f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

Touring
With its few remaining mile posts
jutting from its verges, its lichen-encrusted
abutments of long-collapsed bridges, and
the subservience of distance to gradient,
this remnant of the Paria Main Road
evokes our latent nostalgia for the slower
pace of past times. Many other ancient
trails still exist across the Northern Range,
connecting long-abandoned estates and
settlements. They are historical havens of
natural Trinidad where visitors of all ages
can walk, hike or cycle, camp, experience
our heritage and feel at one with the natural
world and its primordial divinity.
But there are other gods in Trinidad, the
deities of many faiths, and representatives
of the peoples that have come to Trinidad
over the last 7,000 years. Near Waterloo,
on Trinidad’s west coast, the largest murti
outside of India honours Hanuman, the
monkey god of Hindu mythology. Adjacent
to it is the ornate Dattatreya mandir,
housing other Hindu shrines and idols.
The colossal murti is the masterpiece,
from its exquisitely manicured toenails,
up past the massive legs, barrel chest, and
firmly upraised hand, the monkey face of
Hanuman stares in stately grace across the
Caroni Plains, eighty-five feet above us.
Not far away, the historic Hindu mandir
in the sea, is symbolic of and a tribute to
the religious devotion of a single man,
who many thought was crazy when he was
building it.
From high above, a small troop of
capuchin monkeys stare curiously down
at us. The forests of the Bush Bush wildlife
sanctuary resonate to the desolate, distant
roaring of a troop of red howler monkeys.
Nearby, the Nariva Swamp trills to the
delicate piping and whistling of hidden
frogs. And all around, within touch, within
sight, sound and smell, are the shrubs
and saplings, vines and lianas, the many
trees of this specialist community that is
a part of the largest freshwater wetland
in the Caribbean. The best way to see
and understand it is from a kayak, silently
gliding the narrow waterways, past lilies
and sedges, papyrus and grasses, wild
sugar apple and swamp bloodwood.
Dragonflies dart and skim, fish leap and
birds are everywhere. On Bush Bush, the
monkeys fall silent as a black hawk hunts
above the canopy.
With its patchwork of environments,
wetlands and plains, hills and valleys,
forests and grasslands, Trinidad has the
highest avian species diversity in the
world. We go south, to the Sudama Steps
to find Spotted Tody flycatcher, Red capped
Cardinal and Green Kingfisher. Then to
Chaguaramas in the northwest where the
hike up Morne Catherine provides a cross
section of forest birds—from toucans to
tanagers and hermits to honeycreepers. In
the northeast, in the village of Cumuto, the
Aripo Savannah hosts Red-bellied Macaw,
White-tailed Goldenthroat and Sulphury
Flycatcher.
Head to Central and take an evening
boat trip through the narrow channels and
open lagoons of Caroni Swamp, to watch
the Scarlet Ibis winging their way to their
roosts, where they perch like vermilion
jewels against the darkening green of the
mangroves.
The northeast coast of Trinidad, with its
extensive forests, is home to the Trinidad
Piping guan or Pawi–the only species of
bird endemic to Trinidad and Tobago and a
favorite sighting for birders. We overnight
at Grande Rivière to be ready for the predawn
walk to their habitat.
But Grande Rivière has another claim to
fame. From March to August, its beach is
alive with giant Leatherback Turtles. This
gently curving stretch of soft sand, less
than a kilometre in length, has the highest
measured density of nesting leatherback
turtles in the world. Local community
groups actively protect the turtles at
Grande Rivière, Matura and Fishing Pond,
and an after-dinner tour from Port of Spain
to Matura will probably see you back in
bed by 1:00 a.m., your mind still marveling
at the magically mystical experience of
watching an activity ongoing since the age
of the dinosaurs.
But come to the beach in the bright light
of day, and it is humans who dominate the
experience, warmed by the sun, cooled by
the sea and caressed by the sand. From
the long straight shores of the eastern
Atlantic coast to the remote bays of the
north, lapped by the Caribbean Sea, there
are beaches to suit all tastes, from pristine
to developed. The most popular, less
than an hour’s drive from Port of Spain, is
Maracas, its broad band of golden sand
protected by forested headlands. All find
a place on the beach, the young and the
old, the active and the lethargic; people
are running, walking, sleeping, sunbathing,
talking, eating and drinking, swimming and
surfing and just plain liming!
Amerindians from the Orinoco, came
to Trinidad from 5000 BCE, and since the
fifteenth century, Europeans, Africans,
Indians and Chinese, Syrians and
Lebanese have arrived on our shores. They
all blended in a mixture of vigour to create
a unique, vibrant culture of beauty and
talent, producing original music, innovative
cuisine and colourful art.
The gourmand’s culinary journey can
begin at Maracas beach with shark and
bake, where the highlight is the optional
extras, a lexicon of local salads and
seasonings. This will keep you satisfied
along the circuitous mountain roads to
Port of Spain and the suburb of St, James.
Here you can get roti, a mixture of curried
vegetables and meat, wrapped in a “skin”
of dhalpuri. And if you are liming until
early morning, try the optional breakfast of
doubles, available on many a street corner.
They are made from two small flatbreads
called baras covered with well-seasoned
channa (chick peas). But you do not have
to only eat on the street. Port of Spain has
numerous restaurants to suit all budgets
and palates. Indeed, it would require a stay
of many weeks to try them all.
To burn off all those calories, join the
morning joggers circumnavigating the
Queen’s Park Savannah. The land was
purchased in 1816 for the people of Port of
Spain. Initially a pasture for cattle, it soon
became the home of horse racing and a
ground for local and inter-colonial sports.
The Savannah is the first and largest
recreation ground in the West Indies,
nestled beneath the sun-bathed hills of
the Northern Range it continues to this day
to provide a beautiful and relaxing space
for formal and informal sports, runners,
walkers and lovers.
Port of Spain is our capital city, dominated
by the tower blocks of the waterfront
overlooking the Gulf of Paria. Just inland is
the main commercial area, an eye-catching
blend of old historic buildings and modern
construction, where the lunchtime limers
can relax on the broad tree-lined Brian
Lara Promenade, or stroll between and
beneath the jets of the brilliantly designed
new fountain between the wharf and the
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago