f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

The Tobago
experience
Atlantic coast sights
Petit Trou lagoon, wetlands with
boardwalk through the mangrove, stone
ruins of sugar mill on the golf course, all
inside Tobago Plantations Beach and Golf
Resort
Scarborough (capital town since
1769, pop c.25,000)
Fort King George established 1777
abandoned 1854. Remains of powder
magazine, officers’ mess, old hospital,
cell block and water tank. Magnificent
samaan trees and palms alongside the
old colonial building now the hospital.
Tobago Museum housed at
“Officers’ Mess”, Fort King George:
Monday to Friday 8 AM to 4 PM, curator
Eddie Hernandez. Tel: 639-3970.
Botanic Gardens on 17 acres accessed
from the highway just east of the main
traffic lights.
Old Court House dating from 1852 in
James Square, upper Scarborough, used
by THA. There is also an old court house
in Studley Park.
Hillsborough Dam and Waterfall
accessed from Mt St George, also Craig
Hall and Mason Falls to the west of the
dam.
Fort Granby on the beach shortly after
Studley Park quarry.
Goodwood Genesis Nature
Park & Art Gallery on main road.
Entrance fee TT$60 or US$10.
Tel: 660-4668
Rainbown Falls Goldsborough side
road leads to Rainbow Falls, but only go
with a local guide.
Richmond 18th Century
Great House. Small entrance fee.
Refreshments.
Kendal Great House used by the
THA, visible on the hillside just before
Roxborough.
Argyle Waterfall turn left as you
cross the bridge west of Roxborough.
Visitors must use local guides for the
twenty-minute walk to the three-tiered
falls. Entrance fee TT$50. Swimming.
Cocoa Factory in nearby cacao
plantation, just past the entrance to Argyle
Falls.
Roxborough capital of the northeast.
Examples of colonial architecture in the
Court and VAT buildings on the waterfront.
Start of forest road that crosses the Main
Ridge hills with a lookout mid-way.
Louis d’Or old French Barracks on left
side of main road, followed by government
plant nursery.
King’s Bay Great House with
cocoa sheds, waterfall and beach facility.
Speyside Lookout across Tyrell’s
Bay to Goat Island and Little Tobago.
Little Tobago once known as Bird
of Paradise Island thanks to Sir William
Ingram’s efforts to colonise those exotic
birds on the island.
Goat Island once visited by Ian
Fleming, creator of James Bond, an
ornithologist who wrote a book on T&T
birds around 1984.
Speyside Waterwheel and
Sugar Factory ruins beside the bridge
on the road to Blue Waters Inn.
Flagstaff Hill Lookout used by USA
during WW2. As far east as you can go!!
Caribbean coast sights
Charlotteville with cocoa sheds and
Fort Cambleton overlooking Man O' War
Bay.
Bloody Bay start of Gilpin Trail
into the Forest Reserve, first track from
Bloody Bay to Roxborough and four
waterfalls along the way.
Parlatuvier small waterfall.
Forest Reserve protected since 1765.
Castara small waterfall in rainy season
only.
Mt. Dillon Lookout just after Norman
Parkinson’s old house
Golden Lane The Witch’s Grave—
Gang Gang Sara flew from Africa ate salt
and put on weight so she fell from giant
silk cotton trying to fly back home. Silk
Cotton (Kapok Tree) in question may have
been the one on left on the way down
Culloden Road!
Look out for the giant Silk Cotton trees with
their buttress roots and thorny bark—one
on the Windward Road after Roxborough,
one literally on the Northside Road and
one at the start of Culloden Road which
goes down to Footprints. According to
folklore, these trees are inhabited by
“jumbies” or spirits and must never be
damaged. In Suriname, the small trees
are turned upside down around a village
to make it invisible to attackers. Drive
carefully by…
Les Coteaux Highland Waterfall
(off the beaten track) after coming down
the big hill into Les Coteaux, turn left,
pass a lovely old church on the left and
follow the paved road turning left after
bridge. Park near the bridge and follow
track to falls on foot.
Franklyn/Arnos Vale Waterwheel
site of a sugar factory since Courlanders in
1670. Present ruins from British mill that
closed in 1865. Bar and Restaurant open
from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tel: 660-0815
Arnos Vale Hotel for bird feeding and
snorkeling and Amerindian remains.
Plymouth Fort James and mystery
tombstone of Betty Stivens, 1783
Courlander Monument by Janis
Mintiks 1978, in memory of Latvian
settlers.
Courland sugar mill and factory
ruins in residential development. Black
Rock old church with wood shingle facade
Fort Bennett site with only two
canons.
Grafton Bird Sanctuary from 1963
after Hurricane Flora, when owner started
feeding birds who had lost their habitats.
The Castle Museum on Kimme
Drive, Mt Irvine, houses Luise Kimme’s
sculptures.
Rocky Point, Mt Irvine remains of
fort and canons on the ground.
Buccoo Marine Park including
Buccoo Marsh for bird watching, Buccoo
Reef and Nylon Pool, protected marine
park since 1973.
Bon Accord lagoon, wetlands
and No Man’s Land (boat access
only).
Pigeon Point state-owned park with
white sand and turquoise sea.
Store Bay beach and facilities and local
speciality of crab and dumpling.
Fort Milford canons and remnants of
fortifications, just after the casino.
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago