The Zuiderdam sailed into the harbor at Rockly Bay and docked at the cruise pier at Scarborough, Tobago early this morning. And it is the very first time we have been to this island. We think we visited Trinidad back in 2009, which is the larger island of this two island republic. Trinidad has pristine mangrove swamps and rain forest, side-by-side with oil refineries. On the other hand, Tobago boasts palm trees, white sandy beaches, as well as rain forest and excellent dive spots. In the early years, Tobago exported rum, cotton, indigo and sugar. And like so many other Caribbean islands, eventually those industries took a back seat to tourism, which flourishes these days.
Although this island is really about the nature opportunities, some of the historic highlights include Fort King George (1770 – 1854) smaller Ft. James, and a Mysterious Tombstone (according HAL's tour descriptions). The major dive sights are located on each tip of the 116 square mile island – most are at the Speyside location and the other sights are around Pigeon Point. If you were looking for those white sandy beaches, then Pigeon Point would be the best bet for dining, bars, restaurants, and public restrooms. One of the problems with our visit today was that it was a Sunday and many of these venues were closed.
The climate is warm (we would call hot) tropical with a constant breeze from the NE trade winds. Those winds brought some morning showers with them, taking folks by surprise. Since we had not left too early, we had the privilege of seeing a nice rainbow from our veranda. The average rainfall is 40 inches, and not necessarily this time of year. The island is a mass of coral and volcanic rock with a population of over 54,000. The capital of Scarborough has 1000 residents that speak English with a Creole accent.
There are about 220 bird species, some of which are migratory. They have 23 butterfly species and 44 types of coral. Five types of marine turtles migrate here to lay their eggs. They do have 24 types of non-poisonous snakes, 16 kinds of lizards, 14 kinds of frogs and 17 species of bats. Housing these creatures, there are wetlands, lagoons, waterfalls, mangroves, swamps, freshwater marshes and ponds. Who knew?
So if you could find a place to dine (besides KFC) the favorite foods here are callaloo, consisting of leaves of a tuber filled with pumpkin, okra, and seasoning. A snack called "doubles" is a curried chickpea mash in a soft fried bread. Roti, a very common snack in all of the Caribbean, is split pea infused flat bread with curried meat and veggies. "Shark and bait" is shark steak with salad on top with added sauces and bread. Local beers are Carib and Stag, always served ice cold. We struck out on enjoying those beers because nothing was opened.
Ship's tours were Tobago South for 3 hours for $70, while highlights and a folk show was 3 ½ hours for $80. Also the same price, a glass bottom boat and snorkel was 3 hours. A rain forest adventure for 5 hours was $115, and an island explorer with lunch was 7 hours for $160.
Last night we were given the new port essentials info and map. We had these same flyers while on the Tales of the South Pacific in the fall. Essential information is on them like we used to have with the small money exchange rate cards. Most of these flyers had local maps on the back side with some of the cafes, restaurants, and shopping areas close to the ship's terminal.
We left the ship by 11am, right after a rain shower passed over the island. Bringing the umbrellas insured us that there would be no more rain, and we were correct. However, when the sun appeared, it was really hot and humid. Passing through the small terminal, we picked up an island map full of useful info, then headed out into the melee of the taxi drivers offering us tours to anywhere. As usual, we were interested in walking with the Botanic Garden our final destination. Turning left, we walked through the closed Esplanade full of food and souvenir shacks. Not one of them were opened. Continuing on, we found the new "I Love Tobago" sign and took a few pictures. Some of the crew members were posing in front of the sign….something they love to do.
Walking the seaside road, we turned right and headed uphill, mostly because the main road came to an end. There was an imposing large building on the hillside with no name. We learned that it was a new Cultural Center. A few government buildings were on this street as well as a Comfort Inn. We came upon a main highway and turned right passing some mangroves and a creek. Looking down the hillside, we saw a flock of brownish-red sheep, tethered and eating their hearts out in the weeds. They are good for clearing vegetation, like lawn mowers. In our area at home, herds of goats are rented to keep the vegetation down for fire safety.
Off of this road, we saw the local high school and a lookout point at Marie Mountain. We knew if we followed the highway, we would locate the Botanic Garden, which we eventually did. It was located right across from their main library, which was closed today of course. At least we did get to see the park, which was still decorated with Christmas decorations and lights. The highlight of this park had to be the wall which was painted with murals depicting the past history of the island.
It was a short walk downhill to the cruise terminal. By then, we had done a three hour hike and were in need of something cold to drink. So we went back to the ship, picking up a colorful shotglass for a little momento of having visited this island. We ordered room service lunch, which was really good. Chicken Caesar salad, a roast beef panini, and a chicken quesadilla was just right.
The ship pulled out of the bay close to 5pm, and we were on our way towards French Guiana and Devil's Island arriving on Tuesday. It will be nice to have a sea day tomorrow.
Dinner was very good tonight. After our "cold" dinners we had last night, we were pleased that our waiters made it a point to serve piping hot entrees tonight. They promised to keep it that way every evening and we thanked them. Last night was the first time in all of the years we have been cruising that our meals were actually cold. If we had not spoken up, our waiters would have not known.
The entertainment this evening was a movie called "Air". Most guests see this as a dark night in the World Stage, but there was fresh popcorn served in the first 30 minutes of the movie, so all was not lost. Oh yeah, the clocks had to be set ahead another hour. We truly do not like that and we doubt the crew does either. But it is what it is.
Bill & Mary Ann
