So, We Flew

We left Chicago on a Thursday night - it was, to say the least, cold. Our intinerary called for a flight to Florida, a 10 hour layover, and a morning flight into Port of Spain, Trinidad, which was scheduled to land a little after 3pm. So, rather than spend 10 hours at the airport, we checked into La Quinta North, one of the 3 La Quinta properties at the Miami airport, to spend the night.

When we got to the motel there was a gift waiting for us, sent into the motel by Holly of Tropic of Mom, Life at Latitude 26. A box of Godiva chocolate covered cashews. Which were delicious. They didn't last very long - but they were delicious.

The next morning we got on our 757 headed for Trinidad. Whereas the flight to Florida had been pretty full, the flight into Piarco (The airport at Port of Spain, Trinidad) was somewhat less than full - witness below.

By the way, clicking on any of these pictures will bring out a full size image. Now, did you notice all the empty seats? One of the things that becomes apparent once you're in Trinidad is that they don't seem to pursue the tourist trade to the extent that some of the other Carribean Island nations do. You might almost say, they're a bit disinterested. But that doesn't affect what they've got there - the place is beautiful. Anyway, after landing and taking a taxi to the hotel, we found ourselves ensconced in a nice, quaint room. Witness below.

This nice quaint room is part of the 'Guest House' pictured below - Monique's. It is in area known as Maraval, which is actually a valley that runs north out of Port Of Spain, through the mountians and out to Maracas Bay. Ask any cab driver and they can get you to Monique's.

I did a little exploring after we checked in. The stairway pictured below is to the left of the building pictured above. If you look closely, there are three stairways depicted in this shot. If you look to the left along the terrace at the top of the second set of stairs, you can just see the third set of stairs rising up the face of the hill.

So having climbed all those stairs, I found a concrete walkway with a metal railing leading further up the hill and to the left. When I got to the top, I turned around and took the picture which you see below.

Having taken the shot above, I raised my sights a bit and took the shot depicted below, looking down the Maraval in the direction of Port of Spain. Trinidad is every bit this and more.

There are areas there, in Trinidad, in Port of Spain, that you wouldn't want to be caught in after dark. But for the most part, you likely wouldn't go into those areas anyway. And if you get to the bush, there are critters there. The bush is not for me. They do, however, have nightlife and they have plenty 'o rum, some great looking women and they'll party at the drop of a hat (not the women, per se, but Trinis in general). And the weather is never, EVER, cold.

Ndinombethe.