Today we added another Scarborough to our collection. Apart from the original in the UK, we have been to one in Australia, South Africa and both North and South America. This Scarborough was in Tobago in the Caribbean. We had opted for a trek in the rain forest, which involved an early start because to get to the rainforest there was over an hour's drive in a somewhat bumpy minivan. However it did mean we got to see quite a bit of the island and guess what, it looks like all the others! In other words there was lots of lush greenery and pretty coastline generally spoilt by a hotchpotch of buildings, some painted in very garish colours, far too many cars and far too much litter. Once at the rain forest we were split into small groups with a guide to each. A man was hiring out wellington boots and in retrospect I should have hired a pair as the trail is very wet and muddy and my walking shoes and feet were covered in mud by the end of the walk. Our guide was a Rastafarian with a rather difficult to understand accent. However we did learn that bamboo should never be cut at the time of the full moon because the sap rises in the stems at that time and it doesn’t last as long. Apparently this also works for cutting hair too. Bamboo plants are male and female, but the largest are the female and these are the ones which are most useful- so no change there then. Apart from lots of ants carrying away leaves we only saw one small red squirrel. We heard lots of birds but never saw them through the thick foliage. Most of the time was spent watching where to put your feet on the muddy track but it was certainly good exercise.

We only just got back to the ship before it sailed for Brazil and now have 2 or 3 sea days to catch up on the internet, sunbathing and reading etc . The ship we are on is the Regent Seven Seas Navigator with about 480 on board. There are lots of Brits, Americans and some Canadians but so far haven’t met any Australians. The food and wine are excellent and the staff very friendly and the level of service is very good, probably better than Silversea so will definitely go with them again. Our personal butler falls over himself every day to be of service in some way, which in our case is usually pouring the wine in the suite. The Trivia Quiz is the most popular entertainment but our team; the Brainless Brits have won once and came a close second the other times. We have attended a couple of Enrichment lectures and a couple of the shows but most of the time seems to be taken up with eating, drinking and meeting new people. So have to sign off and get ready for another trip to the cocktail bar before dinner. Jose the barman does a lethal Meitei!