Beach Day!

I want to make 2 notes before I continue:

• I have been spoiled rotten. Danielle and MamaD's hospitality was outstanding. They made me food, let me raid their house completely, and they paid for A LOT of what we did. I'm so grateful for all they did. Especially for the paying of the things. Otherwise, I would have been crying and $$$ in the hole.
• Clearly, I'm no Trini. Up early and asleep early-ish. I'm wake up at 9am to see both of them already up and about for hours. And while I'd stay up til past midnight, they'd be asleep for a while prior.

Moving along.
Sunday we packed up to go to the beach, Maracas Beach! We had our cooler in hand, and our other gear. SPF 55!!! Their family is tightly knit, so they were on the phone a lot with the cousins and aunts who were joining us at the beach.
We went in the car to pick up some stuff and go.
2 hours in the car, picking up things. Things I never really thought we would need to buy before going to the beach. Like leggings. Hahaha.
And ice.
This reminded me that I was, in fact, in the Caribbean, and people there are more easy going and relaxed. Take your time, you'll get there someday.

Oh, and we ate doubles for breakfast. Channa (chickpeas) curried in a pad of fried dough. Messy, juicy, and really really good. Apparently, it's standard breakfast fare.

Then we were on our way to the beach! The ride was curious...to get to this beautiful and famous beach, one must make their way up windy rides, over a mountain range, and down again. We weaved around the mountain for a while. And then the water showed itself. Bright blue. And steep green hills out of the blue. We made it to the beach!!!
Getting out of the car, my immediate reaction was that of Leonardo DiCaprio's line in "The Beach" when he says, "Trust me, this is paradise."
The beach was small, and book-ended by steep hills. But the beach was big enough. And GORGEOUS. bright blues beyond clean light sand. Dotted by large looming palm trees. Ahh.
Now, I'm not much of a beach goer, or a fan of beaches (or going into the water). But this time, I was all for it. I lathered on my burning skin the SPF55 and ran through the beach with Danielle to the water. The sand was scorching. The water was lukewarm and salty, very very salty.
We played. We swam ( though I really can't swim well). We waded. We danced. We swallowed gallons of salt (PHTA!). The waves lulled and rocked and got more intense as the day progressed. I was singing and humming the whole day. Danielle's little cousin, Avi, asked me, "You sing all de time? I do that too, but my mum yells at meh." I smiled. "That's why they put me into singing lessons..."
After hours of giggling and flirting in the water, we got out. Lunch time.

THE place to get food was Richard's. There were a handful of other food stops next to Richard's, completely empty of customers. Richard's had a line.
To eat what? You might ask.
Well, Bake 'n' Shark, of course.
AKA greasy delicious buns with fried shark meat inside. Add some garlic sauce, tamarind sauce, chow sauce, and veggies, and I'll never be the same. It was, awesome. And tasty. I'll always remember how satisfying it was. I want to eat THAT in the states! Shark, in T&T, is apparently abundant, so it's the cheap dish. Think tuna fish.
We lounged in the sun. And while I wanted to read, the warm breeze put me to sleep. Big mistake. In fact, I seem to find this a mistake I re-offend every time I'm in tropical climates. Sleeping, and baking.
The sunburn began.
We finally packed up to head up and over the hill, and I could feel the burn intensifying. Agh, I didn't want second-degree burns again. So I got back and took a COLD shower.
I later heard Danielle bicker with her mom:
"I'm darker than you!"
"No you aren't!"
I came in: "...I'm still white."

Danie wanted to see a film ("From Paris with Love", not a bad thriller). We were at the mall's cinema and got in a crowded line to get in. I got in the concession queue, to get an XL cup of ice. During the movie, Danie was shivering in a hoodie with the blaring A/C. I was right next to her in my tank top and skirt, laying cubes of ice on my shoulders and top half. The ice melted quickly on my sizzling skin. Look at us two next to each other, it was hard to believe that we were in the same climate.