Farewell To a Beautiful Country

 So I am wrapping things up here tonight and will be home this time tomorrow. Its rainy season here, which doesn't mean it rains all the time; but means that everything is growing and the flowers are beautiful.

There is a residential area near the hotel where many of the embassies are located and many great gardens. The flowers just spill over the walls. I will miss this place; but will be glad to get home too.

Meetings with Officials

Had a great meeting today at the Ministry of Finance and am happy to say that Trinidad and Tobago is one step closer to adopting International Public Sector Accounting Standards. I know that this is not a big deal to the average Trinibogian and even less interest to anyone in Canada. However there are responsible people who feel strongly about it here and I am happy to support them moving towards financial sustainability before their oil reserves run out in 25 years.

Visit to Tobago

I finally go to go to Tobago today. Flying in at 9am and back at four.Our plan was to hold two meeting and then have three hours to tour the Island. Unfortunately an extra meeting was added and there were delays, so the tour was canceled. I never got to see a beach. This is a picture I took of the Internet to show you what I missed.

Great Cricket Grounds of the World

This morning I walked from my hotel about 1 km to the Queen's Park Oval - home ground for the Trinidad and Tobago national cricket team. This is where some of the great test matches have been played between the West Indies and England, Australian India - the great cricketing countries of the world.

This is what Maple Leaf Gardens is for hockey, and Fenway Park is for baseball. There were no games today but I persuaded the security guard to let me in and take some pictures. I would love to watch a test match here one day.

Fresh coconut water

I am back in Port of Spain at the Kapok hotel now. Kadie and walked around the Savanah and visited the National Museum and Art Gallery. They have some wonderful paintings. On the way back we stopped at a coconut stand. The owner sliced off the top of a coconut with a machete, insert a straw and we each had a delicious fresh drink for about a dollar.

Fishing the hard way

Fishing is an important part of the lifestyle of South Western Trinidad. At Cidros and Icacos, there are boats pulled up all along the sand. At Sunset beach just south of Point, however, these two were fishing the hard way; taking a net at as far as they could walk and then dragging it back into shore by hand.

Visiting the beaches of the South West

As I am working on a beach project, part of my job was to go and visit all the other beaches in the area. Neerl and I drove all the way down to the southernmost tip of the island - Icacos and visited all the main beaches on the way. Most of them were stunning; long expanses of white sand, shaded by palm trees. As we got further south, most of them were deserted - they have virtually no tourist her at all.

Clifton Hill beach facility

This is the facility that has been built on Guapo beach in Point Fortin. My assignment is to do a business plan and advise Mayor and Council of the Borough of Point Fortin how they can maximize its use to encourage the development of Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSME's) in the town.

Downtown in Point Fortin

I arrived in Point Fortin today and am staying at the South Western Court - a 20 room hotel on the main street in the town. I actually stayed one night at a guest house owned by the same family. It had a beautiful view of the beach; but i moved here because it is more convenient for work and I can go out in the evening to get a drink and something to eat.

Municipal Elections in Trinidad

Today is municipal election day in Trinidad. It is treated as very important, because all the national parties are involved and the results are  seen as a report card on the national government.  Point Fortin has six councillors elected on a ward system and 4 alderman elected on a proportional representation system based on the votes for each party. The picture shows the six councillors who got elected in Point Fortin with the mayor (an alderman) in the middle.

Fishing with Olaf

Slept well and then went out to get cash and some supplies. When I got back Olaf phoned and invited me to go up to the North Coast to go fishing. Rather drink beer with his friend while he fished.

Six hours waiting at Toronto airport

My 6:45am flight was fogged in and left 3 hours late so I missed my connection in Toronto and had to wait 6 hours for the next flight. Dodging back and forth between Terminal 1 (air Canada) and Terminal 3 (Caribbean Airlines) in the rain was made me appreciate that I was going somewhere that the sun shines all the time. Finally arrived in Port of Spain at 5am. Jit was there to pick me up and the Kapok Hotel is great.

Back to Trinidad

I will be doing a business plan for the new Beach Facility being built by Point Fortin Borough Council.Have spent several hours on the phone with CARILED staff, Mayor Clyde Paul and Ministry staff. It sounds like a fascinating project.

Clifton Hill beach facility

This is the facility that

Another Assignment in Trinidad

FCM has asked me to return to Trinidad in October to do a business plan for Point Fortin. I'm excited.

Farewell Trinidad

I am leaving Trinidad today after a great trip. Jit will take me to the airport for 7am and I will be back in Victoria just befor midnight local time. Thankyou to everyone who has helped me while on assignment and to all of you who have followed my blog.

The Fire Department

Was out of my walk this morning and a big fire truck pulled up. one guy jumped out and started taking to me and very soon, I was up in the cab discussing the relative merits of Canadian and Trinibogian systems of government. Their fire department is organized and funded nationally. They have some good equipment; but have to go through a lot of bureaucracy.

The Old and the New

Port of Spain is a city of architectural contrasts. There are lots of tiny little Victorian houses in the down town area with huge modern buildings next door. I took several pictures this morning. This one shows the huge contract, although you can see that the architect did reflect the style in this case.

Ramen noodle innovation

The Carlton Savannah is in a very nice quiet area near the park; but there are no restaurants, bars or stores nearby and we are advised not to walk alone at night. Last night, I needed a little snack and figured out that it is actually possible to make ramen noodles in a hotel coffee maker. I have made a note to always carry them with me in the future.

Takiyah - my guide tio trini culture

The CARILED staff here have been extremely helpful, not only in giving background information, setting up meetings with Ministries; but also in making sure that I get to experience the local culture. Takiyah has been with me in several meetings and also arranged the trip to the bird sanctuary. After that trip she took Kadie and I down to St James to eat Jerk pork on the street and drink in the rum shops. Thank you Takiyah, my trip would have been much less fun without you.

The Scarlet Ibis - Trinidad's national bird

This afternoon Takiyah took Kadie and me to the Caroni Swamp sanctuary where we took a flat bottomed boat through the mangrove swamps of the Caroni River delta. We didn't see any caimans (alligators) but we saw tree snakes and lots of birds. We moored the boat just before dusk and within a few minutes hundred of these amazing birds came back to their roosting spot on an island in the river. It was difficult to get good photos at dusk so I got this one off the web to give you an experience of the sight.

Bake 'n Shark

One of the most famous Trini foods is Bake 'n Shark. People keep asking me whether I have had it yet. Well, I was walking back through the Savannah this afternoon and there was a celebration, with a calypso band and food tents, so I asked this lady to make me a couple. The bread is crunchy, the shark is tasty and the sauces are delicious. There is even some salad ther to make it appear healthy. I am definitely going back for more before I leave.

Jit: Our trusted driver

Trinidad is a small island. Only 80km by 50 km, but because of the terrain, the roads and the huge increase in vehicles over the past few years, traffic into and out of Port of Spain in atrocious. Many people have a two hour commute which would take 20 minutes with no traffic. Jit is our very patient and competent driver. He picks us up every morning, often as early as  6:30 am and sometimes we don't get back until 6:30pm. He then has to travel a hour back to his own home. He is a wealth of knowledge and I've never seen him get upset. Don't know what we would do without him.

Christopher Columbus was here in 1498

Christopher Columbus landed on the south coast of Trinidad on July 31st 1498, (his third voyage to the new world). The bay where he landed was named after him and a statue of him stands there. The bay is now part of Prince's Town Municipality and one of the economic development projects we are supporting is to improve the beach area for tourism. We spend the day driving around this beautiful part of the island. I could certainly see it becoming a desirable tourist destination.

Girl at the Devil's woodyard

This is a little girl we net at the Devil's Woodyard - a park where her pre-school were having a picnic. The park is built around a mud volcano which first erupted in 1852. Kadie thinks the municipality could turn it into a spa where people could come to have mud-baths; but I am not so sure.

The Pitch Lake

We went to Point Fortin today to meet with the mayor and staff about an economic development project they are doing. On the way back we we visited  Pitch Lake. According to Wikipedia, the it is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world.It is an amazing place and given that the temperature was 35 celsius, the tar was quite soft - raelly wierd to walk on. We were shown around by the gentleman on the right who gave us all the facts and showed us the sticky tar.

I know this is what you all think I am doing down here; but look carefully at the left hand side of the picture. Yes, it is an oil rig. This is the real story of Trinidad today - a thriving oil-rich state, where they are trying to use the revenue for the benefit of the people.

Kadie Ward - Ecomomic Development expert

The other consultant here in phase one, is an economic development exert from London Ontario, Kadie Ward. She is working on the economic profiles of the communities that have been selected  for the program. She has been here for a week and so is able to tell me the places to buy good "shark and bake" and the places to avoid.

Borough of Chaguanas

The CARILED offices are located in Chaguanas, about 30 minutes from Port of Spain. The area is the flat delta of the Chaguanas river, previously marshland, now good agricultural land and a dormitory for Port of Spain. This was my orientation day, learning about the program, how it will roll out over the whole Caribbean, and what my part is going to be.  the staff are young and enthusiastic. They took me out for a lunch of curried goat.

Cricket is important in the West Indies

Across the way from my hotel is a huge park called "the Savannah". Being a Sunday, there were several cricket games going on. Pick-up games mostly. I talked to some of the spectators and made friends when I said I had seen Garfield Sobers play in Nottingham when I was a boy.  They knew all the current players in English county cricket  and sure loved the game. The professional games are played at the Oval, just a couple of miles from here. I definitely must go next weekend.

Arrived in Port of Spain

It was a long day or travel. I left Victoria on the 7am flight to Toronto and finally landed in Port of Spain around 11pm. This is a very civilized place! The Airport was clean and well organized. When I tried to change $40 US at the airport, there were two cambios. I went to the one with no lie-up. The guy said "I can only give you 5.60, you know"  I haven't been used to that sort of honesty even in Canada - I changed the money there.
Olaf, the local FCM rep met me and took me on the scenic route to my hotel. This is a very attractive City at night with the hills behind the town and the ships at anchor in the Bay of Paria.
The hotel is great - the internet works and the air conditioning work which were my two priorities. I think I am going to like it here.

Facts about Trinidad.

According to Wikipepia, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west. The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.

Caribbean Local Economic Development Program

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), in partnership with the Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers (CFLGM), the Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA) and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF), is implementing a six-year, 22.9 million dollar project to stimulate sustainable local economic development (LED) in the Caribbean Region.
From 2012 to 2018, the Caribbean Local Economic Development Program, (CARILED) will support nearly 50 local governments and agencies in their Local Economic Development initiatives targeting more than 500 small and medium size enterprises (MSME) throughout the Caribbean. CARILED is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).