Trinidad & Tobago -- Destination Overview
Author:
Staff CAPITAL: Port of Spain (Tobago: Scarborough)
POPULATION: 1.3 Million
CURRENCY: Trinidadian Dollar
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English
POLITICAL STATUS: Independent Nation; Member of the British Commonwealth
It is thought that 10,000 years ago, Trinidad drifted away from South America. For this reason, it has as diverse an ecosystem-many of the same plants and animals-as the mainland. The southernmost of the Caribbean islands, Trinidad is 1,864 square miles of mountains (the highest being El Cerro del Aripo at 3,085 feet), valleys and marshland. Waterfalls and rivers occur at regular intervals. A 100-acre lake of natural asphalt continuously churns near the town of La Brea in the southwest.
Port of Spain, the capital, is a modern metropolis with skyscrapers, a bustling nightlife and international restaurants. The people of Trinidad are a mixture of British, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French, Syrian and East Indian cultures.
Tobago, which lies 22 miles northeast of Trinidad, probably separated from the mainland much earlier than Trinidad. It has sheer cliffs and volcanic mountains covered in rainforests. White-sand beaches scallop the west coast. Buccoo Reef, a marine park of shallow coral formations, and the Nylon Pool, with its soft sandy bottom and crystal water, lie off the southwest coast. Tobago is considerably more serene than Trinidad-it's where Trinidadians go on vacation.
HISTORY
In 1498, Columbus came across the island of Trinidad just 10 miles off the coast of Venezuela. In the early 1500s, Spain colonized the island to expedite the search for El Dorado on the mainland. Although the British captured Trinidad in 1797, Spain did not acknowledge the loss for five years. Following emancipation in the mid-1800s, indentured servants immigrated to the island from several nations.
Meanwhile, on Tobago, a British settlement was founded in 1814. The island, however, changed hands more times than any other island in the Caribbean. In the late 1800s, the governments of Trinidad and Tobago merged. In 1962, Trinidad and Tobago were granted independence. In 1976, they became a republic.
HIGHLIGHTS
Trinidad's oilbird has the right idea-it only comes out at night, when the fun begins. Four major festivals take place on Trinidad: Carnival, a pre-Lenten fjte marked by calypso and masquerade parties; Duvali, when hundreds of oil lamps are lit in commemoration of the Hindu goddess of light; Phagwa, in celebration of the vernal equinox and new year; and Hosay, which memorializes the murders of Mohammed's grandsons Hussein and Hassan. If you are unable to attend Carnival, the National Museum and Art Gallery in Port of Spain has an elaborate exhibit of Carnival costumes.
DON'T MISS:
*Asa Wright Nature Centre, home to 150-plus species of birds
*Local treats such as roti and doubles-the best-tasting ones come from street vendors
Posted online 06/01/99.
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