DAY 2 ANTIGUA...Bass Bin Boomtown

DAY 2 ANTIGUA...Bass Bin Boomtown

It's the last days of The Carnival. The town has been jumpin' for a few days now and this day is the last. We set off fairly early under the guidance of our driver Dyke to St. John's. As usual the barely made up roads provided an interesting journey in, our taxi bumping almost suspension free along thewinding trail. Again own his suggestion we headed for a local restaurant which would prove a good starting point for our day. There was an outside upper terrace at Hemingway's with comfortable tables and a view over the street. We soon made friends with Valerie our waitress, who guaranteed us a table for later on when the carnival was going to be in full flow.

We sat there for some time and were soon aware of a deep thudding vibration which rattled the glasses on the table. Like crickets in the forest at dusk, this was the signal for the start of the proceedings. At the end of the street, a huge articulated lorry had been turned into a massive giant's entertainment system. Bass bins, each the size of a person were strapped together in stacked grids of at least nine at each end of the trailer. In the middle a DJ was connected to a mixing desk and amp. Some trucks even had their own generator powering up the on board systems. The lorry moved slowly past to be replaced with another of equal magnitude. We found out later in the streets, as the colourful troupes of dancers passed endlessly by, that there were dozens of these, each pumping out ear shattering rhythms and beats, feeding the revellers with a constant stream of soca, reggae and calypso, the latter often supported by trucks full of steel drum players, sometimes fifty strong, pounding out their delightful percussions.

And then there were the dancers. Mostly female, of all ages, resplendent in amazing colour. Feathers fluttered, magnificent headdresses arced through the air and, as one they performed perfectly gyrating patterns of dance throughout the day, in the tropical town heat.

Jim was in his element, camera in hand among the action of the day, as the dancers waved he clicked, leaping into the street in front of the performers as they bore down on him, to capture another beautiful captivating photograph.