bake and shark – Raw Travel TV Blog

Limin' with "Anti Everything" in Queens Park Savannah

Port of Spain has been awesome and after a great night out of “limin'” (hanging out) with our buddies from Anti-Everything it was an early wake up call for our first full day of shooting.

We hired a local driver, Jared, for the day and he was great and most importantly a safe driver familiar with the ahem, uh.. lets just say “uniqueness” of Trinidad’s driving culture and infrastructure.

Our first stop was Maracas Bay so that the film crew could get a taste of the famous Bake n Shark. This was my 2nd time so I guided the guys through the process of hooking up their Bake N Shark at the buffet line. It being a beautiful Sunday and Easter vacation beginning, well the line was much longer than when I went last Thursday, but worth the extra wait.

We then doubled back and headed to the small, remote village of Lopinot Village, where Arturo Guerrero and his considerably large family have lived for generations. They opened a guest house for travelers wishing to experience this lovely little town. Arturo, his mother and 7 sisters and their extended family welcomed us with a traditional Spanish song called a “parang”. The singing of Parong is from Venezuela and is normally performed at Christmas, but in Lopinot, is sung year round.

W e toured the Lopinot Museum which was more fun than you’d expect thanks to the colorful presenter/curator there. The Guerrero’s then fed us a delicious meal and sang some more Parangs for us as we reluctantly had to part and return to Port of Spain to hit the Anti-Everything rehearsal.

Anti Everything is Port of Spain’s only punk band and they are currently recording their 2nd CD, so we dropped by the lead singer, Bryan’s house to hear them perform a few songs. Bryan’s family graciously fed us some excellent Roti, an East Indian style of food that I’m starting to really dig. The guys have been nothing short of amazing in their hospitality and arranged for us a ride to our hotel as we had worked a 14 hour day.

I was really glad we had hired a private driver because the roads to both Maracas Bay and Lopinot are really, really winding and narrow, not to mention they drive on the other side of the road with the steering wheel on the right side of the car! I couldn’t help but dread Tuesday when I was scheduled to rent a car for a drive down south Pitch Lake.

But in the meantime, I reveled in the friendliness of the Trinidadian people. They are so laid back and friendly in a very real and non patronizing way. It’s really an infectious vibe that I hope I can incorporate into my own life on a regular basis.

Port of Spain has been great so far. Food is good, people are friendly and “laid back” is the mantra. I can deal with this. Of course it’s always hard for an ex-New Yorker to keep his cool and chill sometimes, especially since we’re working and up against deadlines. But then my Tennessee roots get a chance to shine and take over.

AnitEverythingSharkNBak — The gang from "Anti-Everything" enjoying Bake n Shark in Maracas Bay

I finished up my last bit of pre-production by taking in a little Cricket match at the Queens Park Oval. Andres, an ex professional player for T&T and proprietor of the on site Cricket sporting goods store graciously showed me around and we agreed to hook back up on Monday when the film crew is here. Though cricket looks a little slow for my taste (some matches last 2 full days!), the outfits look mad cool and I’m hoping Andres can show me some pointers.

Tassa Drumming in St. James, Port of Spain-Trinidad

Also, last night the guys from the local punk band (yes, the only one on the island), Anti-Everything took me out for a little pre-limin, limin if you will (“limin” is Trini talk for “hanging out”) after letting me sit in on one of their studio sessions as they get ready to record a new CD.

I had a meat pie which was excellent but held off on the Roti and Doubles until the camera can document my first reactions when the crew gets here. If it’s anything like the meat pie or the bake n shark, well, this show could be come the “No Reservations” episode cause I’m telling you the food here is good. And while I certainly don’t claim to be Anthony Bourdain, I will say that though we normally eschew food segments on the show due to the proliferation of food themed travel shows, for this particular episode, I think we’ll make an exception.

I mean in Trinidad you have so much diversity on display simply through the food choices; East Indian, American Indian, African, Spanish, Asian and um, well.. also there is … British?!

And then there is the music. As you’ve probably guessed punk music is not that big of a deal on an island with only one punk band, but the fact that there is one excellent punk band on the island does sort of speak volumes about how a culture of 1.3 million people are open to different influences. Last night we witnessed some Tassa drumming from East India and it was nothing short of spectacular. I have a little lo fi flip cam video of that coming soon so stay tuned.

P1060676 — Makin' Roti in St. James, Port of Spain

And we’re just getting started. On our first day of filming, we’re heading to the world famous Maracas Bay beach to sample some Shark N Bake (more food!) and then off to Lopilo, the island’s historic Spanish colony before ending the night with a rehearsal from the guys of Anti-Everything.

And that is just for starters! so hang tight, our trip to Trinidad and Tobago has just begun!