After an eye-opening 2 days in Venezuela we finally managed to book our space on the C Prowler ferry, which ONLY departs Guiria (Pier 1) on a Wednesday at 3pm. This ferry transports passengers only from Guiria to Trinidad. The immigration and customs officials are strict and thorough. In order for us to leave Guiria we had to have: * Passports * Proof of accommodation in Trinidad * Proof that we are 'moving on' * Itinerary The ferry costs $130 one way and that includes soft drinks, coffee, good island style music and a very comfortable 3 hour ride. The views were just amazing! The sea was calm, the skies clear and the people could speak English :-). We sailed all along the coastline, passing the island which Christopher Columbus first discovered! Around that island... and there she was, Trinidad! A sight for sore eyes! The immigration officials came on board, checked papers, stamped passports. We then disembarked and moved to the customs officials. This was the first time that our bags were searched and inspected by a sniffer dog. A big no-no is camoflaged items of any sort, clothing, accessories... Not even a sleeping bag. Thanks to a very pleasant customs official and to the fact that we were in transit, our 2 items were not confiscated, with a stern warning to keep them packed away throughout our stay in Trinidad. We then had to make our way to the main road to find a Maxi Taxi. These are yellow and white mini busses that run throughout the city. The cabs that wait at the port for passengers are far too expensive, wanting to charge $30 to Port of Spain. We opted to take the Maxi Taxi which cost us $10 for the 3 of us. Our drivers name was 'Cookie Monster' which Joshua found totally amusing! He took us to the Melbourne Inn, an awesome bed and breakfast. We were greeted by a friendly woman with that beautiful Jamaican accent, which I soon realised, is how everyone speaks. We dumped all our packs and set off up the main road to find a bite to eat. A busy road, buzzing with night life, restaurants, ice cream shops, bars, food vendors and... Every single person spoke ENGLISH! We settled with a veggie pizza from Domino's 100TT, a cold beer each and enjoyed our meal in the garden at the inn. The heat is just another story altogether! 25 degrees at 5.30am, room fans working overtime, all the time! A minimum of 3 showers per day is a must to survive! The streets are spotless! Not a piece of litter or cigarette 'stompies' anywhere. The shops and banks open at 7.30am. Each offering a variety of coconut milk, coconut breads and fresh fruit and veggies. A welcomed relief for us vegetarians :-) We have only been travelling for 4 days but in this 4 days we have eaten weird food, drunk strange coolies, met the scariest and nicest people and encountered different cultures and beliefs. In 4 days we have been to: * Sau Paulo * Venezuela * Trinidad
Much love!
Blu, Baz and Joshua
Getting into Trinidad was fairly straight forward and the officials were really friendly. After Venezuela Trinidad seems like a sterile country, hardly any litter, no pot holes, all new roads and no old cars. A fairly wealthy country. Prior to us departing Trindad we both agreed we would like to come back and spend some time, this has since changed. While checking in to our flight at the airport all the scary stories we heard about the island started to become a reality. All of a sudden we needed to empty our bags, every thing was checked and questioned which is fine but once we handed over our passports things started to get interesting. A thousand and one questions arrived and then our passports and papers disappear, no interaction no reason, just a what ever attitude. And so we waited all the time the clock ticking to the planes departure. Eventually we get the ok! What ever the reason we don't know but it went from questioning our papers to not wanting us to leave because we didn't have visa's to Grenada??? Not conducive to there growth in tourism, but as the stories go we were quite lucky. Note to those of you keen to travel to Trinidad, what a pretty, well organized place, a home away from home feeling. Don't be fooled by the friendly ness of the locals, it's those at the passport control that make it nasty and they are happy to waste your time, miss your flight then you in the hot water. No visa, no booked accommodation your busted! Fines to pay or time in prison. A cautious warning to you all. It's worth a visit, make sure all your I's are dotted and your t's are crossed, your journey is planned and you know your rights. Even then hold your breath say your prayers and don't loose your cool. Eyes up!
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