Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

When the Sun Take A Rest

Debe, Trinidad

I just finished showering. I consumed a small amount of Gatorade and some grape seed extract for my joints. At 2:00 am I was out the door. My companion is a fitness instructor, a runner and a massage therapist. You couldn’t get better than that for support. His name is Kartamasha and he is about to retire from the army after 20 years of being in that spot.

We started by taking a country road at Longdenville then eventually met up with what’s called the Old South Main Road, a pedestrian non-friendly two lanner. Sidewalks are few but we survived and made the trek through a hustle and bustle oil refinery and natural gas industry district.

The heat was on and I admit by 7:15 am I needed a break. I lied down under some mangrove vegetation after spreading my chauddar cloth over top a crab-holed patch of dirt. I let Kartamasha have a chance at easing my feet. He was telling me how he maintained his vegetarianism even while he was in training in the army. There are certain leaves from trees that he would survive on in the rainforest. That was his diet.
Part two of today’s walk brought me more associates. After a long stretch of avoiding the sun dozens of companions come to join me for more trekking. One police officer in civilian clothes came next to me to take part. He gave me an interesting ear-full about what he has to deal with. I also contemplated the agony of Haiti’s earthquake victims, particularly those who were struck under rubble for twelve days.
By the time I competed round one of the day’s walk. I had to contend with blisters on the feet as well as serious heat rashes that turned bloody. But my pain could not come anywhere near the severity of the turmoil of Haiti’s people.

There was a Part three of today’s trek. The goal was to reach Debe and after kirtan chanting and a sit down talk on “Pedestrian pastimes” to an assembly of devotees, 8 more kilometers had to be accomplished. By 11pm Kartamasha and I succeeded in reaching that target and safely saying that I completed walking Trinidad.

A further reflection: In the early hours Kartamasha and I encountered heaps of dogs, some behind secure fence and some not. There were moments that their barking and growling and following us, caused my arm hairs to stand on end. I had to resolve within that its dogs that are sniffing out surviving people after being trapped for days giving people hope.

Dania Maharaja, a reporter from the Trinidad “Inside News” called twice asking questions on the significance of these spiritual walks. And so I obliged.

There were many happy honkers amongst motorists in the evening. That’s the time I like to walk in Trinidad early morning or evening, the times when the sun takes a rest.

43 KM