This was our first visit to Trinidad so we were excited to see new sights. The ship docked in the Port of Spain for the day. At the docks, we watched a show of color and dance as a welcome to us passengers.
Our tour took us to Maracas Beach. Along the one hour drive we traveled through a backdrop of lush, green landscape and color.
To get to the beach our driver informed us that he must drive along a very narrow, dangerous road that would lead us up a mountain and down the other side. Our driver said he had to attend a special defensive driving school in order to be given a special license allowing him use of it. He was right about the road - it's width could only hold one vehicle at a time in some areas and it was steep and had no guardrails along much of it.
As we came down the other side of the mountain, Maracas Beach opened up before us. Palm and pine trees dotted the beach.
Our driver parked the van and we descended onto the beach. The sand was light brown and so fine and soft in texture. The ocean was breaking on the shore in one large wave after another.
Lifeguards patrolled the beach with whistles and floats as there was a riptide warning and red flags shoved in the sand at intervals along the shore.
This sign near the beach was a little unsettling.
Rick and I ventured into the water and held each other's hand. We had fun dodging the surf and were tumbled a few times in the rolling waves. Rick lost his prescription sunglasses when he turned his back to a high wave that toppled him over.
Once we were done playing, we walked across the street and checked out the options for lunch.
We decided to try our first (and famous) "Richard's Shark and Bake" sandwich - filets of shark meat deep fried and rolled in a homemade bread (also deep fried). We were encouraged to pile on the condiments, which we did. It was a messy and gratifying meal after working up an appetite being pummeled in the ocean for an hour.
To get to the beach our driver informed us that he must drive along a very narrow, dangerous road that would lead us up a mountain and down the other side. Our driver said he had to attend a special defensive driving school in order to be given a special license allowing him use of it. He was right about the road - it's width could only hold one vehicle at a time in some areas and it was steep and had no guardrails along much of it.
As we came down the other side of the mountain, Maracas Beach opened up before us. Palm and pine trees dotted the beach.
Our driver parked the van and we descended onto the beach. The sand was light brown and so fine and soft in texture. The ocean was breaking on the shore in one large wave after another.
Lifeguards patrolled the beach with whistles and floats as there was a riptide warning and red flags shoved in the sand at intervals along the shore.
This sign near the beach was a little unsettling.
Rick and I ventured into the water and held each other's hand. We had fun dodging the surf and were tumbled a few times in the rolling waves. Rick lost his prescription sunglasses when he turned his back to a high wave that toppled him over.
Once we were done playing, we walked across the street and checked out the options for lunch.
We decided to try our first (and famous) "Richard's Shark and Bake" sandwich - filets of shark meat deep fried and rolled in a homemade bread (also deep fried). We were encouraged to pile on the condiments, which we did. It was a messy and gratifying meal after working up an appetite being pummeled in the ocean for an hour.
Our tour van got caught in nasty, snarling traffic which doubled the amount of time it took getting back to the ship. We were told that the island's Carnival was starting in a few weeks and that traffic only got worse the closer the holiday got.
Once we got back to our ship cabin and got in the shower, we found sand in our pockets, hair, shoes...we brought home more "souvenirs" than we expected.
Thank you Trinidad for sharing your multi-cultured beauty with us. We had an awesome day!
More fun ahead as we cross the equator...South American Cruise 2014
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