TRINIDAD
Port
of Spain
the capital since 1757, is the most cosmopolitan
city of the Caribbean.
Lying on the hills that slope down towards the
immense Gulf of Paria, is a chaos of
gingerbread-style houses and shopping centers,
Hindu temples and modern skyscrapers, bazaars
and Christian Cathedrals.
At the center stands the immense - 80 hectares - Queen's
Park Savannah. The
closest beaches to Port of Spain are those of the
Chaguaramas Peninsula, in the extreme north-western
part of Trinidad. There are a series of small beaches at
the edge of the forest towards Marianne Bay. At
Paria Bay, a beautiful deserted beach, the air is
cooled by the waters of a waterfall. The north east
coast of Trinidad is the most beautiful, with an
exuberant nature and wide and long beaches amongst which
is Matura. Grande Riviere, is one of the
most peaceful areas of Trinidad, remote and quiet, where
nature is the protagonist and a fishing village of 350
inhabitants bearing its name is among the prettiest of
the island.
The west coast, overlooking the Caribbean, is a
mix of agricultural and industrial areas.
The
Carony Bird Sanctuary is a large extension
of salt marshes and mangroves, where more than
six thousand scarlet ibis live.
Pitch Lake is the largest of its kind in the
world, formed millions of years ago. It has a
circular shape, an area of 42 hectares, a depth
of 75 meters at its center, has provided tar to
pave roads around the world.
TOBAGO
Scarborough,
the capital of Tobago, is a big town built on a
hillside overlooking the Atlantic, is worth
visiting for Bacolet Bay, the most beautiful
beach of the southern side, in front of a
plantation of coconut palms.
Charlotteville,
noted for
its red-rooftop houses is on the coast where the sea
turns from Atlantic to the Caribbean.
Founded in 1633 by Dutch settlers in the spectacular
Man of War Bay, it is one of the safest natural
harbours in the Caribbean and the largest fishing
village of
Tobago. Turtle Bay
is
a long stretch of pale sand where the turtles come to
lay their eggs between March and August. The
south-western tip of Tobago gets narrow and has
beautiful beaches such as Pigeon Point, closed
and protected by the coral reef of Buccoo that
contains Nylon Pool, a natural swimming pool with
a backdrop of sand and transparent waters.
