We had never planned on going to Trinidad & Tobago. Truth be told, tales of piracy and crime in the area made us a bit nervous. However, thanks to Hurricane Beryl, we ended up sailing to Trinidad and staying there for FIVE WEEKS! You can read about our experience before, during, and after Hurricane Beryl here.
We are so glad we made it to this lovely island, where we made lifelong friends and saw some stunningly beautiful sights.
Trinidad’s Culture
Something about the Trinidadian culture is really, really special. The people there are not just nice, they are REALLY nice and incredibly helpful. A Trinidadian explained to us that since the economy is not dependent upon tourism, the locals view you as people, not potential income. Moreover, he said, they’re “just raised that way.”
Here’s an example. We were dining at a restaurant near the marina, and the waitress came over and announced that a couple at a neighboring table had paid for our drinks for us. When we thanked them, the man replied, “Of course! Welcome to Trinidad!”
And EVERY TIME we asked a local for something and they couldn’t provide what we were looking for, they went out of their way to help us find a solution. Another example: we went to an HVAC store for a specific boat part, which they did not have in stock. Rather than send us away empty-handed, the employee called around to several other companies and personal friends until he was able to locate one in stock at a competitor’s store closeby. He spent several minutes doing this and stood nothing to gain from it, but we walked away very happy. Another time, I asked a man where we might find a taxi. He not only told us, but he proceeded to find a ride for us.
This type of helpfulness happened multiple times, in many different scenarios.
Shopping in Trinidad
Our first excursion was a grocery shopping trip. We traveled there using Jesse James’ Maxi Taxi Service. Jesse offers this service every Saturday at 7:00 a.m., and we took advantage of it on two different occasions. (I have not been compensated by Jesse James in any way, but you will see his name come up several times in this article because he delivers great tours!)
The market was HUGE and offered tons of fresh meats, seafood, fruits, and vegetables, all sold by local fisherman, farmers, and merchants. While Roy and I couldn’t bring ourselves to try the meat, we did fill our bags up with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, cabbages, and bodi, which we later steamed and found to be delicious. We also bought some spices from one of the stands.
We were there for an hour, which was the perfect amount of time for us to buy everything on our list. We then met back up with our maxi taxi and headed to our second stop: Massey’s.
We love Massey’s. It reminds us of the grocery stores back in the U.S., and we can usually find whatever we need. We consistently walk out with a few staples on every trip: shelf-stable milk (which makes for great homemade yogurt), New Zealand cheddar, and fresh bread. On this occasion, we even used the onsite pharmacy, which was quite convenient.
A few days later, we rented a car from Simone of Progressive Rentals (+1 868 763‑7316) for the weekend. We knew her husband, Amos, from our volunteer work after Hurricane Beryl, and we think they’re great people. Simone met us at Power Boats with a sparkling-clean bright-blue SUV. Perfect! We celebrated our new-found mobility with a trip to some hardware stores.
Now a quick diversion. We had heard that Trinidad has its share of crime, but we never felt unsafe there. But on this day, we encountered a situation that came close. We were heading to a big box store in Port of Spain when we were stopped by some policemen with their fingers poised on the triggers of their assault rifles. They told us they were running some “drills” in the area and asked us to turn around.
In retrospect, the area did look a bit questionable. We happily complied and moved on to the DoItBest Center a few miles away.
After our hardware store stops, we spent the afternoon and the next day at some shopping malls. What a treat! We hadn’t seen malls since our last trip to the U.S., and it was nice to pick up a few things and keep cool at the same time. It’s funny how you appreciate the silliest things when you don’t have them.
We also went to the Gulf City Mall, Trincity Mall (touted as the largest in the Caribbean), and the Long Circular Mall, which is laid out exactly like it sounds. It was quite a mall tour!
The Bamboo Cathedral in Chaguaramas
Now it was finally time to see some of the beauty of the island! Our first stop: The Bamboo Cathedral. Despite the stifling heat, we hiked around for half a day and eventually made our way up to the top, where the satellite station is. My favorite part was seeing the monkeys at the trailhead.
We had wanted to see the airplane wreckage, but due to the late hour, we decided to move on to Maracas Beach before it got dark.
It took us a little over an hour to drive there and believe me: it was a white-knuckle ride. We found ourselves dodging head-on collisions, negotiating around some pretty impressive potholes, rounding sharp switchbacks, and staring down steep cliffs. Add to this the fact that they drive on the left in Trinidad & Tobago, and it was a sporty ride, indeed!
Maracas Beach: The Prettiest Beach in Trinidad
Maracas Beach is a nice beach brimming with locals and covered by gorgeous powdery-white sand. As we were leaving, a friendly local man offered Roy some rum. Then we noticed that a lot of people had drinks in their hands.
Are they really going to drink rum and then get on THAT road? we wondered. Yikes!
The trip back home was scarier than the ride there because it was now getting dark. The icing on the cake came at the end, when a van decided to avoid some traffic by pulling into our lane, head on, which sent our car careening onto the muddy shoulder. Needless to say, we were glad to get back to our boat.
All complaints aside, it really was a great day!
A Taste of Trinidad
Our next “Members Only” excursion was “A Taste of Trini,” an epic 12-hour day with five other cruiser couples that took us all over the island. We sampled 54 foods that day. FIFTY-FOUR! And although our bellies were stuffed before lunchtime, we somehow found a way to sample all the deliciousness.
Throughout the day, Jesse did a great job of filling us up with information about the towns we drove through, including the one he grew up in. That man is a fount of knowledge about all things Trinidad! We laughed and ate all day long.
Caroni Bird Sanctuary and a Bonus Historic Tour
Our last “Members Only” excursion was to the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, and what a beautiful day it was!
It took about an hour for us to drive there, and along the way, Jesse showed us the “Magnificent Seven” and the “Queen’s Oval,” the second-largest cricket stadium in the Caribbean. You can read more about the Magnificent Seven here.
When we arrived at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Jesse pointed out a Mimosa pudica—a plant that shrinks when you touch it. Fascinating!
We then boarded a wooden tour boat and floated through the peaceful mangroves, where we saw herons, a boa constrictor, and even silky anteaters in their natural habitats. When we arrived at a clearing, we watched the large flock of flamingos gathered there and then tied our boat to a post and ate freshly prepared peppered pineapple while we waited for the national bird, the Scarlet Ibis, to make an appearance.
Sure enough, right at sunset they started flying by in droves! We felt really fortunate to see these colorful birds because they can ONLY be found in Trinidad and nowhere else in the world.
We ended the day with ice cream (peanut butter-flavored for me and cherry vanilla for Roy). A perfect ending to a perfect day! We had very mixed emotions leaving Trinidad & Tobago. The people were so genuinely nice there, and it offered a lot of great amenities. But it was time to move on and reinhabit our slip back in Grenada, so with one last task at hand, we loaded our boat up with relief supplies and headed toward Union Island.
We would definitely recommend Trinidad & Tobago to anyone who has ever considered going there. Just follow the usual safety precautions and keep your wits about you. If you look for the beauty, you will find it.
llcscl