence Stadium was unbelievable- having done 30+ IPL matches over the years, this is by far noisier and the locals come out to support in their thousands- getting into and out of the stadium without our Police Outriders would be virtually impossible as supporters line the streets cheering and
waving to their own heroes – Guyana celebrated it’s Golden Jubilee Independence earlier in the year and everywhere the flags of the country can be seen as well as symbols of the Jaguar which is the national animal. The Green/Yellow & Red colours are draped everywhere!.
On Wednesday 13 July we left Georgetown and headed for Kingston Jamaica- we traveled aboard Caribbean Airlines with a stop in Port of Spain Trinidad then onto Kingston Jamaica.
I had been to Kingston a few years ago to do a West Indies vs Ireland Series of matches so it was really good to check once again into the Pegasus Hotel.
Directly across the road is the delightful Emancipation Park- I simply love this concept & firmly believe that each city should provide a similar area for it’s residents- the park has an immaculate 500 Meter Walking/Jogging Track with clear signs indicating to walk only in one direction- from early morning people walk or jog with the beautifully kept flowers/shrubs/trees providing such a stunning setting of peace & outdoor pleasure.
Again this mail has been interrupted and finally I am hoping to complete it today ( Tue 19 July).
In the interim we had a day off on Sunday & headed out of Kingston on a very modern Highway (Toll Road) to Ocho Rios – this is about 75 kms away – we were to experience something very special- a visit to the Dunn River Falls & further on the Island Gulley Falls or the Blue hole.
It turned out to be one of the most amazing days I have ever experienced- the Dunn River Falls has everything organized down to selling a visitor the necessary pair of water shoes and provide lockers for clothes as well as a guide to take groups through the challenge of climbing into the 600ft falls – starting at the base of the falls we were hand-in-hand forming daisy chains we made our way through one area to another – swimming gear is essential because all traversing is through water and via footholds on rocks- it was simply fantastic – with no cameras allowed unless you have a water proof one I did mange to get some pics as one of the umpires had a water proof cover for his mobile phone. They do sell you a video/pics if so desired of course.
The Blue Hole was just as beautiful in the White River Valley and is a hidden gem - paradise in the rain forest
mountain regions. The Cascades of Water falls gives one a Blue hole of 20-25 ft depth for jumping into from various perches and even a zip line fall into it.
There are some pics on my fb page to try to give you an idea of this experience- but it does no justice to it at all.
Anyway- there is one more match here in Jamaica tomorrow evening before our team of match officials ( the other team now in St Kucia having done Trinidad & Barbados) head off to Fort Lauderdale in Florida – we will fortunately have about 6 free days as the 1st match in Fort Lauderdale is only on 28 July.
There has been much hype about this new venture – the first time the CPL taking matches outside of the Caribbean in its 4 year history and playing on mainland USA- the interest has been phenomenal and with double headers also on the schedule it should provide the cricket-starved ex-pat communities something to look forward to. I have been to the venue at the Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) before and it is a wonderful facility so we are all looking forward to being there on a historic occasion.
I have one of my best friends in West Palm Beach which is only an hour away so am sure there will be lots of opportunities for getting to know Fort Lauderdale over the next week. On 1 August I head back to the Caribbean to St Kitts for the play-offs and the final which incidentally will be played on my birthday- fine way to celebrate so far away from home.
I return to SA on 11 August so am now well over the mid-way stage of my 2016 CPL experience.
To view pictures of Dev's trip, feel free to visit his facebook page!!
UPDATE 1 ST KITTS
It has been quite a long break for me from sending out a mail updater- since my return from the U/19 Cricket world Cup in Bangladesh I have had shorter stints in the UAE and then in Zimbabwe & then a lovely break back in Port Elizabeth.
The trip out to CPL 2016 started last Monday 27th June with flights out of Port Elizabeth to Heathrow London- from Heathrow had to make our way to Gatwick for the flight out to Antigua for a short stop-over & then into St Kitts.
By the time I settled into the room at the lovely Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino it was 7.30 with my luggage following at around 11.30 pm – that would mean it would have been Wednesday morning back in South Africa ( 6 hours time difference)
Wednesday was taken up with visits to Warner Park for the venue inspections and then an early evening meeting with the two teams that were playing the first game here on Thursday 30 th.
Warner Park is the home of the St kitts & Nevis Patriots which this year is being captained by Faf Du Plessis of South Africa- they also have Tabraiz Shamsi the unorthodox left- arm spinner & PE’s own Jon Jon Smuts playing and have SA’s Eric Simons as coach .
Since all of that, there has now been 3 matches completed and the 4th and final match here this evening at 7. Everything has gone wonderfully well and we have had days off on Friday as well as yesterday and of course match days as well if the match starts only at 7 pm. The Sat Match was at 12 and Sunday we had a 4 pm match.
It was wonderful to get back into the city centre of Basseterre- the Port Zante area in particularly vibrant on the days when a cruise liner docks with all the Indian owned jewelry stores doing excellent business with the tourists – depending on which ship is docked they could be from the USA or other parts of the World.
Sun 17 July 2016
This mail was started while I was still in St Kitts but never got down to completing it for various reasons- mostly as a result of the busy schedule that I have had.
After St Kitts and the matches there, we left on Wed 6 July for Georgetwon Guyana- the home of the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the stadium is called Providence Stadium.
It was my first visit to Guyana and it is fascinating that Guyana is actually on the mainland of South America! Please google the map !! It is Suriname as Eastern neighbours, Venezuela as Western & Brazil as Southern neighbours. It is the only English Speaking country in South America but forms part of the Caribbean.!
Georgetwon has it’s own charm but do not expect to find it anything like a typical West Indies Island- it has more of a colonial city feel with colonial names and statues still a reminder of the links they all maintain with the Crown!
Our hotel was the lovely Marriott overlooking the ocean but also a reminder that Georgetown is a River port with the Demarara flowing into the Atlantic.
Found some interesting walks that we could do each morning along the Seawall remembering that much of Guyana is below sea level.
Each Island /Country in the Caribbean has it’s own currency as well as it’s own exchange rate so one has to get used to having all sorts of Dollars/Coins in one’s wallet.
The atmosphere in the Providence Stadium was unbelievable- having done 30+ IPL matches over the years, this is by far noisier and the locals come out to support in their thousands- getting into and out of the stadium without our Police Outriders would be virtually impossible as supporters line the streets cheering and
waving to their own heroes – Guyana celebrated it’s Golden Jubilee Independence earlier in the year and everywhere the flags of the country can be seen as well as symbols of the Jaguar which is the national animal. The Green/Yellow & Red colours are draped everywhere!.
On Wednesday 13 July we left Georgetown and headed for Kingston Jamaica- we traveled aboard Caribbean Airlines with a stop in Port of Spain Trinidad then onto Kingston Jamaica.
I had been to Kingston a few years ago to do a West Indies vs Ireland Series of matches so it was really good to check once again into the Pegasus Hotel.
Directly across the road is the delightful Emancipation Park- I simply love this concept & firmly believe that each city should provide a similar area for it’s residents- the park has an immaculate 500 Meter Walking/Jogging Track with clear signs indicating to walk only in one direction- from early morning people walk or jog with the beautifully kept flowers/shrubs/trees providing such a stunning setting of peace & outdoor pleasure.
Again this mail has been interrupted and finally I am hoping to complete it today ( Tue 19 July).
In the interim we had a day off on Sunday & headed out of Kingston on a very modern Highway (Toll Road) to Ocho Rios – this is about 75 kms away – we were to experience something very special- a visit to the Dunn River Falls & further on the Island Gulley Falls or the Blue hole.
It turned out to be one of the most amazing days I have ever experienced- the Dunn River Falls has everything organized down to selling a visitor the necessary pair of water shoes and provide lockers for clothes as well as a guide to take groups through the challenge of climbing into the 600ft falls – starting at the base of the falls we were hand-in-hand forming daisy chains we made our way through one area to another – swimming gear is essential because all traversing is through water and via footholds on rocks- it was simply fantastic – with no cameras allowed unless you have a water proof one I did mange to get some pics as one of the umpires had a water proof cover for his mobile phone. They do sell you a video/pics if so desired of course.
The Blue Hole was just as beautiful in the White River Valley and is a hidden gem - paradise in the rain forest
mountain regions. The Cascades of Water falls gives one a Blue hole of 20-25 ft depth for jumping into from various perches and even a zip line fall into it.
There are some pics on my fb page to try to give you an idea of this experience- but it does no justice to it at all.
Anyway- there is one more match here in Jamaica tomorrow evening before our team of match officials ( the other team now in St Kucia having done Trinidad & Barbados) head off to Fort Lauderdale in Florida – we will fortunately have about 6 free days as the 1st match in Fort Lauderdale is only on 28 July.
There has been much hype about this new venture – the first time the CPL taking matches outside of the Caribbean in its 4 year history and playing on mainland USA- the interest has been phenomenal and with double headers also on the schedule it should provide the cricket-starved ex-pat communities something to look forward to. I have been to the venue at the Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) before and it is a wonderful facility so we are all looking forward to being there on a historic occasion.
I have one of my best friends in West Palm Beach which is only an hour away so am sure there will be lots of opportunities for getting to know Fort Lauderdale over the next week. On 1 August I head back to the Caribbean to St Kitts for the play-offs and the final which incidentally will be played on my birthday- fine way to celebrate so far away from home.
I return to SA on 11 August so am now well over the mid-way stage of my 2016 CPL experience.
To view pictures of Dev's trip, feel free to visit his facebook page!!
