Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago, 3rd edition. Ramin Ganeshram
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Columbus’ Anchor—Trinidad is one of the few New World sites where Columbus actually set foot. The anchor, found in a garden at Point Arenas and bearing the date 1497, has been largely verified to be from one of his sailing vessels and can now be seen on display at the National Museum.
Giant sculpture of Lord Hanuman (Hindu god), village of Carapichaima, Trinidad
Indo-Caribbean Day Trip
Consider an afternoon outing to Central Trinidad where you can explore the Indo-Caribbean culture of the island among several sites quite close together, including the Hanuman Temple, Indo Caribbean Museum, and Temple In the Sea. Afterwards, hit Chaguanas’s main road for a variety of authentic, locally made Indian handicrafts including red clay lamps, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and more.
Beaches
While Tobago is most noted for its stunning beaches that surround the whole island, including the famous Pigeon Point, Trinidad has its share of lovely beaches as well. Maracas Bay just outside of Port of Spain on the North Coast is a well-loved spot, especially on Ash Wednesday for a relaxing day following Carnival Tuesday revelry. Scotland Bay, which is only reachable by boat has serene waters and is almost always nearly empty—perfect for a tranquil swim and relaxing picnic. I particularly love the beaches on the little Channel Islands in the Bocas off the North Coast. Some include Gasparee Grand and Nelson’s Island, the former indenture immigration station. On Chacachacare, the former leper colony, the black sands of La Tinta are not to be missed. Several tour companies go “down the islands” as it is called, including Dive TnT (www.divetnt.com) and Caribbean Discovery Tours (www.caribbeandiscoverytours.com/).
Maracas Bay Beach is a popular spot for “lime” or hangout.
Music
Music may be the one thing Trinidadians love more than food. The islands’ musical heritage is rich and varied, a complex amalgam of East Indian, African, and natively created music styles.
Calypso—This unique story-telling form of music is thought to have been born from the tradition of African enslaved people who told stories and kept their culture alive through song. Calypso, especially in competition, is most often associated with the celebration of Carnival, brought to the area by French Catholic settlers, but Calypso is a year-round pursuit that has addressed all matters of Trinidadian life through the ages. I have found that you can learn much about the history and tribulations of the twin-island nation by simply listening to Calypso recordings through the ages (the earliest dates to 1912) with their political and socio-cultural messages cloaked in humor and contagious melody.
Steel pan drummer
Chutney—Credited to Indo-Caribbean musicians, chutney mixes Soca (percussion-based dancehall calypso) with Indian musical overlays, including singing in Hindi or Caribbean Hindi.
Parang—This Spanish music form is a testament to the eclectic culture that is easily Trinidad’s most valuable gift to the world. Parang comes from the Spanish word parrenda meaning “merrymaking.” The music, which features guitar, maracas, violin, and various Afro-Caribbean instruments, is sung in Spanish and is a well-loved tradition during Christmastime.
Steel pan—Another completely indigenous musical form, the steel pan or steel drum was created when the African drumming tradition met the burgeoning oil and pitch industry in Trinidad. Some historians date the earliest form of the drum to the mid-nineteenth century when bamboo-based drums that were beat on the ground were created. By the 1930s the discarded oil drums into which depressions were hammered were the first true steel pan. Today, entire pan orchestras play everything from concert classical music to American jazz and pan competitions are another hallmark of Carnival celebrations.
Soca—A recent introduction to the native T&T music repertoire, Soca emerged in the last decade of the twentieth century and is club or dancehall music that marries calypso with heavy drum beats.
Tassa—Not strictly a musical style, but an instrument, the tassa is an Indo-Caribbean drum made from a clay base and goat skin covering that is heated and stretched tightly over the base. The tassa is used at religious events and parades and the drumbeats are both mesmerizing and quite complex.
Eco-Tourism
Trinidad & Tobago has a remarkable array of native flora and fauna, hiking trails, and natural wonders that will delight anyone, from the hardcore eco-tourist to the erstwhile nature lover. Sites like the Tobago Rain Forest reserve—the oldest reserve of its kind in the Western Hemisphere—demonstrate that communion with the natural world has long been a part of the nation’s heritage.
According to the naturalists at the Asa Wright Nature Center in Arima, Trinidad has 97 native mammals, 400 species of birds, 55 types of reptiles, 25 types of amphibians, and 617 species of butterflies, as well as over 2,200 species of flowering plants. In the twenty-first century a number of efforts to preserve T&T’s natural wonders, including the endangered leatherback sea turtle, pawi, and red howler monkey, have started to see good success. Here is a list of some major eco-tourist sites on the two islands.
Inland waterfalls and their pools offer cool respite from the heat of the jungle.
Point a Pierre Wildfowl Trust—Call for guided tour times, (868) 658-4200 ext. 2512, www.papwildfowltrust.org
Asa Wright Nature Centre Arima—(868) 667-5162, www.asawright.org
Caroni Swamp—This mangrove swamp located on the west coast of Trinidad is the largest on the island and home to the scarlet ibis, found only in Trinidad and Venezuela. A wide array of mangrove flora and fauna are here as well. A number of tour operators offer guided tours of the swamp. Ask at your lodgings for recommendations.
Grafton Nature Sanctuary (Tobago)—On the site of an old cocoa estate destroyed by a hurricane in 1963, located near Black Rock Village on the North Side of the island.
Tobago Rain Forest Reserve—The oldest nature reserve in the Western Hemisphere, the Tobago Rain Forest Reserve was created in 1764 and spans the island’s forested Central mountain range.
Turtle Watching—Giant leatherback turtles are an endangered prehistoric species that return to the beaches where they were spawned to lay eggs. Hunted to near extinction for their meat, the leatherbacks are today in serious jeopardy of being wiped from the earth. Trinidad & Tobago are fortunate enough to be one of a handful of leatherback breeding grounds in the world. Visitors can observe them laying eggs in the spring. Nature Seekers, a community based non-profit in Matura, Trinidad, works with experts like Dr. Scott Eckert of UNC Chapel Hill, one of the foremost leatherback researchers in the world, to tag and protect giant leatherbacks as well as to aid the hatchlings into the water. The organization has made great strides in saving this remarkable creature. Nature Seekers’ work is a testament to the fact that community education and the dedication of the local people is the hope of an environmentally sound future. The group offers tours and nature education: Tel/Fax: (868) 668-7337, www.natureseekers.org.