Dan & Duffy's Blog

Flat Stanley Goes to Maracas Beach - Post #4

2011-02-23T00:34:00.003+02:00

Trinidad is an island. Islands have beaches! I spent the day at Maracas Beach.

Maracas is known for its great beach AND for its great sandwich - the "Shark and Bake." This sandwich is made from shark. Real shark. Yum! Trinidadians love to put hot pepper sauce on their food. I had my sandwich with "light pepper" but it was still pretty spicy.

I built a sand castle.

I walked on the beach.

This guy was selling cotton candy at the beach. You'd think it would get sandy but not if you eat it fast enough.

The weather was great.

This nice man was selling souvenirs.

I like the beach a lot.

Trinidad and Tobago was great! Next time I hope Alex comes here with me.

Flat Stanley Goes to Panorama - Post #3

2011-02-23T00:18:00.006+02:00

Steel pan (or steel drum) is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. As part of the annual Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebration, steel pan bands from across the country compete in Panorama - a contest which names the best bands. The semi-finals were held this weekend.

Outside the contest, there were lots of food stands set up selling Trini snacks - fresh coconut water was my favorite. The guy cut it open with a machete. Other snack foods are roasted corn, doubles - which are sort of a hummus sandwich, and roti - which is an Indian burrito.

My favorite band was the Silver Stars. They were great! They practice in a pan yard that is outside. You can go and visit them during their rehearsals anytime you want. It always feels like a party there. Trinidadians speak English but they have some different words for things. They call parties "limes." I like limes!

Flat Stanley Visits Port of Spain - Post #2

2011-02-23T00:04:00.005+02:00

Port of Spain is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad is an island. Tobago is an island. Together, they make one country. In the center of Port of Spain is the Savannah. This is a big park and I saw kids playing soccer and cricket and flying kites. Cricket is a British game that is a little bit like baseball. Trinidad and Tobago used to be a British colony just like America was. They got their independence in 1962 but they still like cricket.

This spaceship-y building is one of the newest buildings in Port of Spain - it is the National Academy of the Performing Arts. You can see concerts there and they have a music school for college students inside.

Some of the prettiest houses in Trinidad and Tobago are decorated with "gingerbread." It's not the kind you eat at Christmas - it is the pretty wooden decorations on the outside of the houses. There are palm trees everywhere.

This cool red building is Queen's Royal College - one of the oldest "High Schools" in T&T.

Flat Stanley Visits the U.S. Embassy - Post 1

2011-02-22T23:50:00.003+02:00

Hi! I'm Flat Stanley. My friend Alex sent me to Trinidad and Tobago to visit his Aunt Debbie and his Uncle Dan. Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost island in the Caribbean - it is just 7 miles away from Venezuela in South America and it is a whopping 2038 miles from Cary, North Carolina.

Trinidad and Tobago's flag is red, white and black - this one is my size.

It took me three weeks to travel here. My first stop was the U.S. Embassy where Debbie and Dan work.

I met Ambassador Beatrice Wilkinson Welters. She was very nice.

I lost my passport on the way here but Uncle Dan helped me get a new one.

Gator Park Airboat Ride - Florida Post 1

2011-02-06T22:22:00.004+02:00

In January, we spent 10 days in Florida, where it was cold. When I was a consular officer, people would tell me every day "I don't want to live in New York - it is too cold" arguing that this was proof that they would not overstay their visa. Now having spent 10 days in Florida where it was in the 40s at points - we too were eager to come back to Trinidad where it is high 90 low 78 nearly every day.

Among the highlights of our trip to Florida was an airport ride in the Everglades. I do not know how riding on an incredibly noisy boat with ear plugs came to be considered a good way to see nature but it was great fun.

Sometimes the boat would slow down and we could then see alligators and birds, who must be used to the boat.

Invaders Panyard

2011-02-06T20:49:00.004+02:00

Although Carnival peaks with the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (which is when people are wearing costumes and dancing through the streets) - it is already Carnival season when it comes to music.

Last week we headed to the Invaders panyard - a co-worker's brother is the manager of this steel pan band. On most any evening you can drive around Port of Spain and hear music coming from panyards. These are empty lots filled with instruments and everyone is busy rehearsing for the annual competition "Panorama". The newspapers are currently filled with angry editorials about evenly split between criticism that steel bands have become too obsessed with the competition and criticism against the Ministry of Culture who has cut the payment to steel band players from 1000 TT (about $160 US) to 800 TT in a cost cutting move.

The great thing about the panyards is that you are welcome to hang out and listen to the rehearsals. Take a look at the video below- you can see that Invader's youngest pannist is 10 years old - their oldest members have been playing with the band for 50 years.

Invaders' arranger (the person who turns music into a pan orchestra arrangement) is from New York but comes down each year to help them arrange their Panorama entry. Just like all Carnival costumes need to be new each year - all Panorama songs need to be new each year. Thankfully, during the rehearsal the band also played one of my favorite old Trini Calypso numbers called Lorraine, which is the story of a Trini guy living in New York who is cold and missing Trinidad. It is also the theme song of Caribbean Airlines, Invaders' sponsor.

LORRAINE LYRICS (song by Explainer)
Taxi, Taxi
Airport Kennedy

[Verse 1]
Lorraine, you better wake up
Ah need ah jet plane to take me non-stop
Ah cyah stay in New York City
When there is sunshine and pan in my country
Lions is de place with de jammin'
With Kaly-Ann and Charlie's Roots clashin'
Everyone happy partyin'
And I'm freezin' in Brooklin, Darlin'

[Chorus]
Lorraine doh cry ah leavin
Ah cyah miss dis jammin
With all dem steel band beatin
And woman background shakin
If de bug bite yuh baby
Then you could come and join me
Inside Catelli steelband
Jammin wit some man woman

[Verse 2]
Lorraine, girl take it easy
I don't mean to hurt you baby
The coldness makin me shiver
And back home, it hot like fire
That is why I say de next jet plane
Must take me to Port-of-Spain
Where all my fans are waiting
Preparing for J'Ouvert Morning, Darlin'

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Babe, my mind is made up
Airport Kennedy will be my next stop
Doh cry and try to convince me
Because meh suitcase done pack already
And if you start feelin lonely
And mas fever vibrating yuh body
Just make ah quick reservation
And touch down in de land of steelband, woman

[Chorus]

[break]
Doh cry homey
Yuh go see meh Ash Wednesday

[Chorus] (repeat til end)

Our Christmas Letter...

2011-01-09T22:15:00.002+02:00

We sent out a Christmas letter right before Christmas. We decided to use T&T stamps to add to the charm. No one, however has yet reported "I just got your Christmas letter." We are hopeful that they are still on the way and you'll be able to see the cute cards and envelopes which feature a sand man and an octopus man (instead of snowmen) and a Christmas tree made of sorrel (local holiday drink).

If they never arrive, we didn't want you denied our news and glad tidings - so here is this year's letter ...
**************************

Merry Christmas from Trinidad, the southernmost island of the Caribbean. The pace of life is so slow and laid back here that it took us two years to write a Christmas letter, and out of respect for local customs, it will arrive late, and we will blame the rain or the prior government.

Christmas season actually began in late September, as stores began selling sorrel drinks (tastes like cranberry) and radio stations switched formats to the traditional holiday music called parang, which originated centuries ago thanks to visiting musicians from nearby Venezuela. The songs are festive, guitar-strumming jug band serenades, all sung in Spanish by non-Spanish speakers to non-Spanish speakers (the British took Trinidad from Spain in 1797). Curious? Search YouTube for “Lara Brothers” and have a listen. Venezuelans we have met in Trinidad are themselves puzzled by the tradition, as there is no such thing as parang in Venezuela. Imagine Cubans singing English sea shanties, and not understanding a word of it, and only at Christmastime.

Without the sorrel and musical cue, you would have no idea Christmas is a-coming, as Trinidad lacks the traditional four seasons we heretofore took for granted. Located just six degrees north of the equator, our temperatures are steady year-round. Low: 73. High: 94. Sunrise: 6:30. Sunset: 6:30. If you refer to “spring” or “fall”, you get a quizzical reaction, probably very similar to our reaction to the regular use of “fortnightly” in conversation. Trinidad has other seasons: rainy, dry, cricket and carnival.

Carnival season begins the day after Christmas and it’s all-consuming in Trinidad. The actual carnival parades are March 7 & 8 in 2011, the same time as New Orleans Mardi Gras. However, the festivities begin long before that. January and February are chock full of fetes (French word for party) thrown by carnival bands (analogous to Mardi Gras krewes), all-night parties with live music intended to drum up costume sales. This is the costume you will wear on parade day. Unlike New Orleans and Rio, Trinidad’s carnival is a participatory event. Few people come to be spectators, and there are no floats. The costumes are expensive (banks here offer Carnival loans), but they are your all-you-can-drink “ticket” to the all-day parade, giving you permission to march with your band, complete with a sound-system truck, ample security, and of course, access to the “wee wee wagon”, a flat-bed trailer full of port-a-potties. Trinidad carnival is the largest of the Caribbean, and having participated is a big deal to locals. This is a standard conversation with a Trinidadian you’ve just met:

Trinidadian: How long have you been in Trinidad?

You: (your answer does not matter)

Trinidadian: Did (will) you take part in Carnival?

Us: We played Harts.

Trinidadian smiles and has newfound respect for you.

Carnival also brings competitions for soca, pan and calypso artists every year, and you’re not permitted to rely on old favorites, all music must be new each year. The most coveted prize for a soca artist is for his/her song to be chosen as “Road March” the song blasted from each band’s speaker truck as the band parades in front of the judge’s reviewing stand. Bands change their costumes each year too, so you won’t be able to sneak into the parade without buying this year’s model. This year, Carnival will be back on the Savannah (the Trini equivalent of Central Park) – this return is a really big deal but we don’t understand why.

Trinidad voted in a new Prime Minister last spring, er, cricket season. This was indeed an exciting time to be living here. For starters, the election itself came by surprise when the old PM – in a daring move – dissolved parliament and called for elections in six weeks. That’s right, the campaign lasted just six weeks! The two sides wasted no time. The incumbent party – per tradition – got busy paving roads, repairing bridges, opening up public housing (all of the things government is expected to do, that is, but don’t seem to happen otherwise). Meanwhile, the opposition produced scathing political ads for the TV news, featuring some of the island’s most famous calypso artists, disparaging the administration for corrupt construction contracts, rising crime rates, and neglect of the neediest. This was quite a shock to us after serving in the Kingdom of Jordan, where you can be arrested for criticizing the monarch! The gamble turned out poorly for the incumbents, and Trinidad elected its first female Prime Minister. Per the British system, she was sworn in the day after elections. No lame duck administrations here!

Outside of elections, one of our favorite pastimes is watching cricket. No, really! Granted, we don’t have the patience for a full 5-day “test match”, but the cricketing world – adjusting to the shorter attention span of the new millennium – introduced “Twenty20” a version of the game that is played out in just 3½ hours, with players taking greater risks and thus, more action. We’ve been to several matches in Trinidad, and we attended the final Twenty20 World Cup match in Barbados. Our fondness for cricket earns us a measure of respect from Trinidadians, although cricket purists insist that Twenty20 isn’t real cricket.

We have used every one of our leave days this year and have been able to travel to Panama, Barbados, Grenada, Curacao (the world’s newest country), and home to the U.S. We had hoped to travel to St. Lucia but then Hurricane Tomas hit the island hard. We canceled those plans despite the hotel’s reassurance: “we expect to have our running water back soon.” We hope to visit a few more islands although this requires a great deal of patience and faith in a pretty dodgy airline. We highly, highly recommend Panama – monkeys and jungle cruises (like at Disney World but better) are just twenty minutes outside of a real city with good restaurants.

We both got “tenure” this year – which like the academic equivalent means we are now very hard to fire. Dan continues working as the American Citizen Services officer and Duffy is currently the interim press officer. We both have come to loathe weekend phone calls – for Dan they often mean another American drug mule died or was arrested. Duffy’s calls are reporters seeking a quote on the latest brouhaha, and a new brouhaha seems to emerge every fortnight, like clockwork. Although she rarely dispenses quotes, they keep calling. Our jobs do mean that we have been all over the island – it is just 30 miles by 50 miles but roads and traffic make it seem bigger. People rarely move from one town to another and so they speak about other areas as if they were distant lands “I really like South – the people are so hospitable.”

We are spoiled by our apartment’s view of the Gulf of Paria – including Venezuela. We can also see South from here. Postcard-worthy beaches are less than an hour’s drive from our apartment, and Trinidad offers impressive birdwatching. Our favorite way to see birds is to take a swamp boat ride at sunset, and watch flocks of scarlet ibis come home for the night.

Please come visit – we expect to be here until August and then we will move back to DC for two years. Visit us there too. Wishing you the very merriest Christmas.

Really big caterpillars in Grenada

2011-01-09T21:11:00.004+02:00

After Thanksgiving, we headed to the LaSource resort on Grenada. Vicky and Tim had both described it as one of the best trips they have ever taken and we can see why. The grounds were beautiful, the beach was lovely and daily spa treatments, yoga classes and scuba were all part of the package.

What was most striking however was the size of the caterpillars. I only ever saw them on one tree - but over the course of the week we spent there, the caterpillars (see picture of my hand for scale) ate all of the leaves on the tree. I imagine they now live on a different tree.

Botanic Gardens Photos

2011-01-09T20:01:00.005+02:00

Trinidad is a small island and we've seen a lot of it. One afternoon, we realized that we hadn't yet been to the botanical gardens which are really close (just a 1/4 mile from the Embassy).

Like all of Trinidad they were lush and green with an extensive collection of different types of palms.

Next to the Botanical Gardens is the President's house. T&T has a president and a Prime Minister. While we have been here, the roof of the President's house collapsed from disrepair. From inside the gardens, you have a really good view of the damage.

Curacao Pictures

2011-01-09T19:08:00.006+02:00

In November, we took a long weekend trip to Curacao. Everyone posted in the Caribbean has visions of island-hopping and then discovers that airfares are ludicrously expensive. It is cheaper to go to Miami (4 hours away) than it is to go anywhere else including Grenada which is just a 30 minute flight and hardly farther away than Tobago.

At the same time this is likely our only time living in the Southern Caribbean so we paid the price and bought tickets on LIAT - a regional carrier that I have had TSA officials tell me not to take. It is the only way to get to Curacao. It is notoriously unreliable so we both warned our bosses that while we expected to be back on Monday, we were flying LIAT and might be a day or two late. Thankfully we were only an hour late going there - because they forget to file the flight plan and an hour late coming home - because the pilots wanted to have lunch (all of the passengers could see the pilots eating while we waited at the gate.)

Curacao was really pretty. It's naturally dry and much less lush than Trinidad but as a Dutch colony it has really cute architecture. Curacao also just changed status from some affiliate of the Netherlands to being its own country except that the Netherlands is still in charge of their defense and foreign policy and other things. I did not entirely understand it but many Caribbean islands likewise has weird relationships to other countries - some like Trinidad and Tobago are entirely independent whereas those born on Martinique are considered French citizens.

This is a picture of boats that sail up from Venezuela each day to create a farmers market. You can see some of the dutch-style buildings in the background.

Here's Dan in one of the buildings at the really excellent slavery museum. He looks happy but the exhibits were in fact really moving and tragic.

About a third of this very small island is a national park. We loved that both guns and slingshots were prohibited. The park was FULL of lizards - the roads were covered with literally thousands of them and while they scampered as the car rolled along it was still rather disconcerting.

Next to the National Park was a restored plantation - there are several hundred plantation buildings in the Dutch style still on the island.

Most of the lizards were only a foot or so long but this iguana was probably 3 feet.

The two halves of the capital city are connected by a floating pedestrian bridge. When boats want to pass the bridge rotates 90 degrees. You can see the pretty colored buildings in the background.

Dan and more nice buildings. Yes, it was very sunny there.
We also visited the oldest synagoge in the western hemisphere. It had sand floors (see under my fet) which we initially thought were because it's an island and this emphasizes the beachiness but in fact the sand floors are to represent the exodus and the time in desert.

This is Dan outside of the synagoge in the courtyard where there is no sand.

Proof that in Curacao you can get more colors than just blue...

My best VIP visitor - Justice Clarence Thomas

2010-11-16T22:42:00.003+02:00

As loyal readers know in Jordan, the Embassy had LOTS of VIP visitors nearly all of whom were using Jordan as their layover on their way to Baghdad (a subset of VIP visitors had met King Abdullah and Queen Rania somewhere and had taken seriously their invitation"you should come visit Jordan")

Here in Trinidad, while we have had more houseguests (yay!) there are fewer VIPs coming to visit - but last month, I was the control officer for the BEST VIP visit I have ever done - Justice Thomas.

Some visitors are smart and other visitors are kind and Justice Thomas was the rare visitor who was both. I would put Senators Lieberman and Reed in the same smart+nice combination but they are now ranked second and third on my list after Justice Thomas. Justice Thomas gave motivational talks to school kids on the same day that he spoke to judges about framers' intent and the death penalty.

Here are some pictures from the visit. He has promised to come back - I hope he does.

Here is me and the Justice at the Diplomatic Center where we (and by that I mean he with me as the lackey taking notes) met with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Here is an actual picture of me being a notetaker. Here we are at the Tobago House of Assembly meeting with the Chief Secretary Orville London.

Here are me and Dan. The Justice took pictures and chatted with every single member of the Embassy, and as a former maintenance guy and son of a domestic worker he started with our maintenance and janitorial crews.

Dan's Parents Visit.... Fort George

2010-10-17T03:50:00.004+03:00

Dan's parents visited for the first two weeks of October and they visited everywhere on Trinidad - Maracas beach, Asa Wright nature center, Petrotrin's wild fowl sanctuary, Caroni swamp and then spent a week on Tobago. One of the last stops was Fort George. This is a hill pretty much overlooking our apartment and the rest of the city. We had never gone because their had been some nasty muggings there right before we arrived in country. But when the security office decided that the site was safe enough to bring a high-level State Department official, we figured it must be safe enough to bring Dan's parents.

The site is mostly a terrific view of Port of Spain and the ability to see both the north and south sides of the islands but it also has this cute station house.

Eid Rum Festival

2010-10-17T03:37:00.003+03:00

We suspect that Trinidad is the only country where a Rum Festival would be held on Eid (the holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan). While we did go to iftars during Ramadan, we opted for the Rum Festival on the Eid holiday.

The first display was angostura art ... this one is a steel pan player

This was the crowd for the free rum drinks...
This was the smaller group listening to the lecture on how rum is made which featured a lot of jokes in the vein of "friends don't let friends drink Barbadian rum" or "I don't know what they make in [insert country name here] but it isn't rum."

Three new beaches on Tobago

2010-10-16T21:44:00.006+03:00

Trinidadians and Tobagonians are connoisseurs of beaches with strong opinions about the relative merits of some beaches over another. Nowhere on either island are you more than 30 minutes away from a beach and still when people go on vacation their most common destination is Tobago to go to the beach or Isla Margarita to go to the beach or Miami to go to the beach (and go shopping). We were on Tobago for Labor Day and visited three beaches that we hadn't visited before.

#1 Englishman's Bay - this beach had a very nice picnic pavillion with a swing.

#2 Parlatuvier

#3 Bloody Bay - named for a violent slave revolt that occurred at the site that made the waters red.

Maracas Falls

2010-10-06T21:27:00.000+03:00

Also earlier this summer (note: when the weather is high 88 low 72 everyday it is very hard to remember what season it is) - my colleague Stephanie, our Ambassador and I joined the terrific girls from Sophia House, a foster care program, for a hike to Maracas Falls. It is rainy season so we got some rain but it also meant that there were beautiful falls.

Emancipation Day

2010-10-03T21:20:00.000+03:00

This holiday was over the summer but I am just posting photos now. Trinidad has a holiday for every religion (Christmas, Diwali, Eid) and every ethnicity (Indian Arrival Day) - hence Emancipation Day. We watched a parade that featured African dancers and drumming, as well as big music trucks blaring soca and little music trucks featuring steel pan - because all events here feature soca and steel pan.

Follow the rules (or not)

2010-10-01T20:51:00.000+03:00

Posts here are admittedly few and far between. In Jordan, seeing camels on the side of the road seemed novel every time it happened - which was all the time. Here life seems normal and we're more likely to see friendly street dogs than exotic wildlife.

Trinidad is in many ways a fairly lawless society - there is a large sense of live and let live and universal loathing of the police. Red lights and one-way streets are routinely ignored. Cars park anywhere without fear of citation. Even when breathalyzers were put into use last Carnival for the first time there was widespread moral outrage about entrapment and convictions based on their use are still newsworthy.

In another example of the casual approach to rules: last night we went and had a drink at Drink! Wine Bar and we saw that the lights were on at the nearby cricket oval (note: the cricket oval is owned by a private posh club - this is important to note for the rest of the story). It was a nice night (note: almost all nights are nice) and we thought we'd go get tickets for whatever match it was and watch for a little while. We walked to the ticket office which was oddly closed so we walked back to where we had seen cars driving into a parking lot. We asked the security guards who was playing and how do we buy tickets. The security guards said it was a private soccer event for club members but added, "you look like members - you could just go in if you want." These are the security guards encouraging us to crash the party!

Given such lax security - imagine our surprise then when the movie theatre was a huge stickler about the age requirements. We went to see "The Other Guys" with friends and their two boys - I think they are 13 and 15. The movie was rated 14+ but their parents were with them. The box office didn't want to sell the boys tickets. When we tried cheating by having some else buy the tickets, the box office called the inside ticket takers to make sure that the boys did not enter the theatre. We can think of no other rules here that are so vigorously enforced.

p.s. The Other Guys was good. The Social Network was excellent.

A Summer Week in New York

2010-07-10T21:13:00.001+03:00

We spent a week in New York City and upstate New York during our Rest and Recuperation break. "You need a rest break from your assignment to the Caribbean?" you ask?

Here we are on the hottest new attraction in Manhattan: the High Line Park, a grassy walking trail situated on a reclaimed freight rail line 30 feet up in the air, above 10th Ave. Empire State Building is in the background.

Walking through Central Park, between stops at the Museum of Natural History and the Apple Store on Fifth Ave.

Moving up state, and keeping with the re-purposed rail line theme: the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. This one is 210 feet off the ground, and is billed as the longest pedestrian bridge in the world.

Hyde Park is nearby, the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and site of the first Presidential Library, which was launched by the President himself.

Dan relaxes with Franklin and Eleanor, in happier times

Leatherback Turtles

2010-06-14T01:49:00.005+03:00

We have loved seeing the Scarlet Ibises fly across the Caroni swamp and daily watch brown pelicans dive into the ocean but this morning we saw the coolest thing we have seen in a long time. Leatherback turtles laying eggs and heading back to sea.

At 9:00 last night we went out to the beach with a guide who explained that leatherbacks which can grow to 7 feet long and 3 feet wide and 800 pounds lay eggs 8-10 times per season - laying 80 eggs each time in the hopes that one or two will survive to adulthood. The females come onto the beach, dig a deep hole, lay the eggs and then head back to shore.

We watched for a couple hours last night and then I got up at 5:30 this morning to watch the sun rise and to take some pictures. In the daylight there were only a few turtles (and a lot of well-fed egg-eating vultures) but at night they get 300 turtles and at times we were startled that while we were watching on turtle that another had come up to shore right next to us (remember these are the size of overstuffed armchair).

We also saw some hatched baby turtles which were unbelievable cute and had already survived long odds by hatching.

Barbados - not cricket

2010-05-30T16:39:00.004+03:00

Last month, I had a work trip to Barbados and our very nice boss said that if she had a work trip to Barbados she'd want to bring her husband and gave Dan the time off. We had a really nice time - Barbados is very pretty and clearly designed for tourists. There was lots to see and we only saw half of what we wanted to (given the time commitment required for cricket). The pretty yellow house above MAY have been the house that George Washington stayed in when he came to Barbados - his only overseas trip. He and his brother came to help his brother's TB. If the movie at the museum is to be believed George Washington would not have amounted to anything had he not learned about agriculture, commerce and culture during his short stay in Barbados. The house was cute though.

Barbados is much smaller than Trinidad (and that is saying something) we were able to circle the island in a day AND see the George Washington exhibit. On the north coast the beach was impregnable cliffs and here on the east (Atlantic) side it was rocky with large boulders.
Our favorite stop was St. Nicholas Abbey - a 17th century Jacobian plantation house that has been renovated and now has a pretty cafe, gardens and a rum distillery. We had a fun talk with the owner's son who was incredulous that we hadn't yet been kidnapped since we live in Trinidad. Nothing we could say about Trinidad would dissuade him of the notion that we should plan on being kidnapped soon.
Cliffs on the north side....

Cricket in Barbados

2010-05-30T16:25:00.003+03:00

I admittedly go through hobby-phases - obsessing over learning how to make puff pastry; teaching myself book binding which doesn't come in handy as much as you'd think; and I have cross-stitch projects that can last a decade. Finally Dan and I have a hobby together - trying to figure out cricket. We expect that it will take us the entire time we are in Trinidad and may necessitate tours in other cricket-playing countries (yes this includes England but also includes Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan - thanks to the greatness of empire).

My work trip to Barbados (yes it sounds funny) coincided with the 20/20 World Cup. I think it is safe to say that when you can buy World Cup tickets that weekend that either there is a recession OR 20/20 cricket has not entirely caught on.

As a reminder 20/20 cricket is a type of cricket where each team plays 20 overs each (baseball translation: an over is kind of like a mini-inning although cricket has their own innings - always in the plural)

Our seats for the World Cup were in fact in the party area which featured stiltwalkers. All-you-can-drink Bajan Banks beer and a lot of sun. I never remember to pack hats which is why I purchased this - one of the ugliest hats ever.

The event was held at Barabados' Kensington Oval. Here is me buying tickets on a day with less sun (and no Chester Cheetah). The event was England vs. Australia - England won handily. Earlier in the tournament the Windies had actually beaten England but they won because of the dratted Duckworth Lewis scoring system that determines a winner in the event of rain. No one believes that the Windies are better than England.

We also decided to test our cricket attention span by moving from 20/20 cricket (a 3.5 hour game) on to One Day International (ODI) which is essentially 50/50. We only made it through half so we saw the Windies batting their 50 overs atrociously and we skipped the South Africans batting but heard that South Africa won. The next day at the airport I saw many Windies heading home to Barbados and they seemed a little too jovial given their loss.

Hanuman Murti Hindu Temple

2010-05-03T22:32:00.000+03:00

Heading south from Port of Spain, you'll find Chaguanas ("sha-GOH-niss") the de facto capital of East Indian Trinidad. East Indians make up 40% of the country's population, first arriving in 1845 when colonial sugar plantation owners sought labor following the abolition of slavery. Though they initially came as indentured servants, many elected to stay after their indentures had elapsed. Indian Arrival Day is celebrated here every May 30th.

This is the gloriously detailed Dattatreya Yoga Center and Ashram in Chaguanas, which is home to the Hanuman murti, an eight-story tall statue of the Hindu monkey deity.

Prayer flags like these adorn the yards of many Hindu homes. These are near the Waterloo Temple.

April tourist destination - Macqueripe and Tobago

2010-05-02T23:03:00.005+03:00

My parents also visited in April. We tried to show off Trinidad including a trip to one of our favorite beaches at Macqueripe. My parents saw monkeys on Trinidad before we had seen them on one of their drives around the island. They showed us the spot so we can now show off red howler monkeys to any new visitors.

Macqueripe....

Monkeys....

Dad on Tobago...

April tourist destinations - tar pit and wildfowl refuge

2010-05-02T22:54:00.004+03:00

It may be that all nations believe that they have within their borders "one of the seven wonders of the world." Jordan certainly believed that Petra was worthy of that honor. We think that Trinidad's wonder may be among the more modest. It is the La Brea tar pit. I think brea must be spanish for "tar" because California has one too. Trinidad's tar pit is still being used commercially with equipment harvesting the high-quality pitch - but it is also a tourist site. We joined a group of 20 Trinis for an explanation of the greatness of pitch. You can walk on the surface and most of it feels like the sponge-y surface they have under fancy playgrounds. In some spots the liquid pitch is closer to the surface. Here is our guide showing how liquid it is.Still liquid-y...
People marveling. The guide praised the restorative qualities of the water that is also in the pitch lake.

We continued our tour of "industry as tourism" that day with a trip to the water foul refuge housed within the nation's petroleum processing plant. You need a reservation and you drive past many scary plants spewing gas flares and then you enter a stunningly beautiful park with ducks...

And birds who like showing off for the turtles...

April tourist destinations - Caroni Swamp

2010-05-02T22:10:00.004+03:00

Caroni swamp is one of our new favorite places in Trinidad (we also like the beaches and have a favorite sushi restaurant). Caroni is a mangrove swamp with channels that were originally cut for irrigating sugar cane fields. The wetlands are now protected and are the nesting place for that national bird - the scarlet ibis - these pictures do not do these beautiful red birds justice.

The tour leaves at 4:00 and goes an hour into the swamp. The birds seem to fly like clockwork and around 5:30 each day the return to a nesting spot for the night after a day of eating. The birds landed in a couple of trees - fight for spots with black cormorants. What was weird was that while these trees were covered with birds, other trees were absolutely empty.

The birds flew in from every direction to the nesting spot.

On the boat ride we also spotted snakes ...

... and crabs (which the birds eat).

April tourist destination - Mount St. Benedict Monastary

2010-05-02T21:54:00.003+03:00

On Good Friday, we dragged our newly arrived guest Ben to a hike up Mount St. Benedict to the Caribbean's oldest monastery. Re-enactors acted out the stations of the cross on the way up and people carried candles and sang. The walk started at 4:00 am and when we drove to the foot of the hill there was the mingling of club-goers who were ending their evening and church-goers who were starting this walk up to the monastery. The church-going crowd grew throughout the two hour procession and probably was up to 1,000 by the time we reached the top.

Here you can see the crowd and mini-marts that opened early to sell snacks and candles.

Here are some roman soldiers...

Two guys snapped large whips on the walk up...

April - lots of tourist destinations - the zoo & savannah

2010-05-02T21:44:00.004+03:00

In April, we had our friend Ben and Duffy's parents visit us. As always, houseguests are the perfect impetus to go see places that we hadn't visited before - thus our blog entries with all of our April photos represent quite a tour of Trinidad and Tobago.

The first stop was the Port of Spain zoo. It is admittedly a small zoo but it has several capybaras - which we think are very cute and which we have never seen in the wild. The zoo also had lots of monkeys, parrots and snow cones.

The zoo is located on the top of the savannah which is a really large park in Port of Spain. The Savannah is often called the world's largest roundabout - and indeed it is a one-way circle. As we walked to the zoo we came across this cricket pitch but we had no bats with us. You can also see in this photo that it is the dry season - thankfully it has rained since then and the park is starting to look greener.

Kayaking

2010-03-08T02:41:00.004+02:00

Trinidad is not really a tourist destination. This meant that when we went kayaking today it cost $8 and the other people there were all Trini teams training for upcoming dragonboat races.

The boat owners recommended that we head "down the islands" - these are five islands off the coast of Trinidad. We paddled and paddled but the islands never seemed to get much closer (although the boathouse did get smaller) - but we did get a good view of pelicans, jellyfish, and the aluminum plant (below).

Cricket in all its confusion

2010-03-07T20:43:00.008+02:00

Last Sunday, we went to our first cricket match. We decided to ease ourselves into cricket by opting to go to a three and a half hour Twenty 20 match rather than a 4? 5? day test match. How many days in a test match is the first of many unanswered questions. If you too have always been curious about cricket this blog entry will answer none of your questions. Among the first confusing element of the game was that the opposing team (Zimbabwe) was wearing bright red which is the color of Trinidad's flag - so for a long time we assumed the red team was the local team (the West Indian Windies) - but in fact the Windies are the team in maroon. You would think the cheers or jeers from the crowd (there were presumably no Zimbabwe fans there) would have alerted us to which team was which but seemingly not.

Cricket is played in Trinidad at the Queen's Park Cricket Club. This grand stand is named after Trinidad's national hero Brian Lara. Mr. Lara was a batsman and once scored 100 points in a game. Many things in Trinidad are named after him including a cancer center, a cemetary, parks, roads, etc. You would think he is dead but no he is alive and well and working as a party promoter - many Trinis will pay big money to party at his house. His most recent work was promoting the Beyonce concert here.

The Windies, which are considered the best (only?) example of pan-Caribbean cooperation play throughout the Caribbean and there are similar stadiums in Guyana, Barbados, Antigua and elsewhere.

You can see lots of empty seats around us. Indeed only 3000 people turned out for the match in a stadium that I think seats 25,000.

At some points the game seemed sort of like baseball. Here the picture above is a batsman and how he plays seems a lot like a batter in baseball. The pitching is different, however, well first it is called bowling but it doesn't look at all like bowling - instead the "bowler" runs for the wind-up, then throws it before crossing a line and the ball bounces before the batsman hits it.

We believe that the orange sticks "wickets" are important but we weren't sure how or why. Possibly the bowler tries to knock them down and the batsman gets in trouble if he hits one while batting. This is probably where the phrase "sticky wicket" comes from.

Digicel one of the local cell phone companies sponsors the Windies and they gave away inflatable bats. As you can imagine these bats are excellent for hitting your siblings with (or so we observed.) Digicel also gave away paper fans that had a "4" on one side and a "6" on the other. There seem to be two different kinds of 'home runs' that earn you either 4 or 6. Other runs are worth 1 for each time you the batter can run between the two sets of wickets.

The Windies also had two cheerleading squads supporting them. I do not know if Cricket worldwide has cheerleaders. The cheerleaders in yellow are sponsored by Carib beer and the cheerleaders in red are sponsored by Digicel. During the (many) breaks in play the stadium played soca music from Carnival season. Again I suspect this is a Caribbean addition and perhaps not how it is played in Lord's cricket grounds. Anyone who is reading this and does know anything about cricket may wonder how people unable to identify their team would know about the hallowed cricket field in England - that is because I remember being shocked that Sabrina used valuable vacation time in England going to Lord's and that is when we all knew how much she must like Robert.

The Windies lost to Zimbabwe. This was considered fairly surprising because apparently Zimbabwe is not a good team. The next day we read the press coverage of the game. In the articles (for an example, see "Crap Cricket at its Lowest" here), a lot of attention was dedicated to "overs" these seemed kind of like "outs" - we did not pay attention to them during the game but reading the paper it seems like they are important. Again we do not know why. Subsequently, we have also tried asking assorted people for help understanding cricket - the accountant for the Embassy co-op, for instance, taught us that six balls are bowled in an over, and then he personally apologized for the Windies' poor performance. As we learn more we will share it with you.

Carnival Tuesday - even more pictures

2010-02-16T20:12:00.005+02:00

This was another band, waiting at an intersection for us to pass.

Carnival Tuesday - Watch We Palancing

2010-02-16T19:51:00.007+02:00

Playing mas is a walking dance party. These pictures give you a sense of how many people there are and the range of costumes. At the end I have included the lyrics for this year's "Road March" aka the most-played song "Watch We Palancing". We assumed palancing (pronounced "pah-LAN-sing") simply meant "to dance" but a website I just Googled said it means "to wander around aimlessly looking for a lime" (lime is a Trini noun and verb for party)

Just look at these mixed sections! This would give some band leaders a heart attack.

Click if you want to hear the song, this year's Road March. This high-energy up-tempo song played non-stop all day Tuesday in front of the judges.

Palancing when we on the road,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,
Yes we toting any load,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,
Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
Jump up, Jump up

One, two, three, four

PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, throw your rag in they face,
PALANCE, shake up the place

We don’t care about the recession,
All we want to do is have fun,
Jumping up in the blazing sun,
Blazing sun, blazing sun
Some have energy, some have none,
Wham to you, don’t tell me you bun,
We ent leaving until the ting done

Done, done, done, done, done

This year we palancing,
And everybody joining in,
No time for sleeping,
I drinking anything you bring,
Sexy girls in the lime,
Come on fellas, take a wine,
We eh leaving nothing behind,
Cause we come to jump we don't make up we mind to

Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
(I say) Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
(I say) Jump up, Jump up, (I say) jump and put your hands up,
(I say) Jump up, Jump up

One, two, three, four

PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, throw your rag in they face,
PALANCE, shake up the place

Palance in the savannah,
Jumping up in panorama,
Girl just wave up your bandana,
Bandana, bandana

Jumping up in the Mardi Gras,
Drinking everything by the bar,
Show them girls you have the stamina,
Stamina, stamina

Don’t ever want to be late,
Sexy girls them outside the gate,
Badman yuh wasting my time,
If yuh sticking, stay behind,
Man ready to bump and grind,
So much sexy girls in the lime,
We not leaving none behind,
Cause we come to jump we don't make up we mind to

Jump up, Jump up, Jump and put your hands up,
(Let we take a) Jump up, Jump up, Jump up and put your hands up,
(Let we take a) Jump up, Jump up, Jump up and put your hands up,
(Let we take a) Jump up, Jump up

One two three four

PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, throw your rag in they face,
PALANCE, shake up the place

Palancing when we on the road,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,
Yes we toting any load,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,

Take a jump jump jump, take a jump up by the truck,
Take a jump jump jump, let we jump and mash it up,
Take a jump jump jump, take a jump up by the truck,
Take a jump jump jump, let we jump and mash it up

Don’t ever want to be late,
Sexy girls them outside the gate,
Badman yuh wasting my time,
If yuh sticking, stay behind,
Man ready to bump and grind,
So much sexy girls in the lime,
We not leaving none behind,
Cause we come to jump we don't make up we mind to

Jump up, Jump up, Jump and put your hands up,
(We say) Jump up, Jump up, Jump up and put your hands up,
(We say) Jump up, Jump up, (I say jump) Jump up and put your hands up,
(We say) Jump up, Jump up

Aye yay aye

PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, jump up and mash up the place,
PALANCE, shake up the place,
PALANCE, throw your rag in they face,
PALANCE, shake up the place

Palancing when we on the road,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,
Yes we toting any load,
Watch we palancing, watch we palancing,

Want more? For a slower groove, try Dan's favorite Carnival song: Thiefin' by Machel Montano

Carnival Tuesday - Our Section

2010-02-16T19:39:00.004+02:00

Each band is divided into sections. Our band had 25 or 26 sections each with a unique theme - one was Robin Hood, one was native american indians, one was butterflys. Our theme was "Happy Hour/Helluva Good Time" which mostly translated into - our costumes were the white and gold ones.

Our band is known for its casual attitude about sections. Intermingling is not discouraged, except for the parade in front of the judges. Other bands try harder to enforce uniform sections. Here are the photos of our section, shortly before passing by the judges. This was the only time of the day we were all together.

Dan is second from left, in back. He's the one not texting. Note the mixed results of the bicep band. The cup-wielding guy in front has the bicep to keep it in place. Dan abandoned his because, like the texting fellow, his just slid down his arm.

Big Costumes from Other Bands

2010-02-15T21:58:00.005+02:00

Each band has two or three big costumes at the head of their group. These are some of the costumes from some of the other bands.

Dancing in Front of the Embassy

2010-02-15T21:46:00.005+02:00

In Jordan, security around the embassy was extensive - with many signs warning "do not take pictures" - here in Trinidad - the U.S. Embassy is on the Carnival parade route. Here you can see dancers making their way past the Embassy. Today is the "dress rehearsal" day so most people are only wearing part of their costume. Tomorrow there will be more headdresses and glitter.

This beautiful house is a few doors down from the Embassy and is for sale. It was profiled in the NYTimes because it is so lovely but its sale is tied up in historic preservation vs. developers.

Carnival Monday - Playing Mas with Harts

2010-02-15T21:26:00.006+02:00

Today is Carnival Monday and it is the dress rehearsal for tomorrow when the real judging occurs. Here in Trinidad - Carnival is a participatory activity. I haven't been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans but I think there are big floats and lots of people watching the parades. Here there are very, very few spectators because nearly everyone is a participant. Participating is called "playing mas" (mas is short for masquerade). You join a "band" and buy a costume. We are in Harts - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Each band dances around the city accompanied by music trucks with enormous speakers, some live music, trucks dispensing drinks and lots of security. At various points the trucks stop but the dancing continues.

The bands vary in size from a hundred to fifteen hundred. Harts is one of larger bands and so it comes with "wee wee trucks" as well - port-a-potties on a flat bed truck.

One of Trinidad's security feature is a blimp which flies over the city. We've been told it has some kind of infrared feature - but we still don't understand how it fights crime.

Music truck. Each year, several songs compete for the "song of Carnival" - and these dozen or so songs are played throughout the day - repeated. My current ear worm is the "You're out all day; every night you're out" and Dan's is "Who's playing mas - everyone's playing mas." Or at least we think these are the lyrics. We were awoken in the middle of the night with a song that we thought was about pieces of pie but today we realized today the lyrics are in fact "Right now I selling pipe. How much inches of pipe yuh want?"

The Lead Up to Carnival

2010-02-13T20:25:00.000+02:00

Carnival season in Trinidad starts on December 26 - this is when the radio stations change from parang (ballads inexplicably sung in Spanish) to all soca all the time. Soca is the music of carnival - it is really up-tempo, major key music, often with lyrics related to carnival and is designed as music that you can dance to in a parade.

The arrival of soca is the first change; the next change is an increase in the number of billboards and banners around town "Carib - the beer of Carnival" or "KFC's Palance Pack." But Carnival really gets started in early February with lots of music festivals featuring soca stars. There are also contests to crown calypso kings; soca monarchs; steel pan orchestras; and contests for the best costumes. Last week, we went to the finals for the Junior Queen Monarchs for costumes. Many of these were sponsored by schools and others were sponsored by specific carnival groups "bands." Most of these costumes were probably 12 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide. They are made of aluminum frames; decorated with feathers, sequins, lame', and cost an estimated $15,000.

This first one, is one of the smaller ones but is cleverly shaped like a steel pan.

This black and white costume - won second place. Most of the costumes had complicated back stories to go with the designers overall costume theme. This black one was "Mother Goddess of Bakuba Warrior"

This last one was actually my favorite (unfortunately the picture didn't turn out well). Can you guess the name? It's "Black Gold - Trinidad's Treasure" - a tribute to petroleum. The bottom was gold wings and the head dress was a 15 foot fountain of black feathers. It unfortunately did not win.

Panama Day 5: Monkeys!

2010-01-21T01:53:00.003+02:00

During the tour of Gatun Lake, the boat pilot was skilled at spotting curious monkeys. We saw a few howler monkeys, unfortunately they were slow-moving, shy and uncooperative for photos. But we met more than a dozen White-headed Capuchin monkeys who would watch us pull up alongside in the boat.

The capuchin monkeys in Panama -unlike other, pathetic monkeys - have prehensile tails, meaning they can grasp branches with it.

The guide explained that less responsible guides will feed the monkeys to lure them onto the boat. But no monkeys were fed on our tour, I assure you.

We were instructed not to look directly into the monkey's eyes, and not to smile at them. Apparently the direct gaze and teeth exposed are sometimes mistaken as signs of aggression.

Panama Day 4: Zipline in El Valle

2010-01-20T23:58:00.003+02:00

Let me start by saying that Dan and I are cowards - we don't like roller coasters and during one ferris wheel ride at Disneyland California Adventure this summer we spent a lot of time gripping the cage and waiting for it to be over. Afterward, Dan assured me that the C130 ride to Baghdad was less terrifying than that ferris wheel.

So it took all of our courage to decide that "yes, we should try a zip line tour" and then it took even more courage to actually lift our feet off of the ground which started the ride.

You are in a harness that is attached to a pulley that rides along the metal wire line. One of your hands holds on to the rope going to the pulley and your other hand which is more heavily gloved works as a brake slowing you down.

This zip line tour was marketed as an eco-tourism canopy tour - one's chance to be at bird's eye level up in the canopy - it was great but this was not about bird-watching. The trip started with a twenty minute hike up a really pretty trail while wearing our zip line gear. We then took four rides across valleys from mountain to mountain. The third ride was across a waterfall. It's much steeper, so a guide controls your speed from above.

These photographs and the videos below do not show you how high you really are. Dan commented afterwards that we did not have helmets - but it wasn't a fall you'd likely survive.

It really was fun - and a little scary - okay a lot scary the first time and increasingly fun and less scary the other times. We asked our guides how to say "I am afraid" in Spanish. They said one should say "I have fear". In Duffy's video, I try to ask her, "Do you have fear?". Off camera, the guide is laughing. I later learned why. When I repeated the phrase for our driver, he pointed out that I was mispronouncing "fear" so it sounded like I was asking, "Do you have [excrement]?"

Dan on the waterfall zip line

Duffy on the last zip line

Panama Day 3: Old City (or Cities)

2010-01-19T23:09:00.003+02:00

Panama City actually has two historic districts - we started the day at the older one - Panama Viejo. Here there are the falling-down ruins of a number of Spanish churches, monasteries and a convent. The city was apparently a constant target of pirates and after being totally burned to the down a second time - this time by Captain Henry Morgan, the city of Panama was moved to a more defensible area.

Convent recently restored with help from HSBC Bank

The second town site is called Casco Viejo - which is a charming area of functioning churches (we walked in on a funeral in one), the president's palace, and restaurants. The area is, however, bordered by one of the city's dodgier areas and at one point a man in a park told us not to walk any further in that direction. In front of the French Embassy we ate raspados (snow cones - 2 for a dollar) - they didn't just include "snow" (made by scraping a 3-foot cube of solid ice) and fruit-flavored syrup - but also sweetened condensed milk. We declined adding honey.

Mysterious eye-patch graffiti in (the nice part of) Casco Viejo

Panama Day 2: Boat Ride in the Canal

2010-01-18T21:21:00.009+02:00

On our second day we took a small boat ride on Gatun Lake. This is the man-made lake that was created by damming a river to help create the Panama canal. Our boat ride around dozens of small islands was actually a boat ride among mountain tops now flooded by the lake. On the boat ride - we enjoyed looking at animals but also enjoyed being really close to some huge ships making their way through the canal. Ships included cruise ships, car carriers, container ships and this Russian tall ship. A fellow passenger said it might be the Tovarishch, which is used as a training ship for the Russian navy (and according to this New York Times article it is a former German training barque, like its sister ship the U.S. Coast Guard's Eagle. Both were seized from Germany as war prizes after WWII). However, further research revealed that the Tovarishch and the Eagle are 3-masted vessels. Still it's quite a ship, no?

At lunchtime, our boat picnicked at this shelter accessible only by boat, which was likely built by the Americans during the time they controlled the Panama Canal Zone.

Panama is widening the canal (here they are removing this entire point of land) and constructing a larger set of locks to accommodate bigger ships. Many of the boats we saw in the canal are at the maximum size and known as "Panamax" ships.

Here is a cruise ship bearing down on us. Our boat captain seemed to enjoy playing chicken with really large ships.

This is the best picture we have of a sloth - unfortunately they are the same color as the tree. The are about the size as a koala and have really, really long claws.

These are seven bats asleep on a tree

A howler monkey in mid-howl - we have a lot of capuchin monkey pictures which we'll include in a separate entry.

Our last stop of the day was the canal visitor center at the Miraflores Locks (and just across the street from the U.S. Embassy). We watched a big container ship and the aforementioned Russian tall ship go through the locks. The toll for large ships is $250,000 USD and even for a small sail boat it is several hundred dollars - at the end of the day the last slot is auctioned off and the highest price paid was $400,000 USD.

Panama Day 1: Hiking the Pipeline Road

2010-01-17T16:36:00.012+02:00

We took a week off from work and headed to Panama - a destination chosen because we wanted to see the canal and there was a direct flight from Trinidad. If we stick with the "we'll go anywhere with a direct flight" strategy (which also took us to Suriname) our other vacation destinations would be Barbados, Venezuela and Guyana.

But the strategy has worked well so far - Panama City was a great city and it was just 20 minutes from hiking in the jungle. On our first full day we joined a birdwatching hike in Soberania National Park along the Pipeline Road. Our guide helped us spot monkeys, butterflies and lots of birds. He seemed most excited by the spotting of this black hawk which he thought was unusual for the area - but he seemed really blase about all the other hawks that we saw - along with toucans, flycatchers, and others.

We saw several packs of monkeys traveling through the treetops. They were most often in groups of ten. This is a white-faced capuchin monkey and we could hear howler monkeys during most of the walk.

Pretty flowers!

Smithsonian biologists making their morning rounds in the park

Early in the hike we encountered this trapped opossum, way up high in the trees. The critter and trap were gone when we returned. He was tagged and released, don't worry!

Panama's beloved Harpy Eagle. This one was rescued from the chilly North American continent, where he was kept in an environment so cold part of his talon froze off. Now he lives in captivity at a fancy Sony-funded exhibit in the Botanical Gardens.

Panama City skyline

Weekend in Tobago

2009-12-06T15:16:00.003+02:00

The first week in December we had our first houseguest. He arrived just one day after our car cleared customs. Optimistic planners, we already had made hotel reservations on Tobago on the opposite end of the island from the ferry port.

Tobago is a very short flight (maybe 20 minutes) or a three hour ferry ride away. We had been warned that it could be a rough trip and came prepared with Dramamine and ginger ale. 90 minutes into the journey saw the roughest seas, and ferry employees started laying out barf bags on the bar and indeed several fellow travelers spent a lot of the trip with their heads on the table looking miserable, but that may have been a result of the in-flight entertainment: six consecutive episodes of the 90s sitcom "Martin". The great thing about the ferry was that we got to see a lot of Trinidad's coast - including our apartment as well as get a close look at the oil platform and tiny islands that we can see from our balcony.

The ferry arrived in Scarborough - the capital of Tobago - I think Tobago has just 60,000 people total so being the capital means that Scarborough is a town while everyplace else is a village with a small grocery and maybe a mobile phone store.

We headed first to Tobago's (only??) historic site - Fort Milford. Here's me with a cannon. The fort was made of rock and coral and had six cannons - most English but also one that is French - because the French very briefly occupied Tobago in the late 1700s.

Here's a view of Store Bay where we had lunch. Beach food in Trinidad is usually a fried fish sandwich called Shark 'n Bake and the one at Store Bay was outstanding. We learned that the secret to a Shark 'n Bake is the condiments - options include garlic sauce, chadon beni sauce (a Spanish sauce with cilantro and sounds like "shadow benny"), tamarind sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and many, many types and potencies of hot sauce.

Our hotel was in the town of Speyside - a town we chose because we met a Trini guy at a reception at the German Embassy and he said it was his favorite town. We decided to take the long way to Speyside following the western shore which is the Caribbean Sea - not realizing that the long way would be very long indeed because the roads were very windy following the coast. We did drive by this mural which we admired...

After many hours of driving, we had some conflicting information about whether the last 10 miles (or last 2 coves) were paved or not so we decided to cross the island by going through the National Forest. There were multiple signs about not grazing your animals there but we saw plenty of cows including this one which was topped with an egret.

Finally we made it to Speyside which is on the Atlantic side of Tobago. On Saturday we had the beach to ourselves and collected literally handfulls of beach glass - quadrupling my lifetime of collecting. I think beach glass is hard to find in the states because littering isn't as common as it once was - but in Tobago there was plenty of glass mostly in the colors of the two local beers - Stag (brown glass) and Carib (white glass)

On Sunday, we went to Argyle Falls which is a park on the site of a former cocoa plantation. Our tour guide pointed out birds including this jacamar - which is much prettier than our picture suggests.

We ended our weekend back in Scarborough and spent most of the time in the botanical gardens where they had some terrific Christmas decorations but also these very odd angels.

What's Suriname? Who's your daddy?

2009-11-30T16:50:00.007+02:00

Thanksgiving weekend saw Queen Elizabeth II visiting Trinidad for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, which promised to have the city on total lockdown. It was her third visit as Queen, but it marked the first time she had ever slept on land here. Without sufficient hotel capacity for the conference, two cruise ships were docked at Port of Spain to make up the difference. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to hop a direct flight to Paramaribo, capital of Suriname.

Our friends Frank and Kim (we worked together in Jordan) are assigned to Suriname. They showed us around Paramaribo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its downtown full of well-preserved colonial Dutch architecture. (Suriname gained its independence in 1975). Here we are outside 17th-century Fort Zeelandia.

More of the Dutch colonial style. In addition to its striking architecture, the most surprising feature of Suriname is the abundance of exclusively Dutch visitors, thanks to a common language and a tradition of Peace Corps-style volunteerism. There are even direct flights from Amsterdam. Meanwhile, the country appears indifferent to attracting visitors from the U.S., who are required to get a visa in advance.

We were generously invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Ambassador's residence on the river's edge. Dozens of Peace Corps volunteers were also in attendance, and they appeared especially excited to have a taste of American food, taking a much-welcome break from a steady diet of "all things cassava". Many of the volunteers took six-hour boat journeys down the river to be there.

We drove into the interior to visit the Brownsberg Nature Park, lured by the promise of monkey sightings. Unpaved sections of the road were so deeply rutted by water flow, the last 30 km of the journey took more than two hours.

This is the registration office for the guest lodges at the park. Behind me are jarred specimens of some of the wildlife.

Several of these large (cat-sized) rodents were brazenly feasting near the park's restaurant, apparently unconcerned about their proximity to humans.

And here he is. Our first wild monkey sighting! Three of these monkeys were playing in the trees near our guest house.

This is not news but the pace of life here is slow.

2009-11-18T21:05:00.001+02:00

We admit we haven’t been writing much.

I think when we arrived in Jordan everything seemed very exotic – camels! Arabic! The call to prayer! And life in Trinidad seems much more normal and certainly easier. The grocery stores carry American foods. The movie theater shows American and Bollywood films. Driving on the left and the ocean views are the biggest changes.

We are getting impatient waiting for our car but in the interim – we’ve been swimming in the pool every other day; we’ve made it to our tennis court; headed to the beach; been to the terrific multiplex; and headed out to dinner.

The best decision we made was hiring a local cook. Our kitchen now always smells deliciously of curry. For Thanksgiving, the Americans at the Embassy host a lunch for our Trinidadian colleagues. I made my favorite pumpkin cake but heard that the buffet table was light on food. Our cook Fatima has just made us a large pot of callalloo the national dish (an okra-pumpkin-greens stew) so I brought that in too. After the lunch I had a lot of confused Trini co-workers asking me how I had already learned how to make callalloo and complimenting the good seasoning. I quickly admitted that I was not the cook.

Life here is slow. I have been reading a lot and have a lot of book recommendations. Highest on the list is “Selected Works of TS Spivet” followed by “Superfreakanomics” and the “The Worst Hard Time.”

We spend a lot of time on our balcony watching the sunset over the ocean and watching the boats. Recently we've been watching the progress on the second oil rig in our view. We'll send pictures when it is done.

Asa Wright Nature Center

2009-10-17T15:18:00.006+03:00

While Duffy went off with the ladies to see Fame, a coworker took me to the Asa Wright Nature Center, about an hour drive northeast from Port of Spain.

With the heliconia "sexy pink" flower

Dried fruit and bread is laid out for the birds to snack on. The food is secured under chicken wire so the birds have to come out where we can see them.

This hummingbird came up much closer to us.

This very large tiger lizard was ambling along the nature path. Self-guided hikes are not permitted in the park, unless you've booked a room for the night. We asked why we couldn't walk unescorted.

"Is that because of the great big lizards?"

"No, the lizards are harmless," the guide replied. "We need you to stay in groups because otherwise there's wayyy too much bacchanal takin' place up in 'ere!"

The View from Trinidad

2009-10-09T22:04:00.000+03:00

We've been assigned another great apartment.
Several floors up, and a balcony with a view.

Sunset over the Gulf of Paria. Venezuela is only 15 miles in the distance, but never visible from this height.

Our pool!

Phoenix. Next stop: Trinidad!

2009-09-28T06:46:00.001+03:00

With Tim, Rose and Kenai

Celebrating Charlie's birthday

One of the best things about Phoenix: indoor baseball!

At journey's end, the car is shipped to Trinidad. Stay tuned!

Palm Springs and Joshua Tree

2009-09-24T06:35:00.001+03:00

The last stop of presidential significance: Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Springs

Joshua Tree

California Adventure Park

2009-09-23T06:29:00.002+03:00

Nixon Library

2009-09-22T06:18:00.003+03:00

With Konrad Adenauer's likeness

The house where Nixon was born is part of the library grounds (in its original location)

Disneyland

2009-09-21T06:09:00.004+03:00

Bobsleds

Thunder Mountain

At the Tiki Room

More Tiki Room

Mr. Toad

Reagan Library

2009-09-20T06:01:00.001+03:00

With a piece of hardware from the Strategic Defense Initiative

Morro Bay and Santa Barbara

2009-09-19T21:34:00.001+03:00

The Fish Man of Morro Bay, California

Seals were frolicking in the bay behind Dan, near the delicious
french dip sandwiches at the Hofbrau restaurant in Morro Bay

These are from the Mission at Santa Barbara

Hearst Castle

2009-09-18T20:58:00.001+03:00

The Neptune Pools at Hearst Castle (source of this month's blog banner)

Gate decorated with whimsical little heads

Dan is dwarfed by the dining room fireplace

Hiking in Mt. Diablo

2009-09-17T20:33:00.000+03:00

Attempting to create shade just below the peak of Mt. Diablo

Winded but determined, Dan pushes forward

Walking up Telegraph Hill

2009-09-17T19:44:00.002+03:00

With Chai at "Tcho" shop

We did not see any wild parrots on Telegraph Hill, but thoroughly enjoyed the greenery in this stairs-only San Francisco neighborhood, not accessible by street

Dan C. takes in the beauty

San Francisco Ferry Terminal

2009-09-16T06:47:00.003+03:00

Beautiful Saturday morning at the farmers market

On the pier near us, someone caught a small shark, while a vigilant pigeon watched o'er

Yummy Foods Thus Far

2009-09-15T18:25:00.000+03:00

Something we hadn't thought about is that 3+ weeks on the road means a lot of restaurant meals. We have gotten better about sharing main courses and have cut back on dessert.

Some of our favorites have been:

The hand carved roast beef sandwich at Hofbrau of the Albatross in Morro Bay, CA
Caramel corn from Cleveland
The lattes at Vic's in Boulder
The cole slaw at Yank Rin dim sum in San Francisco (I had never had cole slaw at dim sum but it was great)
This pretzel-chocolate-toffee candy at the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco
The Hyatt in Lake Tahoe can mix a decent sidecar (after our two years in Jordan - we know that bartending is a skill)
And top of the list would be the cilantro steak sauce Chai made us and the shrimp-polenta appetizer that David cooked

Tahoe and Oakland

2009-09-15T06:26:00.000+03:00

Chai at Lake Tahoe

These abandoned chairs on the Tahoe beach were perfect for a photo

With "Little" Margaret

Shauna and Charlotte

Mark and Charlotte in their new house!

Walking on the Moon in Idaho

2009-09-14T05:50:00.000+03:00

Highway 26 across Idaho was perhaps the most desolate yet.
No coincidence this is the location of EBR1, the world's first atomic power plant.

Craters of the Moon park in Idaho

The ocean of lava flows are beautiful to look at, but were devastating to the early pioneers' wagon wheels. Later settlers were advised to use nearby landmarks to avoid the area altogether.

Demolition Derby!

2009-09-13T06:21:00.000+03:00

Saturday night in Evanston, Wyoming and we (and much of the town) headed to the Volunteer Fire Department's fund raiser: demolition derby. The combination of derby and volunteer firemen was indeed a good one as foot-long flames shot out of the hood of one powderpuff entry and one driver was taken away in an ambulance (after they cut the roof off of his car).

If you, like us, are unfamiliar with how a demolition derby works, here are some (but not all) of the rules:

For all of the participant cars, the windows are taken out, roll-over bars are installed as a safety measure and the drivers wear helmets. I estimate the average car age was 25 years+
Each round featured 3 to 6 cars - grouped by size of car and driver's gender (hence the "powderpuff" round)
Cars had to make (at least) one hit per minute (and got warned at the 30 second mark if they hadn't made any hits recently)
No one is allowed to hit another car on the driver's door
Good drivers were able to hit other cars while going backwards (and thus protect their own engine)
The round continues until just one car is either running (or is the only one who made a hit in the last minute)

Remarkably, some cars survived for an additional round - the later rounds were a lot faster since these cars had already been pretty well smashed. Cars that don't win but were still running could return for later for these "grudge match" rounds.

The car in front (above) appeared to benefit greatly from having rear-wheel drive. Notice him facing backward as he executes a textbook reverse hit. If we were to start competing we would seek out rear-wheel drive. Our new Hyundai does not have this...

In this round, drivers were allowed to wrap chains around their front and rear ends, which may have prolonged the usefulness of their bumpers.

Boulder photos

2009-09-12T05:56:00.000+03:00

It didn't take long for us to fall in love with Boulder - competing used book stores (only one was entirely dedicated to angels and metaphysics), in-town hiking, independent coffee shops, sunny weather, a restaurant set in a tea house that was built and shipped from Tajikistan, and warm hospitality. During a breathtaking drive through the mountains, our cousin Anne said that these remote houses often go on sale in the spring, after people realize that mountain living is not for them (with cold weather, deep snow, and far-away neighbors). Perhaps we also loved Boulder because we visited on a 70-degree day in September and not in the winter.

Cousin Jim shared this insight:
Question: How many Boulderites does it take to change a lightbulb?
Answer: None, but a dozen of them will happily volunteer to sponsor a workshop on finding peace in the darkness.

Walking the Chataqua trail near cousin Anne's house in Boulder

Boulder Creek

Cousin Jim's homemade mass spectrometer at the NOAA lab in Boulder

I.M. Pei designed the National Center for Atmospheric Research building in Boulder (he also designed the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland)

With Anne in Brainerd Lake, just outside Rocky Mountain National Park

Illinois and Iowa photos

2009-09-10T05:36:00.000+03:00

Reagan's birthplace in Dixon, Illinois

Hoover Presidential Library grounds in West Branch, Iowa

Our hearts were touched by this inscription inside the century-old Imes Bridge, one of the "Bridges of Madison County", Iowa

Outside the Imes Bridge

Outside a Pioneer Village in Nebraska

America is full of stuff...

2009-09-09T15:43:00.002+03:00

No photos today - they are in the camera and will come eventually but I wanted to write in a few observances by location.

It is worth noting that this is a whirlwind trip - while 3.5 weeks will be our longest vacation ever it still requires a lot of driving to make it across country and so this is definite "if it's Tuesday it must be Iowa" kind of trip. Except for friends' houses we won't be anywhere very long.

3 big cities:
PITTSBURGH - we spent a morning in Pittsburgh to see the Andy Warhol Museum. We arrived before it opened so we walked along the river for a while. At 9:00 in the morning the city was already mobbed with tailgaters for a University of Pittsburgh fans. The Museum seemed to know about the tailgaters and had their own parking lot ($6 vs. $25) with an attendent who seemed to check people out (or at least their attire) to confirm that they were museum-goers and not people with large foam fingers and coolers full of beer.

CLEVELAND - In Cleveland we enjoyed the glorious weather but poked our head into the Library to confirm that every city in America has a better library than Washington, DC. Cleveland's is particularly beautiful. At the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame we liked the films about the history of rock.

CHICAGO - Caren and John hosted us and we got to eat yummy vegetables from their enviable garden. Together we headed to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Science and Industry Museum (which featured props and costumes from the movie). Dan and I thought that the gift shop was missing an opportunity by not offering kitten plates like in Dolores Umbridges office.

And a lot of little towns:

Milan, OH to see Edison's birthplace and discovered Melon Festival
RV Hall of Fame in Indiana
The Rutherford Hayes home
The William McKinley Memorial in Niles, OH where the local high school team was the McKinley Red Dragons - we propose it should be the McKinley Assasins or the McKinley Gold Standard or the McKinley Puerto Ricans
In West Branch, IA we STRONGLY recommend Reid's Beans for lunch. At the Hoover Museum we learned that he is apparantly no longer associated just with the depression but rather with his lifetime of humanitarian work especially saving Beligium (???) from starvation.
The bridges of Madison Country

And more...

Ohio and Chicago Photos

2009-09-07T05:15:00.001+03:00

Milan Melon Fest beauties touring the Edison Birthplace in Milan Ohio

Dan beats the carnies to Melon Festivities in Milan, Ohio

Squirrel snacking outside the Rutherford B. Hayes Library, which placed more emphasis on its architecture than his presidential accomplishments. Fremont, Ohio.

With the Weasley's flying Ford Anglia at the Museum of Science and Industry's
Harry Potter exhibit, Chicago

Duffy and Caren at the Chicago Botanical Gardens

Cleveland and Pittsburgh photos

2009-09-05T10:48:00.000+03:00

Walking the riverfront in Pittsburgh

Shepard Fairey poster medley outside the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh

President McKinley's birthplace in Niles, Ohio

Tom Otterness sculptures outside the Cleveland Public Library

We are on the road - Road Trip Day 1

2009-09-05T04:34:00.009+03:00

Winchester, Virginia

Some other time we will write about summer school studying consular law and most recently the "western hemisphere" - 44 countries in 10 days!

With our training wrapped up, and not scheduled to arrive in Trinidad for nearly four weeks, we had originally planned on flying to Phoenix and then touring California from there - but since we still love our new car and may never have so many weeks of unplanned vacation again, we decided to see family and friends by driving across the country, and hitting conveniently located presidential landmarks along the way.

Day 1

Today was our last day in training. We took a field trip to the Organization of American States for a lecture on U.S. policy in Latin America. The OAS features an unexpected local presidential landmark: the "Peace Tree" planted by President Taft in 1910, which has grown so tall it threatens to break through the atrium roof. After one final lecture, we hit the road. We hit traffic almost immediately and when we heard the announcer on the radio say that the Beltway was down to one lane 4 miles ahead of us (and we were already stopped) - we quickly exited and found another way out of the metro area.

We drove through Winchester, VA and saw a piece of land that George Washington owned. On to Berkeley Springs, WV where George Washington liked to take the waters. We also stopped at Sideling Hill, MD - where you can see lots of geology where they blasted through the mountain to make the highway.

Sideling Hill, Maryland

Several people had mentioned Road Food which is a book/website and a feature on NPR's "Splendid Table" and so during a break in class today (while overachievers asked the guest speaker additional questions about 'what's going on in Honduras') we printed out a review of Ruby and Ketchy's diner in Morgantown, WV which got their highest rating: "worth building a day around." We had a perfectly tasty meal but not one to build a day or a detour around. Dan had very beige turkey and gravy and I had stuffed cabbage rolls. We shared cherry pie a la mode which was indeed very, very good.

Along our drive several highway repair projects boasted that they were the result of the stimulus package. We also saw a billboard for a bank boasting, "Refusing government bailouts since 1881" My favorite bumper sticker urged us to "Practice Random Acts of Awesome."

Tomorrow ... Pittsburgh

Our last night in Jordan

2009-06-17T17:19:00.009+03:00

Well after two years that have flown by, we are on our way home.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of going away parties for us and for others (most people leave in the summer to match the school year). The photo above was taken at Duffy's office going-away party. Kan Zaman is a centuries-old fort-turned-Arabic restaurant where you can dress up as a bedouin in front of a photographer. We also have an amusing shot of my whole office.

There is a lot about Jordan we will miss - new friends, shawarma and falafel dinners, mint-infused lemonade slushies, yielding for sheep, and the ability to drive less than an hour and see two-thousand-year-old ruins.

There are also some things we won't miss - the unmistakable scent of burning trash, speed bumps on highways, sudden left-hand turns by the mini-bus in the right-hand shoulder, and even after two years, it is still shocking to see toddlers waving at you from the open sun roof of their car. Caution: we ourselves have acclimated some, so give us a wide berth if you see us driving!

We are looking forward to a summer of U.S. travel and training (and friends) in DC. We will be easiest to reach on email and our (609) area code Vonage number is unchanged.

Our last tourist destination - Wadi Rum

2009-06-08T18:52:00.005+03:00

Among Jordan's biggest tourist destinations - Dan and I had missed one - Wadi Rum - it is pretty far from Amman and I am not a camper (and it is mostly a camping destination). Lucy's arrival gave us an excuse to drive down, stay in a cottage, and then take a truck tour of the desert.

Petra with Lucy our last guest

2009-06-08T18:28:00.005+03:00

On Dan's last day in Baghdad my cousin Lucy arrived. So pretty much as soon as Dan got off the plane we hopped in the car to play tour guide. First stop Petra.

We have been to Petra for fun and for work reasons a bunch of times but still are always happy for a hike surrounded by so much history and this time Petra had something new. In one alcove that used to be taken up by some gift shops are now historical re-enactors. We got a picture taken as royalty in Petra (historical significance unknown) but they also had displays of all of the foods and particularly medicinal herbs that are grown locally.

Touring the IZ in Baghdad, again

2009-06-06T10:39:00.007+03:00

Gate decorated with Saddam's initials (in Arabic)

Outside the Al Rasheed Hotel, where there used to be a mosaic of George Bush, the 41st President. It was placed on the lobby floor, so that it was impossible for visiting diplomats not to step on it. After the 2003 fall of Baghdad, the mosaic was removed. Now there is a plain, polished marble floor. Missiles struck while Paul Wolfowitz was staying here, also in 2003. CNN's Peter Arnett covered Desert Storm from here in 1991.

Gate commemorating the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

Goodbye, Baghdad.

While colleagues may disagree about the pace of reconstruction, all agree that flying in a helicopter window seat over Baghdad is the coolest thing ever.

I am back in Amman. Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Memorial Day at Embassy Baghdad

2009-05-25T12:00:00.003+03:00

We had a quick yet poignant ceremony marking Memorial Day, complete with color guard and the most moving performance of Taps I've ever heard. This was the first Memorial Day at the new embassy.

Scenes from the IZ in Baghdad

2009-05-24T21:21:00.014+03:00

One of the "Saddam heads" that was removed from a former presidential palace. They were moved near the new U.S. Embassy, but have recently vanished. Some early reconstruction officials were promised souvenir coins made from the melted-down heads.

Iraqi government building damaged in the 2003 liberation

It's as if I'm holding one of the swords! Uncanny, isn't it?

As George Packer explains in Assassins' Gate: "After the war with Iran, Saddam ordered gigantic arms to be cast and smelted from models of his own, with the hands holding enormous swords that were crossed into triumphal arches over either end of the military parade ground in the center of Baghdad. The helmets of dead Iranians, pocked with bullet holes, were embedded in the pavement under the arches, so that during the annual ceremonial parade Iraqi tanks would crush them and Iraqi soldiers would stomp on them."

This may be the most photographed spot in all of Iraq.

The parade grounds are still littered with the helmets

Swords on the other end of the parade grounds
(is that where the old Landmark casino went?)

Entrance to Camp Prosperity (a former presidential palace)

Full blogger disclosure: some of these photos aren’t mine. Except for the Saddam head, I did indeed see all this.

#

Baghdad Spring Break!

2009-05-19T20:18:00.023+03:00

“You all know this plane is going to Baghdad, right?”

We’ve all taken our “seats” on the Air Force C-130 at Amman’s Marka Civil Airport. The airman clearly enjoys doing his pre-flight announcements, after which, from the front of the cabin, he demonstrates astonishing pinpoint accuracy as he tosses feather-light boxes of earplugs to every raised hand, even those of us way back near the tail. No matter where you sit, earplugs are a good idea.

It’s a two-hour flight to Baghdad International Airport. The cool kids call it “bye-app”.

Just a week earlier, I volunteered to help Embassy Baghdad’s short-staffed consular section deal with a new load of Immigrant Visa applicants, including Iraqi translators who worked with the U.S. military.

But Baghdad is so last year now. Folks used to fight to get jobs here. Now it's amazing how quickly one’s travel orders are ready after they volunteer.

Helicopters over the Green Zone - they always fly in pairs

But the journey is quite exciting: C-130 to Baghdad Airport. Transfer to Green Zone via helicopter.

How do the Baghdad helicopters compare to the King of Jordan's?

Mints: No
Cup holders: Nope
Luggage attendants: Hah!
Guns: You betcha

Baghdad, as seen from helicopter

In minutes, we arrive at the Green Zone helipad, then it’s just a short drive to the New Embassy Compound (the “neck”).

Once arrived at the "neck", it’s so quiet (no cars, no kids, no locals), sterile, even a little boring. After I located my residence, the shopette, the laundry, and the dining facility, I mentioned to my new boss that I feel like I’m at a university again. He replied, “after a while, you’ll find it’s more like a community college.”

Residences at the new Embassy

Did I tell Mom? Yes. On Mother's Day, no less. Sorry Mom!

Full blogger disclosure: these photos aren’t mine. But I did indeed see all this stuff in my first few days here.

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Last stop Izmir

2009-05-17T16:23:00.002+03:00

Our last stop was a night in Izmir - Turkey's second (? maybe third) largest city. In our day we saw its sites - a clock tower, this pretty tiled mosque and an old fortress on top of the hill looking into the harbor. We ended the day (and our trip) with delicious Chinese food - we all agreed that we were not up for a seventh night of kebabs.

Working at the World Economic Forum

2009-05-17T15:53:00.003+03:00

Last night at 2:00 am I concluded literally the longest workweek of my life getting ready for and supporting the trip of a Senior Advisor from the White House to the World Economic Forum in Jordan. The WEF is a sister-conferencef to Davos (they have the big meeting in Switzerland and then similar meetings in 5 regions).

The week had some highs and lows. Watching media coverage of Davos it seems glamorous - in practice it was less so - yes there is something intriguing about getting coffee at the same time as the President of Slovakia (Slovenia - one of them) - but mostly it was just really crowded without enough seats or coffee.

I did however get to ride in King Abdullah's helicopter - which is WAY nicer than the military helicopter I had ridden in previously. It still doesn't feel natural the way a helicopter lurches off the ground but comfy seats, wood paneling, cup holders and mints made it seem nicer. Unfortunately, our trip was cut short by poor visibility from dust that covered everything and after about 10 minutes of flying south towards Petra, the pilot turned around. We had been flying next to pretty big hills and I felt like if the pilot thought it was unsafe (or that we could get caught in a worse dust storm in Petra and not be able to fly out) it was probably better not to be flying.

Over the weekend, I got to make small talk with not one but TWO princes. Stephanie had once complimented me on my ability to make small talk with nearly anyone. Princes, are well trained in diplomacy and go to a lot of receptions, so they put even my passable small talk skills to shame - and were delightful and charming.

I also had the King smile at me as he walked past me down the hallway. Or he was smiling maybe it wasn't at me but he seemed nice.

At one point I was sitting outside a hotel ballroom waiting to talk to a WEF staffer. At the same time, Their Majesties were giving a speech inside the ballroom. A journalist also waiting in the hallway came up to me and asked if I was with Her Majesty. I laughed and said no but attributed it to my really nice pink jacket (or perhaps the inexplicability of not going into the session).

Ephesus

2009-05-17T15:40:00.003+03:00

After two years in the Levant, we have seen a lot of ruins. It takes more than a 2000 year old stadium or a Byzantine mosaic to get us excited.

Ephesus (or Efes - also name of local beer) is Turkey's best preserved (or restored) Roman city. Here is Dan in front of the library's facade.

It ad

Ephesus had a colonnaded street like other Roman cities we have visited (see photos of Jerash, Beit Sheyan)

But what we actually liked best was the renovation work they are doing on Byzantine houses. The houses are on the side of a hill and they have built a shelter and protective walkways so you are walking over the houses and can see the frescos and mosaic and marble floors.

A friend served in Turkey and said this was a must see (especially knowing that we had seen other Roman ruins). Without that recommendation we would not have gone in because it cost another $10 (or so) on top of the $15 it already cost to get into Ephesus but was one of the coolest things we say on the trip. Under the shelter you could see active restoration projects as they pieces marble wall decorations back together.

Cesme Photos

2009-05-17T15:29:00.003+03:00

We stayed three nights at resort near Cesme on the coast. We used it as a base for drives to Bergama and Ephesus

On top of the fort in Cesme we met a bunch of Turkish students who wanted their picture taken and several of whom are now my facebook friends. They post ALL the time in Turkish - I think it is about pop music but it is hard to tell.

Bergamum photos

2009-05-12T23:26:00.003+03:00

We flew into Izmir and then drove up to Bergamum to see some Roman ruins. We were surprised to also see turtles.

Istanbul pictures - take 2

2009-05-12T07:06:00.002+03:00

We spent a rainy day at Topkapi Palace which was stunning - architecture - tile work and views onto the water.

We spent a sunny day on a boat ride up the Bosphorous up to the Black Sea. The river was us and a lot of persumably empty tankers heading back up to the Black Sea for re-filling. All of the boats were heading the same way which made us wonder if this was planned.

The boat trip ended at a fort where we ate more kebabs and this sort-of pizza like thing.

Photos from Istanbul - set 1

2009-05-11T07:12:00.002+03:00

For our last trip from Jordan we met my parents in Turkey. Four days in Istanbul and then four days in southeastern Turkey near the coast.

Turkey was stunning - beautiful mountains, water and architecture so we took a lot of pictures which will slowly be added to this blog.

First stop - Istanbul

Istanbul is on the water - with a harbor full of fish stands and bridges covered with guys fishing. One side of the city has an urban, modern skyline. The other side of the city which you can see here has a skyline of minarets and domed mosques.

Nice cat at a cemetary.

Me at the same cemetary. I also found a nice sunny spot but did not take a nap.

Here is Dan next to a medusa's head carving that is under the city in a cistern.

Desert Castles

2009-04-19T12:59:00.006+03:00

Tourist season is upon us. How can you tell? At this remote destination 60 km east of Amman, we were joined by busloads of European vacationers touring the same sites. And these are not Jordan's premier attractions (it took us two years to finally make the one-hour drive). These tour groups must have seen a lot of Jordan before they got here.

Qasr Kharana, built by the Umayyads in the late 7th century. Despite the appearance, it was not a fortress, but most likely a welcoming stopover spot along this barren trade route.

Qasr Kharana's "graffiti room" which features an inscription dated 710

Qasr Amra

Amazingly well-preserved wall paintings inside Qasr Amra, dating to the early 700's

Another proud moment for Duffy

2009-04-17T13:58:00.001+03:00

Here is more evidence of Duffy's superior hand-eye coordination and ability to focus. This record-shattering 19510 score on BrickBreaker also illustrates just how engrossing she found the film Changeling, which played on a TV nearby...

Greece is the Word

2009-04-11T10:01:00.006+03:00

Duffy triumphs after scaling a very steep set of rock stairs at Holy Trinity monastery in Meteora.

With Dan's parents outside the Temple of ?? near the Acropolis

Dan below the 16th century Anapausas monastery perched atop a sandstone rock pillar at Meteora.

Duffy at Delphi

Dan and Mom at Delphi

Dan at Delphi

We were fascinated by Athens' and Santorini's "free agent" dogs. They are full-size, owner-less, but not wild scary dogs. They don't beg, are mostly docile, and like to hang out near people.

This dog accompanied us for nearly an hour as we strolled through Firas.

Sunset at Oia

Santorini's sunsets are something of a cliché. Every innkeeper, cashier and waiter urges you to go to specific points of the island to view the sunset. Restaurant windows boast of sunsets in addition to their menus. We kept wondering, "what place in the world isn't pretty at sunset?"

Athens is covered in graffiti. Most of it crude scrawls. We found a pretty exception near our hotel in Exarcheia, which is home to Greece's anarchist community. Thanks, Rough Guide!

Things we have done this month

2009-04-08T07:51:00.003+03:00

Several friends have commented about the lack of a blog entry and at a minimum Dan has posted pictures of Greece. By way of update - here are some things we have done in the last month:

1. Got approval to leave Jordan which we will do in Mid-June.

2. Cleaned out the closets and donated boxes of clothes, bedding and luggage to a charity that works with Palestinian refugee camps. Two comments - one - moving every 2 years definitely encourages you to pare down - and you have the blatant reminder of what are the things that you haven't worn or used in two years. Second comment - FYI refugee camps here are not the tent cities that you see during food disasters in Africa. Here in Jordan they are neighborhoods with the same stone buildings as everywhere else. Many of the refugees that are here have been in Jordan for decades.

3. Went to brunch at the Four Seasons for a going away party and knew people at several other tables (Amman is a small city and doing economic work I meet the people who own businesses and can thus afford to eat at the very tasty Four Seasons) - best dish tuna carpaccio

4. Ate falafel and hummus and shwarma repeatedly. We eat each of these every week. I had a congressional delegation in town this week - they had already been to several Middle Eastern cities by the time they got to Amman and pretty much groaned when they heard that they would be having Lebanese food for dinner. On the second night we were able to take them to a Thai restaurant which made them very happy.

5. I read Thirteenth Tale by Diane Sitterfeld which I adored. I also ordered the Pride and Prejudice novel featuring zombies that got a piece on NPR. My book group most recently discussed an economic book called Farewell to Alms and we are now reading Brothers and Sisters by Joanna Trollope.

Cures for Homesickness

2009-03-10T17:16:00.003+02:00

Naturally our heads have started turning towards our summer in the U.S..

Today, in one of those "it's a small world" encounters, I had a meeting to talk about government bidding in Jordan and the guy who was visiting here from the U.S. was someone that I worked with in Kansas City when I was at Accenture a zillion years ago. He now lives near us in DC and was able to share this anecdote about our Starbucks.

Mini Dinner Club

2009-03-01T16:14:00.002+02:00

This weekend was supposed to be Dinner Club Cooks French but it was de-railed by the arrival of Senator Mitchell. Instead, we headed to Mawwal, a restaurant that we had all passed a million times but never visited. It was pretty good. Attractive restaurant with fabulous freshly made bread. The menu featured a lot of organs but we stuck with two kinds of ground lamb kebabs (Aleppan-style with nuts and something green and Iraqi style with summack) and two kinds of ground lamb shaped into a patty. There is a lot they can do with ground lamb. We also tried ordering the lamb cubes but the waiter was a little dismissive and cautioned that they would take a long time.

We particularly missed the presence of Dinner Club founders Scott and Sarah who are in Jerusalem with the newly arrived preemie son. We continue to think good thoughts for all of them especially baby Aiden. We look forward to his Dinner Club debut.

Mukawir - a big hill with columns

2009-02-21T10:04:00.003+02:00

Mukawir is a big funny-shaped hill that was apparently the site where Salome danced for John the Baptist's head. Someone told me that Israel also claims a different site as the dance hall. The columns that are there now are all clearly brand new. John the Baptist's body is supposedly buried in one of the caves nearby - we say at least 8 nearby caves (including the one photographed below). We did not find one that said "remains here." His head is supposedly in the big mosque in Damascus.

Um al-Rasas Revisited

2009-02-21T09:28:00.003+02:00

Um Al-Rasas was among the first sites in Jordan we visited because it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. We left wondering why it was listed since at that time the mosaics were covered up. The EU has now built a beautiful visitor center and a covered pavilion over the mosaics. This town was a Roman way-station where Roman soldiers stayed on their way back to Rome. It was destroyed (like Petra and every town within 200 miles by a big earthquake) but many of the arches are still standing.

A terrific Tourist Police officer gave us a tour and at one point, he dug eight inches into the dirt and showed us a mosaic floor that has not yet been excavated but was still brilliantly yellow and red (and 1800 years old)

The protected mosaics were very nice and like the much-visited mosaic in Madaba featured pictures of the nearby cities. Here is the Um al Rasas mosaic showing a picture of Madaba.

King's 10th Anniversary as King

2009-02-21T09:21:00.002+02:00

Two weeks ago marked the 10th anniversary of the accension of King Abdullah II to the throne. This was actually celebrated very quietly - there were some ads in the paper and some military bases had colorful banners but that was about it except for new flags.

We went for a drive to visit Um Al Rasas again and every little town we drove through (all of which have a government building) had brand new shiny flags. In Madaba (a big town), the flags were so new that you could still see the creases from where they had been folded in the package.

Month in Pictures - Um Al Jimal

2009-02-21T08:52:00.005+02:00

Although today isn't one of them, we have had some nice weekends and we've flipped through our now very worn Rough Guide Jordan to find spots we haven't visited before.

Three weeks ago we headed to Um Al-Jimal. "Mother of the Camel" - named because the town is over a spring so there was food there and people let their camels graze there after the town was abandoned. We were told that a local sheikh has a heard of white camels (my favorite camel color) but even though we saw a lot of Um Al Jimal, we saw no white camels (or any camels).

We did see this massively huge bug.

The archaelogical site was quite large - it had been a town housing thousands at one point and more recently was a camp site for French soldiers during world war I. Now it is empty - there was one tent there so many there is an active archaeologist on site - but no guards and no one at the tourist office to take our entrance fee. We own someone 1 JD ($1.41).

The site is near the city of Mafraq on the Syrian border. When visiting Syria with Dave and Karen we went to Bosra, which is known for its black basalt amphitheater. This town is probably just 10 miles away (due south and across the border) and thus has the same black stone.

Rice Dinner Redux

2009-01-27T18:50:00.003+02:00

Now that we've been in Jordan 18 months, we 've also experienced a number of things twice - we've been up to Umm Qais twice, we've had two Jordanian Christmases and now we have been to the U.S. Rice Federation's Rice Cooking Competition twice. This is like the Pillsbury Bake-off here without the million dollar prize (the winners did get kitchen appliances). The most noticeable difference between last year and this year's event was they hired a new magician to entertain the audience while the contestants cooked.

One act involved turning those ubiquitous scarves that are in magic shows into flags.

Here Dan was selected as an assistant as he pulled out many-colored record albums - Jordan's population is 50% under the age of 20 - I do not know how many people recognize albums.

Here scarf plus record album....

Here is our friend Ali with the Rice mascot Ricky Rice.

The most amazing part of the magic show was the large number of live animals involved in a 15 minute show - I didn't get the photos but there were 3 rabbits, a duckling, two doves, a mouse and in an amazing audience participation part a fake snake was turned into a real snake which the audience member pulled out of the dark bag. I think if I had been the guest which pulled out a live (albeit small) snake which then slithered around the floor I would still be traumatized and would have been unable to eat the delicious rice dinner which followed.

Great Weather is Bad News

2009-01-27T16:44:00.002+02:00

The weather is beautiful today. Bright blue sky and probably 65 degrees. I have visitors in town who came from DC and had packed heavy coats and gloves. Tonight I have suggested that they walk to dinner because it is so nice out. This beautiful weather is really bad news. I don't know why (I am sure there is a meterological reason) but it only rains in Jordan when it is cold out (cold naturally being 40s or 50s). If you go outside and think "wow - it's really cold and kind of unpleasant" - very often it will rain the next day. Jordan really really needs the rain. Their dams are at about 10% capacity and the government will likely have to ration water more than they already do.

I traveled to some dairy farms with some American farmers a few weeks ago and they asked if Jordan had a rainy season - since we were at that time traveling through a very dry-looking desert. I answered, "yes, now" and they could see that if this is what Jordan's rainy season looked like - that this is not a good place for farming.

Inauguration Day in Jordan

2009-01-22T11:35:00.003+02:00

Dan watched the inauguration in the Embassy's cafeteria while playing darts. Duffy and a colleague gave a talk at the American Language Center on what happens on Inauguration Day. The most interesting comment from the audience was one guy who asked "this is the first time there has been a big event for the inauguration right?" I said "No" and that every four years it is the same ceremony and party and parade, etc. He and the guys sitting next to him said "really - it never made the news here before." Just as Jordan was fascinated by the election - they were also interested in the inauguration. I gave a short talk (see photos of me and the audience) and then we watched the inauguration together. Jordanians love poetry but I think they too struggled to understand the point of the poet who inenviably followed President Obama.

Today's headline in Jordan: President Obama Calls King.

Book Recommendation

2009-01-19T15:40:00.003+02:00

I loved "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" which arrived with other Christmas goodies. It is an American re-telling of Hamlet (like West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet) - with the main character a mute boy living in northern Wisconsin with his family who raises dogs. Just like Hamlet there is an evil uncle who insuates himself into the family and a lot of people die at the end. It is a great, beautifully written book. Caution: it is a slow read.

Protests in Amman

2009-01-19T15:31:00.003+02:00

Since the start of the attacks in Gaza there have been 600 protests in Jordan - outside the Prime Ministry, outside the Israeli Embassy, and anywhere where it is easy to fit a lot of people. Friends live on the outskirts of town next to a yet undeveloped valley that was the site of one protest probably because it could fit a lot of people.

Protestors have called for the boycott of Israeli and American products (the U.S.'s long-term support of Israeli is seen as complicity). There aren't many Israeli products actually available here but I have heard that American restaurants like McDonalds have taken a sales hit. One of the protests was actually against Starbucks and multiple Starbucks sit-ins occured simultaneously. Several coffeeshops in our posh neighborhood now have their Canadian flags (their parent companies are Canadian) prominently displayed.