J'ouvert....

Well Sunday I relaxed most of the day Seion said he was going to call me around 5 or so. I think he forgot and I knew J’ouvert was in the morning so I was probably doing that. I hung around the place and took a few naps. I went up and got some bake and shark again from a food vendor. The place I am staying is right by where all the bands and mas passes by. I ended up taking a nap and Seion called me at around 330am, yes 330 in the morning. He said hes comin to pick me up, wear crappy clothes, bye. So I did just that. I put on a white T shirt and some gym shorts. I only brought my phone and a little bit of cash. He picked me up, we parked and then started walking. It was Seion, Big P, Demitri, Akua and Kyshon. When we got out of the car, Seion handed me a bottle of Johnny walker and Kyshon had a bottle of Black and White. I still really didn’t know what I was in store for. I knew there would be drinking (obviously) I knew there would be dancing, and also some paint was involved. We finally ended up by the Savannah where there was a huge flatbed 18 wheel truck full of speakers playing extremely loud soca music. The speakers are stacked about 10 ft high and are on all sides of the truck with a DJ in the middle. There was a huge mob of people around it just dancing and hanging out. Behind that truck was smaller truck with a bunch of people handing out Bottles of paint. Yellow paint because the band (group) we were with were called the Yellow Devils. Makes sense. There was just a huge tub and people in the truck would take old 20 oz bottles, fill them up and hand them out. Oh and behind that truck was the alcohol truck there were about 6 people just handing out beer and alcohol for free. I then realized that a lot of people pay to be a Yellow Devil and you get a wrist band and a T shirt. You also get free drinks and breakfast in the morning. I just looked online right now and its 70 TTD for all that which isn’t bad at all. I wish I would have paid but at the same time I got pretty much the same experience for free. Just no t shirt anyways so what happens is hundreds of people follow this truck dancing and throwing paint and drinking all night. And there a ton of different bands of people so there have to be thousands and thousands of people following the different trucks through the streets. It was interesting to see the different trucks and mobs navigate around each other when the crossed paths just because there were just soooo many bodies, all dancing. Haha. What is also funny is that when the two bands cross people get covered in other bands paint so you when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning youre like, “how did I get blue paint on my chin?” or “Is that blood?!?! Oh yea…. We passed the Red Devilz.” Oh I forgot to mention that when we parked, Akua gave me this ridiculous safari lookin’ hat. He said it was for the sun but I think it might have mostly been so that can keep in eye on me. Just a guess though. There were long periods of time where I did get separated from my Seion and the small group but as long as I stayed with the mob and the truck I knew I would be fine. I knew we were ending at Mangos, where I ate the first day. I actually ran into other pan players from Trinidad who played in the Buccooneers too. So we did this all through the night even as the sun came up. People still dancing the whole time. I think with all this dancing and pan playing I have lost a bit of weight. I don’t see how I couldn’t have. So its around 9 am and we ended up at Mangos and Seion and all the paying Yellow Devilz went and had breakfast and I walked back to where I am staying. Jerome and Marylin met me outside and we talked about how the night went and how much fun it was. They have been great because before I went out they warned me not to drink too much and not to take to much money because of pick pockets. They really look out for me. So I went in and took a nice shower, and Marylin made me breakfast. It was great I forget what it was called but it is usually eat around Christmas time. It was like a patty of meet and other things in a corn casing. There was ham and fresh papaya as well. Oh and I had some Sorrel as well. Delicious. Then I went into my bedroom and passed out. I wanted to get up around 1 for lunch. That never happened. I ended up sleeping until 5. I think I surprised Jerome and Marylin how much I slept. I wasn’t surprised and I probably could have slept a few more hours. Haha. I got up and hung out for a while. Then I went down to get some food and watch Mas bands pass down the street. Tomorrow is when Mas is at full force but today it was a lot of people dancing behind those huge DJ trucks and some are dressed in the Mas gear. Some of that stuff is crazy what they carry or cart around. Some are as wide as the whole street. I eventually walked back and have been hanging out around the house relax and blogging. Now its time to see what is happening tonight. I know tomorrow is supposed to be along day so I might just get my rest. Anyways, more tomorrow.