When I
overheard my co-worker, Janelle, talking about her upcoming trip home to
Trinidad for Carnival, I did what every self-respecting travel junkie would
do…I invited myself! Fortunately she was willing to let me tag along and so,
after several weeks of riding the airfare roller coaster, I booked my ticket
from Austin to that little island off the coast of Venezuela known as “Trini”.
Traveling
with locals is always my favorite way to see a new place and Trinidad was no
exception. Janelle’s good friend Marissa hosted us and made me feel right at
home.
I’ll admit I was quite intimidated when I opened my pre-ordered costume and saw how tiny it actually was. Not to mention the fact that I was given the wrong one and was now going to have to wear white…not ideal for my mid-Feb ghostly-pale skin. Making the
best of it, I squeezed myself in (probably the one and only time I’ve
appreciated nylons) and prepared myself for 2 straight days of dancing around
the streets of downtown Trinidad. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before;
I’ll let the pictures do the talking. 
Needless to say, after those two days, I
was ready to relax and see the rest of the island. Janelle had to leave, but
Marissa and friends were kind enough to take me to the hot spots. We hiked to a
waterfall, swam in spring-fed pools, visited family and just took in the beauty
of it all….just what the doctor ordered.  |
| Trinidad 02.12 |