Trinidad!

Trinidad has been good to the crew of the Harvey Gamage! So much has happened since our last entry, it is hard to know where to begin...

The passage down from Dominica flew by in just under two days, a day or two faster than we has predicted. Gamage was flying at up to 9 knots at one point! Our first taste of Trinidad was the passage through the Dragon's teeth, a narrow inlet with strong currents. We spent much of the first day taking care of ship's business; clearing customs, class, anchoring, and checking in with port facilities.

Our first full day in Trinidad was a whirlwind of activity. We took a maxi taxi into Port of Spain, the capitol of Trinidad and Tobago, and were let off at the Botanical Gardens where we had literature class in the shade. From there we walked south, along the Queen's Savannah (Port of Spain's "central park"), into the downtown area where we shopped, tried local cuisine like doubles, visited the national museum, and learned about the political legacy of Woodford Square.

The following day was a contrast to our city-dwelling. We first visited the Asa Wright Bird Sanctuary, where we took in Trinidad's natural beauty. We then took a boat ride through the Caroni Swamp to watch the scarlet ibis roost for the night, a daily ritual of color. On the way back to the boat, we stopped in the St. James neighborhood, famous for her nightlife and array of street food. We dined on Chinese food (which is quite popular here), rotis, doubles, burgers, fries, whatever we could find that intrigued us.We slept full that night!

Our next day was full of classes at Maracas Bay, a popular spot for locals to "wine" and relax on the beach. We learned about the physics of waves, then went bodysurfing. We also ate bake and shark, a shark sandwich on a "bake" of fired dough, a lunch made famous at Maracas Bay. We then stopped in on the Invaders Panyard, one of the original steel pan orchestras, to learn more about the national instrument and to hear its sweet tune.

We are now bound for the Domincan Republic and our service project there. All are well aboard, and we're looking forward to out first long voyage at sea!

JP