Caribbean Update- Tuesday 21 July 2015
Greetings from Port of Spain in Trinidad
It has been a Month since my last update which was from the Island/Country of Barbados & since then I have moved to the smaller island of St Kitts & Nevis & from there through to the much bigger Trinidad.
So much cricket has been played at this CPL T20 event and so much of sight-seeing has been done that I shall try to keep this update short and not go into too many details lest it becomes far too long to make an enjoyable read- and yet I do hope to capture the essence of the Caribbean and the fascination that it has provided for me.
With trepidation one takes the LIAT flight out of Barbados as the L.I.A.T has often been given descriptions such as “Luggage in any Terminal” – or “Late in All Travel” etc – thankfully other than some delays the luggage arrived safely at both St Kitts as well as here in Trinidad.
St Kitts & Nevis- Either side of this quaint island country ( a federation together with the smaller Nevis) one finds the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and “the Narrows” is the passage across to the much smaller Nevis.
Arrived in St Kitts on Sunday 28 June from Bridgetown Barbados via Antigua ( this is common practice in the Caribbean with virtually no direct flights between the islands which are all independent countries as explained in my Barbados update.
The trip from the Robert L Bradshaw airport to the Marriott Resort & royal Beach Casino was a mere 10 minutes- what a wonderful location we had in the Marriott – situated in the Frigate Bay of St Kitts the resort was sheer paradise- massive in size as it has not only the main hotel but many blocks scattered around – with all sorts of swimming pools, a Pizza Shack and restaurants as well as the Casino ! As it is also geared up for time-share users there are tennis courts and the health spa with all the usual mod cons that go with it!
Anyway, As Urmila and her sister together with my brother-in-law from Florida joined me at St Kitts it proved an ideal place to spend family time together- an Island tour with the umpires gave us a 5 hour trip taking us to the historical Brimstone Hill fortress and also a stop at the famous Caribelle Batik place- set on historical land with marvelous landscaping.
From the hotel there was easy access within walking distance to restaurants and The Strip – many pub/like places which are all along the Caribbean Sea side of Frigate Bay and which all come alive at night with tourists.
A short cab ride from the hotel takes one into the Port Zante part of the Island- regular docking of Luxury Cruise liners makes the area the perfect place for the souvenir shopper- jewellery stores all over and some lovely places for the beers and the food! In the central area called the Circus there were many places of interest and one could spend many hours roaming freely around the areas taking in all the local vibes.
Naturally the focus for me would be the CPL 2015 and the stadium at St Kitts was also right in the city – our match-day travel was a mere 15 mins and all matches played by the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots drew enthusiastic local support with a fair amount of spectators also supporting the visiting teams – either Guyana, Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad or Jamaica.
We also managed on one of the free days to take a ferry/barge across to Nevis- wonderful day spent- have never seen so many delicious mangoes hanging on trees all over the island! Had organized a mini cab to meet us when we docked after the 30 mins or so crossing – spent another 4-5 hours touring the island- highlight being a stop at the Four Seasons hotel- certainly the playground for the rich & Famous and also lunch at The Oasis in the Garden – a Thai restaurant set in the magnificent Botanical Gardens – stunning.
The family flew back to Florida whilst Urmila flew out to Trinidad a day earlier than I did- got here on Sunday 12 July – she spent a week here and has returned to the USA to spend some time with our good friends in West Palm Beach before going back to her sister and then heading out to PE around the time I get home which will be on the 29th.
Trinidad is entirely different- it is a big island in comparison to Barbados and St Kitts & Nevis.
The Hilton hotel set on a hill provides beautiful views down to the Queens Park Savannah – the biggest roundabout in the world- a lovely 3.5km walk around – and at intervals one finds these decorated carts that offer ice cold Coconut Juice- freshly prepared right there!
The Queens Park Oval proved to be quite special- the population in Trinidad is far more diversified with Indians forming the bulk of the local population.
The vociferous and noisy steel band support for the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel team was something to behold –have never heard so much noise at a cricket match- wonderful atmosphere they create with a public that know how to enjoy themselves at such events.
Am now into my final week in the Caribbean- the CPL tournament has been one amazing opportunity and the experience incredible- have 3 free days before the play-offs start on Thursday and Sat and then the Final on Sunday before I head back to PE- 6 weeks is a long time and am now looking forward to getting home- even thought the winter that awaits me will be in direct contrast to the warm weather of the Caribbean.
Shall enjoy my last few days here and take in as much of Trinidad as possible- yesterday visited some Temples- The Temple in the Sea in Waterloo which has a fascinating background of the determination of an Indian indentured labourer wanting to build a place of worship and also the 85ft Hamuman Statue at the Datttatreya Mandir which has become quite an attraction for those visiting Port of Spain.
We are hoping to get across to Tobago for a visit on Friday. The sea journey across will be about 2.5 hrs.
When in Trinidad one has to eat “Doubles” – I did that yesterday- what a treat- and it is Veggie! Google it!
My next update will be from PE!
Always
Just
deV
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