We tested these nifty little in-ear speakers for daily use as well as on domestic and international flights. They reduced ambient noise, making it more comfortable to hear music and audio recordings on an MP3 player and keeping airplane noises out. It was amazing how well they worked and how comfortable they felt. We could wear them for hours without tiring.
Azul offered fine dining with a magnificent ocean view. Because I arrived extra early I was able to take my pick of seats next to the floor to ceiling windows that draw the eyes of everyone in the dining room. I chose a front row seat to the Pacific Ocean. From there I could see the dark ocean waters and the beautiful landscapes of the La Jolla Cove to the south and La Jolla Shores to the north. Although the sun had been brilliant a few hours earlier, by the time I arrived at Azul mounds of clouds had rolled in and the colors were gray and muted. Even so the vista was inspiring.
Villa de Lena, like Tobago, was a journey of discovery. We began the journey as curious visitors and ended it as friends. The two story $1.2 million villa occupied 374 square meters. It was well situated in a residential district near the tourist areas on the western end of Tobago. This meant our street was quiet with little traffic. At the same time we were within a five to 10 minute drive to the airport, tourist attractions, the Store Bay market and food stalls, restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops and tourist activities such as diving and water sports.
Named Tovaco, meaning tobacco, by the original Amerindian inhabitants, Tobago is a tropical Caribbean island just below the hurricane belt. Described in tourism brochures as “clean, green and serene,” it is an attractive destination for ecoutourists and adventurous world travelers able to appreciate its many charms hidden just below the surface. It was formerly a British colony and retains many of the British traditions such as left side driving, a charming West Indian English, and a sense of punctuality. At 21 miles by 7 miles (41 x 14 kilometers) in size it is slightly smaller than the state of Delaware in the U.S.
An early morning departure (we met our guide and three other visitors at 5:30 a.m.) and hour long drive did nothing to dampen our spirits. Scheduling conflicts had forced us to choose between a rain forest tour and a day long sail and the time had arrived to find out if it was a good decision. We had even had to make an impromptu shopping trip to Scarborough to buy long pants for the excursion (we had only brought warm weather casual clothes with us to the island and long pants were necessary to visit the forest). We picked up borrowed rain boots courtesy of our tour company at a roadside spot on our way to the rain forest trail entrance.
