Sail in just doesn't feel the same when you can't stand up on the pointy bit at the front. We miss running from side to side to ensure we capture the sun as it pokes it head up over the horizon, desperately trying to control your dress from flying up around your ears so that those having breakfast in the Horizon Court don't view more than they bargain for. Waving at the bridge cam to your friends watching from the safety of their cabins. There is nothing like viewing a port head on!But alas we still head up to deck 16 and make the most of what we have.
From where we stood, it seems that Port of Spain sits flat at the foot of the mountains. This is most modern city that we have visited so far. The only sign of anything Caribbean is the small colourful house fronts that decorate the port, and the sound the lone steel drum player makes as we walked along the wharf to the Terminal. A few small shops inside the terminal and a small craft market is set up as you leave the port area.
Our tour today was with Trinidad Food Tours and Anthony was our guide. We had been warned not to eat anything as our first stop this morning was a traditional Trini breakfast.
Just by the pier there is a small food market and they are open early for workers who need something to start the day.
Definitely not a breakfast that we are used to, mainly made up of vegetables that included spinach, okra, onions and potatoes stewed together eaten with delicious flatbread and coconut bread, yummy enough to eat on their own. To drink we had a variety of fruit juices to try which added more colour to our menu. The food is influenced from a real melting pot of different cultures. It was declared that there would not be such things as, Trini Africans, Trini Indians etc etc they would all be Trinidadians (if there is such a word) and everyone is all the same.
One of the highlights of the tour was visiting the Magnificent Seven. No, Yul, Charles or Clint have not moved here, this Magnificent Seven are a group of huge family mansions built in along Maraval Rd back in the very early 1900's . Each with it's own characteristics. Architectural styles that include French Colonial, Scottish Baronial, Indian Empire and Moorish Mediterranean blended with a little Caribbean. A couple in a little disrepair, but it seems that there is renovations going on to improve that. 
Our tour around the city included views of their entertainment centre which resembled a modern futuristic version of our opera house, or just a large grey armadillo.
We also stopped at a cemetery in the Botanical Gardens where anyone of any political importance is buried.
After driving around the city we headed up to Fort George. Originally built to help protect Trinidad, now a place that boasts the most spectacular views of the Port of Spain. Here one can also see the original cannons, dungeons, artefacts and the signal station which was established in 1802.
For the Final leg of our tour we drove out to the Temple in the Sea. This Hindu temple came about through perseverance and strength. The temple was first built in 1947 by an Indian labour Sadhu, whose dream was build a place of worship. This dream was short lived when the government decided that it was illegally built on state owned land. Sadhu was not to be defeated and even a stint in jail did not discourage him, so he rebuilt his temple, this time in the sea to avoid further trouble.
With his bicycle as his only means of transport he brought the stone that formed the base of the temple. If you can't beat them join them, and in 1964 the government reconstructed his temple in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Indians coming to Trinidad.
Another good tour... maybe not as foodie as we hoped, having missed our stop at the local market and a chance to try more delicacies due to our short stay in Port. Next best thing... Happy Hour in the van!!
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