Trinidad Dec 30 – January 4, 2022
Capital: Port-of-Spain
Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD). Credit cards are accepted at many stores. ATMs work well.
Exchange Rates (xe.com Dec 29, 2021): 1CAD$ = 5.30TTD; 1US$ = 6.77TTD; 1 E = 7.68
Speak. English official and English Creole
Country Code: +1 868
Visa. Requires a return ticket, proof of funds and an address in TT, such as a hotel or family/friend. Most western countries don’t require a visa.
T Travel Pass, 72-hour Covid PCR, Vaccination 2 doses.
I stayed in Lahore for 2 more days. A Covid PCR at Chughtai Labs was 6500 PR cash with a 12-hour turnaround. It had to be carefully timed because of my next destination. My plan from the beginning was to fly to Dhaka, Bangladesh. It took a while to discover that Bangladesh has a 14-day quarantine. Phoning the embassy in Islamabad was useless but Google/flights and the government website stated it clearly. It was a visa on arrival. So, this necessitated a big change of plans. I had hoped to go to India and the seven Northeast states but that bit the dust too.
My eventual destination was the Guyanas and then Paraguay to finish South America, but flights to Georgetown were priced out of sight. So, it was Port of Spain, Trinidad from where I could fly to Guyana fairly cheaply. CAD $2,000.
It was necessary to find a flight on Dec 28 that allowed me to get my Covid PCR test and then to not have it expire before arriving in Trinidad. After 3 hours of searching (the algorithms are kind of amazing as different combinations continued to appear), I finally found one with four flights over 44 hours arriving with about 2 hours left on my test. Here is the itinerary.
Dec 28 – Lahore to Karachi on PIA 17:45 – 19:30; then two Emirates flights: Karachi to Dubai 22:30 – 23:59; 8’11” layover in Dubai (a nice airport); Dec 29 – Dubai to Toronto Pearson 08:10 – 13:30 +1; 9’25” layover; Toronto to Port of Spain Trinidad on Caribbean 23:55 – 06:35 +2 (Dec 30)
I had a self-transfer of luggage in Karachi and Toronto. As a result, I had to get ArriveCan to enter Canada and could have been subjected to another random Covid PCR. Canada surprised me as I didn’t have to show either my ArriveCan or negative Covid PCR. I had booked my Air BnB in Port of Spain and filled out the Trinidad Travel Pass (onerous, several pages, and 5 downloads), so was all set to go. I had brought my sleeping pad, pillowcase, and sleep sheet to get a nice sleep in Toronto if possible.
Observations Trinidad and Tobago
1. Tourist attractions. There are (even when Covid isn’t impacting sights), little to see or do here. Beaches are few and only on the north coast (with Covid they are closed after noon). The Magnificent Seven (7 colonial era mansions) were closed because of Covid. Fort George has magnificent views of the west of the island but was closed in Covid (you can still crawl through a hole in the fence to the right of the gate). All museums and parks are closed. The two Tentative WHS, only Pitch Lake has some interest as it is very unusual (when I was there, it was full of water and the lake bed could not be seen). The two mosques I saw are minimal affairs. POS has two nice Christian churches but both were closed.
Just as I left Tobago, I discovered Crown Point, the lovely village next to the airport. If I were to return, this is where I would stay. It has many bars, restaurants, guest houses and lovely beaches. Pigeon Point is gorgeous, but all beaches are closed at noon and you can’t even walk the last km to the beach!!! Crazy.
Catch one of the private cars into Scarborough for 20TTD (taxis are 90) if desired.
2. Covid Rules. As with most places, a 72-hour PCR is required + TT travel form + vaccination. Masks are mandatory outside with a 4000 TTD (US$600) fine. Hand sanitizer and temperature checks (both of no value) are mandatory everywhere.
3. Women’s fashion. Extremely long and decorated false finger nails are common and one of the silliest things I can think of. Big hair and attachments are common.
4. People. Everyone appears to be black or have a lot of black blood. The exceptions might be the large Indian population common on the southwest. 99% of the homeless are apparently mentally ill.
TRINIDAD (Port of Spain)
Day 1
PORT OF SPAIN (37,074 2011; urban 81,142, transient daily 250,000)
The capital city, the country’s second-largest city after San Fernando, it is located on the Gulf of Paria, on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad and is part of a larger conurbation stretching from Chaguaramas in the west to Arima in the east with an estimated population of 600,000.
The city serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre and it has been the capital of the island since 1757. It is also an important financial services centre for the Caribbean and is home to two of the largest banks in the region.
The city is also home to the largest container port on the island and is one of several shipping hubs of the Caribbean, exporting both agricultural products and manufactured goods. Bauxite from Guyana is trans-shipped via facilities at Chaguaramas, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of the city. The pre-lenten Carnival is the city’s main annual cultural festival and tourist attraction, but because of Covid, was not held in 2020, 2021, or in 2022.
Day 1
My flight arrived at 7 am. I then spent over 2 hours trying to find a rental car. Citing the New Year and many tourists, none of the airport companies had any cars and one with cars refused to rent for less than a week. By 9:15 when the last of the companies opened, I finally had a car for 310 TTD per day. As I was over 65, the deposit was 3000 TD instead of 1500 and I had to sign to pay 27,500 + 3-months rental if the car was totaled in an accident or stolen (not covered by the comprehensive insurance). It was a lovely new Mazda that drove very well. As they were closed on Saturday, my return day, they allowed me to park it at the airport and drop the keys at another rental agency.
A taxi to the business (17 km) was 160 TD.
There are ATMS at the airport (5.25 TD withdrawal charge) but no phone kiosk. I stopped at Digicell in downtown Port of Spain and bought a SIM and only 1 GB of data for 125 TD, relatively expensive compared to most countries.
I stayed at “Warm and Sunny”, an Air BnB close to downtown. In a lovely 1940s house, Ally was a gracious host. My room was large with a private bath for 160 TD (US25) per night, easily the cheapest in the country. I had access to the kitchen, living room and spent most of my time in a covered verandah. Note that Google Maps lists Flament St as Park St and doesn’t key to her house (the closest business is Lall and Company).
On my first day, I had a drive about seeing the following in order.
Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The first Catholic Church in Port of Spain was built in 1781. Started in 1816 and finished in 1832, the new church was located west of the existing church at the eastern end of what was Marine Square,. The building is a Latin cross and built of blue metal from the Laventille quarries, with iron framework from England for the doors and windows. The twin towers, originally built of stone, were destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt in wood as they are today. The towers contain twelve bells and a clock, added in 1879.
Holy Trinity Cathedral. This large, Gothic-designed church dates from 1818, but sustained major earthquake damage in September 2018. The cross atop its main spire was knocked askew and has since been removed, and the building itself is undergoing restoration and often closed up. The home of T&T’s Anglican church, its interior boasts a mahogany hammerbeam ceiling, lovely stained-glass windows and a marble monument to Sir Ralph Woodford, the British governor responsible for the cathedral’s construction.
The grounds have a small Garden of Peace and an indented stone labyrinth.
National Museum and Art Gallery. The museum was established in 1892, as the Royal Victoria Institute. The building is an example of Victorian era colonial style of the British West Indies. The Museum has a collection of 10,000 items, including a collection of paintings by Michel-Jean Cazabon. In seven major galleries are petroleum and geological exhibits, the permanent national art collection, and a small gallery on Trinidad’s Carnival arts.
Memorial Park Monument. This monument is dedicated to the 200 soldiers from TT who died in WWI where they fought alongside other Commonwealth soldiers. On top of the 32 foot, 80 ton Portland stone column is a 12’9″ bronze Angel of Victory. There are 3 bronze sets of statues and a plaque listed the dead. The park gates were locked but with no trees, I could read some of the inscription.
All the following are on the same street across from Queen’s Park Savannah. It is a one-way roundabout considered the largest round-about in the world..
Queen’s Park Savannah. This massive park is basically a sea of grass. Has a grandstand.
Magnificent Seven are a group of seven mansions located west of the Queen’s Park Savannah on Maraval Road. They were built between 1902 and 1910 on land that was previously used as a government stock farm and are listed as heritage sites. The structures were designed in an array of architectural styles including French Colonial, Scottish baronial, Indian Empire, and Moorish Mediterranean styles—often blended with Caribbean architecture.
Stollmeyer’s Castle is said to be modeled after a wing of Balmoral Castle. Hayes Court, a French Colonial style building, has contemporary Scottish cast iron elements and traditional Demerara windows. Some of the structures were made of imported materials, like Italian marble and Scottish cast iron elements.
Most were originally built as residences and kept within families for decades. Archbishop’s House was built as, and remains, the official residence of the Archbishop of Port of Spain.
White Hall and Stollmeyer’s Castle fall under the purview of the Office of the Prime Minister. The two buildings had restoration work so that they could be used by foreign dignitaries visiting Port of Spain. Both buildings were commandeered by the United States Armed Forces during World War II. Most of the Magnificent Seven Houses retain the aesthetics of the original designs. Of the buildings, Milles Fleur is the one most in disrepair due to extended periods where it was not occupied or maintained.
Queen’s Royal College is one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. The college is noted for its distinctive German Renaissance architecture. Started in 1870, the college moved here in the early 1900s and wings were added in the late 1930s.
The original building accommodated six classes for 30 boys each. The lecture hall could hold over five hundred persons at a time. The design of the interior is tropical with a aristocratic touch. It has a chiming clock and lighted clock tower.
The main building itself is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of historic buildings built in the early 1900s.
Archbishop’s Palace. Built in 1903 and influenced by Indian Empire architecture with a touch of medieval style, the Archbishop’s Palace stands out among the Magnificent Seven mansions around the Queen’s Park Savannah for its truly distinctive architecture using red granite and marble brought over from Ireland. It is one of the Magnificent Seven.
Whitehall. White Hall is the largest residence on the road. Originally called Rosenweg, it was built by Joseph Leon Agostini, a cocoa planter, based upon his design plans. Agostini’s family was from Corsica, and the influence is reflected in the house’s Moorish Mediterranean inspired architecture. Construction was from 1904 to 1910. The exterior was built using white limestone from Barbados. It was a three-storied building with four reception halls, a library, drawing room, wine cellars, and large galleries. There were six bedroom suites with large dressing rooms and advanced, modern bathrooms. The house had long corridors, wide-sweeping marble staircases, and a service lift between floors.
Agostini died in 1906, but his family occupied the house until they were unable to make payments on the mortgage and it was foreclosed in 1910 because the cocoa industry, which was strong when construction began, collapsed while the house was being built.
An American, Robert Henderson, purchased the house and renamed it White Hall, for the coral stone exterior of the building. Henderson’s heirs, the Seigert family, possessed the house until World War II, when it was commandeered by the United States Forces. Although it was returned to the Hendersons after the war, they never lived in it again. It was the Office of the Prime Minister from 1963 to 2009 and is now used by visiting foreign dignitaries.
Stollmeyer’s Castle (Killarney) is a Scottish Baronial style residence and was the first residence built in the St Clair neighborhood. It is named for Charles Fourier Stollmeyer, who hired the Scottish architect Robert Gillies to design the house, which is said to be patterned after a wing of Balmoral Castle. The two-year construction project began in 1902. When his wife said that she preferred a simpler home, Stollmeyer gave the house to his son, Conrad.
The property, like White Hall, was commandeered by the United States Forces, who called it “The Castle”, during World War II. It then began to be called Stollmeyer’s Castle. After the war, it stayed within the Stollmeyer family until 1972, when it was bought by an insurance executive, and finally bought in 1979 by the government of Trinidad and Tobago. In the late 1990s and in 2008, it was restored and is now used by visiting foreign dignitaries. Yellow brick and grey stone fairytale castle round tower and turret, multiple roof lines great garden palms.
Royal Botanical Gardens. A mammoth park sitting under the mountain. Mature palms and trees with many walking paths. Entrance: Google Maps directed me to the road access. The guard pointed back so I drove around the Savannah again, parked, and tried the gate next to the entrance to the Emperor Valley Zoo in the corner, but it was locked. The next entrance halfway to the main road entrance is the actual entrance but was closed too. The main road entrance had a guard. None of the people knew that the gardens was closed.
Fort George. Started in 1804, it never saw military action and was closed in 1846. It sits on top of the mountain above Port of Spain and was supported by 6 batteries situated around the mountain. The fort consists today of a metre high wall and 11 canons. Besides benches and picnic tables, the only structures are the jail (the only thing fortified here) and the signal house (built in 1883, it functioned as a signal house from 1904-64). The only reason to come here is the best views of Port of Spain, the west of the island, and the valley that heads north from PofS. On parked on the road were two cars of tourists lamenting the fact that everything on the island is closed. One of them found a hole in the fence (to the right of the gate) that allows entrance. The tourists were mainly from Venezuela, Panama, and Trinidad led by a priest who blessed me.
Drive to the top of the mountain on a wide one-lane road that barely allows two cars to pass.
I then drove to the north side of the island.
Green Market. In Santa Cruz about 17 km from Port of Spain in the middle of the mountains, this small country market is only open on Saturdays from 6 am – 1 pm. There is only produce sold in three covered areas. It used to be open on Sundays but that stopped about 2 years ago.
North Coast. Trinidad’s north coast (Toco/Matelot/Grand Riviere). The north coast of Trinidad is beautiful and largely unspoiled. There are a lot of scenic beaches and undeveloped areas. At the North East tip of the island is the village of Toco. The North East trade wind blows literally 24 hours per day and lounging on the beach can be quite relaxing. North coast beaches (Maracas, Las Cuevas, Tyrico, Blanchisseuse)
Maracas Beach. The distance was not far but it took a while on the windy mountain roads. This is a fairly large beach between two large headlands. With fine sand and fringed with palm trees, it is quite lovely. At 4:30 pm, there was no one here as the government has closed all beaches from 12 on. There is a large parking area.
Blanchisseuse Beach. This is a long drive along the north coast with the last 10 km on a narrow, windy road full of potholes. The beach is relatively steep and appears to be private and charges a day-use fee. This a dangerous beach with undertows, surf and eddies. Don’t go past knee depth without lifeguards.
St. Benedict Monastery (The Abbey of Our Lady of Exile St. Augustine) is a Benedictine monastery following the Order of Saint Benedict. The Benedictine Order was founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia who wrote The Rule of Saint Benedict followed by all Benedictines. The Motto of the Order is Ora Et Labora, ‘Pray and Work’. Benedict, born in 480 in Nursia, Italy, was sent by his family to Rome to study law. Revolted by the immorality of the city, he decided to become a hermit, spending his days in seclusion and prayer. Eventually, Benedict gained a following and established the Benedictine order. Mount Saint Benedict Abbey was established in 1912 on 240 acres of land approximately 4300 feet above sea level by the monk Dom Mayeul hoping to evangelize the 100,000 Hindus in Trinidad. Trinidad was, however, converted to Catholicism following its discovery by Christopher Columbus in the 1500s.
Today, with its tower and red roofs, the abbey consists of a church, a monastery, a seminary, a drug rehabilitation center, a yogurt factory, and Pax Guest House, a place for retreat. The abbey welcomes and draws people of all faiths seeking peace, solace, purpose, and fulfillment. It features views of the rising Northern Range to the north and the low lying Caroni plains of central Trinidad to the south.
Yogurt has been made by the monks at Mount Saint Benedict since 1997 as a way to have a healthier diet and opened a factory in 2003 and now it to supermarkets across the country. Tunapuna Market. This large market has an enormous produce area, a fish market and various stalls with used clothes.
Bamboo Masjid, Bamboo Village. A small mosque with 5 small onion-dome minarets and a larger onion dome, inside is a simple pitched roof prayer hall.
Columbus Monument, Moruga. This is where Columbus landed on his third voyage on August 1, 1498. On July 6, 1498, Columbus sailed from the Cape Verde Islands heading south towards the equator. Becalmed and running out of supplies, especially water, the sailors were losing hope and growing weak. Columbus suffered an attack of gout. The heat was unbearable. When at last the wind freshened and the sky cleared, with one barrel of water left on each ship, Columbus decided to sail west. In the days of despair, he had renewed his vow to name the first land sighted in honour of the Holy Trinity.
On Tuesday July 31, 1498, sailor Alonzo Perez Nizzardo shouted from the ship’s mast, “Land! Land!” When Columbus saw “three peaks united at their base,” he thought it a miraculous coincidence. But the coastline was rocky and it was not until the next day (August 1) that he was able to land at what is today Gran Chemin beach, where he raised the white cross and claimed the island for Spain with the name “Trinidad.” The monument was built in 2012.
South West
Banwari Trace Archaeological Site. Tentative WHS: (17/08/2011). On the southern edge of the Oropuche Lagoon in southwest Trinidad. The site occupies the top of a Miocene hillock above the swamp showing shell-collecting habits of the Banwari Trace people in their middens. Oropuche Lagoon changed from a freshwater or slightly brackish lagoon to a marine mangrove swamp at about 6200/6100 BP.
The oldest pre-Columbian site in the Caribbean and the migration of Archaic (pre-ceramic) peoples from mainland South America to the Lesser Antilles via Trinidad between 5000 and 2000 B.C.
Banwari Man remains of a human skeleton in a typical Amerindian “crouched” burial position. Banwari Man was apparently interred in a shell midden and subsequently covered by shell refuse 3,400 BC to 5,400 years old.
This site has no sign and is so inconspicuous, it is easy to drive by. Behind a locked chain link fence is a white toilet with 3 stalls and a grassy ramp rising up a small hillock. The gate was opened by Hamlet whose house is next door and the site part of his family’s farm. Hamlet had found bones when 18 but the site not excavated until the 2000s. We walked up the hillock “This is where they found the skeleton” pointing to the steep slope on the edge of the hillock. He moved back some corrugated plastic covering a metre-square excavated pit. There is basically nothing to see, no information sign and a very underwhelming Tentative WHS, truly meaningless to visit without Hamlet’s gracious tour. He maintains the site and mowes the grass.
La Brea Pitch Lake. Tentative WHS (17/08/2011). The Pitch Lake is found in southwest Trinidad in the village of La Brea. It covers 100 acres (41 hectares) at a depth of two hundred and fifty (250) feet (76 metres) in the centre. It holds about ten million (10,000,000) tons of pitch. It is situated about twelve hundred (1200) yards from the sea, in a depression immediately south of a 140 feet high hill, from the summit of which the ground slopes gently northwards to the sea.
The asphalt is an emulsion of water, gas, bitumen, and mineral matter, the latter consisting largely of fine silica sand and a lesser amount of impalpably fine clay. In some parts of the Lake, there is a small influx of soft material. This is accompanied by a stronger evolution of gas consisting principally of methane, carbon dioxide, and also hydrogen sulphide. This influx gradually hardens and becomes like the main deposit of the asphalt. As this occurs fresh material breaks out elsewhere.
Although quiescent the asphalt still moves with a natural slow “stirring” action. Not only can the flow lines be seen on the surface of the asphalt, but prehistoric trees and other objects have been known in the past to have appeared, disappeared, and reappeared.
In appearance, the surface of the Lake is a uniform expanse of asphalt which is intersected by areas of water, the extent of which naturally varies according to the season.
This renowned “Pitch Lake” is the largest, commercial deposit of natural asphalt in the world. A wide range of products with asphalt from the Lake being the base ingredient: anti-corrosive black paint, seam sealant, underbody coating for automobiles, a pipe and metal guard, and bitumen emulsion.
The La Brea Pitch Lake is a tourist attraction and attracts about 20,000 visitors annually. People occasionally swim in the waters of the pitch lake which some say is therapeutic because of the sulfur content.
The best access is from the south shore. Dry two months ago (when the bed of the lake is black), there has been quite a bit of rain so it looked like a normal, but shallow lake. Weeds and lilies extend into the lake. There is a 2-3 inch layer of bitumen extending up from the lake and extending across the dirt road. On a hot day, it is quite soft. The paved road leading to the lake area is a roller coaster as the bitumen from the lake settles and houses often tip as they settle.
Icacos Point is the far southwest tip of Trinidad.
St. Patrick parish extreme west (M@P, XL. this is a long drive on slow winding roads with not much to see.
Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, Carapichaima. The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Indo-Caribbean culture. It is housed in the 1919 Waterloo Carnegie Library, near the Hindu Temple in the Sea. Founded in 2006, is the only one of its kind in the Caribbean region. Free
CHAGUANAS Fastest growing and largest municipality mostly populated by descendants of East.
Chaguanas Mosque. Established in 1885, it occupies the second story of a blue-painted building. Very simple inside, it has an unusual glass-backed mihrab and a nice one-piece carpet.
Caroni Bird Sanctuary. Located in the Caroni Swamp, a large mangrove wetland where the Caroni River meets the Gulf of Paria. The swamp is interrupted by numerous channels, brackish and saline lagoons, and extensive intertidal mudflats on the seaward side. This is a must for bird watchers. Several indigenous species nest including one of the national birds – the Scarlet Ibis. Tours generally take place during dusk as the Scarlet Ibis returns to the swamp to roost.
Day 3 & 4
TOBAGO Jan 1-3 2022
Tobago also has little to see except the area around Crown Point, the village next to the airport. And because of the country’s draconian Covid rules, even the things that might be minimally interesting are closed. The capital city of Scarborough is not listed as a NM Village.
On New Year’s Day, I flew to Tobago on Caribbean Airlines ($48 return, 25 minutes) for 2 days. I came here only because it is another Nomad Mania region, and I try to never miss these.
At the airport, I haggled over a taxi (90 TD), a rental car (300 TD/day with liability/collision insurance {deductable 10,000} and reduced to 250 with some haggling but with no excess insurance.
I eventually took one of the private share vans for 20TD and he drove me up Signal Hill to the guesthouse. I had found a cheap guest house (The Haven) for US$48 for 2 nights. On arrival, my choice was a bare room (tiny, a bed, bare walls, a fan, no wifi, no TV, no kettle, no refrigerator, and a cold shower), so I upgraded to get wifi and a kettle with a cup and hot water, but still no TV or refrigerator). The electrical plugs are too high to plug in the kettle so it sat on the garbage bin. No spoon for the cup and coffee were provided. No towel, no blanket, no shampoo. I paid in US$ and they gave a very poor rate of 6.1 instead of the real 6.77. As the room was now 280TD per night, with the exchange rate, I paid US$46/night for a real hell-hole of a place. The neighborhood was awful with no restaurants and only one poor store open. It was over 6 km into Scarborough. Oh well.
I have seen accommodation before (Siwa Oasis in Egypt comes to mind) where the basic room is so basic, that only a total loser would stay in one and one must upgrade to get even a semblance of amenities.
I required a Covid PCR for my flight on Monday, Jan 3 and the two labs listed were not open on Sunday, but did not offer a test anyway. On Sunday morning, I walked down to the highway, caught another share van into town, and saw the few “sights” in Scarborough. I returned to my deadbeat guesthouse and spent the day reading, working on my website, and napping a lot.
If I were to return to Togago or do things differently this time, I would definitely stay in Crown Point, the lovely small town right next to the airport. It has many restaurants, bars and guesthouses. As you walk from the airport, pass Stone Bay Beach with several eating places, the ritzy Coco Bay Resort, Woods Castle Holiday Resort (6390803), Jimmy’s HR (6398292), Jeffrey’s GH (6390617), Sewart’s GH (6398319) and past the turnoff to Pigeon Point Beach, Rainbow Resort.
SCARBOROUGH (pop 17,537) is the major city on Tobago, the economic and cultural centre, and the eleventh-most-populous in Trinidad and Tobago. Scarborough was the capital of Tobago in 1769 before it was unified with Trinidad changing the capital to Port of Spain. Scarborough is ranked as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most densely populated towns alongside Port of Spain, San Fernando, Chaguanas, and Arima. The city’s skyline is dominated by Fort King George, an 18th-century fortification named after King George III, which now hosts a historic and archaeologic museum. Scarborough’s deepwater harbour was built in 1991; before that ships were forced to anchor offshore.
Shaw Park Cultural Complex is the largest performing arts theatre in the Caribbean. The facility has a capacity in its main hall of over 5000 as well as conference and lecture halls. The city has a library completed in 2012, and Scarborough General Hospital was completed in 2014.
A ferry service links Scarborough with Port of Spain. Running at 25% capacity, it was booked out for a week. Like the rest of the island of Tobago, Scarborough is served by the A.N.R. Robinson International Airport located in Crown Point, 8 miles from Downtown Scarborough. Scarborough is also served by the Claude Noel Highway.
Tobago Historical Museum. Closed due to Covid.
Fort King George. In 1777, Lord George Macartney, British Governor-General of Grenada and Tobago, authorized the erection on “Scarborough Hill” of two barracks and double kitchen to house two companies of soldiers, together with capping the hill for a parade ground. By 1779 work was near completion.
In June 1781, Tobago fell to the French. By 1784 the French began construction of a fort on the hill, work was halted in 1785 and resumed in 1786 and named “Fort Castries” then “Fort Republique” and then “Fort Liberte” in 1790 when the garrison revolted. The British recaptured the fort in 1793.
Tobago was returned to France in 1801 but by 1803 was again a British Colony. The fort was then referred to as “Fort King George” after King George III, in 1804. On the 11th of October 1847, a hurricane damaged and destroyed most of the buildings. A garrison was maintained until 1854.
Today the fort is being restored and reconstructed and will be renamed Fort King George.
St. Joseph R.C Church. Built on exactly the same site as the old edifice from Spanish times. The architecture of the church would be considered simple gothic revival with buttresses and large lancet windows. The existing façade has retained most of the character of the original 1815 building. The original steeple was removed in 1947 having become unsafe and was taken down with the clock. The Gothic alter is engraved with several scenes each depicting an event crucial to the doctrines of Christianity, stained windows which were installed in 1900, the High Altar imported from Dublin made of fourteen types of Italian marble, a choir loft, and many other fascinating features.
The St. Joseph RC Church is famous for its cemetery which boasts the oldest gravestone in Trinidad.
Scarborough Botanical Garden. A pretty place to escape the heat, with a variety of flowering trees and shrubs, including flamboyants, African tulips, and orchids (in an orchid house) laid out over 3 hectares of a former sugar estate. At Christmas, extravagant fairy-light displays deck the trees and bushes throughout the garden.
Day 5
On Monday AM, I walked down to the Scarborough General Hospital to see if I could get a Covid PCR, necessary for my flight to Georgetown, Guyana later that night. I have had a cold and cough, had a thorough assessment (including being seen by a Dr) but was only offered an antigen test (PCRs are too expensive). I then made several phone calls to find where I could get a test and result within 12 hours.
The only place is Victoria Laboratories that has a testing facility with a result in 6 hours at the Tobago Airport for a whopping 1000TTD (€130, US$148). The facility is in a tent outside the east side of the airport. Tests walk-in before 11 am. Can pay by credit card. Antigen tests are 400 TTD!!
It is also possible to get a Covid test in Scarborough at the office of Dr. Tam in Scarborough (2884008) but I don’t know the cost and the turnaround is not as fast as at Victoria Laboratories at the airport.
I skipped the antigen test and went directly to the airport to get my test. I arrived at 10 am and thus had a long wait for my 17:50 flight back to Port of Spain, checked in my pack, and went for a walk to Pigeon Point Beach and Nylon Pool.
It is about 2.5 km to the beach. Walk through Crown Point and turn left. There is a lovely bar just where the road meets the beach and turns right (north) to follow the ocean. 1 km from the beach enter Pigeon Point Heritage Park and pay the 20 TTD entry to get an armband. I am glad I left early as with TT’s crazy Covid rules, the park and beach are closed at noon. The park is lovely with palms and flowers. This is one of the loveliest walks anywhere as the road follows the coast all the way to the point. Surf crashes onto the rocks and sprays onto the road.
Pigeon Point Beach. The beach has gorgeous white sand and blue, clear water with great swimming. There are change houses, showers, a few restaurants (the reviews are not great except for Lizzy’s). Swim or rent a surfboard for 30 TTD.
Bucco Reef and the Nylon Pool. Buccoo Reef is a natural coral reef on the North Coast of Tobago. Nylon Pool is an area of shallow water on top of the reef. The water is crystal clear and looks like fishing line nylon, hence the name. A glass-bottom boat tour will take you there and allow you to bathe.
My flight left at 4:30 for the 25-minute flight to Port of Spain. My flight left at 10 pm so I had a several-hour wait at the POS airport. There is no airport Wifi but you can mooch the Wifi at KFC or Subway.
I flew on Caribbean Airways arriving at 23:10 and slept in the Georgetown Airport.
Other Destinations on Tobago I didn’t see.
Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve. Tentative WHS (17/08/2011). Tobago is 316 km2 and the Main Ridge is the backbone of the island, cutting lengthways across two-thirds of the island. 3958 hectares of tropical rainforest specifically lower montane, lowland, and xerophytic rainforest – and reaches a height of 604 metres. The majority is lower montane above 244m. It receives the greatest amount of rainfall, the greatest exposure to wind, and the lowest temperatures, making it an Evergreen Forest. The lowland rainforest has copious growth to a maximum of 366m. The xerophytic rainforest is found on the southern slopes above 244 metres, and is the driest.
12-16 mammals, 24 non-poisonous snakes, 16 lizards, and 210 birds (White-tailed Sabrewing Hummingbird – both rare and endemic)
Oldest legally protected forest reserve geared specifically towards a conservation purpose established in 1776
A unique feature of the fauna of Tobago is that although Tobago is an island, the fauna is continental in origin since Tobago was once joined to the South American continent some one million years ago. In addition, it protects against soil erosion, encourages rainfall, and provides significant carbon sinks.
Courland Monument, Plymouth. This sculpture was built to honor the early settlers to Plymouth who came from Courland (now called Latvia) It was created in 1976 by a local artist and sculpture and represents “freedom”. The monument offers a great view of Courland Bay and is located next to Fort James.
TRINIDAD FACTS
Climate. Maritime tropical climate influenced by the northeast trade winds. The annual mean temperature is 26°C. The humidity is high. rainfall 2,110 millimeters (83.1 in) in June through December. The islands lie outside the hurricane belt.
Terrain. Trinidad has three distinct mountain ranges and Tobago is mountainous – the Main Ridge is 29kms long and up to 640m. There are deep, fertile valleys running north and south of the Main Ridge.
Demographics. Reflect the diversity of this southernmost country in the West Indies. It is sometimes known as the “Rainbow Country” or more fondly “a callaloo” (local dialect for a delicious dish prepared by blending a variety of ingredients). There is a wide range of ethnicities, religions, and cultures.
As of the 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Census, the population was 35.43% East Indian, 34.22% African, 7.66% mixed African and East Indian, and 15.16% other mixed. Venezuela has also had a great impact on Trinidad’s culture, such as introducing the music style parang to the island. Many groups overlap. For example, a “Dougla” is a person of African and East Indian descent who may identify as being part of either group.
Religion. Religion in Trinidad and Tobago consists of a diverse array of denominations including Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other Christian denominations, as well as Hindu and Muslim faiths. There are a minority of people who are followers of Traditional African religions, Afro-American religions, Orisha (Yoruba), Amerindian religions, Judaism, Sikhism, Jainism, Chinese folk religion (Confucianism and Taoism), Buddhism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Baháʼí Faith. Catholicism constitutes the largest religious denomination of the country.
The variety of denominations has followed this pattern for decades: Protestant 32.1% (Pentecostal/Evangelical/Full Gospel 12%, Baptist 6.9%, Anglican 5.7%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.1%, Presbyterian/Congregational 2.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 21.6%, Hindu 18.2%, Muslim 5%, Jehovah’s Witness 1.5%, other 8.4%, none 2.2%, unspecified 11.1%.
Culture.
There are multiple festivals featuring the music of the Caribbean and the steelpan, which originated in Trinidad and is the country’s national instrument. These festivals include the world-renowned Carnival, J’ouvert, and Panorama, the national steel pan competition.
Get In. By plane. Piarco International Airport (POS) on Trinidad, 25 km south east of Port of Spain.
Get Around. By taxi. ‘H”. One pays for an individual seat and the taxicabs are shared.
Maxis” have a specified route, 11-25 passengers. By ferry between Port-of-Spain in the north and San Fernando in the south. 45 minutes.
By car. Driving is on the left side. Reserve a car in advance. Criminals target drivers with an R plate. If planning to go to the other side of the island (Trinidad), get an early start and allow the entire day as traffic jams are not uncommon
Between Trinidad and Tobago: Flying twelve flights per day, 25 minutes each way. Caribbean Airlines (http://www.caribbean-airlines.com)
Fast ferry 2.75 hours. Conventional ferry 5.5 hours.
Festivals
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. Pre-Lenten Carnival. The annual festival is one of the most famous things about Trinidad and Tobago. On the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, thousands of costumed revelers parade on the streets in an annual street party dubbed “The Greatest Show On Earth.” Music from steel bands, with calypso and soca music. Booking well in advance is a must as the spaces fill up quickly.
We Beat Festival
Divali and the Divali Nagar*. The Hindu festival of lights, one night in October-November small oil lamps called deyas are lit on the inside and outside of homes and in public places. Divali Nagar has Indian song, dance, plays in Chaguanas
Tobago heritage festival*. Last week in July and first week in August, a two week long show of Tobagonian dance, music, story telling, culture and food.
Eat. Excellent and varied with Indian roots – rotis, Indian flatbreads stuffed with channa (chickpea curry), usually some meat, and other items (including green beans, pumpkin, and mangoes). Cheap breakfasts of sada roti and ‘choka’ – vegetables. Doubles are curried chickpeas in two pieces of fried bread with condiments, a roadside snack.
Phoulourie small balls of fried ground chickpeas, roast corn, cow heel soup, aloo pies (fried potato pies) and saheena (spinach dipped in batter and fried). Callaloo soup vegetables, crab or pigtail (not the most appetizing). Bake and Shark shark deep fried, served in fried bread and sauces.
Barbecued chicken popular
Drink. Mauby – bark of the mauby tree and spices is very refreshing and cooling, but with a bitter aftertaste.
Rum. Black Label and Vat 19, Old Oak by Angostura. Puncheon rum is stronger
Sleep. Guest houses.
Respect. Greet a stranger before asking a question.