We said our goodbyes to Trinidad a little after sunrise yesterday, fuel tanks full and spirits high. Trinidad itself is an interesting mix – everyone seems to be in a perpetual state of "waiting to party" with a laid-back island charm. Everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly, and the atmosphere crackled with the potential for a spontaneous dance party at any moment. It also meant not much happened. Unfortunately, the lack of available marina berths forced us to anchor, making dinghy logistics a bit of a challenge, especially given the climate.
Our quest for cash, fuel, and a local SIM card turned into a bit of an unexpected chore that very surprisingly took a day and a half. It seems the location where we anchored has a dual personality – TTYA (Trinidad and Tobago Yachting Association) and TTSA (Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association). To add another layer of confusion, there's another TTYA a few miles away. Imagine the taxi odyssey that followed! A planned one-hour trip morphed into a multi-hour ordeal thanks to the name confusion. To top it all off, when I inquired at the office for clarification, I was met with a smile and a shrug – "This is TTYA, but we call it TTSA. You can call it TTYA too or TTSA, but there's another TTYA 4 miles away..." Signs around the compound helpfully displayed both TTYA and TTSA, further muddying the waters. Needless to say, our taxi initially went to the wrong TTYA!
Fueling up also proved to be an adventure. A broken fuel dock forced us to resort to jerry cans and a van trip to a gas station. Here, a new challenge emerged – a $30 maximum per transaction and a pre-payment requirement. This translated to multiple trips and a significant amount of waiting around as we wanted 600 liters, since this had obviously never happened before no one could understand what we were doing. We had to buy rolls of garbage bags to line the inside of the van to make sure we didn't get diesel on the interior. Communication added another layer of difficulty. While everyone spoke English, deciphering what they were saying felt a bit like trying to understand a Bob Marley lyric in a heavy accent!
After all this it was great to have a cold shower, early dinner and get to bed for some serious catching up on sleep. So we were a little surprised when a floating disco, boasting a capacity of 50 people but somehow carrying a staggering 200, cruised past our anchored spot about 10pm.
The music was loud enough to set Namarie vibrating, and conversation became an exercise in futility. We couldnt hear each other say "Are you kidding?? is this going on all night?!" Thankfully, the party spirit subsided around 4 am on the first night and earlier on the second night!! Allowing us to catch some much-needed rest *ahem*.
Despite these initial hiccups, we're now happily underway towards our next destination with a respectable bit of current giving us a push in the right direction.
