Trinidad, February 21, 2014

 

We wake very early – 4:30 early!  We step out on the balcony and look up at the stars and the moon it is breathtaking.  We can see Trinidad in the distance.  We dock at 7 am and it isn’t long before we hear people stirring.

I go on line and the first thing I read is the passing of our sister in law  Ronalda, she was married to Bernie’s brother and became ill last summer and succumbed to the illness yesterday.  We feel horrible for Charlie and her son Michael and feel so far away, as they live in Cape Breton.  So we took some time today to raise a glass to her.

We are docked and we can see that there is a steel drum band playing and women in Carnival costumes and I head off to capture some pictures and video that I will put up when we get home and I have free wifi.

Once I come back on board Bernie and I meet and we go for breakfast and we are sat with two couples both from Canada and we have a lovely breakfast and getting to know them better.

The Wake show is discussing the Crossing the Equator Ceremony and since Bernie and I are both Shellbacks (we have crossed before and I was chosen that time) they are asking for Pollywogs (equator virgins) to volunteer to be in the ceremony.  They will pick four people from all those that sign up.  The ceremony is to be held on the 24^th and they will do it again when we are in the Pacific.

Bernie and I head off the ship and start walking to town.  Port of Spain is a very large city and busy!  Tomorrow is the start of the official Carnival and it is a bit busier than normal.  We walk along the main boulevard in town.  Did you know that Port of Spain has the largest KFC and has more KFC per person than any other place on earth.  Guess they love their chicken.

Lots of street vendors and lots of interesting conversations and sounds all around.  Love it.

We are hot and we are near the main park (Victoria Park) and we grab a snow cone to cool off and then we see they have some stuff set up for Carnival and we check it out. 

The main bandstand is featuring school kids and their parade.  Cost to get in is $4 and we are given a handkerchief that features the sponsor for this event.  We see quickly that we are suppose to wave these handkerchiefs in the air when the band plays.  The elementary school kids perform and we are excited and get right into it. 

We stay here for about an hour and a half and leave just before the high school children start.

We walk back to the ship and we are hot and sweaty when we get on.  And a quick shower and a quick nap are in order and when we wake we feel refreshed.

shops set up right at the port

It is a beautiful sail away in fact the island as we pull away reminds me of Vancouver.

I do some reading on the balcony and Bernie and I are both so excited to hear the results of the Olympics and extra excited to hear about the Men’s hockey team beating the US in the semi finals and that they are now playing for Gold.  Looks like Craig lost the bet and will have to wear Bernie’s Canadian hockey jersey all day tomorrow.

We head down to Vines for some wine and Anthony serves us and recommends that we purchase a whole bottle and we do this.  And later Barb and Craig join us and we head into the dining room. 

Tonight we head to Da Vinci dining room and we have a great table and excellent service from Nancy.  She is so good that she is managing everything on her own as her assistant is ill.  Even the Head Waiter Stephen is around and helps with the champagne and our wine order.  We are so happy with the service and we all comment repeatedly to them how good they are.  Our minds are at ease knowing that some of the things we have experienced in Michelangelo can be avoided by dining up here.  I am not saying all the waiters are poor down there, in fact we did have a good one but we will not sit in that same waiter’s section again.

Tonight is Italian night and I start out with the eggplant parmesan and it was so salty that I actually could not finish it, not sure what happened there.  I had a mixed green salad then for my entrée I had the chicken and sage dish which I always enjoy.  Of course the cheese plate and Limocello for dessert.

After dinner we head to the Princess Theater to watch the Malambo Showtime starring Luis Viana El Gaucho and Sasha Scott.  It is a great performance!

I need to warn all my followers that internet seems to be intermitted and often we lose the signal.  So I will be posting sporadically and when I can. 

We now have four sea days till we get to Reciffe.