Me, Lexi, and Jessica at the end of Carnival—my stockings didn’t make it through the end…lol
I did say I’d *try* to get a daily Caribbean Crawl diary in but um…after getting back to Trinidad from Tobago on Friday, Jess and I didn’t do much during the day and then things got crazy before and during Carnival. Lexi arrived and soon after she got in we got dressed and headed to A.M. Bush, an alternative party to j’ouvert that takes place in Chaguaramas, Trinidad in practically the bush—actually no, it WAS the bush…lol. (P.S. If you’re reading this and unfamiliar with Carnival, j’ouvert [which is French for “to open”] is traditionally the Monday morning before Carnival starts—Carnival in Trinidad is the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. So with j’ouvert the festivities start around 4 A.M. and typically involves paint, chocolate, powder, or water being thrown at revelers in the street. There’s tons of music and dancing as well as really interesting costumes. Some of said costumes are often created to satirize the current political climate of the country.) There’s my quick 5 second teaching moment…lol.
Here we are before the fete
So basically I got paint thrown all over me and had a good time with unlimited drinks and dancing. But it was so much fun :)
Here we are after the fete
Here’s a short video of what it pretty much looked like all morning—mind you we got there at like 3:30 AM and left around 10 AM.
if you can’t see the embedded video, click here.
Um and then Usain Bolt was there…lol
if you can’t see the embedded video, click here.
Then came Carnival Monday!
Our Carnival Monday gear via American Apparel and ASOS
So in case you’re unfamiliar, Carnival Monday is a bit more of a relaxed day. The bands (a collection of people who wear the elaborate costumes divided into sections that accompany the large trucks with the huge speakers) make their rounds throughout Port of Spain while playing tons of Soca music (I’m doing a post soon on some of my favorites I think you’d like) while the masqueraders (people in the bands) parade behind and dance. But on Carnival Monday you don’t wear your costume—it used to be some would wear part of their costume but now it’s pretty standard to see people wearing whatever they want really…lol.
We had to meet our band (which is called Yuma—we were in their Immortal section) at 9:30 A.M. but it wound up being one of those “hurry and wait” moments so we didn’t get on the road until about two hours later. It was fun chipping (a walking dance) and whining—but girl, we couldn’t hang. So after the band stopped for lunch we walked backed to my grandmother’s house in St. James and got shaded for being lame and coming home early…lol.
Carnival Tuesday (the biggest day) was amazing! I’d been before but this was my first time playing mas as an adult. I had such a great time—between the dancing, music, drinks, and all the cool people you meet along the way, I’d so do it again. We were outside for over 12 hours and actually made it to the end…lol. I also found some new methods to whine which I’ll need to perfect for my next fete. Girl, the things a Trinidadian woman can teach you ;)
Next I’m headed to Barbados (ok—well actually I’m already here—so tricky when you’re writing in the past tense) and having a great time here as well which I’ll update you on tomorrow—hopefully…lol.
P.S. Things that got me through Carnival…
*Banana Boat Sport Performance Cool Zone SPF 30 spray—the travel size was perfect for fitting in my bag and easy to apply (one must reapply sunscreen every two hours and also after swimming)
*Make Up For Ever Aqua Seal—when mixed with things like foundation, liner, etc. it helps to prolong the wear of your makeup
*My new Heidi Klum for New Balance sneakers—so comfortable for all those hours dancing
*Lucas Papaw Ointment—my costume had a lot of rhinestones and other things on it that kept irritating my skin and pretty much made me look like a leper. Having Lucas Papaw in my bag helped to alleviate the affected area—it’s also great for chaffing on the thighs, bug bites and if you have kids, diaper rash.
*Clinique Acne Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel–I got a few pimples from being out in the sun and sweating and used this on them and one was completely gone by morning and the other one looks like it’ll be gone by tomorrow. #winning (ok—guess people don’t use hashtag winning anymore…lol)
*Degree Body Responsive Invisible Solid Deodorant—um, 12 hours in the hot Trinidad sun dancing and carrying on can get a little uh—-“interesting” smelling but thank goodness for this because it did not fail me at all. I kept a travel size container in my bag.
Talk soon! I expect my regular posting schedule to resume sometime next week—tons of products to talk about ;)
*shivers in the bitter NYC cold* Y’all are having TOO much fun! And with all that eye candy….got-damn! I’m jealous! You ladies look beautiful in your costumes and the makeup is flawless…I’m super impressed that it looks so perfect in that heat.
Author
thanks so much!!! by the end of the day it didn’t look so flawless but it did hold up very well…lol
You girls look like you had a ton of fun, thanks for sharing! I’ve always wanted to go and seeing this has motivated me even more to make it happen. Thanks again for sharing your adventures, I really enjoyed.
Author
thanks, Vanielle!!! omg–you MUST go!
I can’t believe I didn’t see u pon de road (or even at the camp). Glad u had fun tho!
Wow, sounds like you all had a great time. So very happy you were able to experience playing in a Carnival band, something I never had the pleasure of doing. As a child growing up in Trinidad, I was scared of “mas” and hid under the bed when they came running into our yard. SO I enjoyed the experience through you. Thank you.
Author
awww!! lol
you can still play mas you know!
I enjoyed reading your diaries! I stumbled upon them through a google search, as my friend and I will be visiting Trinidad next month. Would it be possible for you to give me a bit more insight (what to do for fun, nightlife, restaurants, etc.)? We’re super excited and can’t wait to visit.
Author
Hey Nik!
Glad you enjoyed reading my diaries!
I went during Carnival so there were tons of things to do, but now that I think about the times of been to Trinidad in my life, they were all during Carnival time…lol. I’m not sure what goes on outside of Carnival season. You definitely do want to go to a fete or see one of the popular Soca artists perform if they’ll have any shows while you’re there (look for Machel Montano, Destra Garcia, Bunji Garlin). There are Trini party sites that you can search to see what’s going on when (sorry I can’t be of more help there). Definitely go visit Tobago—the flight is like 20 mins and really, really cheap—I went last minute with a friend and our roundtrip tickets for the two of us was like $96 USD on Caribbean Airlines.
Definitely get a shark and bake and other Trini “street” food like pholourie and you definitely have to have some roti. I’m not sure what part of Trinidad you’re staying in—I only kinda know St. James Port of Spain where my grandma lives so of course that will change any plans you might want to look into.
That’s what I could think of from the top of my head, but one of my blogging buds who was born in Trinidad and spent a good amount of her life there and visits WAY more often than I do blogs about T&T often. You should check out her site afrobella.com and search Trinidad—she has some great posts on what to do and what to eat, etc. Much better Trini than I am…lol.
Hopefully you’ll check out more of my site after you get back :)
I need make up tips, i really need a good foundation for oily skin. I am a woman of color
Author
You’re in the right place then! My menu bar has tons of topics that will lead you to tons of posts to help you.
Check out my new to makeup post here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/2015/01/stop-expecting-makeup-skills-come-overnight/
My oily skin posts here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/category/beauty-health-makeup-hair/skin/oilycombination-skin/
My foundation posts here: https://www.thestyleandbeautydoctor.com/category/beauty-health-makeup-hair/makeup/face/foundation/
And anything else you can use the menu bar and search button to find tons of posts on tons of makeup :)