After
a long week of squash, we decided to take the Sobhys on one
final Trini excursion. Just off the northwest tip of the island
of Trinidad are a collection of 5 tiny islands, colloquially
known as "down de islands" (aka DDI) or the bocas islands (named
from Spanish influence).
They're comprised of Gaspar Grande (also known as
Gasparee), Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos and
Gasparillo, and are generally populated by vacation homes
of wealthy Trinis.
Several of these homes are available for short-term rentals.
However, it is also common just to hire a boat for the afternoon
and go sailing among the islands, taking in the scenery and the
sunshine.
Rather than go to Maracas or another beach again, Anton
suggested that we take them down de islands on his boat.
A brief synopsis of the 'tour'
by Anton Gopaulsingh
While
people generally refer to the country as a 'twin island'
republic, it actually comprises twenty-something islands, many
of which are located in the north-west of Trinidad. We visited
six of the islands on our trip and got a brief history of a few.
Starting off at Gaspar Grande to devour a few pizzas at a
holiday home in 'Chinee Bay' we then set off towards Venezuela,
which was visible but hazy.
Passing the first of the 'dragon's mouths', i.e. the first boca,
which signals that you are venturing beyond the northwestern
most point of Trinidad, and provides the first opportunity to
enter the gulf to the north coast, we got a brief description of
the three main islands which lie to the west - Monos, Huevos
and Chacachacare.
Once
known as the Gulf of Whales, the Prevalence of pilot whales and
other cetaceans in the Gulf of Paria gave rise to a whaling
station on Monos. Commonly known as Turtle Bay,
Copperhole got its name from the large copper cisterns used to
boil whale blubber to extract the oil for use in lamps and
candles. These whales were caught by fishermen in rowboats.
Chacachacare is the largest and the most beautiful of the
western islands, with numerous sheltered bays tucked into its
deep horseshoe shape and lush green hills. This island also
holds many special historical surprises - from its salt pond, to
the second highest lighthouse in the western hemisphere (some
say in the world) built on a height of 825 feet and standing 40
feet tall.
Its
history as a leper colony usually dominates its other
attractions, with many of the structures used still being
clearly visible, including the doctors house and the convent.
Most Trinis do not realise that the last departure of patients
took place as recently as 1984.
The natural beauty above and below the water hold special
treasures of wildlife. On a snorkel in the bay where we
anchored, we were surrounded by up to ten large French and Grey
angelfish and we found a chain link moray eel and a toadfish,
among the other usual reef fish.
We didn't come across any dolphins or mantas on this trip, but
calm seas and brilliant sunshine were welcome compensation.
Anton was a good host and a
compendium of vast DDI trivia. Unfortunately I ended up jumping
in the water with my camera in my pocket... hence the late
updates for Friday and Saturday on the page.
Later that night, I took Omar and Amanda out with a few friends
to experience a bit of nightlife.
Stay tuned for Amanda's personal account of her week in Trinidad
to close off the event.
Extras #3: Home of the
Steelpan ...
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
BIRTHPLACE OF THE STEELPAN
The twin island of Trinidad & Tobago is known among the
Caribbean for many things such as its Carnival, food, oil
industry, cricket legends, and many other diverse cultural
influences. However, what is probably one of T & T's greatest
contributions to the world is the STEELPAN, the national
instrument of sweet T & T.
Trinidad & Tobago is known as the 'land of the steelpan' as this
is where the sweet melodic sound of 'pan' all began! The
steelpan is made from 55-gallon drums that usually store oil.
These steel drum containers are what constituted the original
construction of the pan, which is struck by a pair of straight
sticks tipped with rubber.
Nowadays, there are variations in how each pan is constructed
based on personal preferences and specifications. See more basic
details on the origins, construction, competitions etc
on wikipedia:
On Thursday night, after the exhibition matches had completed, a
few of the QPCC members decided to take the Sobhy family to what
is called a 'panyard' where the steelband orchestras play and
practice. This particular band was called the Silver Stars and
they were the 2009 and 2010 Panorama Champions.
Although, the carnival and pan season recently ended in March,
the bands still do some light practice sessions in the
off-season. One of our members, Harry Laughlin, assisted in
having them practice this night.
At the end of the night, the Sobhys were very impressed with the
musical talents and were able to add one more cultural
experience to their trip. The next day would be the final night
for exhibitions, so they would have soothing melodies in their
head to help put them to sleep for a good night's rest.
Extras #2: BAKE 'N SHARK
Simply
described, it is basically fried dough and highly seasoned fried
fish. Whatever you decide to call it, the Trini touch to a
savoury fish sandwich is much more than just that.
It really is all in the execution, and of course the
accoutrements! The condiment bar is often as large as the fish
stand and contains everything from chadon beni (locally pr.
Shadow benny), which is like a cilantro sauce, to garlic sauce,
tamarind sauce, chopped vegetables and of course pepper sauce.
ARRIVAL NIGHT –
“TRINI TIME”
So there is a much-used phrase in Trinidad known as “running
on Trini time.”
Obviously other parts of the world think people in their own
country might always be late, but it’s especially relevant in
the laid-back Caribbean lifestyle.
I figured that I might have to explain this to the Sobhy family
on Opening Night in case things didn’t start at the scheduled
time ... apparently the explanation was required much sooner
than that as our pilot was a Trini ...
With a scheduled departure time of 5:35pm and everyone on board
by about 5:10pm, we proceeded to stand still on the runway for
at least another 45 minutes.
Occasionally there would be a teasing movement of about 300 feet
before the plane would top again. According to the pilot, there
was a back-up of planes waiting to take-off from the runway, but
I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on his phone trying to beat
the next level of Angry Birds or worse yet, waiting for his
download of the previous night’s American Idol episode to
complete before powering off his phone for takeoff.
However Amanda, Sabrina and Omar were keeping themselves quite
busy playing cards to help pass the time.
At about 6:40 we finally took off from JFK airport and arrived
in Piarco International at 11:30pm.
Looking forward to a good day of training and event preparation
ahead!
Amanda Arrives ... Ryan Abraham talks to the
world junior champion ...
So,
we started casual discussions about this event back in January.
Now that you are finally here, are you excited?
YES
What were your initial thoughts when the idea was proposed?
It would be awesome to go down to Trinidad to play some
exhibitions and promote the squash down there. Also, how I was
chosen out of all the players to go down to Trinidad!
Was
this an easy decision to agree to be part of this event?
I said YES before you even finished explaining
What do you expect to gain from this week in Trinidad?
Experience in playing exhibition matches and promoting the
sport. Also, to get my name out in the different countries...
and to enjoy myself of course.
Have you played in the Caribbean before?
I played in the Cayman Islands this past March. That was my
first time in the Caribbean actually.
Did
you know anything about Trinidad & Tobago before this trip?
I knew it was an island in the Caribbean. I had to look it up on
Google before I came, so I was a little bit informed about the
island.
What are you most anticipating?
To enjoy my stay in Trinidad and to perform well throughout the
week
What are your main 3 priorities for this trip?
1) Have a good time and enjoy myself
2) Get to know the squash community down there with hopes of
being invited back soon
3) To live up to everyone's expectations
Over the week we'll be presenting
lots of additional items, including:
Was
this an easy decision to agree to be part of this event?
Did
you know anything about Trinidad & Tobago before this trip?
