Places to walk in Trinidad: Sangre Grande to Manzanilla
I don't know when I started walking for recreation rather than exercise. I know I started for exercise and to lose weight but it's become much more than that now. So much so that I have dreams about places to walk. No lie y'all. I literally go to bed thinking about what would be a nice route for a long walk and I dream about it. Hahaha.
The dreams have been increasing in frequency in the past few weeks because I haven't been on a nice long walk for over a month. I think the last long walk I did was the Butler 20k back in June.
I've been on hikes and done my regular Savannah/Chancellor but my legs were craving for a nice long walk somewhere unfamiliar.
So I jumped at the opportunity when I saw someone planning to do the nine miles in between Sangre Grande and the Manzanilla Boardwalk (shout out Fonda Samuel).
And I dragged my friend Kitty along with me for the experience. It was her first long walk apart from the regular Savannah/Chancellor route.
We left home around 4 am to get to the meeting point at the Sangre Grande police station for 5:30 where were met up with seven other ladies.We set out on the walk around 6 am.
I fully intended to walk the whole route but then I saw Fonda take off like a bat out of hell and I wanted to keep up so I started running too. I'm proud of myself. I managed to keep her in sight for a full two minutes. Hahaha. Then she disappeared and we never saw her again for the whole route until the end.
This heffa ran so fast, a man in a vehicle passed us and told us "the lady in the front musbe reach Mayaro by now".
I surprised myself though. I think I ran more than half the route altogether with another fitness sister (shout out Tracey Ann Riley) encouraging me to pick up the pace. She would set a target in the distance to run to, then when we got to it we would walk a bit to catch our breaths and then she'd pick another target to run to. And so we went.
That was a big deal for me. Because I am not a runner. I can walk very far and very long but the running thing is not for me. I managed it today though.
With our partners driving alongside us for support (and heckling) our group of four made it to the Boardwalk in just about two and a half hours. The other half of our group came in a little bit afterwards.
And another fitness sister (shout out Doni Don) unpacked this whole buffet spread of veggies and meat and homemade flatbread so we had a feast on the beach. It was an awesome experience.
We had good, cool weather most of the way until nearing the end when rain started to fall and we got wet. When I got home, I slept for most of the day...which is why I'm now writing this blog at damn near midnight.
Observations:
Manzanilla people real friendly boy. People passing in cars honked their horns at us, some chatted with us, one old man took a particular liking to Kitty and everybody had a smile on their face and a cheerful 'good morning' on their lips.
This, too, is a big deal for me. I come from a neighborhood where people cuss you for watching them too hard so it's always pleasant to see a place where people have actual manners.
Also, I thought the stretch was a level piece of roadway. It was not. There were a few gradual inclines.
It have real mango and avocado trees in Manzan boy. I doh know how I reach back home with my hand swinging. Steups.
All in all, I had a great time and would do it again.
Someday I'd like to try walking that stretch in Manzanilla known as the "coconuts". It's on my bucket list.
Let's see where I end up next!
Length: 9 miles (14.4 km)
Terrain: Paved road with gradual inclines/no pavement most of the way
Time: We took about two and a half hours
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
I've been on hikes and done my regular Savannah/Chancellor but my legs were craving for a nice long walk somewhere unfamiliar.
So I jumped at the opportunity when I saw someone planning to do the nine miles in between Sangre Grande and the Manzanilla Boardwalk (shout out Fonda Samuel).
And I dragged my friend Kitty along with me for the experience. It was her first long walk apart from the regular Savannah/Chancellor route.
We left home around 4 am to get to the meeting point at the Sangre Grande police station for 5:30 where were met up with seven other ladies.We set out on the walk around 6 am.
I fully intended to walk the whole route but then I saw Fonda take off like a bat out of hell and I wanted to keep up so I started running too. I'm proud of myself. I managed to keep her in sight for a full two minutes. Hahaha. Then she disappeared and we never saw her again for the whole route until the end.
This heffa ran so fast, a man in a vehicle passed us and told us "the lady in the front musbe reach Mayaro by now".
I surprised myself though. I think I ran more than half the route altogether with another fitness sister (shout out Tracey Ann Riley) encouraging me to pick up the pace. She would set a target in the distance to run to, then when we got to it we would walk a bit to catch our breaths and then she'd pick another target to run to. And so we went.
That was a big deal for me. Because I am not a runner. I can walk very far and very long but the running thing is not for me. I managed it today though.
With our partners driving alongside us for support (and heckling) our group of four made it to the Boardwalk in just about two and a half hours. The other half of our group came in a little bit afterwards.
And another fitness sister (shout out Doni Don) unpacked this whole buffet spread of veggies and meat and homemade flatbread so we had a feast on the beach. It was an awesome experience.
We had good, cool weather most of the way until nearing the end when rain started to fall and we got wet. When I got home, I slept for most of the day...which is why I'm now writing this blog at damn near midnight.
Observations:
Manzanilla people real friendly boy. People passing in cars honked their horns at us, some chatted with us, one old man took a particular liking to Kitty and everybody had a smile on their face and a cheerful 'good morning' on their lips.
This, too, is a big deal for me. I come from a neighborhood where people cuss you for watching them too hard so it's always pleasant to see a place where people have actual manners.
Also, I thought the stretch was a level piece of roadway. It was not. There were a few gradual inclines.
It have real mango and avocado trees in Manzan boy. I doh know how I reach back home with my hand swinging. Steups.
All in all, I had a great time and would do it again.
Someday I'd like to try walking that stretch in Manzanilla known as the "coconuts". It's on my bucket list.
Let's see where I end up next!
Length: 9 miles (14.4 km)
Terrain: Paved road with gradual inclines/no pavement most of the way
Time: We took about two and a half hours
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
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