Nichols News: Limin' It

Sorry, we've been away from our blog for awhile but, as our friends in our latest vacation destination would say: "No worries." That's right, we've just been "limin' it" (relaxing) on the beach and enjoying small town life.

What we left behind...

Snicks season ended and Chief was finally able to escape to the beach! We were fortunate to have our friends Mari and Alex join us, too! We did a ton of research to choose a destination that would provide the perfect combination of sun, relaxation, and fun. Chief was daring enough to venture into the world of vacation rentals for our accomodations and we were impressed with the options available on the teeny island of Tobago.

The first day of the trip was spent on the North Coast of Trinidad. It was exquisite and exactly what we had expected to find. Sleepy little bays with a few bake 'n' shark shacks, beautiful waterfalls, and rainforest. Our guide, Tano, picked us up at the Hilton (Chief's frequent travels paid off as we were able to stay for free) and we were off. This was our first lesson in how relaxed and trusting Trinis and Tobagoans are - Tano didn't formally introduce himself and it took us at least an hour or so to believe that he really was our guide and that his machete was truly just to help us on the hike. We exchanged a few nervous giggles after we finally both relaxed. Along the way to the waterfall we stopped at a number of beaches just to check them out. At one of them a fresh mango fell from a tree - Chief was like a kid in a candy store when she bit into it. We hiked along a riverbed to find a great waterfall - and then hiked to the top of it. It was surprising how small the waterfall was at the top. We then headed back to the beach to play in the waves and then tried the famous bake 'n' shark. It was delicious!

The following day we headed back to the airport where we met up with Mari and Alex. It was great to see them and we were all excited about the adventure. We had a short 20 minute flight over to Tobago and were anxious to get to the villa. Well, not all vacations are smooth sailing and we were about to experience a significant hiccup. We walked out of the teeny airport and searched the crowd for a sign with "Nichols" on it... there were none to be seen. So, we put down our bags and decided to wait for awhile, assuming that the man who was going to meet us was just running late. A half hour passed and there was no sign of him. Chief decided to head to the tourist office to see if they could help locate him. It became painfully obvious that we had committed a rookie mistake. We had no phone number for our contact on the ground in Tobago. Chief only had the contact information for the property owner in England. Oops. The tourist office had no idea where we were headed and couldn't help us one bit. Chief then went to the pay phone and tried to contact the property owner in England... no answer. Chief was really sweating it, but the rest of the group did a great job of staying calm and not making a big deal out of it. Chief finally resorted to turning on her blackberry and getting on her email to see if the owner in England would respond to that. Thankfully, he was online and, after one more phone call, things were starting to get sorted out. The owner was very apologetic and seemed quick upset that things weren't situated on the ground.

Sheppy, the owner of a car rental service, came to pick us up. He gave us a quick tour of the area, got us some food (very tasty crab and dumplings), and then we sat at his rental center until our man, Deon, finally decided to pick up his phone. Miraculously, we all remained upbeat and positive throughout the whole experience.

After the adventure of the first few days, we really needed to relax. Thankfully, the beautiful villa offered a great pool to chill out in and there were many small restaurants nearby that offered cold drinks and tasty food. The following days are a bit of a blur. We rented a car (from Sheppy) and Alex drove us around the whole island in an afternoon. Yep, it is small, but it offers some amazing views from its narrow winding mountain roads on the north side. We bought a whole fish; swam; hit the beach; went snorkeling; drank tasty cold drinks; the boys went fishing; and we just spent time hanging out.

We would definitely go back to Tobago and even return to the house we rented (despite the scheduling mishap). The island is not very commercialized and we liked the idea of adapting to the island lifestyle (instead of them catering to us). We definitely recommend it as a unique get-away.