Blogs from Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago, Central America Caribbean

We met a guy who knew a guy… In Castara’s Coffee Shop I asked a guy about taking us out in a boat. His name was Hilly. He arranged for a guy named Jed to take us out in his boat. Small boat, rough seas and an exciting trip along the rocky coast to picturesque Englishman’s Bay. On the way Marika and Will fished, but no bites. We put on our masks, snorkels and flippers and flipped out of the boat into the Caribbean Sea. Below us was an amazing coral reef. We saw more colourful and different sized fish than we could count. Endless groves of fan coral, dotted with brain and branch coral. Needlefish, banded butterfly fish, queen triggerfish, blue tang, blue chromis, sergeant major, scrawled cowfish, blue hamlet, harlequin bass, fairy basslet, indigo ... read more

Tobago sports the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere dating way back to the mid-1700s when the forest was protected as the watershed for plantations. Almost all Tobago’s fresh water comes from this rainforest. Newton George was the lead in protecting the rainforest for decades. Now he is known, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but internationally as the islands’ pre-eminent nature guide. He picked us up early this morning and drove us to the rainforest where he led us on hikes for hours. He caught and showed us a beautiful black and red coral snake. I always thought all coral snakes were venomous, but not this species. "The colours were cool and it was cool that it wasn't a bird after seeing so many birds", said Marika. Imagine carrying something as long as a ... read more

As Tobago was celebrating 50 years of independence, we were celebrating our second wedding anniversary visiting the Caribbean for the first time. We were not greeted by the predicted 'severe thunderstorms' when we exited the plane. Just dazzling sunshine and THAT humidity that knocks the sense out of the body as we shed our heavy clothing. Flora and fauna luminesce and assorted spraycan coloured birds play about. One can understand why camouflage is illegal to import here. Both of us are not advocates of the all-inclusive choosing the freedom of exploring and integrating with the locals as well as the choice of eating and drinking elsewhere other than the hotel. With the locals having 'independent backsides' as indications of unhealthy conveniences, the local fare didn't excite us much. The best meal of the week being an ... read more

the flutter of beauty When the first rays of the sun hardly start to struggle through the dark clouds hanging over the sea, the nature seems magically quiet. Everything around comes to a standstill - only light noise of waves, accompanied by rustle of palm leaves, can slightly disturb this silence. All around plays in magic colours and one can't help but take notice of these magnificent views. I enjoy enormously finding myself on this isolated sandy sea shore, surrounded by disorderly coco trees, lines of beach beds and few empty bars. It's really marvellous to stay alone here, feeling the charm and luxury of the solitude that nature offers. Overcrowded in the day and like deserted now, the beach is truly captivating. Time flies here. I have been walking for two hours already and now ... read more

So now that I am back in school (MBA) I get a "Spring Break", so this year for spring break Haley and I took a trip down to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). T&T are a set of Caribbean islands just off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the population. I was very interested to check out this somewhat off-the-beaten-track tropical island. It was a little more difficult to gather information and plan this trip because T&T is not a typical tourist destination…which excited Haley and me even more! We were also looking forward to finding a little culture down there, T & T’s demographics lean heavily towards "Indo-Trinidadians" followed closely by "Afro-Trinidadians". I ... read more