Page 4 - Sunday, December 30, 1984 - North Shore News rs wa oil, the to being as wealthy, on a per capita basis, as the folks in such fortunate countries as Canada. Trinidad has oul, you see. The result was that wages soared to eight umes their 1970 level. And prices follow- ed. Today, even though the country 1s experiencing something of a _ recession, thanks to the oil glut, the average Trinidadian still makes quite a bit more than the average Englishman, and while a Japanese car might cost $35,000 in the local cur- rency, that doesn't stop the ciuzens of Port of Spain, the capital, from owning at least two cars each The shock of sudden wealth has left the country in a peculiar — some would say Strictly personal by Bob Hunter = od | riobean oil a @ N THE EARLY 1970's, when OPEC shook the industrialized world by jacking up the price of newly-minted monwealth country of Tinidad & Tobago suddenly went from being a poor flyspeck Caribbean nation to the South American mainland, whence they came. How’s this for a famihar ring? In order to save the giant leatherback turtle fro, extinction, local animals lovers ha.< io camp on the “eacnes when the turtles lay their eggs each year to keep poachers away. With its oil wealth, Trinidad went modern witha vengence. The new justice building, for instance, 1s like a prop out of the movie Dune. Yet one cannot help but chuckle upon noticing that (a) all the imported Japanese cars have righthand the only time you can_ drive and (b) American cars photograph them. got pushed out of the market : More ironies: The Scarlet by the rising price of the very independent Com- jit ° “Trinidad’s national oil that Trinidad was selling. symbol, may just pack up A massive program 1s and leave the island. underway to enlarge the Poachers, overflying jets and roads and upgrade _ hotel drainage for low-cost hous- facilities. The goal is to im- ing developments are factors prove tourism, an industry enviable — dilemma. The that ornithologists fear may largely fBnored during the narrow lefthand British-style roads with their roundabouts were never mtended to carry such traffic, with the result that the rush hour begins in this particular tropical paradise at about 3 p.m. and seems to go on for nearly four hours. It ts only seven miles from the Holiday Inn in downtown Port of Spain to Carom Swamp, where the famous Scarlet Ibis nests, but it 1s liable to take an hour and a haf to get there. The ibises have the unfortunate habit of returning to their nests at the height of rush hour, which is abandon thei cause these birds (worshipped by the ancient Egyptians) to breeding grounds and return glory of OPEC. The truth is, you won't find many bargains while shopping. But that’s not the coun- r Trinidadian CRASH PAD Vol. Ul No.41 Sunday, 30 December, 1984 by Len Macht Goodbye George. The year of Orwell has past Were still here are happy lite qoes on imagine that - bare le Predictions, Dept Its that time agam Pb verybody and chen deny ques ing about the new year Wath neo glass ball oaly my gut. | hereby submit my POMS predhe tors It wall Comtinge Co pour down white stulf aid the ski bulls will thhave a fabulous Year Business will bye eae elhenit TNoot bee aise cof thee weather but because were qgotrig to tiake it geno There wall be ne federal or pro iui ial chee trons tr, POS Ubhey TL trad ter trake sure Peat cone rreghit To stay avy from iibernatiorial politics We wort tiace ft splanade Resa Wirocudghe Tan ry omaly babe Crareibeeag predic fears [bie APT PET TN, a ill pre bk vige baah outs i Wee econ tt ge ton thre tee trae cover EScarrxred Lr abe {yan thot tub. ire Aohaat Pdapeypes i Conary) Breed WV cccae Bare at Wr. gee Pdr on ne Ce . 1. rr ACen 8 soho or te We bose decay Swe Nears fo ry er ata bya wl Gr qed brad VA ew geh M®, matte al vat Par lataed ree va emerson the way on NG a bretrre a Wess Arvd ae db brace nora cae bee bon thay Pema $y fast as we cars (across from. Park & Tilford) 1315 Cotton Drive 980-4581. Staci esesmnaaeir HEE catumianconalteietiiates ne ‘meme Save 30% & more on rugs and towels try’s strength anyway. Despite the frantic activity in Port of Spain, the rest of the ‘Siand sili hes dreaming tn the sun like an old Harry Belafonte song. Anybody who’s into nature will go nuts here. 1 did. “With its wealth, Trinidad went modern with a ven- gance. The new justice building looks like a prop out of Dune.”’ Pd Due mainly to the fact that Trinidad only drifted away from Venezuela a few geological moments ago — some 14,000 years — the island hosts something like 400 species of birds. Con- sidering that all of North America claims only 700 species, we are talking heavy- KN ‘4 re duty diversity. The number of knewn butterfly species ts up to 728, reptiles number 34 species, and there may be_as many as 100,000 different kinds of insects. My favorite creature was the oil bird, an ungainly thing whose body is filled with a perfectly useable natural oil. The natives used to spear these birds and light them on fire as lanterns. That’s for- bidden now, of course. But it crosses my mind, if the Scarlet Ibis does leave, maybe the government will consider the oil bird as the new national emblem. It would be sort of fitting, wouldn't it? Ah, Trinidad & Tobago! All my days | will write in praise of your forests, your waters, your shining sands... A steel drum-roll, please. Befo send iLseal it. THE LUING ASSOCIATION aad | white sale Bathrooms Beautiful Park Royal 926512? Cah lye Lansdowne Maytats 266 BAN) 2735 7538 $820525 eee — * 77 a oe a a = AMT cn. .