No Sleep 'Til Trinidad

Today we arrived in Trinidad, a town built on huge sugar fortunes amassed here early in the early nineteenth century, and one that's barely changed since.

I'm infamous in some circles for my ability to sleep on a washing line, with dozing off on public transport or long bus rides being my area of expertise. On the bus ride today though it proved impossible, the windows of the bus were jam-packed with eyeball joy from the second our journey began.

Early on, the bus shuffled precariously through small towns and villages, frequently stopping for reasons unknown so one of the three designated drivers (no idea) could chat to the locals. Next up were endless fields of sugar cane and trees of all kinds as far as the eye could see, punctuated with the specks of colour of goats and cows. Soon, to our left, a mountain range rippled up into the clouds, and then to our right the Caribbean sea waved a blue hello.
At last, the coloured homes of Trinidad popped up ahead, almost as if they'd been grown in the fields themselves.
Our Casa host met us at the bus station, with a friendly smile and a placard reading,
KWEON DEOGHEE
CHRISTPHER IAN
I think they tried so hard getting the Korean name right that mine was no more than an afterthought.

In a country of surreal towns, Trinidad is perhaps the most surreal so far. We walked up the cobbled streets and away from the main centre, up a hill into a quiet residential area. Overlooking beautiful fields and green cloud topped mountains, it was like going back in time. Kids ran barefoot through lanes of cobble and mud, as cart-pulling mules trotted wearily by. Locals lounged outside their homes, watching the world tick over (for every person who works in Cuba there seem to be ten who dont).

The pace of life here is a breath of fresh air. Our front porch has rocking chairs where we can people watch (and take snaps like the one above) read books and sip the odd mojito - and as there's a couple of good side trips to be had from Trinidad, I think we'll be here for a while.