s/v Nine of Cups Trinidad and Tobago

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Sailing southeast from Grenada, Tobago is about 85 miles... an overnight beat against the wind and current.  We left St. George's about 1700 and arrived in Scarborough at about 1300 the next day.  Not a bad passage, but we've been very spoiled by short dayhops between islands for sure. Until about 11,000 years ago, Trinidad was part of South America.  Tobago hasn't been attached to South America for over a million years.  As a result, each island has its own flora and fauna...part from the South America continent and part from evolution of its own island species.

View of Nine of Cups in Courland Bay off Plymouth, Tobago.  Trinidad and Tobago, although joined as one republic, are very different in nature.  Where Trinidad is very industrialized, Tobago is very rural.

We were fortunate to be in Tobago during the annual Heritage Festival.  Though everyone is welcome, the festival is for Tobagonians rather than tourists.  It is a celebration of their rich history and cultural traditions through storytelling, dance, music and food.  Shown above is the Ole Time Wedding.  The various items being carried signify wealth, homemaking skills and fertility.

Tobago has several species of bats.  Here are several fruit bats hanging from the rafters at the Arnos Vale Waterwheel Park.

Tobago's Carnival is also held during the Heritage Festival.  Although much smaller than the Trinidad Carnival, it maintains most of the same elements.  This is a Fancy Indian, part of the Carnival Parade.

Trinidad and Tobago have over 400 species of birds.  This Mot-Mot is one of the more brilliant birds.  Note the distinctive cutout on the tail feathers.

The Arnos Vale Waterwheel Park is a nature preserve on the site of an old sugar plantation.  The original waterwheel, about 20' high is intact and is part of a lovely restaurant in the preserve.

Steel pan music was invented on Trinidad.  When British authorities banned African drumming, the people made music from bamboo, thumped on the ground and reinforced with improvised percsussion.  During the 1930's and 1940's, this percussion - discarded biscuit tins and empty oil drums - became a new sort of drum, the steel drum.  Each note is tuned by hammering a dent into the surface of the steel.  Today's steelbands perform everything from western classics to calyso.

Port of Spain is the largest city we've seen since leaving Puerto Rico.  It is crowded and the traffic is heavy...like most large cities.  We enjoyed exploring the streets and neighborhoods.  Charlotte Street, for instance, has lots of shops selling housewares, as well as an Asian section, where the shops sell everything from dried mushrooms to crystallized ginger...Marcie's best friend when seasickness threatens.  The Red House is Trinidad's House of Parliament.