After nearly a week in the country, we finally did what any stereotypical tourist to the Caribbean does and visited the beaches (in the daylight, that is)! This was, admittedly, pretty far down on my to-do list; I've never really understood the appeal of traveling specifically to visit beaches, but I tend to judge all localities by their wildlife-watching potential, so I may be somewhat biased. As far as beaches go, those of Trinidad and Tobago are undeniably beautiful — especially in comparison to my more familiar Galveston, which I usually only ever talk about to make a point of how gross it is.

This excursion saw us to the north side of the island, first to the Maracas Lookout, which provides a breathtaking view of the Balata and Maracas Bays below.

I happened to spot a very interesting-looking caterpillar on a tree trunk at the lookout, crawling along like a toupee come to life. To the best of my efforts, I have not yet been able to identify it, aside from it being some kind of flannel moth (family Megalopygidae).

Returning to the car, my brother and I observed with some amusement a man trying to cross the road, being cut off several times, and steupsing to himself.

After leaving the lookout and heading eastward, we stopped at Maracas Beach, which is known for its bake and shark, a sandwich made with shark and fried flatbread. The sandwiches were highly recommended to us by our hosts, and I was eager to try one; it didn't disappoint! After thoroughly enjoying our meal, we continued on to the practically "nextdoor" Tyrico Beach.

I initially sat out of the beachgoing activities due to not feeling well, but eventually joined in, albeit not without first undergoing a transformative portable toilet experience that will haunt me for the rest of my life. After scrubbing my psyche I rejoined the group, swimwear donned, and set my first foot into the Caribbean Sea. My brother and I passed the time finding live sand dollars, which we detected by wiggling our toes into the silt, shifting our feet until we sensed their bristly bodies, and lifted them victoriously from the water like precious truffles.

At one point while wading in the shallows, I was caught in a low, rolling wave that suddenly and completely unexpectedly slammed me into the seafloor with astonishing power. I remember emerging disoriented after a few seconds, having barely been able to distinguish up from down, my sinuses flooded with salt water, my head instantly aching, only for it to happen again moments later. The waves rolled me along the bottom, and several times I tried to reach the surface only to be slammed down again. Before that moment, I had never understood how people drowned at the beach. Within the span of perhaps a minute, I understood quite well. After the current released me, I hauled myself from the sea and onto the beach, where I spent the rest of the excursion nursing a tremendous headache, until we eventually returned home and retired for the day.