TateTales

We met a guy who knew a guy… In Castara’s Coffee Shop I asked a guy about taking us out in a boat. His name was Hilly. He arranged for a guy named Jed to take us out in his boat. Small boat, rough seas and an exciting trip along the rocky coast to picturesque Englishman’s Bay. On the way Marika and Will fished, but no bites. We put on our masks, snorkels and flippers and flipped out of the boat into the Caribbean Sea. Below us was an amazing coral reef. We saw more colourful and different sized fish than we could count. Endless groves of fan coral, dotted with brain and branch coral. Needlefish, banded butterfly fish, queen triggerfish, blue tang, blue chromis, sergeant major, scrawled cowfish, blue hamlet, harlequin bass, fairy basslet, indigo ... read more

Tobago sports the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere dating way back to the mid-1700s when the forest was protected as the watershed for plantations. Almost all Tobago’s fresh water comes from this rainforest. Newton George was the lead in protecting the rainforest for decades. Now he is known, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but internationally as the islands’ pre-eminent nature guide. He picked us up early this morning and drove us to the rainforest where he led us on hikes for hours. He caught and showed us a beautiful black and red coral snake. I always thought all coral snakes were venomous, but not this species. "The colours were cool and it was cool that it wasn't a bird after seeing so many birds", said Marika. Imagine carrying something as long as a ... read more

We all want to thank all of you who have posted comments. Each of us enjoys all of them and we always get excited to see who has commented and what they have had to say. Also, always scroll down the page for more pics. If you could only do 1,000 things before you die, the New York Times bestseller by that name thinks eating at Veni Mange is one of them. Good call. Chock full of art and personality, it is the place in Port of Spain where local food and creative cooking come together. “Not just a meal, but an experience” says Will. “An interesting taste of Trinidad” says Marika. We shared Will’s oxtail stew, Marika’s grilled red snapper fish with tamarind sauce, Kim’s fish broth and yam cheese balls, and my curried pork. ... read more

Who knew a flight attendant could be funny? Our Irish Westjet host punctuated our cross-oceanic fitful snoozing with cracks like “And if your lifevest fails, WestJet will let you keep it as a complimentary gift.” He was fun and helpful, trying to figure out which islands we were flying over through the dark. Harry met us at the airport at dawn with a sign with our name at it and we drove to the Hyatt and checked in right away to a room that looks like it is floating on the Caribbean Sea. We hung out in the infinity pool, wondering if the distant coastline was Venezuela. A long walk through Port of Spain to Queen Savannah Park where we drank iced coconut water after Tony, a coconut street vendor lopped the top off (of the ... read more

After eight days of intense and fabulous jungle and cloud forest edventures we are taking it easy. The Pacific Ocean at our hotel on the northwest coast of Costa Rica is perfect. No cold shock as you reach THAT depth entering the ocean, gentle swells and no rocks – just smooth sand. Aaaahhhh. Marika is growing fins as she rarely leaves the pool. Will is a regular in the local beach volleyball scene – when we check in with him sometimes it looks like he is playing with Costa Rica’s national team – big muscular athletic types and Will holds his own with his serve. The swimming pools are endless and replete with fountains and waterfalls. We asked for a mountain facing room and have been rewarded with howler monkey sightings from our room. Lots and ... read more