"HOT, HOT, HOT"

We left Tobago at midnight, aiming for an early afternoon arrival in Trinidad. Even with a nap before leaving, there are still a few hours of darkness when it’s challenging to stay awake. Sunrise is a favourite moment.

On the north coast of Trinidad, the welcoming committee arrived. We truly are dolphin dorks, thrilled at every sighting. As Geoff walked forward with the camera, two dolphins matched their pace to his, as we motored along at 6 knots.

This guy rolled onto his side a couple of times to get a look at Geoff. We’re never sure who’s having more fun during these encounters – they romp and play, we grin like idiots.

This is the northwest tip of Trinidad where we turned left.

The land mass on the far horizon is Venezuela, just seven miles away. Trinidad was part of mainland Venezuela as recently as 11,000 years ago - a quick blip of time in geological terms.

There are three small islands at this northwest corner that create three entrances, collectively called the Bocas del Dragon – the Dragon’s Mouth. We used the first channel, Boca de Monos, into Chaguaramas Bay – that’s pronounced Shag-a-ram-us, an Austin Powers- approved name.

Chaguaramas is the yachting centre of Trinidad. There are a dozen huge boat yards with thousands of cruising yachts on the hard, either being stored or waiting for work to be done.

In and around each boat yard, there are storefronts and businesses offering every type of service you could possibly need.

It’s like a series of malls for boating services – the captain didn’t know where to head first. I took his Visa card into custody.

After checking in with Customs and Immigration in Chaguaramas, we took ‘Beach House’ another four miles east to Carenage Bay, home of the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association.

At our anchorage here, we’re surrounded by lush green hills, and in the distance to the east, we can see Port of Spain ……

…… which is especially beautiful with the sunset reflected in the highrises.

  

Seems we’ve found ourselves another boat club to enjoy.

TTSA has everything – laundry, wifi, swimming pool, showers, restaurant, bar, friendly local sailors, and like-minded cruisers. We’ve signed up as 30-day members for $100US. It’s a great place to wait for our solar panels to be delivered. 

Our friends Robert and Trish on ‘Bristol Rose’ had already been in Trinidad for several months. We hadn’t crossed paths with them since Martinique back in June, so it was great to catch up with them again.

Last Sunday, they took us to Maracas Beach on the north coast.

Maracas Bay is over a mile wide with three white sand beaches. It's very popular with the locals, especially on Sundays. And the people-watching is excellent.

The boys explored their Aussie roots and went body surfing for a couple of hours. Ready for a James Bond moment?

Meet Daniel and Craig.

Meanwhile, Trish and I sat on the beach fending off beach entrepreneurs selling jewelry, t-shirts, and trinkets. Then Peter sat down in front of us.

He was very clear how it would work. He would sing and we would pay him. So he did and we did - $10TT each. Peter’s medley wasn’t bad. It wasn’t exactly good either

And the group of kids beside us asked Trish to take their picture.

Check the poses. Turns out they’re dancers on a cruise ship. A lovely Brit group of young bodies heading for serious sunburn.

And we couldn’t leave Maracas Beach without a stop at the world famous Richard’s Bake and Shark. Oh. It's not world famous? Well, it should be.

The shark part is obvious - breaded fried shark. The bake part is a fried, pastry-like bun.

Just look at these generous portions awaiting toppings – tomatoes, cukes, slaw, sauces. We were so ready to chow down that we didn’t take a picture of the toppings table. It was beautiful and tempting. Here’s the proof.

We had a great day. Many thanks to Robert and Trish.

They’re in Grenada now, working their way up to St. Lucia where ‘Bristol Rose’ will join the ARC to head to Australia. Fair winds, guys.