Stefanie & Tyler

As the final installment in the blogging about all the glorious adventures of Trinidad (read more here, here and here) I want to host a segment called where are we. As there is generally a lot of contention among the students at SGU who are trying to gage how great Trinidad is. I mean is it like Grenada but just a little further south? Or is is better? Of course the Trinidadian students here rave that Trinidad is the best country ever…but they are not to be trusted. So lets just look at these few pictures and see for ourselves how different Trinidad really is.

Coldstone

Pizza Hut

Coffee Drinks - real ones!

Lastly, remind anyone of Costco? Looks exactly like it on the inside, EXACTLY!

All of this to say, Trinidad is a LOT more developed than Grenada. They have a huge highway traversing across the country, they have so many large grocery stores and malls, real malls, and Costco. I mean you can go and buy all your food in ridiculously cheap ginormous packages. What more could you want? Trinidad was much more like the U.S. than Grenada. It was so developed and we were so shocked to see so many American chains there and everything. We did breakdown and buy some Coldstone and it was heavenly. And of course after we went to the mall to shop for a bit Tyler’s reward was eating Pizza Hut.

I guess in conclusion Tyler and I came out thinking Trinidad was pretty awesome. We will certainly remember just how developed they are from now on. We still love the fact that Grenada has the beauty and the beaches, but all that convenience sure reminds us of why we like our good ol’ US home.

Anyways that pretty much sums up our trip. Hard to believe we are turning around and leaving next Friday for Barbados and then heading to the States for a quick visit and a wedding. Plus school starts in a week – that is so saddening. Summer break where have you gone? I guess that about sums it up for the Paulson’s.

Fresh Hot Doubles!

After all the fun we had exploring some on our first day in Trinidad we packed up and spent another day seeing some of the awesome sights Trinidad has to offer. However we had to grab some local breakfast first. Grenada and Trinidad alike are hearty, savory breakfast and big lunch with small suppers kind of places. The nutritionist at the hospital was baffled when I tried to explain to her that in the US we like to eat a muffin or a granola bar for breakfast. She was shocked it wasn’t fish and bread. So anyways, we just had to try these “hot doubles” that Kelsie said were so great and try our hand at a big, heavy breakfast. Well, they were amazing! Such a combination of flavors I had never had all together, but still tasted like breakfast. And they did a pretty good job keeping me full. Although since they normally like to eat lunch at 2 or 3 pm, I was still starving  by then.

Our first stop of the day was the mud volcano. It is a literal volcano that spews mud. I guess it erupts pretty massively every so often. Kelsie said she was pretty sure it had a big eruption fairly recently and that is why it was actually quite flat. Usually the little volcano-like peaks grow as they spill out mud but after the large eruption they spread the mud out. So it was not as impressive as if it was the huge peak, but still crazy to see it all bubbly. I guess next time I hear about a big eruption of the Trinidad mud volcano I can remember how powerful it really is even if it looks tame.

Our second stop was Pitch Lake. Apparently there is a gigantic lake of asphalt in Trinidad that basically supplies the world with asphalt. That’s right, the world. Who would have thunk that the roads I drove on most of my life came from this stuff. Tyler and I kept saying how we never even though about where asphalt came from. The lake is huge, and the rainfall causes lots of water to accumulate so you can actually swim or wade through that part. But we got to step on it and a lot of it was soft and mold-able like asphalt would be and there were pathways that were literally made from asphalt seeping up from the ground and melting together in the heat. 1/3 of the lake is liquid at anytime so the tour guide dug some of the tar up for us. Of course we were careful not to walk in those liquid areas. The whole think was fascinating and amazing and really cool! And maybe the rumors of the Pitch Lake water being good for your skin will prove true. Who knows.

The last event for the night was dancing. Yes I said dancing! We went Latin Dancing with Kelsie to this club that she goes to regularly.

All of us at the club!

She arranged for tickets for the both of us so even Tyler couldn’t say no. Anyone that has ever met my loving and wonderful husband knows that among all of his marvelous qualities, dancing is no where to be found. But, I got him to dance! Yes, that is right – he DANCED! He was likely the only guy there who actually got asked by a girl to dance (not me for the record) but he did it. I was unable to capture it on camera as I was immediately pulled up to dance. Kelsie’s dance instructor and one of the other students in Kelsie’s class were gracious enough to show Tyler the basic moves so he could dance one song with me. He did okay, but could use some work. But this might make it easier to get him to take classes with me as I have been begging him to do. Tyler took a few pictures of me but they didn’t come out that great. I always have countless attempts at taking photos while dancing and they always look the same – very unimpressive. But it was truly a fun night. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously and were out later than we ever are even though we proceeded to get up to make it to 6am church the next day.

Tyler with the peacock at the entrance.

So after the East Indian Cultural Lesson, we headed over to see this beautiful nature preserve that is smack dab in the middle of the giant oil factory. Kind of ironic ey? But Trinidad is like the US in the fact that they tend to destroy the natural beauty around (and the wildlife with it) for the sake of development and then realize that an important part of their country is disappearing so then try and preserve it again by rebuilding the natural habitat into preserves, etc. That is basically what the Wild Fowl Trust is, a nature preserve to maintain the high diversity of fauna and different species of birds native to the Trinidad and to create a space to teach children about conservation. Honestly, I think I was reminded of like three field trips I probably went on as a kid that were exactly like that.

Anyways, no matter why it is there the place is beautiful. Lush and full of vegetation and the walkway completely encircles this beautiful pond. It was of course a super rainy day and most of the place was a big mushy mud puddle – perfect in my white sandals – but it was worth trekking through.

Here are just some of the awesome photos I managed to get of the place.

Grabbing a drink at the Avenue

After we made it to their house, we rested up and then decided to head to the Avenue in Port of Spain, the capitol of Trinidad, for dinner and to stroll along the street that is lined with clubs and bars and nightlife. It is apparently a popular thing to do. We mostly just hung out and walked around. But we did grab a drink at a local roadside bar just so we could say we did. And with no open bottle policy, you can stroll around with your beer too! We even went up on a hill to see a beautiful overview of the city lights at night – it was so magical. Wish I could have captured it properly on my camera.

Such a great first day!

Tyler and I at the Hindu Temple

So to blog our trip to Trinidad, rather than blog a long two or three part series with a day by day account, I have decided to share some of the fun stories we have from our time and of course the lovely pictures and allow them to tell of the fun we had in Trinidad. So, do be sure to read the first installment about our insane airport adventure.

So to recap, Tyler and I went to Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad for short) to visit my friend and study buddy Kelsie. She planned for us a trip packed full of adventures and sight-seeing and there is still so much to do there. She says it is for the next time we come. I was so proud of her for planning so many adventures, she isn’t a big plan-ahead person. So on the way from the airport we started our adventures and went on an East-Indian cultural extravaganza. We visited the Hindu temple built out in the ocean, got to see some cremations going on, saw the tall Hanuman statue, went to the cultural museum, and ate Roti’s which is an IndoCaribbean dish. And later in the weekend we even bought me a Sari (yes, I look awesome and I do intend to wear it to something) and went to a cultural fair type thing for India. I don’t think Tyler and I have ever learned so much about how one culture influenced a whole nation before on vacation.

So basically, we had an East Indian themed visit. There are a lot of East Indians in Grenada and of course even more in Trinidad. You can see the Hindu flags flying all over in peoples yards and in parks to designate holy places of sacrifice and remembrance and such.

I must say, I liked this part of our trip.

And of course a few more pictures.