Rained on in a rainforest. Check.

My trip to Trinidad and Tobago had been in the works for about a year for the wedding of Ryan who shares my desk wall to his girlfriend Siobhan. Ryan is originally from Trinidad and had come to the US for schooling and stayed for work. Ryan and I were in the same training class at Marsh and we have become good friends over the years. My friend Allison from my football team wanted to join me for the trip.

Today, we started our adventure! Allison and I arrived in Port of Spain in Trinidad around 4:30 am. The red-eye from Newark was uneventful and the flight was just five hours.

Looking over the rainforest at ASA Wright Nature Center, Trinidad

Instead of flying straight to Tobago where Ryan and Siobhan are getting married, Allison and I opted to go to the ASA Wright Nature Center in Trinidad. Considered one of the top five bird sanctuaries in the world, we were excited, but didn't really know what to expect.

Conveniently, Ryan's father works at the center and he arranged our day visit and transfers. The airport is about an hour away and we had to go up a mountain on switchback roads and passed by many christophene vines that were visually really incredible covering the Arima valley. These vines bear pear squash, also known as chayote.

Upon arrival, on the verandah of a former plantation, there were about five people avidly bird watching each with binoculars and telescopes. It was amazing how they could spot the beautiful birds so quickly and willing to share their equipment. It's so refreshing to be around passionate people.

There was so much activity early in the morning. We saw a toucan, parrots, honeycreepers, hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, blue dacnis, tufeted coquettes, motmots, and oropendolas. Oropendolas make really cool nests that hang off trees and look like long handbags. Richard, our viewing guide was able to point out the birds immediately and recognize their calls. He identified over 30 individual species in an hour - his record being about 36. We felt lucky to have seen so many in such a short period of time.

Afterwards, we enjoyed breakfast and got ready for our guided walk around the center with Caleb. We saw lizards, a scorpion, manakins (white-bearded and golden-headed), leaf cutter ants, army ants, all sorts of vegetation (90 year old vines, bamboo, mango trees, heliconias, wild nutmeg tree), a crab, and a bat to Allison's dismay.

After our walk, we decided to explore the clear water pool, but got caught in a heavy rain shower.

Throughout the day, we were rained on. We really enjoyed it as we felt that it was a genuine rainforest experience! Personally, it was a great way to decompress and start out the vacation.

We were so lucky that Ryan's father had a room and office to use. We were able to wash up and take a nap before lunch which included BBQ chicken, grilled eggplant, beans, rice with pigeon peas, and bread pudding with custard sauce. All delicious with coffee harvested locally at the nature center.

Post-lunch, we took power naps before our transfer back to the airport. Curiously, our driver put our luggage on the back seats of the van. On the way down the mountain, we stopped to pick up a dead, venomous, viper snake, also known as a bushmaster!! It was over 6 feet long and there are plans by the nature center to preserve it because they are incredibly rare. Didn't see that one coming! Needless to say, Allison was a lot more excited than I was and was so enthralled, she did not get to take a picture with it before the preservation officer took it away. There are plans to build out a museum as well at ASA.

At the airport, we checked out the outdoor food court where we had Doubles, very Trinidadian. Chickpeas on fried flat bread with delicious spices and chutney and Apple J, a sparkling apple juice. This was Allison's first Doubles experience. I had been to Queens with Ryan and Siobhan to a West Indies neighborhood. Delicious in both places, but the Doubles here were much better!

Interestingly enough, Allison was told by someone at the Newark airport that Kentucky Fried Chicken in Trinidad is super delicious and we saw a massive line. Hence, we had to order a two-piece meal to check. Confirmed and the spice has a real kick that you don't get in the US.

Our twenty minute flight was uneventful and waiting for our luggage took longer. I learned on the flight this year marks the 50th year anniversary of Trinidad's independence from Great Britain. So exciting!

More to come on the amazing villa tomorrow!!!