Tastes of Trini

Hurricane season is always the rainy season and Trinidad is known for being very wet and humid during these months. When it rains – it really rains.

However, whilst we have had quite a bit of rain since our arrival at the very end of June, it has, so far, seemed drier than last year and we have been very lucky with the weather in all our trips out.

You might remember that in my previous post about Trinidad, I told you about Jesse James who, as well as voluntarily running the wonderful MSATT cruisers services, also, as his source of income, runs a taxi service which includes organised days out. So far this year we have been on three of them and I perhaps should, but don’t, apologise for taking the title of this blog post from our first trip with him which he calls “A Taste of Trini”.

As you can see from the map above, he tours much of Trinidad during which he tells brilliant stories about his childhood and growing up in a small village in the interior, and is extremely enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge about the culture, the demography of the population and the wildlife. He has funny anecdotes such as the fact that the “Angostura” company – yes, the rum factory where bitters were invented and the only place they are still made – achieved its highest sales during Covid. This, he told us, was due to the 9pm to 5am curfew when people started limin’ before the curfew started and, because they then couldn’t leave, partied until the early hours of the morning. Overnight parties aren’t that unusual in the Caribbean but it seems that during curfew they were almost a way of life.

However, the main purpose of the trip is to sample the food of Trinidad and we certainly did that. In total we tried 55 different foods. Don’t worry – although I took photographs of all of them, I will just highlight the best.

All of the above were, with another ten things considered “breakfast” – not that you would have all of them in one sitting – at least, I hope not! As well as the “Bodi” [above] I have also made something called “Karela” which people eat at breakfast time with coconut bake. It is also known as bitter melon – and, believe me, it is very, very bitter. I made a fried and mildly spiced version, which toned it down a little, and we used it as a relish with sausages.

After then sampling five items that would be served as main meal items, we actually reached our lunch spot on the east coast of Trinidad.

Our delicious lunch consisted of six different curries [mango, pumpkin, chickpea and potato, chicken, pork, beef] served with dhal puri and “bus up shot” [paratha]. That name derives from it looking like a busted [torn] up shirt which, when said with a Caribbean accent, becomes the name it is now known by. We also had peanut punch which is very thick and creamy – I certainly couldn’t drink a carton of it.

Shortly after lunch we saw where the river meets the sea before travelling inland again.

During the afternoon we sampled several cake, sweet and fruit items and I really enjoyed it when we stopped at various roadside stalls and houses…

….and could chat with the locals.

No longer hungry at all we still managed to nibble at a final dish of more traditionally West Indian main meal food – Jerk Pork, BBQ Ribs and Chicken, Macaroni Pie and Lentils [our lunch, as you will have noticed, having been time honoured Asian fare] and, I think we were all then rather thankful when the ice cream shop had closed by the time we got there at the end of the trip.

Also, during the afternoon, we were treated to Angostura’s “White Oak” Rum with Sorrell. We have never been particularly enthusiastic about flavoured spirits but I have to say that this rum was very nice. Now, having experimented further, we have found what we think is an even better flavour – pink grapefruit.

Great at spotting wildlife, at one point during the trip Jesse suddenly stopped the van shouting “Toucans”. So, we all piled out and I managed to get a half decent shot of these two….

… which leads nicely into the next section of this post.

Our second “Taste” was a one of birdlife at the Asa Wright Nature Centre….

high up [350m/1,150ft] in the Arima Valley – part of the tropical rainforest found in Trinidad’s northern mountain range.

Once a coffee/cocoa/citrus estate it became a guest house in the 1950’s, was established as the Asa Wright Nature Centre Trust in 1967 and given Field Research status by the New York Zoological Society in 1975. It soon became recognised internationally as a destination for eco-tourists, particularly bird watchers. Covid-19 was disastrous for the self-financing centre and it ceased operating. It is now in partnership with a company called “HADCO Experiences”. They tastefully renovated the property….

…..and operate the lodge and restaurant whilst the Trust retains responsibility for conservation, educational programmes, research and sustainable agricultural activities.

Having been welcomed with non-alcoholic punch we got our first taste of the range of birdlife easily visible from the veranda.

We were then shown videos about the centre and its work before being guided for around 45 minutes on one of several trails which criss-cross the property. Unfortunately, being two of a group of about twenty people on the walk neither Mike, nor I, managed to hear much of what the guide was saying as he was someway ahead. Regardless of that we enjoyed the walk and, although we didn’t manage to spot many birds, we did see interesting foliage…

…. some fungus….

… and this wonderful butterfly.

A hot and cold buffet lunch was served – extremely good it was too – and then we were free to walk any of the trails or just enjoy watching all the birds which came to the feeders and food tables. We did a bit of both.

Mike and I wandered off to try to find the natural pool we had been told about but, failing in that, we then went with Steve to the “artificial” pool which was originally built to provide a header tank for part of the operations during the plantation years.

Afternoon tea and bird watching followed and I did my best to photograph some of the colourful and fast-moving birds. The hummingbirds I found especially difficult to capture, particularly as I am very much an amateur who doesn’t understand shutter speeds!

I did slightly better with those birds which managed to stay still for at least 10 seconds.

All in all, it was another wonderful experience.

For our next Taste, Mike and I ventured out on our own. We went first to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

In some ways it was a bit disappointing. There are no flowers, just trees. What was an orchid house is closed, and looks like it has been for some time – perhaps another legacy of Covid. But, it was a pleasant enough stroll…

…. and gave us an appetite for what followed next – a wonderful lunch at “The Meena House”. This time you do get photographs of everything we ate because it was so wonderful.

The best and probably, having not been to India, the most authentic Indian meal we have ever had.

And so, to our final Taste – Jesse’s trip to the evening Independence Day celebrations in Port of Spain.

We were only there from 6pm until around 9.45pm but, during that time we were able to experience some of the vitality and spirit of the Trinidadian people as they cheered, danced and partied.

There was also a firework display which lasted for about 20 minutes ….

…. which left us smiling and very happy to have witnessed the spectacle.

As we found to some extent last year, and have encountered further this year, Trinidad has more to offer than we originally thought. Certainly, these four “Tastes” are things we are very, very glad to have had.