Losper

My eyes focus on palm-sized white flowers as I step out into the afternoon sun. A warm gush of hot air greets me as I emerge form the regulated climate of the terminal and at the lush forested hills in the distance. The smell is earthen, tropical; a heady mix of urban culture and epic Caribbean landscapes. I see smoke rising from the fields and billboards promoting carnival and "the sounds of our national instrument."

I am escorted from the airport by a local girl named Jenna. We had arranged to meet via the internet, when I was searching for savvy locals who were willing to spend some time with a first-timer.

I immediately head for the front right side of her car, that which is referred to as the "passenger side" of the car where I come from. "Other side other side!" she exclaimed, amused, as I suddenly realized that they do in fact drive on the left side of the road in this country, as in Great Britain, and therefore the driver is situated on the right of the car. This is the first time in my life that I have been in a car with this configuration, and as she speeds over some of the narrower mountainous roads outside of Port of Spain (we're taking the scenic route) I have to constantly remind myself that the left side is the right side (!) as my instinctual driver-reaction causes me to remain tense at every bend in the road, expecting a head-on collision at any moment.

Jenna proceeds to take me on a tour of the city, pointing out famous landmarks, governmental institutions, famous peoples houses and popular hang-outs. The first thing that we do after we get into Port of Spain proper, after I exchange some money at the bank, is to procure for ourselves a delicious snack of doubles, which are a hand-held delicacy consisting of curried chick peas wrapped in flat bred. Although they are traditionally a morning treat, we manage to happen upon a vendor at the very moment he is setting up shop on a street corner (doubles can only be procured from street vendors) and indeed we are treated to the freshest specimens available. After this gastronomical oddysey we headed to the Savanna, a massive interior park with a circumference of about two miles, around which many people are doing laps in the hopes of getting into shape for carnival. The Savanna is the pride of POS, a people's park that is one of the only open swaths of land left in this busy city. It is a fitting name. The place is huge. A couple of fresh coconuts are procured and we are able to watch the sunset as we sip our refreshments on a nearby bench.

Following this mini-tour I am dropped off my host Nku's house in the neighborhood of Belmont (nearby to the savanna). A professional artist, Nku is an avid photographer who runs his own graphic design company and travels frequently outside of the country. He graciously offers me a place to crash for the duration of my trip and proceeds to display a level of hospitality that continues to impress me everyday...

Nku is a field hockey junkie, a sport that I had never had the opportunity to watch or play, but in his presence I have had quite an initiation into the POS hockey scene.

Trips:

Shorthand link:

1/4/10: Arrival

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Heading South?