Tobago

Having left the Amazon and Brazil, we went to the Iles du Salut in French Guiana and then onto the Caribbean. This was my third time in the Caribbean, having been to Cuba in 2016 and to some Caribbean islands March 2019.

The sea was amazingly blue after the brown waters of the Amazon. A masked booby

Our first stop in the Caribbean was on Tobago. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago were granted independence from Great Britain in 1976 and 1987 respectively. They are the wealthiest of all the Caribbean islands. The adult literacy rate in terms of speaking, reading and writing in English ranks higher than that of the USA.

Scarborough became the capital city of Tobago in 1769 when it replaced Georgetown. Under French rule the city was named Port Louis. Scarborough is the biggest city on Tobago, as well as the 5th most populous in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the cultural and economic center of Tobago and has population of around 25,000. It is also the main seat of Tobago House of Assembly, responsible for Tobago's local governance.

The deep water harbour of Scarborough was built in 1991, before that ships had to anchor offshore.

I joined a couple of friends for a 2 hr taxi tour.

Firstly we went up to Fort King George, an 18th-century fortification named after King George III. There were some good views.

Some huge Saman trees. In Tobago they are known as samaan, in English as the rain tree. The Samanea saman  are native to Central and South America but have been introduced to southeast Asia. They are common in Malaysia and my friend Jan recently blogged about the rain trees at Taiping.

We headed across the island towards Plymouth, but stopped to take a photo of the the Governor’s house at Mount William. Although it is now known as The President’s house. Formerly the Governor’s house, the site was named after the first occupant, Sir William Young, who arrived in Tobago in 1807. The Governors of Tobago resided there until 1899 when Tobago became part of the Crown Colony of Trinidad and Tobago. Subsequently, it became the residence of the Governors who resided in Trinidad when they visited Tobago. The building as it is today of brick and stone, replaced the first wooden structure and was completed in 1828. As soon as we stopped to take a photo, a guard came out to see what we were doing, so our driver immediately drove off!

The driver later stopped to pick pigeon peas to show us -

We reached Plymouth on the northwest coast. There were sheep on the football field

Plymouth was Tobago’s first European community. It was settled by a group of roving Latvians, usually referred to as Courlanders, (the Courland River flows through Plymouth), then by the Dutch and finally by the British. Fort James is the oldest stockade in Tobago, dating from 1650. I liked the stones of one of the buildings -

There were good views over Courland Bay -

I enjoyed watching the pelicans diving into the water, but couldn't get a photo as we were too far away and there was never a clear view. But I managed to get these with the zoom.

I saw these brown pelicans last year in the British Virgin Islands.

We drove along past Turtle Beach at Courland Bay and through Black Rock. There were some beautiful beaches but by the time we'd asked the driver to stop for a photo, we'd already gone past the best ones.

Our next stop was at Mount Irvine golf course and saw the hotel and golf club.

Before we left the north coast we went to Buccoo. This village is known for its annual Easter Tuesday goat races. The Buccoo Goat Race began in 1925 as the poor man's alternative to horse racing. The races are held at a purpose built track.

Then back across the island to Scarborough. I was disappointed to have seen so little of the island. We’d only done a small loop and seen none of the rain forest which is on UNESCO tentative list.

I went for a walk around town. I got a bit confused, as I noticed the car registration plates were very similar to those in Malaysia, and both countries drive on the left side of the road. And then I saw a roti shop.  For a while I forgot where I was!

Whenever you get to a port, if you want free wifi, follow the crew, as they know where it is. But they also go to fast food shops such as KFC or McDs and they also go to supermarkets to stock up on crisps and soft drinks.

Street scenes -

Some beers. Dragon stout is from Jamaica, Carib, Guinness & Stag from Trinidad & Tobago,

I went to the bar for a beer. The bar counter is behind a grill!

I had a Stag, even though it's a man's beer!!! US$2 for a small bottle.

After that it was time to go back to the ship. A Carib grackle -

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