Just got back on the ship after two (well 1.5) days in Trinidad. It was a wonderful time. the people here are incredibly friendly. It felt very very safe . It was a small town atmosphere where I went up to talk to everyone and anyone, trying to make new friends and learn about their culture.
The first day I had an FDP at 1pm and we weren't allowed off of the ship until about 9, so I went with a small group to the "market street." Trinidad is very built up, which I was not expecting. Good roads, a few skyscrapers... easy to get around. It was fun just exploring the city, popping in and out of shops.
My FDP the first day was fairly boring, but I think probably worth doing. we went to the national museum to research foreign influences on Trinidad for my Canal class. It was really interesting information- a lot of the culture is influenced by Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, African, American, and British- So lots of influence. There was one part of the museum that was all about the environment (terrestrial and marine) that I loved. I learned that the Green sea turtle is not actually green, but rather black, grey or brown. Oh! And one of the girls that I hang out with on the ship went and saw the turtles giving birth. She said it was amazing. The rest of the FDP was a 3.5 mile walk around a "park" that consisted mostly of bare land. They used to host horse races there and now they have their 2 day Carnival festival there. Apparently Carnival was started in Trinidad and then moved to Brazil. I thought Brazil loved Carnival... apparently Trinidad does even more! It made going out on a Tuesday night an adventure.
The next morning we got up and went to Maracus Beach- it was beautiful, even though it was raining. The ride there was absolutely terrifying- 5 people squished in a taxi, on winding roads driving through in the jungle, dodging cars, overhangs and hanging trees. We got there before everyone else did, so we played in the water which was really warm and everyone was scared because we were told there was a potential for sharks and sea snakes. It's true though, there are a lot of sharks in the area. One of their delicacies is Bake and Shark. Fried shark on a sandwich... SO GOOD! I felt bad, Professor Abel would not have been happy, but it was well worth trying. Kind of like chicken tasting, but a more fish like texture on a bun with various sauces. Some spicy, some not- all very good. There ketchup was really strange though... very sweet. Definitely not Heinz.
We got back to the ship around 2 even though on ship time was 4pm. I'm glad because then I got to sleep- I slept for three hours! I was wiped out... so much walking and playing in the water haha. All in all, I would definitely go back. Trinidad was a beautiful country, with really nice people.
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