The saga continues –

After another brief bout of rain (it was the tropics, that does tend to happen), we went through the country side past some interesting sites including Laventille, a slum I had read about in the Earl Lovelace book The Dragon Can’t Dance, back to Port of Spain to go to the zoo! I had heard many an intriguing story about broken cages and tigers that you could basically touch (then get mauled by), so my preconceived standards were fairly low. My first impression, however, was that the zoo was absolutely crowded, and it was a Sunday! It’s not that the place was that small, there was just a mass of families out to enjoy the day. The students split up and attempted to fit in with the crowds (well, to mingle at least, but we were still fantastically white after all and tended to stand out), and wandered around the paths. The cages were indeed small, with everything from monkeys to jungle cats to birds of prey stuck in pens so tight that some could hardly pace. The big raptors were especially trapped, maybe with one or two perches, a half empty dish of dirty water, and space to hop but not fly. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t the worst zoo that I’ve ever been in, but the implications of the neglect allowed for by those running and those enjoying the zoo did make a lasting impression.

As is typical for trips such as these, we didn’t have much time to pause once we were done at the zoo (it wasn’t too hard for us to gather again, we just had to find the overly warm looking pale, about to be sunburned whities), but we did get a good show by a guy selling balloon animals to kids and couples alike. Eric managed to squeeze the bus in to the crowded driveway near the zoo, and we loaded up and were off again to Queens Park Savannah. Besides being surrounded by the worlds largest roundabout, the Savannah was basically a big park with football pitches, cricket fields, lots of lawn, and running paths all around. We pulled off to the side of the road and found the nearest coconut truck, which is exactly like what it sounds. For each student who was game, the vender chose a coconut from his collection, held it in one hand and wielded his machete with skilled abandon with his other to cut off the top of the nut to get at the milk. Some of the students were more impressed than others, but I understand that the coconut water is supposed to be incredibly refreshing. I was more impressed by the skill of the machete handling vender, who then cut the empty nuts in half, formed a spoon with part of the shell, and gave the halves back to the students so they could eat the gel remaining inside. Even if you’re not a fan of coconuts, it was fun to watch everyone’s different take on it, if nothing else.

We returned to Pax with ample time still left in the day, so it was decided that we would hike the hill behind the guest house. Up the switchbacks we went to the trail that led to a watchtower and eventually the top. As we climbed, the trees changed from having a dense deciduous understory and canopy to a more open, evergreen feel. We could see flocks of Orange-winged Amazon parrots making their straight paths from one end of the sky to the other, always in nice little pairs. About two thirds of the way up, a few of us stopped to, I guess enjoy the view and chat about ecology, while the boys went the rest of the way to the top. We had been warned not to split up too much on these paths, as there had been an rash of robberies of late, so we figured two groups of about four people each was appropriate. As I chose to stay at the bench, the unique picture of our Illustrious Leader’s triumphant success blended with complete exhaustion was kindly taken by one of the students. Everyone made it back safe, despite Chase’s propensity to run down the narrow, rock filled paths (thus initiating the “trail name dubbing” portion of the trip to be discussed in future posts), and we were all rewarded with cool water and a seat on the veranda back at Pax when we got home.

Alas, we’ve yet again reached my bed time. I understand that the “blogosphere” is a place where time only exists once you press the “publish” button, but I would like to keep my goal of writing one of these a day, so the rest of the tale will come tomorrow. I will discuss the typical Pax dinner, what I mean by “dinner gong”, and the start of the following day’s adventure. Until then, I wish you pleasant dreams. I know mine will be.