One island nation that I will always return to are the islands of Trinidad & Tobago. It has been approximately four years since I last visited these islands and though much has changed in Trinidad, Tobago has managed to elude them. Tobagonians are so protective with what resources they have that they have managed to preserve the tranquility of this tiny gem.
Tobago, the name alone conjures up images of aquamarine and turquoise vistas, coconut fringed sandy beaches, friendly faces, unspoiled beauty and serenity. A true island paradise, Tobago lies 33km off the sister island of Trinidad and covers a wee 300sq.km. Once under the British rule, the islands became independent in 1962. This tiny island has remained a little secret until recently as it is slowly being discovered by North Americans as a pristine dive destination.
Planning came sort of last minute, in traditional Trinidadian fashion. I tried getting in touch with some of the local resorts but without much luck. Finally I called up a buddy of mine, Val Kalliecharan, and asked if his dad had any vacancies at Ocean Point Holiday Resort for the three days I was going to be in Tobago. Luckily he squeezed me in. That was one problem solved. The second was getting airfare to Tobago from Trinidad. That was handled by Val's friend, Ramona, in Trinidad. In short, everything was organized and confirmed in no time at all and to these folks I am eternally grateful.
Leaving Toronto after a 45 minute delay and five and a half hours of airtime, I arrived at Trinidad's Piarco International Airport around 5:45am. By the time I collected my luggage and cleared Trinidad's customs I had missed my 6am connecting flight with Air Caribbean to Tobago. I had to kill 2 hours for the fully booked 8am flight on stand-by status. Air Caribbean is the local commuter airline to Tobago with daily flights every two hours starting from 6am. It's usually fully booked in the mornings but it's not unusual to have a number of no shows for the flights. Boarding the plane is another story as it is a first-come seating basis with no designated seating arrangements.
The flight lasts a short 20 minutes, flying over Trinidad's mountainous Northern Range and rugged coastline eventually giving way to the aquamarine waters of Tobago's southwest beaches.
Upon arrival, I quickly grabbed my luggage and took a designated tourist taxi out to Ocean Point Holiday Resort. There are generally fixed prices posted to various parts of the island posted so you know that you're not getting ripped off. Designated airport taxis drivers wear tourism badges and are easy to spot. You can take a local taxi by walking out to the roadside and "hailing" one down. The difference in price? My ride cost me $45.TT through a designated tourism taxi, a regular island taxi would have cost me about $5.TT. If you're in a group of two or more, take a designated taxi and save yourself some hassle. Most resorts have airport pickups but they need to be arranged in advance. Ocean Point offers free airport pickup and drop-offs but unfortunately I missed mine due to my earlier delay.
Ocean Point Holiday Resort is located on Old Milford Rd. in Lowlands, about 10 minutes from the airport. The nearest beach is a short three minute walk away. There is a kidney shaped pool and an award winning poolside restaurant onsite called The Best of Thymes. Ocean Point boasts 10 luxurious self-catering rooms with daily maid service, full kitchenettes, air-conditioning , 3 piece bathrooms, hammock and television with 32 channels. There's also laundry facilities and a sundeck to stretch out on.
The resort is owner run and managed and as a result it is on a more personal and informal level. There's no feeling of being rushed or forced into something. All activities can be arranged at the main office, from scuba diving to rainforest hikes, bird watching to catamaran cocktail cruises, golfing to deep sea fishing; name your pleasure!
If Ocean Point Holiday Resort can attract the likes of former Ms. Universe, Giselle La Ronde and the Prime Minister of Guyana, Ms. Janet Jagan, then they must be doing something right!
I think I've been a bit spoilt now after having eaten at The Best Of Thymes for three days in a row. I had the "Catch of the Day" which was Dolphin (no, no not the mammal) on the first night, the roast chicken the next and then the mouthwatering Caribbean lobster the last. No one does it better and their restaurant award proves my point.
I can't recall the number of times I've ran into Dewan, "Kalie,"; and his assistant during the day and been greeted with much concern for my enjoyment and level of relaxation. They're always genuinely concerned about my well being, if I was having a good time diving, if there was anything in particular I wanted to do or see etc. With so much attention and pampering, you can't help BUT feel like part of the family. I even sat down with Kalie for dinner once and we swapped stories etc. which made quite an enjoyable evening. On another occasion I was in the restaurant and had a very nice conversation with the waitress and cook. It was amazing to find out how much background we had in common as we got to talking about our childhood, when I lived in Trinidad. Too small a world!
Well, Kallie got me hooked up with Dive Tobago Ltd. and I was only at the resort for 5 minutes! My first dive was in 15 minutes, now talk about getting things underway. Actually I had contacted Kallie via e-mail prior to my arrival and mentioned that my primary interest was diving. Dive Tobago Ltd. is supposedly the oldest diving operation on the island. They're located just at the entrance gates to the ever popular Pigeon Point beach and offer free pick-up and drop-offs. I'm getting all my gear together; video camera, housing, regs, fins, wetsuit etc. when I get a knock at the door. It was Kallie, turns out that my ride had arrived. I was all ready, then it hit me, my swimsuit was still locked in my dive bag, which had cable ties around the zipper. To make a long story short, I slit one of my fingers trying to cut the cable tie off with a knife, which I successfully managed to do but also stabbed a hole in my bag at the same time.
As I walked towards the office with all my gear slung over my shoulder, this silly piece of white toilet paper wrapped around my bleeding finger, she hit me (figuratively), my ride to the dive shop. There she stood this tall, well brazen barefoot blonde in a one piece swimsuit with a batik wraparound skirt. Turns out that Elizabeth was a divemaster for the dive shop and though originally from Halifax, had been living in Tobago for the past seven months. We get talking during the short drive and she informs me on the good sites which included a recently sunk 350' car ferry that I should dive. For the rest of my stay, we get to talking like old friends, talking about past diving experiences, island life, dive shop gossip, future plans etc. A very charming, realistic, down to earth type of person.
At the dive shop, I'm introduced to Jimmy, the founder and retired owner of Dive Tobago Ltd.; Ken, a local dive master and ex-New Yorker; Jimmy's son Jay, the new owner under guidance of his father; Florette (Flo), Elizabeth's friend from Halifax and the rest of the crew.
Most of the diving in Tobago is done through the use of a small, sturdy boat called a pirogue. Due to it's geographic location, Tobago marks the mixing point where the Caribbean Sea meets the cool Atlantic Ocean and as a result the majority of the diving here are drift dives. The currents are strongest at the North Eastern end of the island around the village of Speyside than it is around the South Western end. The best time to dive Tobago are during the months of November till early June where the visibility can exceed 100'. During the rainy months, visibility averages 50' to 60'. Currently a new artificial reef project is underway to help boost marine life, take stress off the coral reefs and attract more divers. The first of this endeavor was the sinking of the car ferry, Scarlet Ibis in May (see below).
The last time I was in Tobago back in 1994, I did all of my diving around Speyside. This time I decided to stay around the Crown Point area which is on the opposite end of the island.
Here are some of the dives I did while in Tobago, keeping in mind that I was travelling during the peak of the rainy season:
Flying Reef is probably my favorite reef dive here. The average depth is around 50 feet with visibility during my stay around 60 feet. The first 15 feet had average visibility around 8 feet but once you're past the halocline, the visibility increases. Water temp was around 82F. The coral here is in immaculate condition despite the diving boom in the past couple years. Lots of large sponges, sea fans, elk horns and other varieties abound. Marine life is not in short supply here as it is common to see large southern stingrays, parrot fish and huge lobsters. Unfortunately I screwed up my camera settings and didn't get to shoot any video. This is considered a drift dive and though it may be slow and sluggish in some areas, it does pick up occasionally.
Scarlet Ibis is a recently sunk car ferry that connected Trinidad to Tobago. She measures 350 feet long and lies at a depth of 100 feet just about ¾ of a mile off Mt. Irvine Beach Resort. The visibility here averaged 40 to 50 feet. All the doors and hatchways have been removed for increased safety. Wreck penetration ranges from beginner to intermediate. Her loading deck is wide open and makes penetrations and exploration easy. If you're trained in wreck diving and got some of your lines, you can venture into her lower decks and engine room. The pilot house and passenger areas are interesting areas of exploration. Most of the ship's salvageable machinery like her instruments, lifeboats, benches and screws have been removed. Being underwater for just under two months to my visit, she has attracted much marine life as well as coral growth. Arrow crabs are prolific and can be found in almost every crack or pipe on the wreck. Large (and I mean LARGE!) schools of baitfish swarm the decks and seems to put on quite a ballet as they move in unison avoiding the deadly jaws of the large Jacks that feed on them. If you're looking for large southern stingrays, they're usually hanging out around the sandy bottom. There's usually a slight current on this dive but it is known to pick up on some occasions. Take a dive light with you!
Kariwak Reef lies about 100 yards off the Crown Point Beach Resort at Store Bay. It makes an easy shore or snorkel dive but fly a diver down flag to ward off boating traffic. Average depth here is 45 feet with visibility around 20 feet. This is a patchwork of large coral heads with mostly juvenile fish and lots of lobsters. I'm told that it's a great place to find sleeping turtles and nurse sharks. Currents here are almost non-existent but subjected to swells.
Mt. Irvine Wall lies about 75 yards off Mt. Irvine beach and can done as a shore dive. It comprises of rocky outcroppings jutting out into the sea. Average depth is around 50 feet with visibility around 20 to 30'. Though not a true wall dive, it makes an interesting dive with swimthroughs and crevasses to explore. I'd recommend bringing a dive light to peek into some of the cracks in the rocks. It's pretty eerie to shine your light into a crack only to find about 8 odd pairs of eyes and feelers looking right back at you. Lots of French angels, puffers, sea cucumbers, parrots and trumpet fish to keep the macro photographer busy here. Coral growth here isn't as great as some of the earlier reefs.
Magistant Reef lies somewhere around the airport's runway and it takes GPS or LORAN coordinates to find it. It was unfortunate that we caught the end of the reef and messed up this dive. Average depth was 35 feet with visibility around 60-80 feet. Although we missed the reef, we managed to find two nurse sharks and a large southern stingray all within five minutes of the start of the dive!
I've had a lot of fun while in Tobago meeting new people, making new friends and enjoying the local cuisine and culture. I can't say this enough but Trinbagonians are some of the most friendliest and most hospitable people I've ever met. My sincere thanks to Val and Ramona for setting up my accomodiations and connecting flight; to Dewan and his assistant for their warm hospitality and company; to the staff at the Best Of Thymes restaurant; to Ken (thanks for the tea and cake!), Elizabeth, Jay and the gang at Dive Tobago Ltd. Thanks guys!