Tobago

HIGHLIGHTS

• Birding in the Asa Wright Nature Centre, home to 150-plus species of birds
• Sampling local treats such as roti and doubles from street vendors
• Dancing in Trinidad's panyards

OVERVIEW

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. The fact that these festivals are equally import to the locals is reflective of the country's multi-cultural composition and worldly view.

Port of Spain, Trinidad's 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.

It is thought that 10,000 years ago, Trinidad began drifting away from South America to its current position 10 miles north of Venezuela. For this reason, it has as a diverse ecosystem - many of the same plants and animals - as the continental 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.

Tobago, low key and underdeveloped, is considerably more serene than Trinidad - it's where Trinidadians go on vacation to escape the cosmopolitan pace of their own island.

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.

GEOGRAPHY

Climate:
Tropical climate with average maximum temperatures of 89º F. Tobago's temperatures are cooler, owing to the more constant north east trade winds. There is a dry season from January to May and a wet season from June to December. Annual rainfall is about 40 inches over most of the country. Trinidad and Tobago is just south of the hurricane belt.

HISTORY

Columbus came across the island of Trinidad in 1498. 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 was granted independence. In 1976, it became a republic.