Tobago
06 February 2014 | Chaguaramas Bay Trinidad
Bert - Rain
Tobago is a little out of the mainstream of other Caribbean Islands. It is too far to sail in a day and too often a struggle against wind and current. We used the island as a fuel stop on our way to Guyana and Suriname, but this time we visited the island. Tobago is relatively a small island (116 sq. miles) with a population of only 55,000 people, but it is beautiful with beaches, mountains, rain forest, waterfalls green hills, low laying parts in the past used for plantations, steep cliffs and lovely bays. Tobago is also different than the other Caribbean islands in that it has no windward or lee shore as it lies at a slight angle to the trade winds. From December till the end of February the trade winds are typically from the North/East direction as are the Atlantic swells and this 'combination' makes most of the bays very rolling and uncomfortable for anchored boats. Store Bay is on the south west part of the island and is protected from a direct hit by the N/E swell by a reef system but the swell still comes in and we had to sleep on the floor of the main cabin. However, if the swell turns a little more to the north this bay is untenable and even dangerous, but we had a great time in this beautiful bay with its reef to the north and miles of beaches with the most famous one called Pigeon Point. The tourist industry is centered in this area, but even though there are many good to excellent hotels and small excellent restaurants it is a low key environment. No Club Med, but tourists that easily 'melt' into the environment. The airport is at walking distance from the dinghy beach and all the hotels. There is an hourly bus connection to Scarborough the capital city. From Scarborough you can reach any destination on the island by bus. However, the buses are not small privately owned buses like on the other Caribbean islands, but large touring type buses, with air-conditioning and very nice comfortable seats. The cost is only TT$ 2.00 (US$ 0.31) per person to any location. Along the road you will find many bus stops and most of them have a shelter. It seems that in past Tobago was connected to South America since it shares 210 species of nesting birds compared to most other islands that have only about 80. There is a circle road along the coast and a road over the mountains and rain forest in the northern part of the island. In the southern lower part of the island where most of the people live there are many roads and all of them are in good to excellent condition. It shows that although the oil and factory business is in Trinidad, Tobago shares in the relative wealth of Trinidad. Good schools, nice buildings, well dressed people all indicate that Trinidad and Tobago are economically in a better status compared to the other Caribbean Islands we visited. But like many of the islands the people are really what make these islands so good to visit. People are so friendly and helpful and they always have a smile on their faces. Tobago does not have the melting pot of different cultures like Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname but it is a real pleasure to be with them.
Although we were very tired from the 3 day trip from Suriname, directly after arriving in Store Bay we took a taxi to Scarborough to clear immigration and customs. We took the bus that was filled with school children back to Crown Point; the ride gave us directly a good impression of the low south area of Tobago. The following day Friday besides cleaning the interior of the boat we did absolutely nothing and tended all our bruises and pains. On Saturday we walked along the beach, Crown Point, the airport area and Fort Milford. Normally speaking we do not want to visit forts anymore since we have seen so many of them and in many cases they were in bad shape. The forts in Tobago, however, are different, most of them do not have much left in ruins like buildings and/or protective walls but all of them are very nicely maintained parks, with free entrance but with a security guard. Since the forts are of course placed on strategic positions all of them have spectacular views. Sitting in these fort/parks and looking around you is a real treat. On Monday we rented 2 bikes since taking our own bikes to shore in the dinghy from a rolling boat was too risky for me and we extended our tour along the beaches to Pigeon Point. Almost every day we eat in small restaurants and enjoy the local food for prices like US$ 5.00 for a full meal. Like all the other sailors we left our dinghy on the beach chained to a fence, but at no time we had a feeling that it was unsafe to leave the boat and/or dinghy behind. To spend some more time in Scarborough and to do some shopping e.g. for a phone card, we took the bus and walked through the city. Scarborough is an interesting small town settled by the Dutch Lampsin brothers and was called Lampinburg. The town is naturally divided into two areas, an older more picturesque section that is on the hilly side of the harbor and a newer part with a ferry dock, cruise ship terminal, a very nice boulevard along the coast, a market, a bus station, library and shopping mall.
We rented a car for two days, but actually we got if for 2 ½ days since when we met the car rental man at the parking lot of the airport and requested to have a car starting late in the afternoon and bring it back again late in the afternoon so we could enjoy the car for two full days; he was afraid we would not come back and he told us to take the car at that moment and pay for only two days. So without any preparations on routes and places to visit we took off and had a great afternoon. The next day we took the coastal road and circled the entire island. The road goes over every hill and valley along the coast and it is a constant turning in hairpin turns. The road is mostly in good condition, but very narrow and no visibility in the turns. We stopped at every scenic location and visited every bay and beach along the way. The scenery is beautiful with on one side the ocean and the other side the mountains with the tropical rain forest. Some parts of the road are within the rain forest and since the road is narrow it is like driving in a tunnel with trees towering over the road. A new water system was being installed in the north part of the island which meant that part of the road was used to put new water pipes in it and sometimes the asphalt reconstruction was not completed. When we passed a site where the water pipes were being installed I could not believe that we could pass this site, especially due to the fact that the pipe is put in on the high side of the road and I had to pass on the side looking down a cliff so high above the ocean that any mistake would be my last one. The road had only railing in a few places. The crew, however, told me what to do and we made it. I hope that the pictures we took we show you the beauty of this island.
The next day we visited the low south side of the island with all the beautiful beaches and open tropical landscape used in the past for sugar cane. The government took over one of these plantations and built a golf course with a beautiful hotel and private residential development. This is an area where we could build a home and enjoy retirement and that is exactly what quite a few English people do: Move to Tobago, build a house and enjoy retirement.
Two days after we arrived from Suriname in Tobago Pantxo and Arantxa sailing their 24ft boat “Bande A Part” who we met in Suriname entered Store Bay and anchored behind Lotos a 120 ft. Gaffelketsch from The Netherlands sailed by the owner Pieter (see our pictures). Pieter sailed this ship single handed from The Netherlands to the Cape Verdi Islands and crossed the ocean with two crew members with limited sailing experience. Just behind these two boats is the boat from Marco an Italian sailor who lost as he told me all his equipment in Brazil including his dinghy and he uses a small children’s inflatable to go to shore. I helped him to fill his water jugs on shore since the inflatable cannot handle more than one person (see our pictures).
Finaly the rolling in the bay got to us and although we slept well on board the constant responding to the movement of the boat became quite tiresome and we decided to leave for the next island Trinidad. We left at 6:00 in the evening just before sun down for the 70 miles trip. The weather was good with a nice strong breeze only we knew that showers were in the forecast and that the wind would go down. The first part of the trip with the wind from behind and a very strong current to the north we had a good sail but we went close to 35 degree off our intended heading. We jibed and sailed now in the direction of the north coast of Trinidad and due to the fact that we had now some current against us we lost some speed. And then the new moon went under, the wind went down and the rain started. A pitch dark night with no light whatsoever not even stars. Suddenly as we approached the coast we saw villages and oil rigs so we had to change course again and just as we completed this correction and had to take the sails down the coastal lights disappeared in the rain and we saw nothing anymore until close to the morning and we saw the mountains against the light from the very busy Chaguaramas Bay with all the commercial ships and rigs supporting the oil industry, the marinas and shipyards. But the first light came as we turned into the Bocademonos Channel and you get the first view of the Gulf of Paria and we realized we completed another crossing. We intend to stay in Trinidad for some time and will hopefully experience Carnival in Trinidad.