Trinidad - Carnival

Carnival in Trinidad:
This past weekend, Feb 13 – 16 was carnival in Trinidad. This was our first and we thoroughly enjoyed it, albeit I think I am now hard of hearing, my ears are still ringing. Sunday night was the start of the festivities but we decided to abstain from this, and seeing the roads all asplash with paint and the painted bodies at the beach the next day, we are glad we did. Monday, we went onto Ariepita Avenue where there is lots of action and saw the parade and costumes but was nothing compared to the next day. We got there early in the morning, calling 10 early and stayed a couple of hours. There were lots of parade floats and lots of bodies! There were only about 5 floats when we arrived but they just seemed to keep coming. The boom boxes are huge trailer mounted speakers with independent power generators. You can feel the vibrations thru your body with the noise but it seems that you just go with the flow and jive like everyone else. I can still hear the music and the beat, what a blast!

Barbados

Barbados.

We had to go to the lovely island of Barbados on business no less. We arrived Friday afternoon and after check-in, met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in over 17 years. He works there and it is always nice to renew these types of acquaintances. We lounged around the beach and pool for two glorious days until I had to work on Monday. Work consisted of a concrete manufacturer plant visit which lasted all of no more than 2 hours, then back to the pool to wait for our flight out that evening. Our hotel, Accra was right on the beach and the water was a clear aquamarine blue, just a beautiful spot. Now I need to figure how to get back there! Here are a couple of pics.

Trinidad

Welcome to Trinidad. We have recently arrived to the lovely Island of Trinidad in the Carribean. We haven't explored much but there is more to come. Here is a picture of a nice beach not too far away. If you come, try the shark and bake. The weather has been nice and warm, not too humid which is the saving grace.

February 1st - Zanzibar

Three days of much deserved rest brings us to the eastern shores of Zanzibar to a small 6 room hotel. The water is clear blue and the sun relentless, the white beach sand fine as talc. How can we complain about our sun burn when it was snowing heavily back home. Fish and octopus grace the small menu with only one choice but the food is seemingly prepared by a chef and does not disappoint. Alas , the days pass too quickly and back to the reality of Dar es Salaam we go.

January 25th - Ngorongoro

A volcanic crater over 14 km in diameter is the second half of our safari. Descending into the crater, you first see wildebeasts and the excitement begins. We drive thru herds of zebra and wildebeasts with a pack of hyenas in the not so far distance. One still has a large bone with meat as his meal and walks by our truck. Further down, our first lion sighting but they remain hidden in the swamp grass. We continue our drive encountering all the animals until we stop and our guide shows us a sleeping rhino in the distance. Not much to see but on our return trip, he is standing and is quite a sight. Two cheetahs are also seen, as are more ostrich, lots of zebra, water buffalo, flamingoes, wildebeasts, and after a bit, our two lionesses finally come out of hiding and provide us with quite a stunning view. Lunch time has us on the shores of a small lake protecting our food from birds that seem hungrier than us and zebra meandering nearby the parked vehicles. The safari ends too quickly but we leave with lots of pictures and an experience never to be forgotten.

January 24th - Lake Manyara

We departed Arusha Saturday morning enroute for the first day of our Safari. Arrival at the main gate less than two hours later and it begins. There is just too much to say but suffice it to say, after 4 hours of driving thru the park, we were up close to many giraffe, elephants, warthogs, and lots of hippos. We also saw wildebeasts and zebras to name but a few. Our safari came to an end at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge, our room overlooking the valley below, the infinity pool seemingly dropping off the edge of the earth. The supper with a nice bottle of wine and talking about our experiences capped off a most amazing first day.

Dec 14. - Stonetown

After checkout,and a swim in the pool, I went to Stonetown which is the main city on Zanzibar. It has the narrowest, winding roads I have ever seen and a map doesn't help, I know, I got totally lost and had to ask for directions. Needless to say, if I wasn't burnt before, I certainly am now! There are lots of curio shops selling all sorts of crafts, spices, etc. I picked up 3 vanilla beans for less than 2$ and was told by my better half that I should have picked up a dozen.. Lots of very interesting huses and especially the ornate doors.
I will post all the interesting pictures on my blog when I return around the 20th.

Nov. 13 - On the road to Zanzibar

Hopped on a fast catamaran ferry to Zanzibar, the crossing took 90 minutes. It is a fairly nice and clean ferry but buying a ticket at one of the numerous kiosks can be daunting, especially when all the tour books tell you otherwise. So, I dutifully go to the right kiosk for that particular crossing only to see it closed, so off to a kiosk with no problems, go figure.
Well into hour 2 of our 90 minute journey, the island approaches. The first sight is the azure blue waters, wow!

Am staying at Mtoni Marine which is right on the beach. Unfortunately, the water isn't azure but is swimable. It does have a lovely pool and a nice sports bar, also on the beach. I had my mouth all set for ostrich but the restaurant was closed for a special function, so had fish and chips. Everything is a lot more expensive here, at least 50% more.
The next morning after my shower, I feel like a nicely done ham, well cooked and smelling like cloves from the clove soap. They don't call Zanzibar the spice island for nothing.

Lady Bug, Lady Bug, oops

And just what is the last thing a lady bug sees when she hits the headlight, ...
photo courtesy of Canadian Loonie

My New Toy

and many thanks to my lovely wife for allowing me to get this nice bike, and for actually choosing this particular one!!

Post script: Now, she loves the bike and finds reasons to go out for a ride.