Sunday with Sea Turtles

For early in the morning, the beach was quite popular with folks taking pictures of the sea turtles.  We all seemed to have the same objective:  get a picture with a sea turtle and then try to get pictures with no one in the background.  Easier said than done, but I did my best:

with the tourists (for scale)

sans people (almost)

A quick breakfast and it was off to church.  I’d looked online and the nearest congregation was practically halfway back to Port-of-Spain, but the traffic was much lighter and with some help from our hotel we managed to find the meeting.  The congregation was small and super-welcoming.  As it was the 5th Sunday of the month they had a special lesson: cleaning the chapel.  Apparently they struggle with the same problem my ward does, and we had to laugh to see that some aspects of the Church are the same everywhere.

basketball court's in the back

After church we drove back to Grand Riviere, stopping at a historic lighthouse and seeing where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic.  Gorgeous spot, popular for picnicking. 

where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic

There was a surfing competition in a nearby village, and the traffic became absolute gridlock.  Some officers finally showed up to take control of the scene, directing Jeanette to park just off the road (practically in a ditch) to allow traffic to pass.  The first car was a mini-bus that passed so close we had to pull in our rear-view mirror, but once they’d passed and we were allowed through we found a spot and walked back to see what all the fuss was about.  Surfers from all over the world were there and it was interesting to watch a few rounds.

note:  we're driving on the LEFT side of this road

Back at our hotel, we decided to explore the full length of Grand Rivere beach and watch the sunset.  Aside from a group of local boys we had the beach to ourselves.  We read for a bit and I climbed a few trees that overhung the sand.  On our walk back we were met by a ranger, who informed us that because the beach closes at dark we weren’t supposed to be there and we’d need to pay a steep fine.  He seemed like a friendly guy, though, so during our walk back I chatted with him about music and asked him if he knew a former colleague of mine (he did).  By the time we got back to the station he just transferred us to another ranger friend who was giving a tour.  Thank heaven for Bob Marley and Suzanne Livingstone!