By Omilla Mungroo. An indigenous delicacy we hardly hear about these days in Trinidad and Tobago is chip chip. I remember as a girl camping at Manzanilla Beach on the east coast of Trinidad, my family would carry utensils of all sizes and types down to the beach when the tide …
Read More »First visit to Salt Pond – Down the Islands
By Omilla Mungroo. We built our camp hurriedly alongside the small, red-brick structure which housed two water-tanks. These were reserved for the lighthouse keeper, our friend. It was the neatest tent we ever managed to set up: the blue tarpaulin was new and stood stable against the forceful Easter winds. How …
Read More »Mount St Benedict – come and rest
By Omilla Mungroo. Like an eagle watching over its brood, with watchful eyes and nurturing silence, the Abbey at Mount St Benedict sits with its historical buildings surrounding it, as if beckoning to the people, “Come away and rest for a while.” Organisations surrounding Mt St Benedict Founded in 1912 by …
Read More »International Earth Day: April 22
By Omilla Mungroo. One Sunday evening as my son and I walked home from the park, I was telling him about how people litter the place, and that there is a fine for people pelting rubbish out of their vehicle windows. We were having that discussion because the park had been …
Read More »The versatile Roucou or Ookoo plant
The versatile Roucou or Ookoo plant By Omilla Mungroo. Someone once told me a globally recognised fast food doesn’t taste the same elsewhere as it does here in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s most probably the herbs or seasonings grown here, she said. Others who have travelled to the US and other …
Read More »Neil the genuine leather craftsman
By Omilla Mungroo. I had not seen a “poya” case since my grandfather was alive! A “poya” case or cutlass case is used by people who hunt, plant crops or do some kind of farming for a living. So when I saw one hanging at the front of Neil’s leather shop …
Read More »The Dream – ‘God, please save this country’
By Omilla Mungroo. I can’t recall where I was going, but the driver of the taxi was light brown in complexion, slim build, had a cool air about him, but I had never seen him before, which was strange because I never travel in a car where I don’t know or …
Read More »Dad, Happy Father’s Day to you and all dads
By Omilla Mungroo. All I remembered was my mother making a big fuss over us getting dressed in new clothes, combing my long hair, and then the four of us walking from home through St Joseph with my dad. It was the first time he was taking us all out without …
Read More »Our scenic North Coast drive
By Omilla Mungroo. “All yuh want to go to the beach?” That was the question a friend asked after we talked about “beach” for days. But of course! We hadn’t gone to the beach in two years! Two whole years! For avid campers like us, that’s a long time to stay …
Read More »The Oval – memories of my first visit
By Omilla Mungroo. We were driven to the Oval that morning by my friend’s uncle; from the countryside of Trinidad to its capital city, Port of Spain. It was near 4 a.m. when we left home: long winding country roads swerving into a straight highway. The old man talked almost all …
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