The Rough Guide to Trinidad & Tobago

331 Pages·2011·41.24 MB·English

THE ROUGH GUIDE to
Trinidad
& Tobago
Carnival tips • Unspoilt beaches • Rainforest trails
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About this book
Rough Guides are designed to be good to read and easy to
use. The book is divided into the following sections, and you
should be able to find whatever you need in one of them.
The introductory colour section is designed to give you a feel
for Trinidad & Tobago, suggesting when to go and what not to
miss, and includes a full list of contents. Then comes basics,
for pre-departure information and other practicalities.
The guide chapters cover Trinidad & Tobago’s regions in depth,
each starting with a highlights panel, introduction
and a map to help you plan your route.
Contexts fills you in on history, Carnival, music, wildlife and
books, while individual colour sections introduce the great
outdoors and festivals. Language gives you an extensive
glossary and enough Trini expressions to get by.
The book concludes with all the small print, including details of how
to send in updates and corrections, and a comprehensive index.
This fifth edition published November 2010.
The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the
information in The Rough Guide to Trinidad & Tobago, however, they can accept no responsibility
for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or
advice contained in the guide.
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The Rough Guide to
Trinidad & Tobago
written and researched by
Polly Thomas, Robert Coates &
Dominique De-Light
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Contents
3 Central Trinidad and the
Colour section 1
east coast ......................... 155
Introduction ............................... 6 4 San Fernando and the
Where to go ............................... 8 south ................................. 179
When to go .............................. 10 5 Tobago .............................. 199
Things not to miss ................... 11
Contexts 263
Basics 17 History ................................... 265
Getting there ........................... 19 Carnival ................................. 274
Getting around ......................... 22 Music ..................................... 278
Accommodation....................... 26 Flora and fauna ...................... 285
Food and drink ........................ 28 Books ................................... 293
The media ................................ 34
Festivals and public holidays . 35 Language 297
Outdoor activities and
Language ............................... 299
adventure tours ..................... 38
Glossary................................. 300
Sports ...................................... 42
Culture and etiquette ............... 43
Harrassment, safety and Small print & Index 305
drugs .................................... 44
Shopping ................................. 47 Trinbago festivals
Travel essentials ...................... 48 colour section
following p.112
Guide 55
1 Port of Spain and the The great outdoors
western tip .......................... 57 colour section
2 The North .......................... 115 following p.240
3
왗왗 Bikini mas, Trinidad Carnival 왗 Blanchisseuse, Trinidad
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| CONTENTS |
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
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Introduction to
Trinidad & Tobago
Sitting pretty at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles
chain and just off the coast of the South American
mainland it was once part of, the twin-island republic
of Trinidad and Tobago is one of the Caribbean’s most
diverse and underexplored destinations. Best known
as the home and heart of West Indian Carnival and the
place where calypso, soca and steel pan were invented,
T&T is a cultural pacemaker for the eastern Caribbean.
The islands’ spectacular forests, savannahs and reefs
harbour a huge array of animal, plant and birdlife, and the
endless undeveloped beaches are some of the prettiest in
the region, from palm-lined white sand fringed by limpid
waters to secluded, wave-whipped outcrops.
Trinidad and Tobago are well suited to independent
travellers without being fully fledged resorts, and
because gas and oil (rather than tourism) are
the main economic earners, both islands remain
largely unfettered by the more noxious elements
of Caribbean tourism. Visitors are not corralled
in all-inclusives or holed-up on private swathes of sand, and the beaches
are enjoyed by both local and foreign holidaymakers. Sun and sea are by no
means the only draw here, however: no other Caribbean location ofers such
a variety of wildlife and habitats in so compact an area (Trinidad covers less
than 5000 square kilometres, Tobago just 300). In Trinidad, there are tropical
rainforests of mahogany and teak patrolled by howler monkeys and ocelots,
wetlands harbouring manatees and anacondas, and remote beaches where
giant leatherback turtles lay their eggs, while Tobago is best known for its
stunning coral reefs, favoured by manta rays and shoals of brightly coloured
tropical fish – and both islands have plenty of lovely waterfalls in which to
beat the heat. And with more than 430 brilliantly hued species recorded here
6
(one of the richest concentrations per square kilometre in the world), T&T
also ofer some brilliant opportunities for birdwatching.
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
The crowded and dynamic towns
and cities are equally engaging, with Fact file
fretworked “gingerbread” homes sitting
• Standing at about 1.3
side by side with temples, mosques, million, Trinidad and Tobago’s
Catholic cathedrals and Anglican population is around 40
churches. The many ethnic groups percent Indian, 39 percent
brought to labour in the islands after the black, 18.4 percent mixed-
race, 0.6 percent white and
slaves were freed in 1834 have given rise
0.4 percent Chinese.
to a remarkably varied populace, hailing
• With 26 percent of its
from India, China, Portugal and Syria
population Roman Catholic,
as well as Africa, England, France and
24.6 percent Protestant, 22.5
Spain. Though racial tensions are inevi- percent Hindu, 5.8 percent
tably present, Trinbagonians (as they’re Muslim, 3.3 percent Presbyte-
collectively known) generally coexist rian and 5.6 percent adhered to
African-based religions such
with good humour, and are proud of
as Spiritual Baptist and Orisha,
the multiculturalism that has so enriched
T&T is the Caribbean’s most
the life of the nation. This easy-going theologically diverse nation.
mentality is best expressed in the local
• The islands boast one of the
propensity for liming – taking time out highest literacy rates in the
to meet friends and talk, usually over a Western Hemisphere, at 99
beer or glass of rum. percent.
• The Trinidad and Tobago
economy is the most diver-
sified and industrialized in
the English-speaking Carib-
bean. As well as exporting
fruit, vegetables, sugar cane
and manufactured goods,
T&T produces an average of
154,000 barrels of oil and
115.2 million cubic metres of
natural gas each year.
• The Pitch Lake, at La Brea
on Trinidad’s southwestern
coast, is the world’s largest
natural reservoir of asphalt.
• As the southernmost islands
in the Caribbean chain, T&T lie
outside the region’s hurricane
belt, and haven’t suffered a
big blast since Flora in 1963.
The islands are susceptible to
earthquakes, however, with
minor tremors occurring at an 7
average of one a month.
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| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO
왖 Northern Range forest, Trinidad
Feeding of from the party-hard ethic is an electrifying music scene that
rivals even that of Jamaica. T&T is the birthplace of calypso and the more fast-
paced soca, as well as that quintessential sound of the Caribbean, the steel pan;
you’ll hear plenty of all three year-round, but especially during the republic’s
most famous party, its annual pre-Lenten Carnival. During this unique and
explosive event, the no-holds-barred debauchery of opening night Jouvert
celebrations is followed by two days of pure joy as 5000-strong bands of intri-
cately costumed revellers take to the streets in a celebration of life.
Where to go
ound together for the convenience of the British empire, Trinidad
and Tobago are vastly diferent places. Trinidad ofers culture,
ethnic diversity, music, clubs, great food, pristine rainforest and a
Bwealth of undeveloped beaches. Tobago is more of a conventional
Caribbean resort, with busy strips of white sand and hotels of every stripe,
as well as plenty of bars, restaurants and places to dance under the stars. It’s
impossible to get a full picture of T&T without visiting both islands, but
regular and inexpensive plane and ferry services between the two make it
easy to see the best of each even during a short stay.
8
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왔 Sunday School
| INTRODUCTION | WHERE TO GO | WHEN TO GO