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Published: March 15th 2013
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By the time the plane cleared Trinidad and was over the ocean, we were already starting our descent to Tobago. While Port of Spain was a convenient launching site for our mountain rainforest and mangrove swamp adventures, I can’t imagine it as a tourist destination. For good reason. As opposed to the rest of the Caribbean which is largely tourism based, Trinidad is oil-economy based. No big surprise with Venezuela as its neighbour. Only steel mill in the Caribbean for example. From solely a tourismo point of view con is that the city caters to the business and worker crowd and not the tourist crowd. Good in that there is not the same sense of hostility I have felt elsewhere as a middle-class white tourist in other people’s country where they depend on “my” tourist dollars. Also, no private beaches which is cool in that all the beaches belong to whomever happens to be there at the time in stark contrast to other experiences I have had where the best beaches are tourist-only beaches. But I digress…
Tobago is a protected rainforest highland surrounded by beach and rocky coastline with little industry beyond fishing and some agriculture. Beautiful doesn’t come
close. Laid back friendly culture where most people expect you to say hi, or “alright” and chat, which we certainly have been doing.
We are lucky to have what seems universally seen (myTobago and Trip Advisor) as the most wonderful accommodation on Tobago. Castara Retreats has seven lodges and is described as “the standard by which all other coastal Tobagan resorts are judged”. Our digs, “Birdsong” is a huge two-story villa built into the mountainside with the beach below and rainforest behind. Made from sustainable locally-sourced yellow cypress and utterly al fresco concept. No air conditioner because it is built to catch the prevailing breezes and except for under the palatial mosquito-netted bed everything is open air – we’ve had blue-gray tanager birds in the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and sitting areas. But no bugs thuis far. What a space- two levels with lots of decks, sunning spaces and viewing areas.
Wednesday evening is African drumming night at the boathouse restaurant where we feasted on goat curry, coconut squid, garlic prawns and bbq chicken. Our walk back after watching a guy on stilts in costume dance to the drums was accompanied by a warm tropical nighttime downpour. Instead of
hurrying we strolled in the warm rain, soaked to the bone, and even stopped at a late night roadside fruit stall to buy fresh pineapple and mini bananas from “Bingi the Fruit King”.
Thursday, Marika celebrated her 10
th birthday with a walk into the village and breakfast at a local place, a gift of a steel pan instrument from us (used to be called steel drums), a walk along the beach roads for a couple hours, walk to a freshwater waterfall and pond we swam in, playing on the beach and dinner at the lodge where they surprised Marika with a birthday cake and coconut ice cream. And Porridge, who runs the resort, picked up a really great outfit for her, and a nice T-shirt for Will to boot. Marika was really surprised and had a great birthday!!!
Bed early as naturalist/enviro-guide Newton George is picking us up here at 6 AM.
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Stephen
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Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Marika! What a fantastic adventure you are on and a birthday in paradise to boot. I send all my best wishes - welcome to the "2 digits." Your classmates and I will drum you across the double digit threshold on your return. All your stories and pictures bring my memories of living and working in Africa and Central America flooding back. The boathouse drumming session makes me want to crawl through my computer screen and join in. Look forward to many unique adventures with my family in the years to come. Thanks for the inspiration!