Hi there folks.....sorry it has been awhile since I last wrote, but as many of you know my dad, Tony DiPietro, passed away suddenly on May 8th....life has been a bit of a mess since then and my family and i have been devastated by this loss of such a wonderful human....my dad was my hero and the rock of our family....so i would like to dedicate this update and all that follow to him....he was my biggest cheerleader and loved to tell and share my story with anyone....so the updates will continue and i hope you enjoy them....miss you and love you dad....always 💜
this update takes place on the islands of trinidad and tobago.....found in the caribbean, above venezuela....it is an island steeped in tradition and their biggest tradition by far is carnival.....also known to many as mardi gras....this trip was amazing in sooooooo many ways and who knew this tradition was so much fun and included so many who come back year after year.....i knew from the moment we got on the flight to trinidad that something special was about to happen....and the customs line was enormous....everyone we met was soooo excited for what lay ahead and what really surprised me was how many of these folks came back for carnival year after year.....it was incredible how many folks had family on trinidad and then brought their friends and just kept coming back.....the one word that stands out to me for this particular carnival is tradition......
we were so very lucky to be staying with local trinis and those folks were showing us around and getting us tickets for all of the events.....and there were sooooooo many events and parties and aspects of carnival, it was mind boggling....I loved the music, the dancing, the costumes, the food, the people....it was a blast....especially pan finals and participating in j'ouvert....but more on those in the update.....really, if you want to experience what i consider the best carnival i have ever been to, you need to make time for trinidad.....after carnival we headed over to tobago (the island next door) to dive and i got my advanced water certification....all-in-all it was an incredible trip....on with the pictures......
one of the best parts of trinidad was the local street food....i so miss things like this, as we really don't have much except hot dogs and shaved ice in panama....above you see some women making roti and they have been doing this, in this particular spot for 35 years.....yummy.....trinidad loves pepper sauce....which is spicy and tasty....i grew quite fond of it as well....
two of the coolest trinis you will ever meet - rashad and vidiya....they and vidiya's husband ronald, were our hosts in trinidad....and on sunday we had a trini meal....spaghetti pie with kalalu....yummy!!! all vegetarian and all chessy and tasty.....perfect prep for a 7 hour march in j'ouvert the next morning....
so this is me....covered in chocolate....getting ready to march with the coco band for j'ouvert very early monday morning (4am).....this particular masquerade parade was started by slaves when the french were in charge of trinidad....the slaves did not have beautiful costumes and wigs like the french, so they covered themselves in whatever they could find - paint, mud, baby powder....chocolate......and then marched through the streets of port of spain, trinidad's capital.....they also covered themselves so their masters did not recognize them in the march.....so we "tripped on down the road" with the cocoa band......
as you can see, early in the evening, we were just covered in chocolate.....you get tickets for a certain group and they give you clothes, some sort of "fun" piece, our devil horns that lit up and blinked, a cup to get drinks (alcoholic or not), they provide music and breakfast....in this shot, the four of us have been covered in chocolate and we have begun the 7 hour walk/dance through the city.....messy....but wait....there's more.....
as you can see from rachel....as the walk/march goes on, it gets messier.....because other bands are covered in paint and mud and baby powder.....and when you meet up with these other groups, you throw what you are covered in on them, and they do the same to you.....so here is a bit later in the evening, once we had run into bands with paint and mud......
and this is us by the end of j'ouvert....completely covered in stuff...the sun had come up and we had walked/danced for 7 hours.....it was awesome.....and again, the word tradition is what i think of with this....as we had people of all ages in our band....the youngest being 7 & 8....oldest....who knows....grandmothers and grandfathers.....it was a complete blast and what a way to experience carnival.....I LOVED IT!!!!!
there is a parade monday afternoon after j'ouvert, but we did not make it to that one....we were sleeping :) however, then the big masquerade is on tuesday....which we went to and experienced, but did not march....the picture above and the following bunch are all from that.....
this is called "playing mas" - for masquerade.....and you can see, some of these costumes are amazing....they have feathers, and back pieces and are colorful.....the first two shots are from a group that got their inspiration from stained glass pieces....they were stunning......
in every group, there are the front line costumes....these are costumes many people have seen before....but up close and personal, they are stunning......and rather pricey.....these two women are front liners...which also means they could be the queen of their band....there is a competition for that honor as well....but neither of them won queen....
many of these people have been partying and parading for the past week.....but this is main event....there are five or six stages around the city and the bands parade between all of them....with speaker trucks blaring trini music and marshals singing along (DJs).....the groups run up on stage.....dance for about 5 minutes and then move to the next stage.....they do not do routines that are are choreographed....they just do things to show off the costumes.....
in the shot above you can see a marshal, on top of the speaker truck, performing for the band they are accompanying....and then you can see all of the costumes and just how many people are in a band.....it is incredible....and there more than 50 groups like this roaming the city at the same time....
this is shot to show just how many people are involved in a band....this does not include the drivers or the security crew for each band....the logistics of this day are just amazing....but i guess when you have been doing it as long as trinidad, you know what works and what does not....
some of the male costumes are as extravagant as the female....this guy's head piece was incredible.....
and everyone is willing to have their picture taken....they have worked all year for this and just want to know you are impressed with their costumes and feathers and pieces....i loved it....
so many feathers and different colors and friendly people....and again, the word that comes to mind is tradition....the numbers of families participating in mas, is overwhelming.....and it is alllllllll day!!!
these guys told me they had been coming their whole life, as their families were trini.....it was the main thing they came back for year after year to watch when they were kids and then to participate in as they got older.....
this woman's outfit was awesome, but she wanted to have a selfie with me....i figured, sure.....her head piece and heels alone would have been impossible for me to deal with for mas....but she did it with style and grace.....i just could not stop smiling and dancing throughout this whole day....such a blast and then we were off to tobago for diving that night......
and then we woke up to this view on tobago....a pretty drastic change in the span of a few hours....but oh what a view!!!! our dives happened mostly out by the small island you see the distance - little tobago....
this was the majority of our diver crew....it was with these folks that i obtained my advanced water certification.....just in time to go do some more technical dives in the coming year! woot!!! this was our celebratory dinner....and the woman on the far right also had just completed her open water certification and was a brand new diver.....
this was our view during the day....from the tiny town called speyside....people go there to dive, snorkel, fish or just chill out....we had some lovely weather and some very rainy weather....and most of the dives were drift dives with currents that were strong....great to float along and see the amazing life....the reefs of tobago are very much alive and healthy, which was lovely to see and experience....
this is a view of all of speyside....very small and nestled among the hills and green of tropical tobago...
and then we headed into scarborough, the capital of tobago for a day to relax and chill by the pool and ocean....this is one the ways to get to the water from our hotel....it was a lovely day!!! and perfect to relax after an amazing carnival break.....
of course the last picture is me and a beer from trinidad and tobago...stag beer.....a tasty lager to celebrate carnival and diving....what a perfect combination!
so there you have it....i am not sure you can tell from my pictures or my narrative...this particular trip was possibly one of the best i have ever had....definitely in my top ten....now, i am trying to get to rio for carnival 2020....so i hopefully will be able to compare carnival in trinidad with carnival in brazil....but until that happens....this was the best carnival i have experienced thus far in my life...and if you have a chance to go....GO!!!! one suggestion though....go with a person from trinidad or tobago...the experience you have with local folk is bar-none, better.....
sooooooo.....the carnival update is complete, so i am just a few months behind....i am hopeful to get my next update out....spring break in panama.....before i head back to panama.....and maybe even get my peru trip update out as well.....i was there at machu picchu, huacachina, cusco and lima, two weeks ago for a friend's bucket-list birthday celebration.....fingers crossed i get at least one more update out over summer break....hope all of you are well and enjoying winter or summer or the rainy season, depending on where you are located...and for those that celebrate - happy canada day, july 4th for the states and bastille day for france and go usa for women's world cup in soccer....so many celebrations!!!! hope all of you are well and happy and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to get in touch.....
for my dad....miss you and love you always......
have a fab day :)
dani
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