Trinidad And Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

The beaches here give me a sense of what heaven would be like. As I walk in the pure white sand, I compare it to the white clouds of heaven. While looking out into the water, I cannot tell the where the Caribbean Sea begins and the clear blue sky ends. Continuing to walk along the beach I come across two tall palm trees that grow over each other, creating an arch; that is my gate to heaven. The ebb and flow of the small waves creates a soothing rhythm as I continue to walk the sandy clouds of my heaven. The laughter of the natives along tourists sparkles throughout the beach like I imagine the angels' chat with folks that have passed on. This is my heaven; this is the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The idea of visiting Trinidad came while back home in Savannah. I was lounging around channel surfing when I came across a broadcast of a festival that most Caribbean islands participate in, Carnival. Being the party animal I am; I quickly began to search the internet for the island that had the biggest Carnival celebration. After an hour of searching the web, I eliminated island after island due to their overall cost for me to stay. The place that had the biggest bang for my buck was Trinidad and Tobago. I also found their official dates for Carnival, February 27th and 28th. But, I didn't go just by the information the internet gave me, I was able to talk to a native of the island. Brandi Tookes, my Trinidadian friend, said:

During the Carnival Festival, Trinidad gives you a party atmosphere like no other in the world. There, you will see more of the everyday culture of the islanders. On the more traditional vacationer side, Tobago gives you the extreme tropical paradise with its beautiful beaches backed dropped with a chain of mountains, called Main Ridge, which are covered with rain forests.

This is all Brandi had to say to confirm my decision to go to the island paradise. And what a good decision it was.

The preparations for my trip started with price shopping for the most competitive airfare, hotel, and possibly a rental car. The internet is a blessing for those who travel a lot. This is my main tool for pricing out expenses of my trip. I began by using expedia.com for my airfare. Depending on the date of departure, most tickets averaged about $1100 for one roundtrip ticket from Savannah, Georgia to Trinidad and Tobago's capital city of Port of Spain. If this seems expensive, don't worry, I found that prices vary depending on your departure location.

Since Trinidad and Tobago are vacation spots, hotels can be expensive. The average rate for a room at a five star hotel with one king size bed is $130 per night. Since I want to stay for ten days, I want more money to spend in town and not on hotels. This is where shopping around provided the best prices. Again, using the internet I was able to find the names, phone numbers, and email addresses to contact the hotels. At www.visittnt.com, I found a plethora of hotels on both islands from all prices ranges. Depending on how you want to be accommodated, you can get rooms as cheap as $20 a night. I am not one who needs to be pampered when I have a room, but I do not want to sleep on a cot either. At $40 USD a night, Par Ma La's Inn was by far was the best deal. Also, I found that if you give the hotels a call, they will usually work with their prices to give a better deal. This is important to me since I have more money to spend.

I thought about getting a rental car but realizing the size of the island and the availability of taxis and other transportation, I decided against. Again, I want more money for other souvenirs and others things of such. There are a lot of different travel agencies that provide travel packages that include airfare, hotels, and sometimes even rental cars. But personally, I'd rather do my own work simply because you can find a better deal if you are willing to look for it.

On the February 24th, I landed at Port of Spain in Trinidad. I caught a taxi to my hotel which wasn't more than two miles from the airport. While riding in the taxi, I asked the driver where would be the good place to eat near my hotel. With his Caribbean accent he replied, "Der be a place two er tree blocks from te otel. Ten again dat depends on wat cha like to eat." Though his accent didn't pronounce the letter "h," it was quite understandable. Though English is the country's official language, the people of Trinidad and Tobago are a blend of cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

The island of Trinidad was "discovered" by Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus in 1498. Though the island was first settled by Spain, its control has been shuffled from the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, with the Britain gaining final control in 1898; then given its independence on August 31, 1962. The island was a main port for the slave trade throughout these years. Descendants of African slaves and Indian, Chinese, and Portuguese indentured laborers, and immigrants from Syria and Lebanon make up the islands uniquely mixed ethnic culture.

At Par Ma La's Inn, a staff of four awaits my arrival. A petite, round faced woman wearing a flowered shirt and black short walks to the taxi and opens my door. "Ow are you doing? My name is Monique and welcome to Par Ma La's Inn" she says with the same accent at the taxi driver.

"I am doing fine" I say while climbing out of the small taxi. "I'm just glad to be here and I'm ready to enjoy Carnival."

"Well sir, our staff eere will do all we can to make your time most enjoyable" Monique says while another employee grabs my luggage, "Come, follow