Houses Pt 1 : Belmont

Every house in Belmont is a good picture.

Brasso Seco Pt 1 : En Route Through The Green

Nets of christophine swarm at the feet of this house in the hills, 

... and all across the slopes of the valley.

The 7am light is cool.

It provides an appropriate setting for contemplating life.

Jhandis mark sites of Hindu settlement. Sheets of corrugated metal may be all that's left.

The sun picks up pace, and casts its yellow tinge on blades of grasses as tall as a man.

It stretches over the land to feed the trees, now awakening from mist.

But the road is a living thing unto herself, and she beckons.

The journey continues.

Mysteries await.

Stories go on...

Trinidad Field Guide Pt 1 : Electronic Waste Disposal

Responsible citizen award of the day went to an unnamed Diego Martin resident who decided that the best disposal method for his expired television was to drop it face first in the middle of the pavement outside his house. Since Trinidad has no domestic electronics disposal program, this was certainly the most intelligent and environmentally cognizant thing the anonymous resident could have done.

It was a great gift to the community, providing labour and raw materials for Sierra Leone Road's grassroots informal industry. A wandering opportunist availed of the spoils by pulling out a hammer, which just so happened to be lying around in his soiled Jansport-type bag, smashing open the TV's head, and pulling out its electronic guts.

His harvest was quite specific; wires and coils and a few motherboard-type objects.
Quite the entrepreneur.

Chinnidad...
Oh Chinnidad....

Ernesto's Flood

Trinidad awoke to rain yesterday morning.

Before the sun had crept up, 

black skies poured into rivers,

rivers poured into yards,

and unfortunately for many, 

yards poured into homes.

Despite living in a valley, I've escaped the cruel invasion of the floodwaters; the mocking apathy of the landslides. My grandfather had the foresight and the means to raise our home's foundation a few feet above the average level, so while the yard may flood, the house does not. That said, this was the most pervasive flooding I've witnessed in recent memory, and there was genuine concern that the muddy choleraic waters would finally reach inside. 

Thankfully, we were spared and as the waters slowly subsided, I noticed the toads enjoying themselves, and the Carib Grackles availing of the drowning insects and dancing worms.

My garage became a mud flat, but this was the extent of the inconvenience. Many homes suffered severe flooding and some even lost their lives in the downpour and associated landslides. Retaining walls collapsed and a few bridges and hillside roads actually ruptured as the rock soaked up water.

Help arrived soon after the waters began to subside. 

The abrasive grating and grunting of the tractor

was for the first time a welcome disturbance.

Air & Space