Englishman's Bay

Next we ventured way up the north coast to go to Englishman's Bay...a somewhat deserted beach. It rained for most of the morning, but at least the sun came up for a bit before we had to travel back.

View during bus ride back

Pretty

Englishman's Bay with the Sun out!

Me and Martina finally gettin some sun!

View from our camp out on top of the cafe/souvenir shop with sarongs swaying in the rain.

Me at our camp out where we ate some goood suger cake.

The stupid stray dog who wouldn't leave us alone.

Mount Irvine

After Kat left, Martina and I ventured to a different part of Tobago and ended up at Mount Irvine-the surfers beach. We relaxed and met a chill group of locals and foreigners liming on the beach!

Check out this sweet surfer...I will be back.

Pretty Mount Irvine

A Baptism at Mount Irvine

Store Bay

After crashing CoCo Reef we went to Store Bay...they had good eats (including Bake N Salt fish) and lots of souvenir shops. That evening we watched the sunset at the Beach Bar, which had this blown up Santa.

What is wrong with this picture? I am tan and wearing a halter next to a santa wearing a fuzzy red coat and pants, boots, gloves, and a hat....I should be bundled up as well!

Store bay and the tree whose leaves fell onto the nice sand...but at least it provided shade!

Store bay

Martina, Kat, me and some kids at Store Bay

CoCo Reef

On our way to Store Bay, we stopped in the super fancy schmancy hotel with private beach--CoCo Reef--just to check it out.


The private beach

Kat, me, and Martina on the patio of CoCo Reef

Martina being a stereotypical Asian tourist at the entrance to CoCo Reef

Pigeon Point and Bucco Reef

Our Buccoo Reef tour guide getting the conk out of the conk shell so we could eat it! It was chewy, but tasty. After the reef we went to a place to harvest the conks...we found two and got to keep the shells!

The money shot: Pigeon Point at sunset :)

Pigeon Point

We went on a glass bottom boat tour to Buccoo Reef and got to snorkel as well...here is some of the reef through the glass!

Pigeon Point

This is my favorite beach. I hope this entices you to come visit me so I have more excuses to go back! The bottom picture is just me on the ferry ride over to Tobago at sunrise. (Its about 2-2.5 hour ride over and if you take Gravel, you can just sleep right through it and not get seasick!).

A Hindu Wedding

Just before thanksgiving, my friend Giorgio invited me to his distant cousin's Hindu wedding (he thought it would be something a tourist might like to see haha). Leading up to it though, he kept complaining how long and boring it was going to be and did i just want to go to the reception. I went by his family's house before the wedding and they were all saying the same thing, but I wanted to see it. So the service was really only 2 hours (maybe 2.5), so I don't know what everyone was complaining about (they were making it seem like hours and hours). It was really a shame because throughout the service people were chatting and walking in and out...no one seemed really interested in what was going on. Lucky for me, they had an MC explaining everything that was going on, but he also kept emphasizing (to the point where it was like a demand) that the family has provided refreshments and that we should leave the service and eat them because the service is going to be awhile (again, it was only 2 hours long!). Between the service and the reception we picked up his aunt (who hadn't gone to the service). The reception was honestly just how I would imagine an Indian wedding reception...except they never pulled the chairs away to dance (Giorgio kept complaining about that and about how it was the worst reception he's ever been to...people can be harsh!). I still had a good time and ate some good food.

Giorgio and his cutest little first cousin when we left the ceremony to eat the refreshments.

the traditional dancer.

The tranny traditional dancer (i.e. and man dressed up as a woman)

I forget what they call these drummers but they only played to introduce the bride and groom when the left the temple and when they arrived at the reception and for this lil performance. The rest of the reception was just music on the loud speakers.

The bride and groom and their parents! (Yes they changed into more modern wedding attire for the reception)

Some gooooood Indian food at the reception...no meat...no plates...no utensils...but sooooo goood. Its Buss up shut roti (the crumbly bread) that you use to pick up the cassava and potatoes, mangos, and other concoctions.

After the bride moves to his left side, the family comes up and throws rice at the newlyweds (sound familiar?). This is the ceremony to pray that they are prosperous.

Inside the temple...at the end of the aisle

The bride walking down the aisle with the mother! This is after she did a little preperation ceremony without the groom. Then she left and the groom did his preperation ceremony. Then she came down the aisle and stood on the groom's left side and then a ceremony to move to his left side.

Lynneil's Birthday Lime

My rell good friend Lynneil turned 21 on Nov. 18 and this was her lime. We had planned on going to Ruby Tuesdays (yes they have those here), but the lime was so big and Trini's are so late, Ruby Tuesdays couldn't sit us together and then closed the kitchen on us. So we migrated to JMalone's and had a fabulous photo shoot in front of the Christmas Tree. The bottom picture is from left: Lynneil, Rashida, Me, and Martina. The next picture up is a guy feeding Lynneil her cake. The Trini birthday tradition is like at a wedding where a member of the opposite sex cuts the cake with you and then feeds you your cake. The next pic is just some of the gals and the top is most of the birthday table.