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.