Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the south. On the south shore lies Trinidad's oil industry, a
business that brought the island prosperity in the 1970s. At
over 1,800 square miles, the island is too large to be fully seen in
one vacation, It tempts return visitors with promises of new dis-
coveries.
In contrast,
Tobago
covers just over 100 square miles, and the
only bustling occurs in the city of
Scarborough.
Life here
moves to a Caribbean beat, with a leisurely pace enjoyed by vis-
itors primarily from Europe, especially Germany, as well as
Trinidadians on holiday. Goats graze in every field; coconut
palm-lined beaches offer quiet getaways; luxury resorts pam-
per guests with everything from dining to spa experiences.
Both islands are especially popular with nature lovers. Trini-
dad is a favorite among the world's birders, who come to seek
out species such as
toucans, hummingbirds, scarlet ibis,
and rare noctural
oilbirds.
In Tobago, divers seek out giant
manta rays near the village of
Speyside.
A
mong honeymooners, Tobago is the definite favor-
ite. Its quiet pace is one that Trinidadians say is “for
the newly wed and the nearly dead.”
Festivals
Arriving into
Port of Spain
just past midnight, we worried
that we'd oversleep and miss the start of the
J'Ouvert,
or the
Mud Parade, at 4 am. Were we silly.
Like a monster heartbeat, the sound of the throbbing speakers
shook our hotel room - and our own bodies. The room pulsated
to the beat of speakers on flatbed trucks on the street 10 stories
below our room, winding through Port of Spain. The Mud Pa-
rade was beginning. The city was ready to party.
Long before dawn, we followed the masses and headed out to
the streets. Heeding the warnings by those who had experi-
enced the Mud Parade in previous years, we wore old clothes.
Nonetheless, they were clean - all the better to offer a target for
the revelers.
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