Rincon Falls

Yesterday (Saturday) we hiked to Trinidad's second highest waterfall, Rincon falls. According to one of the guys with us it was 180 feet tall. It was beautiful. We were with a group of people from the office who regularly go for hikes like this and who know where thy're going.

It wasn't a very long hike distance wise (approximately 2.5 km), but there was quite a bit of climbing on the way. The heat and humidity are something we're still getting used to - even though we started the hike at approximately 8:30 in the morning. The start of the hike was about a one hour drive north of Port of Spain, just past the main beach- Maracus, so it was an early morning for us!

We hiked through the rainforest and although we were pretty tired from the heat and the Friday afternoon "Lime" at the office ("Liming" deserves a post unto it's own) it was beautiful to experience the 'flora and fauna' of a tropical island. When we got to the falls, the forest opened up and there was a pond where we all took a nice refreshing swim and explored the smaller falls below the pond. We were sure to explain to the Trinis along with us that the water was far from cold - try Georgian Bay in June!

After the hike we drove further east along the road to a small town called Blanchisseuse. There was a culinary festival going on where they were providing several different local cuisines which you could choose from. It was a really neat setting as it felt along way from the tourist scene - not that there really is much of a tourist scene here in Trinidad.

The food was provided from locals and included several traditional Trini foods such as callaloo, jerk chicken, creole chicken, breadfruit, indian flavours and yummy seafood. It was delicious. There was also a local musical group playing to entertain the crowd. you will see the picture below. And finally before heading home we had to go down to the beach for a quick swim in the ocean.

The pictures really tell the story, so I'll stop typing and let you take a look.....

What a Weekend!!

First off we have to apologize for the lack of posts. We've had lots of comments on the blog from friends and we appreciate everyone wanting to share in our adventure here in T&T.

This post, however, is about a great visit we had over the weekend back to Canada. Although we've only been gone for three weeks, we were back in Toronto for just over 12 hours and then out to the beautiful province of Nova Scotia for Meg and Jon's wedding (Meg is Chuck's sister for those who are wondering who Meg and Jon are - and Chuck is one of Stu's best friends for those wondering who Chuck is....)

So after a delayed flight from Port of Spain into Toronto last Thursday we finally arrived at Kate's parents around 10:00pm where the Finlay's and Dickson's had been hanging out. Glad you guys could have a good catch up!

On Friday after a quick stop in at 395 Belsize we were back out at Pearson for our flight to Halifax. When we arrived in Halifax Kate went to arrange the rental car while I waited for our checked luggage. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at the car rental parking spot to find a red Mustang! What an awesome way to ride around Nova Scotia!

Unfortunately the weather around White Point Resort wasn't all that nice for Friday night and Saturday, but all that meant was that the festivities had to be inside. It certainly didn't dampen anyone's spirits or take away from any of the great celebrations. It did mean that the Friday night BBQ was held inside, but it was still a great chance to catch up with many old friends and meet many new ones.

Saturday day was a quiet time for some of us, while a few others did manage to get out for a round of golf. About the most activity we had was a ride into town in the 'Stang!

Meg and Jon's wedding was amazing. It was a beautiful, meaningful ceremony, followed by a great dinner and an even better party! The speaches were fantastic, including two excellent ones by the two brothers (gotta get some props in for Chuck!). But don't worry, they definitely didn't show up Meg or Jon. Their speach may have been one of the longer ones I've heard, but also one of the most entertaining as well!

And in true Nova Scotia fashion , the party went well into the night and involved a lot of dancing, some live music and more than a few of Alexander Keith's finest beverages. As you can see from the picture, the bride also got into the live music act a few times!

Sunday turned into a beautiful day and after shaking off the cobwebs and having some brunch with everyone, it was checkout time from the resort and time to hit the road. We did have time to stick our feet in the Atlantic, but found it to be quite a bit colder then what we have become accustomed to down here!

Luckily we had most of the afernoon to enjoy the scenic drive up the coast and stop in at Lunenberg for lunch and see the other wonderful small atlantic towns along the coast before catching our flight back to Port of Spain through Toronto.

Although we did a lot of travelling over the five days we were gone, it was definitely worth it. The wonderful memories of the beautiful wedding will far outlast the discomfort of several flights! Thanks to Meg for including us and to the Ross/Cuming families for hosting a wonderful weekend. It was great to see a lot of great friends and we both thouroughly enjoyed our trip.

We will continue with our postings sharing more of our adventures - or at least our daily life here in Trinidad, so stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Talk to you soon,

Stu and Kate

We have arrived

So we have now been here in Trinidad for a full week. And we love it.

We got here very early last Monday morning after the Carribbean Airways overnight special and walked out of the airport before 7 am to a hot and humid day...but was told it was neither that hot or humid!

After a stop in at the office in downtown Port of Spain, to say hello and pick up keys, etc., we were dropped off at our house and were very pleasantly surprised. It's in a wonderful neighbourhood full of large houses which we figure are mostly occupied by expats. It's very near the newest mall in Trinidad and the grocery store.

The grocery store is actually an IGA affiliate which carries some 'No Name' and 'President's Choice' products. Pretty funny that we come all the way to Trinidad and can get that stuff - although not at bargain basement prices!

Our apartment has a great big living/dining area off a nice kitchen. We also have lots of room for guests with two spare bedrooms and a spare bathroom. We think the apartment might actually be bigger than 395 Belsize!

It only took a couple of days to get hooked up with cable TV and internet. Luckily the landlady doesn't want us setting up our own accounts, and having installers here, so we just agreed to pay her and she provided the cable box and her password to her wireless high speed. The internet is a little off and on, but we pretty much have it all the time now. Much better than some areas, from what I've heard around the office.

Things in the office are a bit slow to start. Pretty much feels like starting a new job, having to learn the people, the systems, etc. And the project I have come down here to primarily work on hasn't started yet. Although I hear the contract is supposed to be signed any time, I heard that when I was down in May! They do things at a much different pace down here!

The people have all been really friendly. My new boss took us out for dinner at a nice hotel on our second night here. We've eaten out a couple of other times, but mostly at 'American' type places. We're still getting comfortable with our new surroundings. Having said that we haven't felt at all unsafe one bit - quite the opposite. From what I can tell, Kate's good looks and blonde hair will get us pretty far! All the locals are very friendly and nice to her - in a good way.

We were out at the beach yesterday afternoon which was beautiful. It was a nice afternoon, which is a bit lucky here in the rainy season. It seems to rain almost instantly at any time through the day - and really rain hard, but only for a few minutes, then it stops. Definitely important to carry an umbrella with you at all times.

We had our first Bake and Shark out at the beach - it's a Trini specialty - and very yummy. We're also developing a taste for the local beers - Stag and Carib.

Kate is still finding things a little slow, but we were expecting that. She got out and drove over the weekend, so now feels somewhat comfortable on the "wrong" side of the road. She's going to come in to explore the downtown area tomorrow, and has a lead on a Yoga studio that is run by a Canadian women here in Port of Spain.

We miss you all and look forward to hearing your news via e-mail and/or Skype.

Talk to you soon,

Stu and Kate