07.56 According to our plans this should be the first morning on Tobago but instead it´s the last morning on Trinidad. There is no panic. We will awake, have breakfast, pay for this extra night and the transport to the airport and pack our bags.

10.05 We’ve watched some TV during this trip. Something we have run into sometimes are the TV evangelists from the United States. They have a different view of the world and the future. One has claimed that Russia provides the muslim world with all kind of weapons. We’ve also heard that the muslims will attack Israel but they will be stopped by God. The muslims will come to realise that their god is weaker than the god of Israel. (But isn’t the god of the jews and the god of the muslims the same god?) There are churches with over 10,000 spectators mainly in Texas where a devoted audience listen to preachers speaking about the return of Jesus and that the upcoming antichrist is a leader from the European Union.

Our last breakfast on Trinidad.

12.06 We are now out of debt and have arranged with a transport to the airport. We’ve also checked how much money we´ve got left. There is enough money for the rest of the stay in the country. We’ve put aside 100 Trinidad dollars for the departure tax

13.18 Our host Chaitram Bhola drove us to the airport Piarco. We’ve had it great here, the best accomodation so far on the trip. We’ve had a cool room, lots of space to move around in, breakfast in the morning and not far to the local maxitaxi system. Christer just left to check which desk we will check in at.

13.40 We are just sitting down killing time. A large gang of Mexicans stands around us. They sure look like a typical stereotype Mexican, cowboy boots and big hats.

14.07 We are in place in the check-in line. A lady has just thoroughly checked another passenger’s luggage. Currently she is checking a young couple´s bags. Are we next in line?

14.27 No problems at all. The lady just waved us past. After we had checked in and before our backpacks got placed on the conveyor Christer´s backpack stood and rocked. One of the ladies there just pointed at the backpack and it stopped its rocking. As I am writing this we are having some coffee. Hmm.. all of a sudden I have more coffee in my mug and Christer have less.

14.44 Most of the coffee went down and all of us went past the security control, the gate and into the plane. Christer had to open his hand luggage including every pocket in his passport bag and his camera case. It must have been some kind of sample test. We are flying with Tobago Express today. This plane like others we´ve been on lacks row 13 (4/1 2006). Today it hasn’t got anything with superstition to do. The plane only has 12 rows. As I was writing this the couple that was scrutinized just passed. They seem to be having problems finding a seat. This is an earlier flight than the one we booked. We were asked if we wanted to go with this flight instead.

15.32 We’ve reached and landed on Tobago. We are the airport Crown Point. Now all we can do is to wait for the transport to our prebooked accomodation, Hummingbird Heights. The transport is supposed to be here at 15.50. This place is surely lacking benches. What one can do is to wash the face and that we will do. The domestic hall had no luggage carrousel for our backpacks to ride on. All they got was a luggage ramp where they just slide it in.

Violet

Nice view from Hummingbird Heights

Looking down on our swimming pool.

17.21 We’ve checked in and moved into our new room at Hummingbird Heights in Scarborough. We got picked up by our British hostess Shirley Rogers. Here we have met her pets, the foundling dog Violet, the cat Hero and the hen Hollis. Hollis strolled around the pool. Right now we are sitting on the balcony making up plans for the rest of the day. We just had coffee and juice. Guess who drank which. The balcony view is outstanding, the best one since San Marino (10/7 2004).

18.20 Christer has read in Rough Guides guidebook about Trinidad and Tobago. The book was in a bookcase here on our floor. He has read about the local wildlife. Some of our earlier questions have been answered. That which stung Christer at Grenada was most likely a jellyfish which is supposed to sting like a bee. The nests we saw where build by termites. Speaking about animals, we can hear a rooster crow in the distance.

Peter discovering Scarborough.

Peter reading about Tobago.

19.28 We are surrounded by the hum of people and the swish from the air conditioner. After strolling back and forth in Scarborough we´ve reached the fast food restaurant Royal Castle to try their deepfried chicken with fries and to that a large juice. On our stroll I managed to bump into a dog. The dog and 2-3 of the mates joined us, for revenge? The mates left one by one and they all were gone. Have they left to get reinforcement or am I off the hook?

22.51 We are sitting on the balcony looking out into the Tobago night. We can see countless of lamppost lights and hear music and crickets. Violet is sleeping in front of our room door. In the night sky we can see stars and the moon.

Monday 23rd of July

07.05 We just woke up and we are not the only ones who have done so. Outside our window we can hear birds, birds tweeting and roosters crowing. This day as so many before will start with breakfast. After that Shirley has promised us to take us to a beach, a beach where they will serve roti. Roti is this country´s most famous fast food. It is different kinds of meat and some other stuff wrapped in an Indian bread.

08.22 We had a nutritious breakfast and sat down on the balcony. This wasn't appreciated by the ones living in the area. A, what do I know?, swallow flew just above our heads. With its spread wings and hoarse cry it reminded us of an attacking plane.

Hero

The beach at Mount Irvine Bay.

10.08 We are stranded. We are on the beach by Mount Irvine Bay. It is till cloudy but there is no panic. As mentioned Shirley brought us here and also instructed us how to get home to Scarborough. We are at the moment on Tobago’s northern shores.

11.19 The skies are gray; it is raining and so far no swimming. We are hoping for blue skies and keep on reading our books. I ma reading Stephen King´s "Dreamcatcher" and Christer keeps reading his in Stockholm bought book by the Swedish author Håkan Nesser.

11.32 Since we are tired of rain and curious on food we have sought shelter under a roof. In front of us are two tall glass with ice awaiting the soda. The goat is out, the meat that is.

Christer eating roti.

11.45 The roti, our lunch, arrived neatly raped in paper. Roti is as mentioned before a local dish, meat and potatoes wrapped in Indian bread.

12.30 We have called and congratulated our friend Roberth on his birthday live from the beach. His body has been aging for 34 years by now. I am going for a swim. I don’t care about the clouds.

13.42 The gray clouds are leaking water. All I want is this dripping to come to an end.

14.49 My prayers were answered. We have grabbed our wet belongings that we had pushed in under a bush. The beach is abandoned. The prayers are answered, it isn’t dripping anymore. Instead it turned into 4-5 heavy showers. Christer did his best standing out in the water in the pouring rain. Now we have found shelter in a gazebo. Everything is covered in sand. Our belongings, our bodies, I even got sand in my mouth!

Peter getting dry after a bad day on the beach.

16.02 We are still in the gazebo. We are less wet with less rain around us. All we need is a warming sun. Christer has finished his book. A book that all a sudden got twice as thick. The rain had an active part in it. A local guy came by, chatted some and did the classic Caribbean hand greeting, knuckles to knuckles.

16.29 We have begun our return to Scarborough.

17.31 We travelled back with a local driver/unlicensed taxi. We are not sure if it is unlicensed since everyone seems to be going with this kind of vehicles. It is a person who gives people a ride. At first we just strolled around in Scarborough but now we´ve entered Chef’s & BBQ in the same building as last evening´s Royal Castle. The time has come to try another local dish.

We went for a walk through Scarborough.

The restaurant Royal Castle in Scarborough.

17.47 Goat is great. Well at least OK, It doesn’t taste like chicken or mutton more like beef.

18.30 On our way home we bought and brought with us soda. As we got home we met our hostess and her friend Reza. The friend wondered if anyone ever has told me that I look like Elton John. He isn’t the first (10/7 2001) and probably not the last. I wonder what resemblance they see. It came as a shock to us to hear that this side of the island had great weather during the whole day. Apparently we were cursed with a very local rain. We have hung our soaking wet towels to dry on the balcony. Enough with the writing, time for a shower

Peter watching CNN.

20.45 We have for a while watched the questioning of the Democrat candidates for the 2008 presidential election in USA. Next we will go for a swim in the pool here at Hummingbird Heights.

21.20 An evening swim in pool was just great. Now we will start to plan for tomorrow´s new country, Barbados.

22.34 We needed a balcony beer and more TV and couch sitting before we felt ready. Now the time has come to learn more about the upcoming country.

Within ten seconds Christer had to jump into the pool and swim into the picture before this photo was taken.

Tuesday 24th of July

07.06 It is cool in the room. Outside the roosters are crowing like crazy. It is calm in the room. Outside it is cloudy. This is the thirty-second day of the trip.

08.01 Christer has just had body contact with the ceiling fan. It isn’t the same finger this time. I guess it is good with some change.

09.01 Once more most of the things are packed. All that remains are our towels that still are drying out on the balcony. During breakfast we promised our hostess that we should e-mail her about our time here. Unfortunately our stay here got cut short because of the problems with the ferry tickets.

Getting prepared to leave Tobago.

Christer talking to Violet.

09.21 Here we are sitting resting on the balcony. Suddenly both towels fell down. As we had rearranged them we suddenly heard a voice, a voice coming from inside Christer´s backpack. His radio had started on its own. Well, now the towels fell again and a bee is buzzing around my right hand.

Travelling in a jeep to the airport.

11.39 Shirley took us to the airport and soon we will check in. After that we will get ourselves something to eat. One excellent thing is the fact that there is a perfect beach by Store Bay just next to the airport. We will take a short walk there to see what it has to offer.

12.33 We strolled around near the beach but couldn’t find a place to suit our needs, food and air conditioning. We went back and at a place across from the terminal building we found what we were looking for. We ordered food, buffet food. As I was about to pay for my food they took Christer´s food as well and I had to pay for both. Why do we have to pay for both so many times? In fact what would have happened if we hadn’t known each other? We sat down by the counter since we couldn’t find an empty table. Pretty soon the lady behind the counter said ”We don’t eat by the counter”. As we got up she said ”Are you not going to finish your meal?” Strange place!

A beach close to the airport, perfect!

Crown Point Airport, Tobago.

12.49 We are sitting by a gate again. We reached it from outside. There were signs saying gate 1,2,3. By gate 1 it said Trinidad, by number 2 it said International and by gate 3 we read International and Duty Free. We chose alternative 3. One man handled the security on his own. We will take off at 13.30 and as we reach Barbados we will exchange money and get picked up.

13.44 An aeroplane has landed, luggage has been driven there and here we are. We are still by gate 3.

BARBADOS

15.13 We have reached Barbados. The name of this airport is Grantley Adams International Airport. The stay here could have started better. It is impossible to exchange our Trinidad dollars and we haven’t seen our driver. According to an e-mail from the place we are going to stay at it is arranged with a transport.

15.48 A fact is that our plane left earlier than scheduled but Christer had informed about that in a mail. A fact is that it left later than he had said but would that matter? Anyhow we are still by the exit/entrance together with a lot of waiting people.

16.10 The crowd around us is thinning out. New ones have arrived and left but we remain steadfast here. The both of us have walked around here looking for our transport but no luck at all.

16.27 We’ve surrendered. We are going by taxi to our next home. I hope that the man driving knows the way to the place. It is new to him. Our home is situated in Dover and it is called Desert Rose.

16.42 We are driving around searching. Our driver just asked an American cutting a bush if he knew but he didn’t.

16.51 The taxi driver has entered Dover Beach Hotel to find the answer. We have given him our hostess name. He is talking to someone on the cellphone.

Accomodation which was very hard to find, Desert Rose.

17.16 That "someone" turned out to be our hostess. Kelvin, the man behind the wheel took us to the right place. It didn’t say Desert Rose outside the house. Kelvin pointed out that it said Danville on the mailbox. Desert Rose is just my e-mail address our hostess replied. Now she has informed us and we are about to freshen ourselves up. Wait a second, she has another e-mail address we remembered. We are staying at Desert Rose which is a regular house with two rooms for rent. Her name is Gertrud Osbourne and she originates from Germany. More information can be found at http://www.barbados.org/apt/desertrose/index.php

18.11 The hunger chased us out of the room. We kept on through a barred gate with a padlock. After some strolling we ended up at the terrace of Oriental Dining. It is one of the Chinese restaurants in the area. We are in Dover which neighbours to the wellknown tourist area Saint Lawrence Gap.

Peter in the restaurant Oriental Dining.

19.48 We had delicious food with pineapple juice to drink and fresh fruit for dessert. Before we headed home we went to a supermarket and bought a little to drink this evening and breakfast for tomorrow.

21.33 Here we are planning the next day. What shall we see on the island? How shall we get the room cool? Tomorrow we will not have an early morning.

Wednesday 25th of July

09.26 It has been a warm night. We had little help from the fan. This has to be avoided during the next night. Is it possible to air out the room? Can we do as we did on Saint Kitts? It is cloudy outside.

10.14 We share the bathroom with the others staying here. It is a Romanian-Colombian couple who just got married. The main problem is the fact that there is no lock on the door. How do we know if it is occupied or not?

12.48 First we went "downtown" and then out on the internet. There we checked about upcoming flights, checked the site http://www.resedagboken.cc and e-mails and news from back home. It was expensive to surf today, $ 9 for an hour. Now we are at Café Latte Love. It is time for coffee and we shall also write some postcards.

Saint Lawrence Gap on southwestern Barbados.

13.48 I guess one should never get to happy. During my postcardwriting my cup fell over and the remaining coffee got lost. Now we are back home and prepare to get sea bound.

17.10 Just like Aphrodite we have entered from the sea. Well, almost like her at least. We kept our shorts on. On the beach we have been offered to buy, necklaces, t-shirts, grass and other stuff. Not just any kind of grass. They were selling drugs. We wonder what will happen if we say yes to the deal? Are they just talking or do they actually have something to sell? Much of the attitude on these youngsters seems to try to be cool in front of the tourists. As the salt is removed we will head out on other missions. The beach with its white sand was great but the waves were way too high. The beach was reached through a small passage by Dover Beach Hotel.

Dover Beach

18.02 We are walking around in, get to know and eternalize the area, Saint Lawrence Gap. We just reached a small bay. Here there are plenty of boats with outboards.

19.01 Our strolling is over. We have bought more sodas and also got to know the couple next door. They are Eddie from Colombia and Catarina from Romania. She comes from the city Iasi in eastern Romania, a city we visited in 2003. We’ve also washed our clothes in a sink just outside the front door.

Peter doing something necessary.

Near Dover Playing Field.

20.00 It is time for dinner. We are back at Oriental Dining. We will have mixed rice and mixed noodles with passionfruit- and pineapple juice on the side. The birds are tweeting as if they were getting paid for it.

20.55 The annoying sound of a barking dog can be heard from outside our window. Our neighbours are watching The Simpsons. I need some soda now.

22.14 We are learning about the country and its capital Bridgetown. They seem to have something to offer in the city, not much but still. All beaches on the island are public and can’t be owned privately. It is illegal to swim naked and something is trying to get out of our sink. We can hear a bubbling sound from it. We are thinking if we should see anything else but Bridgetown tomorrow.