I wanted to wait until I got back to answer this question (I hadn’t forgotten you, Ron!)
I found it to be the same. I just find that when I’m in Trinidad, I have a heightened sense for anything out of the ordinary - much more so now that I have a family. I look outside to see if anyone is loitering for just a little longer than one might expect. I notice when cars slow down. Any noise out of the ordinary makes me take notice.
This trip was no different, except for the fact that we were generally back home by nightfall to deal with feeding the girls and putting them to bed. Things were happening, though. There was a robbery a few streets from the house while we were in Tobago, and unless I’m mistaken more than 25 people had been killed in Trinidad since the start of the year. For a country of only 1.3 million people, that’s just insane.
The times I was most aware of my heightened awareness was actually when I was in “de bush”, shooting nudes - for obvious reasons, but also because there was no one around in case something actually did happen and we needed help.
Still, one can’t deny oneself the opportunity to enjoy a place as beautiful and as varied and as unique as Trinidad. I’ll continue to go back, and I’ll continue to go places while I’m there. I just don’t like what the crime situation has done to my overall peace of mind - and what it does to it when I’m there.
