Trinidad,
1845.
The
white plantation owners had to accept the harsh reality
that progressives in London had outlawed slavery. It was
no longer not possible to use Africans as slaves. The
former slaves sang hymns to freedom and refused to work.
Hanging the whip on the nail, the landowners sought a
remedy. They sent ships to Calcutta in India, the pearl
of the British empire, to import thousands of Indian
farmers. The whip could work again. Ranjit, a thin
fifteen year old, light hair and sparkling black eyes,
his cheerfulness was incurable as well as his sense of
humor and courage was found guilty of having mocked his
master. The whip left its mark on his skin but not on
his soul. From that day he sang his grimaces in dialect
while dancing.
The calypso dance, as a means of expressing political
and social satire, had its roots in Trinidad. It was
born at the time when the slaves sang in dialect, making
a mockery of their masters. Mighty Sparrow, the King of
Calypso, was born in Trinidad as many other stars of
this musical genre. Today, as then, music coming from
India with the workers has become part of the repertoire
of Trinidad and its Carnival. The Carnival in Trinidad
is the Caribbean's most vibrant and wild, with its music
played on steel drums, invented in Trinidad half a
century ago using the hammered bottom of the old oil
barrels. In the streets of Port of Spain at night these
drums are played at full volume, especially in the weeks
before carnival.
Government:
Parliamentary
Republic
Capital:
Port of
Spain
Area:
5.128
kmq.
Population:
1.065.842
(total)
Languages: English -
local dialect,
hindi, french and spanish spoken
Currency:
Trinidad and Tobago Dollar (TTD)
1 TTD=0,126 Euro
Time
Zone: - 5 GMT - UTC
Documents:
valid passport
International Dialing
Code: +1.868
Phone:
phones networw are well developed, digitally and
all services are available.Prepaid phone cards
can be easily found at the airports and in
supermarket.
Health:
private structure are of good quality and
expensive, but preferable to public.
Electricity:
110 volts.
American
flat plug, Type B
(See image)
Not to miss:
In
Trinidad,
the carnival period the beaches between
Paria and Matura bay where turtles spawn
In
Tobago,
landscape from King George castle in
Scarborough, Pigeon point and Buccoo
reef
TERRITORY
North east from Venezuela (the western part of Trinidad is only 8 miles from the coast), these
islands, forming a unitary state, seems to
belong to different worlds.
Trinidad, rich in natural resources, is land of
oil, business, skullduggery, but also the cradle
of calypso, soca and steelpan.
20 miles northeast lays Tobago, peaceful and
ideal holiday spot, fringed by wonderful beaches.
But nature didn't make any distinction between the two isles, giving both a rich
profusion of flora and fauna.
especially Trinidad, the most southern island of the Caribe, covered with rain
forests,savannah and swamps
where hundreds of mammals, butterflies, birds, reptiles and turtles dwell.
among plants and flowers about 2300 species are cataloged: 700 orchids, 300
ferns and 370 different trees .
The sea is rich as well: most of all aroung Tobago, from big ocean fish passage
to innumerable
barrier creatures, 44 species of different corals and something like 1000
between flora and fauna.
Trinidad is crossed by three ranges of hills, culminating with Cerro de Aripo (
940m).
There is only one natural harbor, but all the bay of Paria gives good chances to
shelter from the sea.
Coastline is high and rocky in the north side, steep in the south and exposed to
strong surf in the east.
Beaches extends for 190 miles , the prettiest are in the north-east part; on
the contrary the southwest
waters are turbid for the discharges into the sea of the continental rivers.
Tobago has an extension of 300 kmq, 43 km. long and a ten wide; wild, mountains.
His volcanic origination translates morphologically in a single high hill
reaching an height of 550 metres.,
forest cover declining in white sand beaches edged with palms.
The capital is Sarborough, residents are little more than 50.000
CLIMATE
Although in the hurricane's
routes, Trinidad and Tobago are rarely touched and
enjoy a pleasant climate refreshed by aliseo.
Top season is the dry one, from december to the end of may, meanwhile the rainy
season begins in june and ends
in september; until december variable weather alternating sun and short rainfall.
Temperature in Trinidad raises from 24°c minimum to 30°c maximum.
A little big hotter Tobago: from 27°c to 33°c
