First Day in Tobago- Thursday May 21

After a very long day of traveling, Chase, Tim and myself (Elizabeth- field assistant for the course) have made it safely to Tobago. Tim started around 2:45am, Chase at 4:30am, and myself around 6am, and we all finally arrived at our cottage around 11:20pm last night. Travel from the states to Tobago was relatively uneventful, but that was made up for on the cab ride from the airport to Charlotteville. A few things to know about driving here- they drive on the left, every road is tiny and incredibly windy (I am talking about turns that make you really nervous for what could be around the other side), and everyone drives far too fast. The cab driver didn’t seem phased by it, although the three of us where on the edge of our seats. The three of us were too pumped from the long travel day, crazy cab ride, and the thrill of finally being here that we couldn’t fall asleep right away. So we checked out the ocean (which is a mere 10 feet or so from our cottage) and chatted a bit before falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves and the hum of our fans (no AC).

Today, after waking up to roosters crowing outside my window at 6am, I scoped out the town and made a quick grocery run while the boys were still sleeping and came back to make a breakfast of eggs and toast. I forgot salt and pepper at the store, so the eggs were bland, but edible and good fuel to start our first day’s adventure. We walked into town (which only takes about 5 minutes or so) and along the way noticed lots of stray, but friendly, dogs, cats and chickens roaming the streets. There were a lot of people out and about- children on their way to school dressed in blue jumpers and yellow button-downs, fisherman coming in with their morning haul, and old men standing on street corners bantering about all the people walking by and swapping stories. We walked around for awhile and eventually came upon a little café called, Top River Pearl. We stopped in and Tim and I got big mugs of coffee made from local beans. We both agreed it was strong and delicious. Soon after that we decided we were hot and sticky and that could only mean one thing- time to go romp in the ocean. After applying lots of sunscreen (mostly at my urging because I am a pale redhead and the sun hates me), we jumped into the incredibly clear, warm waters of the Caribbean. We stayed out there for an hour or two throwing a football around with the waves lapping around us (thanks to Chase for bringing a football, a soccer ball and cards to keep us entertained). Obviously, after playing for hours in the sun, we were hungry again. We set out to town again and because we had a great experience with our brief visit to Top River Pearl earlier that morning, we headed there again for lunch. We ordered club sandwiches (slightly different than in the states with more veggies, but we all agreed it was one of the best clubs we have ever tried). Tim ordered a local juice called “Maubry” which tasted a lot like root beer and Chase and I had grapefruit juice. Full and happy we wandered back to our cottage- Chase and Tim are reading and I am of course writing this.

I imagine we will find our way back to the water before the day is over, maybe play some cards, read, explore some of the local flora and fauna, and then either make food here or venture into town for some local flavor. So far the trip is starting out awesome- stay tuned for another update of our adventure tomorrow.