The feel of Trinidad and Tobago

| Friday August 2, 2013 00:00

 

The prospect of visiting a country for two weeks seems like you have all the time in the world until the reality that your time there is up hits you hard. After what seemed like decades of planning, my trip to Trinidad and Tobago finally materialised. Leaving Botswana on July 12, 2013, just a day after my 25th birthday I was not mentally or physically prepared for the 16-hour connecting flight from Johannesburg's  OR Tambo International Airport to New York's JFK International Airport. Despite it taking forever to arrive, I survived and connected with Caribbean Airlines on a five-hour trip to my final destination, Trinidad and Tobago's capital city of Port of Spain.Upon arriving in the early hours of Sunday morning, the weather welcomed me in true Caribbean style with its heat and moist atmosphere. That alone was enough to give me the tropical feel and get me ready for a whole two weeks of no harsh weather. Trinidad boasts of the same humid weather throughout the year.

Mostly it's sunny but the rain constantly falls, only for it to go back to normal within minutes with some sunshine.Throughout my two-week stay in the Caribbean country, I achieved my objective of having fun. A food lover, the obvious thing was to start with trying out the different dishes that are available. I started with the popular Indian dish called Doubles which is made of two flat fried roti-like bread, filled with curried peas, mango, coconut, cucumber and pepper sauce. I got to observe that locals are fanatic about Doubles and there are always long queues at the outlets. On top of the Doubles I also got to try out another famous Greek dish called Gyro, which is roasted meat, served on pita bread with tomato, onion, sauce and lettuce. The dish can be served with only one type of meat or one has a choice to mix the meats which are beef, lamb and chicken depending on how much you are willing to spend because the more meat, the more money you pay.

In addition to the Doubles and Gyros, which proved to be my favourite, I drank fresh coconut water and it was simply a breath-taking experience. A quick observation on the food scene in Trinidad proved to be quite disturbing. The country has many fast food outlets, which means that they are easily available at a cheap price.The advantage is that unlike in Botswana where we have to wait for month end to get a treat, people there don't have to wait to be able to afford such meals. The down low of it all, however, is that the country is on the brink of facing an obesity crisis with that much availability of fast food. As is normal, drinks accompany food but they were a bit of a letdown. I was left unmotivated as Trinidad only has only beer and no ciders at all. Wine and pink drinks did the trick though and saved my days of going out. Just like the rest of the Caribbean people, the Trinis obviously enjoy their nights out partying. Their dress sense also speaks for itself. Whether it's night or daytime, I always spotted the women in short skimpy dresses or generally short outfits.

I also got away with it and joined in the norm of enjoying the weather in short and breathable clothes.Over the two weeks, I got to realise that Trinis are generally not welcoming people. Like most of the world, they hold the belief that Africa is one big country full of wild animals and semi naked people running around in animal skins and they just don't have a general eagerness to learn of the world beyond their borders. The only exception lies with the Rastafarian lot, who highly regard Africa and its people. The Rastamen that I met and interacted with seemed eager to hold conversation and get more information about the mother continent. With all said and done though I enjoyed my stay and wouldn't mind visiting the country again. From dining, wining, riding in a water taxi, getting a Trini hairstyle and just falling in love with soca music, I had a vacation and a half. Soca is a form of Caribbean music that I would basically classify as a faster version of reggae with more energy to it and fast beats. The maxis (taxis) are synonymous with playing Soca on a regular basis.The highlight of my trip, however, was getting a tattoo of a map of Africa on my upper right shoulder. It was a present from a very special friend of mine. I did it with no tears shed. It was all over in less than 20 minutes and that was my cue to come back home.

Fast Facts:Trinidad and Tobago was a Spanish colony, hence the name Port of Spain for the capital city. The country Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976.Although it is one country, Trinidad and Tobago are two separate islands. I stayed in Trinidad and didn't get a chance to go to Tobago. However, Tobago is about three hours on a ferry drive and 25 minutes by plane. The currency used is the Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Dollar.