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Diane's DiaryFebruary 23 Sunday I made bacon and eggs for breakfast, Ron and Lena stopped by, then Jim on Lady J to discuss the Atkins diet. By then it was time for a fast shower and lunch before we left for the Viey La Cou event at 12:30pm. This is old Carnival where the characters are dressed in old time costumes. I won a free admission with Members Only in their raffle- worth about $7USD. This event was held in the Boy Scout Grounds and was out in the open sun- there was very little shade. Fortunately, Jesse told us to bring our chairs so we could get a spot in the very little shade. I really didn't care for this event so much as we had seen most of the characters at Taste of Carnival and didn't feel it was worth it. We got there at 1 and they didn't start till 2:30- late as usual for Trinidad! There was not much to do in the meantime so I felt it was boring just sitting there. I definitely would have skipped this event. We left the event at 5:30 although we could have taken the later bus at 6:30- I had just had it been by then. I think the hot sun just got to me- even with sitting in the shade. Larry seemed to enjoy the event though and got lots of pictures. February 24 Monday I walked over to S/V Halliday Girl to borrow some CD's with Carnival music so we could copy them. We gave them a bottle of wine for it. Then I walked over to Members Only to pay for some more Carnival events. It was very crowded and I didn't leave there until after 10am - it took about an hour. Then I stopped by to see Mima for a few minutes. I worked out in the gym and wrote some letters to go back to the US. We took it easy the rest of the day. February 25 Tuesday I made some more bacon and eggs- we are really sticking to this diet. Unfortunately, it takes so long to cook and clean up breakfast now that we can really only eat eggs for breakfast. I went to the book swap at Crews Inn at 10am and then made some phone calls. I went to the grocery, brought some letters over to the boat S/V Hideaway as they will mail them when they go to the US, took a nap, and went to the gym. Tonight will be a long night as we are going to the semifinals of the Kings Competition. We left at 6pm and really enjoyed the show. They had the adult Kings (adult males) and Junior Queens (girls) all in costumes. Some of the costumes were really very elaborate. Some of the competitors had a hard time pulling their costumes across the stage, as they were so big and heavy. Some of them were 23 feet wide! We really had a fantastic time and thought it was very worthwhile. On the way home, we hit a lot of traffic as a big disco here in Chaguaramas had a big event and we got stuck in traffic- there is only one road in and out of Chaguaramas. It took us an extra hour that's how bad the traffic was backed up. There was literally thousands of young kids going to the disco, hanging out and blocking traffic. This being Trinidad, there was no police to either direct traffic nor be there in case things got out of hand. February 26 Wednesday I went to Price Smart in the morning. The AC had gone off in the morning, and Larry was trying to do everything he could to get it working. At first, Crews Inn said it was our power cord as it was not heavy duty enough so Larry took the dinghy and went over to Peake's to get another cord. But that wasn't the problem. We kept having Crews Inn come over to look at it but they weren't too quick in coming - remember this IS Trini time down here! Finally, we couldn't get the AC working at all so we had no AC when we went to bed. Unfortunately, our boat is located right under the restaurant so it's very noisy. Normally, with the AC on, the noise doesn't bother us, but without the AC on, the noise was very loud inside our boat. So, we both didn't get a very good night's sleep between the noise and the heat on the boat. February 27 Thursday We were both up early, as we didn't get a good night's sleep. The AC repair guys happened to come to our boat at 8am as they thought we were the boat who called for an AC problem. It turns out it was another boat, but they promised they would come back and look at ours after lunch. Hope so as this is the big Carnival weekend and if we don't get it fixed by tomorrow, we won't have it fixed until next Wednesday. I don't know if I could wait that long - I will be a basket case if I don't get a good night's sleep. Fortunately, they came back in the afternoon and were able to jury rig it until they bring the part back tomorrow. Thank goodness for nice cool air again. It's amazing how much you miss it when you don't have it. Anyway, it seems a power surge here at CI caused the part to short out. Thank goodness it didn't cost to much to repair it and we got it fixed before the holiday starts! Anyway, I managed to go to the gym in the morning. In the afternoon, I made a crabmeat dish and fried up some eggplant. Lady M 3, Lady J, and Steph stopped by. Steph had rented a car so I went with her to the gas station as it's in the next town called Carenage, which isn't a really safe neighborhood. After, we went up to see the beach on the north shore right near Chaguaramas, which I had never seen before - it was really very nice. I know it gets very crowded with locals over the weekend but it was very peaceful and quiet now. February 28 Friday Well, we've been on the diet about a month so far and seem to be doing quite well with it. We have lost about 10 pounds each. I would like to lose as much weight as possible before we do our inland trips and go to the out islands of VE as it will be very difficult to be on the diet then. We are using about 4 dozen eggs per week so I can't possibly bring 12 dozen to the out islands- I will bring as many as I can and we'll try to stay on the diet as long as possible. Anyway, we had to wait for the AC guys to come back as they didn't know what time they would be here. Since it's the holiday weekend, we made sure one of us was going to be here so we wouldn't miss them. They did come back about noon and it only took a few minutes to install the part. We bought a spare part in case this happens again. Larry walked to the other side of the lagoon twice today- he had to go to Chaguaramas Metal Works and later to pick the part back up. He also stopped by to see Mima and have a few drinks! We helped a boat S/V Wind Witch get onto the dock at CI as they had come in from VZ. I went to a security meeting they had in CI for everyone in Chaguaramas from 2-4pm. They talked about what "security" measures they were doing to help the cruisers. Unfortunately, there were only about 30 people at the meeting and there should have been more to really enforce the idea the cruisers are very concerned about our security. Oh, well, at least they had the meeting and heard our complaints- whether they do something is another matter. After the meeting, I made a crabmeat imperial dish for dinner. Tonight will be another late night as this is the Queens Semifinals. We got on the bus at 6pm only to go a short distance to where Jesses from Members Only was waiting. He explained the 2 Carnival groups are having a fight between them as to who controls the various Carnival events. So, he didn't think there was going to be a show at all tonight according to what he found out and suggested we cancel going. We were definitely all disappointed but didn't want to get there and than there would be no show. So, we all elected not to go and Jesse will refund our money. It's too bad as we were all looking forward to it. So, instead we just went back to the boat and watched the America's Cup races. March 1 Saturday This is the beginning of Carnival weekend! We are going to the Steel Pan finals tonight so took it easy today, as it will be a long evening. We relaxed; I took a long nap and swam but took a few days off from the gym. We left at 6:45pm for the event but unfortunately, Jesse got the starting time wrong. Instead of starting at 8, it was supposed to start at 7 so when we got there, there was tons of traffic and we didn't get inside the grandstand until 7:30 and the event started about 5 minutes later. Trini's take their pan very seriously so the event was extremely crowded and we had to search for seats. We couldn't find any and finally had to split up to get a seat. We were lucky we happened to find 2 good seats, even though they were separated. We got to see 10 bands but because Jesse left early again, we missed the last 3 bands! Naturally, one of the bands we didn't get to see, Exodus, won the whole event! We really enjoyed this event and would definitely go again. We wouldn't even bother going to the preliminaries- just go see the best at the finals. It takes about 15 minutes for each band to get on and off the stage, so there is a lot of time just sitting around waiting. We were both really glad we went to this event as we thoroughly enjoyed it. We got home around 1:30am and found the America's Cup races were still on, so we watched them for a while. March 2 Sunday We woke up at 9 am as we just couldn't sleep any longer. We ate a big breakfast and just relaxed as tonight is another big event- Dimanche Gras so it will be another long night. We just relaxed and I went to the gym for a long workout as I don't think I'll get to go during the next several days. We left at 5:45 for the show. It had a little bit of everything - pan, Calypso, and the Kings and Queens. I liked the bands and Kings and Queens but didn't care for the Calypso- at least the first songs of each performer. They each sang 2 songs and naturally, their second songs were much better than the first. Again, we didn't get to see the end of the performances so this was definitely a disappointment, as we didn't get to see who won. But Jesse had to pick up other cruisers from Chaguaramas to do J'overt so he was definitely anxious to get back. Anyway, I liked the show a lot but don't think I would do this event again if I had to do it over again. Well, we got home around 1:30 and the America's Cup was still on, so we watched it a little before going to bed. March 3 Monday Anyway, today J'Overt started at 4am but we elected not to play "dirty mas" as they call it. You walk through the streets of Port Of Spain behind a very loud band and everyone throws mud, paint, etc. on you. It didn't sound to exciting to us so we elected to miss it. Also, last year there were lots of security problems for this event so we were definitely worried about that. Fortunately, things went very well this year, with lots of police around and very little security problems. Everyone was certainly glad about that. Anyway, we heard from other cruisers that did go, they had a good time. It's very expensive to get one of these "costumes" which aren't much- about $30USD for a cheap band (that means no food or drinks) to about $60 for a full service band with food and drinks. This was a little too rich for our blood! Anyway, we were really exhausted from all these Carnival activities and all these late nights. We definitely are not used to staying up until the wee hours of the mornings! So, we just took it easy today and took a nap and watched TV. I didn't even go to the gym I was so tired. March 4 Tuesday Well, today was "clean mas' which is just the opposite of J'Overt. Everyone gets dressed up in really nice costumes and joins a band. I might just add that most of these costumes are extremely skimpy. But no matter, even the heavy people wear them! Again, the costumes and to join a band is very expensive- some are over $200USD each. No wonder crime increases so greatly just before Carnival- to many of these people, that's a great deal of money and no one wants to miss Carnival due to not having the money, so robberies go way up. Anyway, we left for the Parade of Bands at 7:30. It started about 8:30 but Jesse wanted to leave early, as there was lots of traffic in downtown POS and many of the streets were closed to allow the bands to go through. Anyway, we had a really good time watching the Parade of Bands though it was not necessary to spend the money to see the band in the stadium- you could see the same thing on the street for free. But with all the crime in recent years, we thought it was best to play it safe and just see it in the stadium. Anyway, the bands really aren't much. It's just extremely loud music and everyone in costumes jumping and down all day long. The bands have drinks for all their members and they walk around POS to all the different judging stands during the day. I don't know if I could jump up and down like that for 6 hours but with all the alcohol flowing very smoothly, I can see how some people do it! Anyway, I managed to get some 'souvenir" parts of costumes that people dropped on stage so we now have them hanging in Destiny. Anyway, we took the 4:30 bus back- the last one of the day. We definitely had a good time watching the bands and were glad we got to see it. So, that was the last Carnival event with the exception of Champs In Concert next Saturday. We definitely enjoyed Carnival and are glad we got to see it at least once. It's not cheap though- it probably cost us around $300 including ticket price and transportation to all the events. Would I do it again? Yes, but now that we have seen it, I would only do certain events next time. Would I recommend every cruiser see Carnival? Yes, I do think it's an event not to be missed and are glad we saw it. Would I come again just to see Carnival? No, I wouldn't make a special trip to Trini just for this although we know many people who come every year just for that. March 5 Wednesday Well, we were both very tired today from all the Carnival events - they definitely wore me out! Larry studied for the Ham exam today, which is tomorrow. He really wants to pass and has been studying a lot in between the Carnival events and even before that. He really wants to use the Ham email system, which is a lot faster than Sailmail except you cannot use it to conduct business. Anyway, I rested and took naps and went swimming. I was even too tired to go to the gym! We watched TV at night and Larry just studied for the test. March 6 Thursday Well we got our mail today- 6 months worth! It was great to get our mail and all our recent magazines also! Since it's so expensive to get the mail, we don't get it very often - maybe every 6 months or so. I went to Price Smart this morning- we are going up on the hard this week so I want to get as many supplies as possible so I don't have to drag it up the ladder. It's a lot easier to provision when the boat is in the water. Anyway, before we went to Price Smart this morning, I walked over to Members Only to pay for the Champs In Concert tickets for Saturday night. Anyway, Larry took the ham test this morning and he passed!!! He was really very thrilled. He was really worried he wouldn't pass the Morse code part, as that is the most difficult part. You study for the exam and than never use the code again, so it's like learning something for school- learn it for the test and then forget it. He wants to go out to TGIF and go off the diet for a day to celebrate. So we will when we get a chance. In the meantime, we stayed on the diet throughout Carnival, which wasn't so easy, but we managed to do it. I definitely feel better with the weight off. Wish it came off faster than it does though! |