Family Trip to Trinidad 2017
For many a year, my beloved wife Mary-Anne has been asking me nicely to take her to Trinidad, the country where I was born. As our children grew up, they too thought it would be good visit the homeland of their father. In April 2017, circumstances arose that provided the opportunity for our entire family to visit Trinidad together. Only in hindsight did I appreciate the coincidence that this year marked the fiftieth anniversary of my arrival in Australia.
The notes below are simply some comments on each day that we were there and are not meant to be a comprehensive journal of the trip. Likewise, between us, we took a very large number of photographs. The small sample associated with these notes are meant to capture some of the key aspects of the trip.
Many
people helped to make this trip the success that it was. There were too many to mention all without
the risk of missing some. Special
thanks goes to:
· David (my Mum’s brother) and Joy Knaggs, who among other things
organised our accommodation - including stays at their houses in Blanchisseuse
and Tobago, acted as our local currency bank, suggested special places to
visit, and even lent us a car to get around in.
· Bernard Pantin ( Mary Knaggs’ brother) , our chauffeur at times who went
well above his duty to provide us with guided tours around Trinidad.
· Anthony Agostini for helping us get money out of Renel dividends that
bankrolled our trip.
· Geoffrey Agostini for his hospitality Down De Islands.
· Debbie and Phillip Cosgrove for hosting Mon and Andy in their Houston
home when they needed a bed on their way back to Australia.
12-Apr
Wednesday
Air New
Zealand 732
Extended
Stay America - Houston - Galleria - Uptown 2300 West Loop South Houston USA
Greg Kelly took us to the
airport. All went smoothly for our flight to
Auckland. There we no problems waiting
between flights in Auckland. Our flight
from Auckland to Houston was not comfortable as we all felt very squashed. Andy and Bob were in the middle of the middle
with no access to an aisle. Mary-Anne,
Mon and Katie were also in the middle.
The food was good, and movies were fine, but the conditions were very
cramped, which meant it was impossible to get much sleep. Katie started throwing up for the last few
hours of the flight. When we arrived
into Houston, we picked up the hire car, a very smart Ford Edge. It took a bit of setting up the GPS system
and getting used to a different car with the steering wheel on the left not
helping. Andy was navigator so he
translated the GPS and passed the info to me as driver. It was important for him to do so before the
opportunity to take each street turn passed.
The intermittent drizzle also did not help. Alt least to the relief of all, we managed to
get safely to the hotel. When we were
able to get in contact with Debbie Cosgrove via WhatsApp but unfortunately meeting up did not
suit. Katie and Mary-Anne had a rest
while Mon, Andy and I went exploring. A
giant mall was nearby, so we checked that out, as well as finding a little
something to eat for lunch. After lunch
Mary-Anne went in search of a jacket after getting advice from Debbie. Mon and I accompanied her as a stepping stone
to dinner. Success with the jacket hunt
morphed into success with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as suggested by
Debbie. Nothing like I imagined - great
food. We took back some desert for Andy
and Katie.
13-Apr
Thursday
United
Airlines Inc 1457
Port of
Spain - Moniques
There was not a lot of time
in the morning, so we packed up, then Mon, Andy and I went for breakfast. Giant
pancakes for Mon, waffles for Andy and muesli for me. Katie was still not 100%
so she just had a coffee at the hotel. We gave ourselves an hour to get back to
the airport and made it with only minor panic as often GPS instructions were
difficult to put into place, missing some turns, but recovering. We made it to airport just in time no hassles
handing back the car, we did not even have to fill up with petrol given that we
used so little. Flying with United
Airlines we needed to pay for movies and for meals which meant it was time to
trial our new Citibank card. All worked
okay. A not unpleasant flight especially
compared with the previous long haul into Houston. At last we had arrived at Piarco Airport,
Trinidad. It took quite a while to make
it through immigration as we had to fill out and pay for visas once we reached
the end of the line. Thankfully Bernard
was waiting when we got out. Also
thankfully, Bernard had arranged a friend to help carry the bags. We could have coped fitting the bags in one
vehicle but once we got to Moniques Guesthouse it was handy to take Mon, Katie
and Andy to their rooms up the hill as Bernard could not access it with his low
clearance vehicle. Mary-Anne and I had a
room adjacent to reception, quite far from the others but very handy to the 24
hour beer fridge. Initially we thought
this would be a problem but it eventuated as a very good scenario. We got to bed sometime after 11 pm.
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| 1. Big Brekky in Houston for Bob, Andy and Mon |
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| 2. Trinidad is just off Venezuela |
14-Apr
Friday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
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| 3. View from upper rooms at Moniques |
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| 4. View from David and Joy's house |
Port of
Spain - Moniques
Bernard picked us up at 9 am
and took us to the Power Boats where Geoffrey Agostini met us with his boat,
his brother Anthony, his son and grandson. We had a little wait as Linda and John who were
coming along with Gussi (Geoffry's sister Helen) were delayed. Gussi went to the wrong boat club. In 15 minutes on the boat we were at
Geoffry's house ‘down de islands’ (DDI) where we spent a very enjoyable day,
swimming or floating in the sea, sipping rum punches and participating in
conversations reflecting our long lost cousin status. On the way home Bernard took us up to Fort
George to check out the views. Another
bonus was a stop to pick up rotis and beers for dinner back at Moniques. A very delightful way to spend our first full
day in Trinidad.
 |
| 5. Katie and Mon Down de Islands |
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| 6. Port of Spain - view from Fort George |
16-Apr Sunday Katie’s Birthday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
We got up early and went to
mass before Bernard picked us up at 9am for our big day trip to San Fernando
and La Brea pitch lake. We got to see
some of the countryside and experienced a police check along the way. The pitch lake did not seem too inspiring for
most of the family. I was much more nostalgic finding it still the same as when I last remembered it 50
years ago. For lunch we dined in style
at the Royal Hotel in San Fernando in honour of Katie’s birthday. After lunch we looked around San Fernando for
my old house and school. We had success
with the house eventually but no luck with the school. It was a long day but a good appreciation of
Trinidad. Bernard's commentary along the
way helped considerably.
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| 7. Rostant Street St Joseph's Village San Fernando where Bob lived as a boy before moving to Australia |
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| 8. Pitch Lake La Brea |
17-Apr
Monday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
Linda and John were having a
look around Trinidad and speaking to a couple of people to help Linda with her
book. They were happy to take Mon, Katie
and Mary-Anne for the drive. I stayed back at Moniques for a restful day with
Andy who did some Uni work.
18-Apr
Tuesday Jeff arrives
Blanchisseuse
We packed up from Moniques
then went to David and Joys for lunch.
It was very tasty takeaway Indian curries etc. Linda and John joined us. Andy and I went with Howard, David’s driver,
to the airport to pick up Jeff who was due in early that afternoon. Mary-Anne then had the unenviable task of
reducing our luggage to fit in the cars that were going to Blanchisseuse that
afternoon. Mon and Katie went up with
Linda and John while David and Joy waited for us to return with Jeff. It was going to be a tight fit as Jeff, Andy
and I were going in the little old Peugeot while Mary-Anne went with David and
Joy in the more roomy Volvo along with clothes and food for the few days we
were to be there. We made good time to
the airport, Jeff's plane was on time but we had to wait a few hours as Jeff
was delayed in customs. Apparently he did not have the address of where he was
staying. By the time we got back to David
and Joy it was getting quite late but they were still packing up trying to fit
in all the intended stuff. Linda and
John had already left with Mon and Katie so that they could do some sight
seeing on the way. I decided that
because the little Peugeot could be potentially dodgy, we should go ahead in
case we needed rescuing by the others.
It was almost dark when we left and Andy volunteered to drive,
thankfully. The narrow road was littered
with potholes which were difficult to see in oncoming traffic lights. Early on the trip we went into a huge unseen
pothole, we did a lot of thanking when we made it out the other side. That served to set the cautionary tone for
the rest of the drive. When we got to
the sign that said Blanchissuese, we started looking for the house with the
description David gave us (an ivy covered fence with a mile post in front).
Unfortunately, we had already passed the house by then. Luckily, earlier that day, Andy got a local
sim for his phone, so we were able to ring Linda and get directions to make it
back. It seems that Linda and John had
enough fun finding the house earlier in daylight.
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| 9. Blanchisseuse - Andy, Bob, Jeff, Katie |
Blanchisseuse
We awoke to beautiful weather
and spectacular views. I went with David
and Joy to get some groceries while the younger ones went for a walk. The power went off about 10 am and remained
off until 9 pm that night. We had ice
for the drinks and the cook had gas for the cooking so all was okay. Linda and
John left for Port of Spain before it got dark. In daylight, I did do a quick check under the
Peugeot to see if there was any damage for our visit to the pothole. A small bracket had busted so the trailing
wire needed tying up with a piece of fence wire improve clearance underneath. Thankfully it did not seem to effect its
performance for the rest of our holiday.
20-Apr
Thursday
Blanchisseuse
Another quiet day relaxing in
the superb surroundings was the order of the day. The young ones were a bit
restless with not much to do except play cards.
David taught us a couple of games of patience and a card game called
Control so these got a bit of time. With
our children keen for exercise, I dropped them nearby where they could go for a
bush walk and a dip in a cool pool.
Otherwise we just quietly enjoyed the sunset, sunrise and David and
Joy’s company.
21-Apr
Friday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
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| 10. Jeff off with the birds at Yerrette |
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| 11. Hummingbird at Yerrette |
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| 12. Drinkies for Mother and Son at Moniques |
22-Apr
Saturday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
This was a full day. Bernard took us to the Aysa Wright nature
reserve up in the hills where we went for a guided short stroll checking out
the trees and birds including a woodpecker.
While having lunch we saw a goanna and a agouti among a variety of birds. After lunch we headed for the Caroni River
where we went for an afternoon/dusk cruise to see the scarlet ibis and
flamingos when they came in to roost for the night. It was a peaceful cruise. The sunset was very pretty and the scarlet
ibis was an amazing flight. Apparently
the flamingos were a bonus. Katie and
Andy got incredible photos while we all had an unforgettable experience. Afterwards a quick drop in to Moniques for a
change of clothes before going to Nigel Galt's house for a de Verteuil family
get-together. Fifteen first cousins turned up including Linda, Peter and I from
Australia. We had traditional Trinidad
snacks including mini rotis. It was good
to catch up. Andy and Jeff easily
slipped into conversations with the gents on european soccer and cricket. Bernard picked us up about 11pm. Not too late after a huge day and getting
ready to go to Tobago the next day.
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| 13. On the Caroni River Boat - Bob, Mary-Anne, Jeff, Mon |
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| 14. Scarlet Ibis & Flamingos - Caroni Swamp |
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| 15 de Verteuil first cousins - kneeling- Steven; sitting - Randall, Peter, Carol, Terry, Anne, Gussie, Douglas, Nigel, Christopher; standing - Linda, Anthony, Susan, Bob |
Tobago
While we initially booked the
ferry to go to Tobago, uncertainty about the ferries going and very long waits
involved, helped us decide to fly instead.
Bernard picked us up and David followed in his car with Joy. We needed to get there early as per normal
airport routine. Even though we had a
couple of hours waiting at the airport, the flight itself was only 20
minutes. It was uneventful except for a
screaming child in front of us while we were waiting to takeoff. Once in Tobago, David and I picked up our
hire cars and headed for the house.
After unpacking we needed to go for groceries. By that time on a Sunday afternoon, the grocery
store was shut. Fortunately the owner
was just shutting up as we drove past.
He opened the shop for David so we got some basics which we were to pay
for the next morning. It pays to have
influential friends and help from above.
There were some problems with getting water to the house so David spent
some time sorting that out by getting a hose to one of the neighbours. I took the younger ones to find a beach while
Mary-Anne had a rest. I then came back for Mary-Anne so she and I
could have a dip. We also had a short
drive to get a feel for the land. On the
way back, the car stalled going up the steep hill so Jeff and Andy got up and
walked/ran up the last little bit. That
night the place we wanted to go was closed so we were semi-forced to book into
a super flash restaurant. The ambience
was great and the food excellent but a few of us were feeling a bit off so not quite as enjoyable as it could have been.
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| 16. Knaggs's Tobago view |
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| 17 Dining in Tobago - David, Katie, Mon, Bob, Jeff, Andy, Mary-Anne, Joy |
Tobago
Mary-Anne and Andy woke not
feeling too well today with upset tummies.
David took us on a brief tour of parts of Tobago while Joy stayed with Mary-Anne. Afterwards our family except for Mary-Anne went
to Pigeon Point for a swim while David and Joy returned to Trinidad. Pigeon Point was very pleasant, we enjoyed
the Trini cuisine shark and bake, had a few swims, played pool and had a few
beers. We enjoyed the sunset from the
house that evening.
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| 18. Pigeon Point Tobago |
Tobago
We booked a boat trip with
Capt Jack for half the day. After a bit
of confusion at the start, we met with Capt Jack and enjoyed a very pleasant
time on the boat. Firstly we went to the
reef where we did some snorkeling. The
choppiness of the water at the time made snorkeling difficult as water kept
coming in through the top of the tube. Next stop was a place where it was
shallow and sandy so we anchored boat, jumped out and had a walk around or a swim.
Then onto an island that got submerged during very high tides. Later Capt Jack took us cruising among the
mangroves where we could see several large fish in the clear water. He then took us on a speedy trip to check out
a posh hotel from the sea side before dropping us back at Pigeon Point. Unfortunately getting out of the boat
Mary-Anne took a tumble so got soaked with her phone getting wet. It did not take long to dry out. Having spent a large portion of the heat of
the day on the water with little shade, most got well burnt - especially Jeff
and Katie. We spent a little time at
Pigeon Point before back to the house for our last evening in Tobago.
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| 19. Jeff & Katie walking in water |
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| 20. Some of us had enough sun on the boat |
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| 21. After the day on the boat Tobago - Jeff, Andy,Mary-Anne, Katie, Mon, Bob ( Captain Jack's boat in the background) |
26-Apr
Wednesday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
We dropped the others at the airport then Andy
and I took the car back to the depot.
After a bit of driving around we finally found the right place. Our comment about the car not being able to
make it up the hill all the time was met with the retort that David should not
have built the house on such a steep mountain.
27-Apr
Thursday
Port of
Spain - Moniques
Jeff returns
to Aus on early plane. American
Airlines (AA)
Jeff was due to fly out
early, so Mary-Anne and I went with him to the airport. Howard took us. At that hour of the day it was a very smooth
run out and back. Later that day we went
souvenir hunting at the mall. That was
some experience. The five of us crammed
into the little Peugeot and spent an hour or so in the traffic. The mall seemed to have all the stuff we
needed. It was another hour in the traffic
on the way back. Even though the traffic
was slow it was not particularly stressful as we did not have any time
constraints.
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| 22. Mum and Dad farewell Jeff at the airport on the way to China via Australia |
Port of
Spain - Moniques
We finally tasted doubles for
breakfast after going to the Savannah early for Katie to take a few photos of
the magnificent 7 houses. This day was a quiet day with only lunch with Debbie
on the agenda. Linda and John joined us
with Debbie and her sister Lorraine.
Debbie’s daughter Danni met us at the restaurant at the end of our
meal. It was good to catch up with
Debbie as Mon and Andy were staying in her house on the way home to Aus. It was also good to meet Danni. It was nearly stressful trying to find a
park.
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| 23. Knaggs cousins - Debbie, Linda, Bob, Lorraine |
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| 24. Next generation cousins - Katie, Danni, Mon and Andy |
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| 25. Typical Trinidad fruit stall - this one located close to Moniques |
29-Apr
Saturday
Bernard
takes us to airport, Mon & Andy to Australia via Houston staying overnight
with the Cosgroves. Bob,
M-A, Katie fly to Europe via Miami.
Jeff arrives in Australia
30-Apr
Sunday
Mon and Andy
leave Houston and head for Brisbane
1-May
Monday
Mon and Andy
lose a day travelling back to Aus
2-May
Tuesday
Mon and Andy
arrive in Brisbane
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