On the "road"

We decided to leave Castara for the night and visit Charlotteville, on the very northern tip of Tobago, and Speyside. Looking at the map, this seems to be a short enough escapade - but the drive from Castara to Charlotteville is a good 1,5 hours, and another 20 minutes to Speyside.

Hence "road". It is really a beautiful drive through thick rain forest, but really curvy, steep and narrow and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Even the biggest rollercoaster fans might find a pukebag handy. And here are a couple of other examples of the reason for the slow drive: Finally, we reached Charlotteville:

We headed to Pirates Bay, renowned for snorkling. It was supposed to be an 800 m walk from the village centre. Honesly, I think it was probably 400 metres up, and 400 metres down again. The idea of bringing the baby stroller loaded with snorkling gear etc on the walk wasn't the best idea we had. Here is a view of the beach from the top;

We were so exhausted arriving at the beach that we all jumped into the water - even the little one this time (as you can see she almost floates by herself with all that baby fat :)) And we discovered that we brought fins - but no masks for snorkling...

Walking back to the village was not something we looked forward to, but E climbed the trillion stairs herself, very impressive, and was this proud afterwards:

The rest of the day we chilled at our very cute hotel, located just on the beach. It was a beautiful setting even though you occasionaly woke up in the middle of the night actually thinking the waves vere in your bedroom.

The next day we made a stop in Speyside, and went on a glass bottom boat trip around Goat Island, to see some corals and fish. Because of the kids we wanted to make a short trip - max 45 minutes. The captain agreed - especially for us. We were just about to board the boat when he said "just two minutes" and left. He came back approx 20 minutes later with 8 more passengers.

Returning home we managed to end up in Roxborough (do check the map above...) There are literally just two roads up there and we laughed so hard when we discovered that we managed to pick the wrong one and ended up on the other side of the island. Well, we got to see the Forest Reserve as well as a bonus.

One's got to eat

The only "must" in our everyday life is deciding what to eat. And it is indeed an adventure. Castara is a small fishing village, and it is not us who decide what to eat, it is what the Castarans will offer you. First, to give you some insight of what is definately always available: Hence, breakfast is always a done deal and simply delicious. (And it does not taste like the fruit you get at home in the supermarket...) Though, coffee can be a challenge. We have discovered that it is simply impossible to get good coffee here. There are a few local varieties, and after a few trial and errors I can guarantee you that coffee with coconut flavor will NOT be purchased again - it tastes like someone dropped their sunscreen into your coffee. Fresh milk is not available, they sell condensed milk, and it kind of adds a twist to your morning tea, if you take it white.

Lunch, we always eat out. Here are a couple of restaurants in the village:

They do not do menues here, you simply get a choice of fish, chicken or vegetarian, or sometimes goat and shrimp. On a rare occasion pork. You cannot find beef (last beef meal was McDonalds Miami Airport...we do not miss it!). With this you get what the chef has chosen for the day, usually two or three different condiments like rice with beans or lentils, sweet potato/cassava stew, perhaps some fried banana/eggplant. They always serve you peppersauce, which is a hot yellow chilisauce, to add yourself according to taste and guts (noe to self: should preferably not be placed next to mango sauce to avoid confusion). The national dish is called Roti, and is a flour tortilla filled with some of the above condiments and your choice of proteins. Delicious. Saltfish is another choice - and we have found out they cook it the icelandic way, and then add olive oil, sweet peppers, onion and garlic, preferably eaten together with coconut bake (bread). Yummy (insert Bjarni's smiling face here).

Dinner - we cook ourselves. We decide from day to day and shop on our way home from the beach. If there is fish, we get it here:

Or rather - if they want to sell you fish. Getting some of the day's catch can take you about an hour trying to find the right person, the right fish and the right price. Bjarni is getting good at it - helps being "yo" with the fishermen and helping them (as shown in the previous post). Or you may leave empty handed. Then, you may try to get something else in one of the the local supermarkets:

As you can see - they do not live up to their name. Hence, the recommendation to go to Scarborough to stock up from time to time. But, we find it quite amusing to see what they have in these supermarkets (the size of your average scandinavian bathroom) and we do not really miss anything.

And you always have Oswald, or Benji (his nickname) who will sell you veggies and fruit from his house.

To drink - what other than Carib beer or Stag, "the mans beer" (because of the 0,5% higher alcohol content than Carib...). Or tap water - it is perfectly safe to drink - though accompanied by a slight taste of chlorine.

And after consuming all this marvellous food - it is not hard to understand why we look this happy:

Tobagan mentality – getting friendly with the locals

The warmth of the Tobagonians is incredible. We wanted to make an effort to get to know people, but it was no effort at all – on the contrary – they simply embrace you and you cannot NOT be a part of the community here. Its part of the every day life – and its not the "how do you do" and walk on – but genuine and sometimes…it takes while to get on. But – there is no hurry in Tobago. Life is slow and everything will be alright.
Walking the approx 200 meters to/from the village&beach takes us at least 20 minutes. You need to say your good mornings, good days and good afternoons. (You need to keep track!) The old women on their porches need to know what you’re up to (goin’ to the beach today?), Oswald ("the vegetable king") and his wife Haslean need to give Eira a banana and chat some, and the young guys limin’ (Tobagan for "hanging out") at the community center surrounded with not-so-legal smoke will nod at us and mumble something.

Oswald the vegetable king

Other encounters are:

-"Look Up" who helps manage our house and garden. Look up will knock on our door at least every other day to check if we are alright. If there is a power outage (3 so far) he’ll be there in no time with candles or kerosine lamps. When I asked him to show me which one of the trees in our garden (read: jungle) was mango, he did, but brought me a whole bunch that he picked the next day. He also cooked for us – but that is another story.

Look up and friend

-Taylor the guy who does car rental-tours-souvenirs-taxi-you name it was our airport pick up – when he dropped us off at our house he said – my office is down by the beach, come by and pay me later. When we rented a car one day he gave us the keys and said: "Scratches OK – but no big bumps"

-The cornershop owner who always has butter – just not today

-Fisherman Jackson and friends down by the beach who looks at Bjarni and says "want to hang around?" resulting in this:

First pics from Paradise

Carib beer on our veranda - chillin'

Eira playing with her new local friend (who is wearing school uniform) at Castara beach.

View from Tobago over the sea

Super market in Mason Hall, on the way to Crown Point

Eira at the beach, Castara, Tobago

Fischermen getting us food for the evening, Castara

Best breakfast ever, Bjarni's pancakes and self-picked mango from the garden, papaya and pineapple.

Castara beach from the other side


..And some pics from the trip to Tobago:

Eira when we landed in Crown Point Tobago

Still smiling after a very long trip













Entertainment on flight

Yes, we are here!

We have adjusted immediately to the Caribbean style (slow) and prioritised getting ourselves settled in before finding an internet spot. But not to worry, we have arrived safe and sound, even our luggage, which took four extra days to reach us (and 3 hours for Bjarni with airport and customs officials). Let me summarize our experiences so far:
-Trip went great, kids are tough and we vere very impressed that they could take a 14 hour flight without even a complaint. Only complaint was when we landed in Miami, and Eira was asleep. Bjarni gently put her shoes on and she woke up just in time for Customs, screaming like crazy. The line in front of us was at least a couple of hours long - great. But, screaming children seem to do the trick, someone swiftly came and waved us past all lines, and we were through. We later realised that the rason for her outbirst was a tiny tube of toothpaste that was stuck inside her shoe! Since the luggage didn't make the trip tp Miami from Heathrow, we had to go out to do some diaper shopping. We quickly found that it seems no one in Miami speaks English! Bjarni called a cab to take him to the super market, but couldn't make himself undestood, so the receptionist simply took his phone and fixed it.
-House is great! Though it is perched on a really steep hill, so we expect some nice leg muscle soon. And since it is open on the sides, close to the roof, with only mosquito net separating us from the jungle outside - it sort of feels like sleeping i a pet store. Earplugs have some in very handy. Bats and green parrots reside up at the roof, and there are hens and a rooster (pleese shoot him, by the way) in the garden. You so not throw away organic garbage here - just toss it out the window.
-Food is beyond description, so lovely. We watch the fishermen cath the fish early afternoon, and it is on our plate for dinner a couple of hours later. Breakfast is pancaces with fresh papaya, bananas, pineapple and coconut.

Short update, we will try to post some pictures soon! Now - off to the beach!
Take care!.......and keep limin'!

Are you crazy?

Probably. Hopefully! We've never been to the Caribbean - all we know is from Lonely Planet and the internet. And we don't know what we will face - and that is the beauty. But we hope to experience:

• To spend time together
• Reflect (what do I want to be when I grow up?:))
• Sunshine, beaches, diving and all that "holiday" stuff
• Find the most un-touristy places and live close to locals
• Eat well - lots of fresh fruit and fish!
• Learn!

So - let's give you a taste of our planned journey so far: this is what we have booked, the rest we'll decide on later:

1. Jan 5th: Copenhagen - Miami
2. Jan 6th: Miami - Crown Point, Tobago
3. Jan 7th - March 6th: Castara Village, Tobago
4. March 6th - March 22nd: St Georges, Grenada
5. March 22nd - April 13th: Hillsborough, Carriacou, Grenada

So after a couple of stay overs our first "home" will be this house in Castara Village

on Tobago:

It is situated in a small fishing village just next to this beach:

Stay tuned - next update will be from the other side of the world (whenever we find internet!)

Preparing - a journey in itself...

So. We've done it! Finished packing. Actually, packing was the easiest bit. We had a "to-do" list that would have been enough as a full time job. Including everything from "sell the car" to "buy sunscreen". Since someone else is staying in our house while we're gone we not only had to pack for the trip, but also pack everything else in boxes. A typical afternoon scenario would been me in the "feeding chair" with the little one, Bjarni packing stuff and Eira running after him discovering all the cool stuff Dad found and unpacking them. So, we had to call in some assistance. We're

sending some extra love to my dear parents and our babysitter and all the others who helped! So - here is the final result: