Carnival time in Trinidad 10:40.8N 61:37.9W
MALARKEY
Jo & Trevor Bush
Sat 17 Feb 2007 17:12
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Arriving in Trinidad was quite dramatic. A narrow
pass had to be negotiated just before morning twilight. The pass was between a
small off-lying islet and the steep shores of Trinidad. When there was enough
light you could see the jungle coming right down to the waters edge which was
fringed with white sand beeches and palm trees. But once though the pass and
around the corner to Chagaurmas Bay a large commercial development spralled
out infront but it was still easy to imagine what a spectacular
land fall it would have been in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
days.
Trinidad, unsurprisingly, is different again to the
other islands. Security seems to be a serious issue here. Windows and doors
have bars on them and you are constantly being warned to be careful and
avoid certain areas and travel in company particularly at night. Even the
car park tickets says 'have a safe & secure day', what happened to just
'have a nice day'?. We have been here in Coral Cove Marina, Chagauramas for over
a week now and whilst we have seen the signs we havent experienced any problems
at all and are wondering whether a few incidents with yotties have been blown up
out of proportion. However, last year there were a few misdemeanours, well over
400 murders actually, mostly gang land stuff, so clearly we will have to do
the sensible thing. I thought we should get tooled up, may be a sawn off shot
gun each and a flick knife for close up combat but Jo thought we should
simply do carnival through organised events and hopefully it wont ruin
our visit. As per normal, the women get their own way.
For some, carnival is like a way of life. We really
didnt realise how big it is here. They prepare for the next carnival immediately
after the current one has finished. For the tourists, it really begins at
the beginning of Feb and fininshes with the Mardis Gras Parade on Shrove Tuesday
(approx 3 weeks later). We arrived one week to late and had already missed alot
of events. Other than all the celebrations, there is a serious side to
Carnival with competitions in costume, steel pan bands, extempo, limbo and a
host of other stuff. We went to a couple of the 'mas camps' which is where
you can see that paticular bands costumes and buy one and join in if you want.
Jo tried on one of the hats.
   The costumes are incredibly elaborate. Each of the
bands has a king and a queen and these costumes are entered into a competition.
The word costumes is used lightly, a personalised carnival float is more
accurate. There seems to be only a couple of rules, they must be able to
wear/pull it alone, have a maximum of three wheels (yes, a costume with wheels)
and it must be as outrageous as possible. To there credit they succeeded on all
counts. What a spectacle. Some where over 30 feet wide and 25 feet high made
from plastic, wire, aluminium and covered with all manner of shiny things and
feathers. Our favourite was a man on stilts, some 20 foot high dressed as
an indian on a glittery elephant. Unfortunately he had a major structural
failure and the elephant fell to bits!
   The steel pan bands have to be heard live to
be fully appreciated. We visited three pan yards where they were fine tuning
their perfomances ready for the knockout competitions. There was a single pan
band, a medium size band and a large band. There was quite a different sound
from each but the large band was our clear favourite. The sound was incredible.
It was like being in the middle of an orchestra with the various
different instuments being heard indivdually but together as a band. They
were incredibly well rehearsed and a very tight group of some 150 or so
players. I know I have a tendency to elaborate a little but on this
occassion it is not needed, it was a bit special. We are going to miss the
finals cos it is the other side of The Port of Spain and will take a couple of
hours in heavy traffic to get there but hopefully we will get to see them in the
final Mardis Gras Parade on Tuesday.
   Carnival is also about parties, or as they call
them here 'Fetes' (pronounced fetts not fates). We went to one on thursday
and what a hoot. It was oppulence, extravagence, excess and fun all mixed up
together. We went to one of the posh fetes, an all inclusive affair and
it cost about £60 per head but it was worth every penny and some. The
venue was a quality resort on the North East coast and we were greeted
with champagne, not the cheap fizzy wine stuff, but the real macoy, Mumm,
Piper and Bollinger. We also got a gift which was either a hat or a
garland. We thought how nice - a glass of bubbly on the way in, in fact we
went back for another to make the most of it. Little did we know there was
more bubbly in the main area and as much as you wanted for the whole
duration of the event 2.00 to 7.30 pm. There was every kind of booze
available from posh cognac to tequilla and rum punch to beer and quantities
more than the 1500 people who attended could possibly drink. There was all kinds
of food stalls serving anything from oysters and sea food to Indian,
Chinese & local cuisine. The only down side was, there was no steak
& kidney pud or my mums roast potatoes, otherwise it would have been
perfect!. Needless to say we helped ouselves to not a miniscule portion of
the fare on offer and were suitably fed and annebriated at the end. In fact if
it wasnt for our attempts at 'Jump Up' dancing to the 'Soca Bands' playing live
which helped work off the excesses, I dont think we would have made it
out on our own two feet. There is a risque dance variation called
'whining'. Guess which couple are doing it?
   What a great day and there is still even better
stuff to come. There is 'Jouvert' which starts at 4.00am, yes
4.00am, on Sun/Mon morning which is a totally mad event.
It involves throwing mud, paint and oil over everyone including the passers
by in the street and of course there is the carnival parade proper on Tuesday.
Not to be missed me thinks.
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