planning to heading directly to
Tobago, which is the more resort-like
of the two islands. (Both are in the
Caribbean, at the "very bottom," close
to Venezuela.) Not realizing that
everyone in T&T was also traveling, I
ended up stuck on Trinidad.
The islands are among the wealthiest
in the Caribbean, due to access to
nearby oil deposits. Thus there is a
lot of industry, including oil refineries,
but unfortunately, also a lot of poverty.
A surprisingly large Indian (as in
Asian Indians) population resides in
T&T, having been shipped there a
hundred or so years ago to work on
the sugar and other plantations.
Many have been in T&T long enough
that while they are still Indian in
culture, they are not Indian in
language. Assimilation affects
everyone everywhere!
Trinidad does have beautiful
beaches, but you do have to drive a bit
to get to them. Otherwise, you can
always drive over to "Pitch Lake,"
which is a naturally occurring (pretty
solid) bed of "pitch" or asphalt -- a
side-effect of the petroleum deposits
in the area.
Otherwise, T&T is famous for being
the origin of the steel drum, which is
the only unamplified instrument
invented in the 20th century.
Interesting, eh?
Maybe I'll make it to Tobago one of
these days.
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