Days 10 & 11: Trainspotting in Trinidad

What better innocent pleasures are there than trainspotting? For 15 CUC/US$ there's a day rumbling along the line that connects the old sugar haciendas (estates) with Trinidad. The original early 20th century locomotives lie rusting in the goods yard. Today's engine runs on diesel but the way it rattles along the line at a contented 20 k.p.h. suggests more leisurely times. Not that it was like this for the cane cutters, who were mostly slaves. There's a steep climb up the 18th century observation tower which casts its shadow cast over the estate.

Back in Trinidad, a discarded carton on the cobblestones reveals one of the chief end results of the sugar. The town has several tourist-friendly bars; I perch at a place with a lively 6-piece son band---increased to 7 when business is slow and the waiter joins the rhythm section. I decide to do some research on cocktails, starting with a mojito and going on with a cubata, a daiquiri and finally a Cuba libre. And the measures are not the thimblefuls you might get in a London bar; the barman sloshes it in regardless until the glass overflows. Fortunately it's only a couple of hundred yards to Anita's.

The final photos show a traditional weaving style, a calm Caribbean beach a few miles out of Trinidad, and another rooftop scene at sunset. The four days in Trinidad have passed effortlessly.Read more