t Embarking on a boat tour through the Caroni Swamp
t Embarking on a boat tour through the Caroni Swamp
Experience Trinidad and Tobago
Often shortened to T&T, the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is as physically varied as it is culturally diverse. Lying at the southerly end of the Caribbean chain, the islands have wild Atlantic beaches, calm Caribbean shorelines, and rainforested interiors. Due to their proximity to South America, the islands host an incredibly rich array of wildlife, in particular birds. Trinidad is partly industrialized, its southern half characterized by the trappings of the oil and natural gas industries that have long ensured the country’s thriving economy. Unspoiled Tobago, 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Trinidad and, at just 25 miles (40 km) long, tiny compared with its far bigger brother, focuses on tourism, with an emphasis on eco-tourism.
After colonization by the Spanish, Dutch, and French in the 1600s and 1700s, the two islands came under British rule in the early 1800s. Tobago in fact changed hands between the colonial powers some 31 times up to 1814, when it was ceded to the British. In 1962, Trinidad and Tobago became an independent country. Due to centuries of influx of African slaves, European colonial settlers, and indentured laborers from India, brought to work on plantations after slavery was abolished, Trinbagonians are an incredibly multicultural lot. Trinidad’s famous pre-Lenten carnival is the ultimate expression of the Trini identity, and a showcase of calypso and steel pan music, which originated on the islands.