Trinidad, land of surprises

We came to Trinidad with no expectations. The insurance company wanted us South for hurricane season and from a latitude standpoint, Trinidad appeased them.

Moko Jumbies at the Independence Day Parade

Other than the antiquated bureaucracy other cruisers warned us about, we came with no preconceived notions and welcomed at face value what the locals wanted to share with us. What we found is this: the people of Trinidad are genuine. They are making money elsewhere so they don't really rely on tourism, there is none of that "please-get-out-of-my-pocket" feeling that is so tiresome elsewhere. Aside from the usual grumbling about politics and crime, they are one and all proud to be Trinidadian and happily introduce us to their food, inventions, dancing and music.

Trinidad was once inhabited by Carib and Arawak natives referred to as the First People. Over the years Dutch, Africans, East Indians and eventually British mingled into the population, and the result is a mixing pot of amazing food, costumes, and a style of music that is completely unique. Many different religions exist peacefully together, some even share the buildings they worship in and everyone embraces the assorted religious holidays as their own; any excuse for a party is a good one in Trinidad, and rarely a month goes by without some sort of national holiday being observed.

Saheena, my favorite breakfast treat

Trinidad grows a lot of food, most of the standard dishes are curry or vegetable-based. My favorite dish is a taco of sorts called saheena - the shell is made of pan fried caloo (similar to spinach) and filled with chick peas, a sweet hot chutney and as much spice as you want. Be careful what you ask for because they do love their spices and if you ask for "as hot as you can make it" they will dish it up with some mischievous side-eye and giggle while you burn. This and many other delicious hand-held dishes are generally served at roadside stands and cost the equivalent of a buck or two in US dollars. A lot of food is obtained this way, by veering off the road, peeling off a handful of TT (Trini dollars), laughing with the vendors for a moment before speeding away to consume your tasty finds in the car or at home. Locals tend to keep plasticware and paper towels in the car, because you never know when you will come across your favorite roadside vendor, they seem to open up whenever they feel like it and some are more difficult to catch open than others.

The marina we chose, Power Boats, is exactly what we wanted in a home base for hurricane season. There are a handful of roadside stands out front, a grocery store, two restaurants onsite, a chandlery, welcoming staff, and a whole host of friendly and skilled workers or you can do the work yourself - they even have a workshop just for cruiser use. The safety and security is such that you can set down your project and come back later and not worry about anybody messing with it in the meantime. There is an internet room, which is a quiet air conditioned place to retreat to when the boat yard noise gets a bit too overwhelming.

Minerva's ladder being stripped down, we rebuilt the passerelle so it can once again be used as a gangplank when Med-moored

The cruiser community is not as tight as some other places yet, but all the right ingredients are there for a robust community. It is likely that the recent hurricane activity will result in more insurance companies insisting their vessels go to Trinidad instead of Grenada, so the cruiser community is likely to grow quickly, and soon. At the heart of this community is Jesse James, a tireless advocate for cruisers who also runs a taxi and tour service. When cruisers fled hurricane Beryl, Jesse was at the center of efforts to smooth the sudden influx of 150 or so boats through the daunting immigration process, and made sure the boats making a quick turnaround back to Carriacou and the other devastated islands were loaded with donated recovery supplies. Cruisers on both ends under his direction pulled it all together and volunteering was an experience I will always remember with pride.

A round of hurricane recovery supplies waiting to be loaded onto the SV Dawdle, heading to Union Island

We had one big project in mind for Minerva this hurricane season: topside paint. We found a pro we liked, handed over the keys, and retreated to a cozy air conditioned apartment from which we ventured out for smaller projects in the cruiser workshop when the heat was manageable. We jumped in on Jesse's coveted sight-seeing adventures whenever possible, including a foodie tour, bird-watching, rum tasting, witnessed some steel pan drums being built, and dancing with giant puppets to the sounds of the rolling steel pan bands of the independence day celebration.

A steel pan drum being built from scratch by a highly skilled Tuner

Trinidad invented the steel pan and the joyful sound can be heard most anywhere. The US had a significant presence here during World War II (when Trinidad still had ties to our British allies), which is how Calypso style music escaped into the rest of the world. Although there are factories that can turn out steel pan drums, the handmade ones are more prized. A skilled "tuner" can make a steel pan drum by hand with a handful of antique tools and an amazing ear for perfect pitch. True afficionados can pick out the maker by the instruments' sound and drummers are known to return to their favorite tuner year after year for tweaks to their drums.

Cruiser potluck

Every week there are cruiser get togethers ranging from a potluck BBQ to organized shopping trips. Once again, WhatsApp is a mandatory app we use to pool resources, trade boat parts, share information and organize events.

Cruisers on the foodie tour. We snacked our way across the country and back.

Come to find out, Trinidad is host to a wide array of birds and the ASA Wright Bird Sanctuary tour got us quite close and personal with toucans and hummingbirds. Had we opted to stay the night we could have met the island's famous bat population. The foodie tour was like no other we have been on - so much of the best local food is roadside so our 12-hour tour of the island involved a lot of swooping to pick up this and that, and sharing it in the van as we bounced down the road and Jesse regaled us with stories of the region, history, and culture.

Toucan at the ASA Wright Center

Trinidad has been a welcome surprise, and it turned out to be the perfect spot to hang out for hurricane season.

Juicy watermelons are grown on the East side of the island, and standing on the roadside with sticky faces and spitting seeds was definitely on the summer checklist