Pan Yard Limin in Trinidad

Our favorite player of the night

Amazing player with The MOVES

November 2017

Tom, Anna and local player

We went pan yard limin' again.  I had been bugging and bugging Jesse James "When are we going pan yard limin'?  We MUST go pan yard limin' before we depart."  Finally, he found a good night for us to all go.

Goran, Susie and James

This time it was Starlift yard.

Local player, Laura and Tom

Annika and Laura with best Xmas shirt

There were a total of 5 steel orchestras.  FIVE in one night!  Perfect. 

The locals were dressed to the nines, just lovely- women and men

There was also a small group doing traditional Christmas parang music.  It has a latin feel to it.

  Christmas parang

There were three buses of cruisers that went.  We were early.  Cruisers are always early to events because as an organized group we just can't do "island time". 

Tom and Stefan try their hand

The pickups to head home were 23:00 or midnight.  We knew we want the midnight bus.  Pan yard limin' is way too fun to go home early.   Most cruisers operate on "cruisers midnight" meaning they are in bed by 21:00 hrs.  Jesse knows this and thus offered the 23:00 bus.  However, most opted for the later pickup.

Dale and Cori with one of the players

rhythm talk

Even with a midnight pickup, we were worried whether we would even see the last pan orchestra.  We did, although they were still playing when we reluctantly departed at 12:30am. 

It was a fantastic evening. 

Goran and Tom

Goran and the ladies (Annika and Laura)

Special note - The second pic from the top, the one with the young player with THE MOVES.....well his mom was nearby the whole time he played.  After each song, she would provide him with a towel to wipe off the sweat.  She was very attentive, watching his every move and of course enjoying it like the rest of us.  She very much reminded me of a typical American sports mom.  You know the ones that are at every practice and match, cheering them on.  I asked her if that was her son.  "Yes" she beamed.  "And that one up front too."  She pointed to a taller boy on the second row.  I congratulated her.  "They are both very talented.  You should be proud"  She nodded with a big grin.

Final note - Go up and look at the Christmas parang pic again.  Did you notice the skinny, white mannequin in the far right of the picture?  The one dressed like an American tourist?  Well, I cannot explain.  Most of us cruisers spotted it at one point or another during the night.  "What's with the weird white guy mannequin?"  "I don't know.  I saw that too.  Really weird."   A couple of us asked the MC who was close by.  "I don't know." he said.  And so the mystery continues.  I guess it is just one of those odd things you see in life with no explanation.