rgem

The past two weeks have really been getting properly started with my research and, of course, getting ready for carnival. Most week days we spend working - either going out and doing interviews or phoning around and sorting ourselves out. Thats another thng I love about Trinidad - everything is done by phone, no emails/texts. Its refreshing to actually talk to people and get to know them. Last weekend we went out again (standard) and ended up drinking at the main junction by our house at 4am with a guy who works in a shop which is basically a cage and our taxi driver. In hindsight, probably not the safest idea weve ever had, but being drunk and with two pretty big men, it seemed like a great idea! The next day we went to the ... read more

So, from Monday we decided we should probably make a start on our research and sort ourselves out properly. This involved my first exploration of Trinidad and its public transport system alone, as well as signing for our new house and sorting ourselves out to move in today! I'm so excited to be able to cook and eat proper food!! So far ive had lucky charms for breakfast, bread which tasted more sugary than the lucky charms and several takeaways. The Caribbean diet certainly isnt the healthiest!! Anyway, so on Monday I went to meet a friend of a friend who lives in Trinidad and who is involved in the Cocoa industry. This showed my a whole different side to the island that what I've already experienced. Where I am currently staying, El Socorro, and the ... read more

So, another flight from Miami to Port of Spain and we made it to Trinidad!! Only to be held up at immigration because our return flights left Costa Rica and not Trinidad itself, which apparently is against their Visa laws. Potentially the nicest immigration people in the world managed to create a flight for us to fake book ourselves onto and then let us go... all a bit underground/illegal, but we made it in! Leaving the airport and being hit by the 30 degree heat, the Northern Range mountains covered in rainforest and the palm trees was amazing! so worth the 40 hours with no sleep and millions of airports! A taxi took us to our guesthouse for the next week in El Socorro, which meant driving through a lot of the citys surrounding areas. Whoever ... read more