Writing — Travel & Photography
From An Airplane Window: Flying Over the Caribbean Sea is Simply Amazing
My journey from Trinidad to Orlando, FL
What is it about the Caribbean? So fascinating. So mesmerizing. Long before I even visited for the first time, the beauty of the sea, the islands, the beaches, the folklore and the music had captivated my thoughts…
“This is my island in the sun where my people have toiled since time begun. I may sail on many a sea; her shores will always be home to me.”
I realize I’m far from being the only one, too. People have been lulled and beguiled by the beautiful Caribbean Sea for thousands of years, starting with ancient indigenous tribes of people on through the years of colonization via the Spanish, the French, The British, etc.
Explorers, exploiters, usurpers, pirates — just what is it about the Caribbean that brings out the very best and the very worst in people? Then again, I guess it’s no different than anywhere else in the world as far as that goes.
The Caribbean just happens to be stunningly beautiful all the time though… not to mention sunny and warm.
The first time I saw the Caribbean for real for myself was in 1989… or was it 1990… something like that. I went on a class field trip with my Spanish class to Cancun, Mexico — the highlight of my otherwise tumultuous childhood, so it always stands out in my mind. We stayed in cabanas on the beach at Playa del Carmen.
A popular spot for sure… as I’ve heard from many who have visited this very place.
Ashamed to admit, my Spanish was just as terrible before I went as after I came back.
Fast forward to several days ago. I’ve gotten to know the Caribbean Sea a bit better now. I’ve flown over several times back and forth from Trinidad— this last trip I decided to try and get some nice photo captures.
I started out from Piarco International Airport in Trinidad bright and early last Monday morning.
The sun was shining beautifully — in the second photo you can see the majestic Trini mountains in the distance.
When a person lives in Northern Trinidad… those beautiful mountains are always there — always in sight — never letting you forget their simple yet powerful majestic nature. It’s almost like God saying: “Do not forget, I am here keeping an eye on your welfare. Never forget that I love you and I’m here for you if you need me.”
“As morning breaks the heaven on high, I lift my heavy load to the sky. Sun comes down with a burning glow, mingles my sweat with the earth below.”
In this first photo, you can see the lush green of Trinidad that is often so intoxicating… and in the second photo you can see the shoreline of the Caribbean Sea as we leave Trinidad.
(Was thinking then of all those wonderful trips Andy and I took to the beach…. on better days… before his rum-fueled demons returned.
We would lay on the beach absorbing the ocean breezes and enjoy each other’s company… the memories are so bittersweet now.)
“I see woman on bended knee, cutting cane for her family. I see man at the waterside, casting nets at the surging tide.”
After leaving the majestic shores of Trinidad behind, much of the trip was either cloudy or looked like this:
Initially, most of the Caribbean islands stayed too far off in the distance to see, but it wasn’t so bad really… what a beautiful view… that blue-green color so indicative of the Caribbean Sea is magnificent all by itself!
…that is, until we got to Puerto Rico:
Flying over Puerto Rico reminded me of someone I dated a long time ago before I met my husband. He was from Aguadilla.
No worries… no torches burning there whatsoever… I just thought it was interesting that we flew straight over Aguadilla.
“I hope the day will never come when I can’t awake to the sound of drum. Never let me miss carnival with calypso songs philosophical.”
And, of course, we flew over Turks and Caicos and The Bahamas, which islands specifically I really have no idea… both countries have many, many islands under their belt, but they were beautiful!
Here I am on the plane, drinking a little soda and writing in my paper journal…
It was a four-hour flight so I was also able to watched the entire Elvis movie with Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, which I would highly recommend if you haven’t seen it yet. It was fab-u-lous!
I know they’ve made a zillion movies about Elvis before, and that fact alone kinda turned me off in the beginning… but this one was so different. Tom Hanks was so brilliant, as always!
The lyrics used throughout this post are from one of my favorite Caribbean songs sung by one of my favorite Caribbean singers:
“Oh, island in the sun, willed to me by my father’s hand. All my days I will sing in praise of your forest, waters, your shining sand.”
The part that always really gets me is the lovely humming he does at the end… while Belafonte has Jamaica heritage, his music was heavily influenced by the Calypso sounds of Trinidad & Tobago.
Thank you so much for following along on this part of my journey!
Hope you enjoyed it!
A while back Barb Dalton offered us this amazing post and it always stood out in my mind.
And of course, plenty of other Globetrotters have included airplane photos in their posts… always love them!
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