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