The Twinned Caribbean Islands of Trinidad and Tobago May Be Separated

EXPERIENCES The annual carnival in Trinidad is one of the Caribbean’s most distinctive cultural events; a riot of colour, noise and dancing that can trace its roots back to the 18th century. TWO ISLANDS ONE NATION The twinned Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago may be separated Photograph by Richard Elliott Photograph by Richard by just 30 miles of water, but they’re worlds apart in terms of culture and appearance, findsHannah Summers 48 49 EXPERIENCES umper-to-bumper traffic. claims to be the world’s biggest gym, and Again. Not that I’m roundabout – is transformed into a party complaining – this is traffic of 50 stalls, where anyone from lawyers to with a view. “These women,” lads settle down for lively picnics by their says Andrew, my guide, souped-up cars (the Trinis take huge pride pointing to a group of joggers in gleaming alloys, lowered suspensions and Bjiggling around in Lycra, “they run every shimmery purple paint jobs). night, trying to lose weight for a costume It’s here that I try what’s surely one that will still be too tight. A Trini carnival of the least photogenic but best-tasting costume must be too small and too skimpy, street foods going: doubles. “They’re the or it’s deemed ill-fitting.” mischievous little cousin of roti,” Andrew If Trinidad conjures up brochure- says, before asking the stall’s owner for esque images of swaying palms, turquoise “doubles with everything, slight.” Within water and piña coladas, then something, seconds I’m handed two floppy, pancake- sauce, foot-long, deep-fried fish and freshly somewhere, has gone wrong. Located just esque circles splatted with curried made rotis. One tent has a 20-strong queue seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, the chickpeas (beige), mango chutney (beige- leading back through the car park. “This country has spent years revelling in a very ish), a bit of chilli spice (that’s the “slight” is Dr Fresh,” says Andrew, introducing me lucrative oil and gas industry, a business part), tamarind sauce and cucumber: a to the stall’s owner, who gives me a wink that has given it the somewhat unflattering, sloppy brown heap that Andrew urges me to while hurling ingredients into four shaking and largely unknown, label as the most scoop up by hand. blenders that are working overtime to blitz industrialised nation in the Caribbean. Roti are pancake-like We stall-crawl, tropical, icy concoctions. “His shakes come That’s not to say it’s unappealing, though. flatbreads, and one joining grannies packed with pineapple, soursap, warnings of Trinidad’s staple Oh no, this is a place where life is about foods. They come and children and disclaimers.” And generous glugs of living: live it, or leave. CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Street art in in all shapes and tucking into heavily- rum, by the taste of it. Take the February carnival that these Tobago; Port of Spain, Trinidad’s lively sizes and are eaten battered chicken Talking about food and drink seems to capital; it’s Scarborough, but not as you know at breakfast, lunch ladies are prepping for – it’s a raucous it – Tobago’s version is a little bit… sunnier and dinner, and as wings slathered in engage the Trinis in intense chats, and I country-wide party that puts Rio and New snacks, too. a luminous buffalo soon realise that lustily comparing notes Orleans’ efforts to shame. Then there are the food markets, where locals gorge like it’s their last supper. Hell, even the road ‘Liming’ – the local word which basically Tequila (where, ironically, it’s only rum that signs are in on the act: “Embrace life, wear means hanging out, having a beer, and flows) while calypso music – the iconic a seatbelt,” they command me. eating – is a tradition I could quickly beat which originated on the island in the Alamy Imagery RF / World Harding Robert Images; (Scarborough) of Span) Ian Brierley / Getty Hannah Summers; (Port Photograph by (street art) It’s impossible not to embrace life here. become accustomed to. ‘Limes’ come in mid-20th century – blares, and party-goers various forms. My first is at a typical Trini gyrate their hips at me in a wildly suggestive house, where I join manner. “That’s called ‘wining’,” Andrew 55-year-old Andrew Bustling and tells me, sensing my mixture of awe, horror Welch (I’m hazarding friendly, Port of and confusion. “Very common move here.” Spain is one of the LOCALS a guess at his age, Caribbean’s leading The lingo lessons continue as we as for the duration cities. Must-sees explore the country’s street-food scene. of the trip he claims include the Royal Forget hipsters, pretty cocktails and Botanical Gardens, CRAM INTO he’s 28) and his and International the repurposed warehouses that we’re middle-aged mates, Waterfront Centre. accustomed to in London, this is non- who’ve gathered at a exclusive, cheap food as it was intended. A YARD AND BYO affair, where tables wobble under the Come dusk, the car park at Queen’s Park weight of home-cooked crab curries, rotis Savannah – a grassy plot of land that and Stags (the locally-brewed ‘beer for men’ DANCE IN THE – according to the label, at least). Out on the street, liming can be a lot rowdier. We swing by the capital, Port of Spain, for band practice, where locals cram BALMY HEAT into a yard and dance in the balmy heat in front of a 30-strong steel band group performing a questionable rehashed version IN FRONT OF of Michael Bolton’s (already questionable) ‘Can We Be Lovers’. For a younger scene, there’s St James A 30-STRONG – ‘the suburb that never sleeps’ – or the famous Avenue, a kilometre-long strip of clubs, which are essentially small, neon- STEEL BAND lit bars. I settle on a stool in one called 50 EXPERIENCES on the last meal, and the next, is the best way to make friends with my fellow food “peongs” – that’s Trini slang for obsessives. Our edible marathon continues at Look Out, another car park/stall hotspot that’s earned its name due to the views of the twinkling capital lights in the This deep-fried distance. Here, locals street snack was sit in the trunks of introduced to Trinidad by Indian their pick-up trucks, migrants in the 19th snacking on hefty century, and the chunks of barbecued name is derived from ‘fuluri’, a Bengali jerk chicken, pakora-like dish. creamy corn soup made with coconut milk and chili, boiled chicken feet and my favourite – pholourie – saffron-flavoured batter that’s plopped into a boiling vat of oil, and crisped-up into squidgy, deep-fried balls that are served alongside a double- figure strong selection of zesty chutneys. Despite the crowds and queues, it’s a FROM TOP: There aren’t many ‘Caribbean chilled atmosphere: the noise of the sizzling perfection’ boxes that the rugged beach barbecue comes with a power-ballad at Castara Retreats doesn’t tick; and the backing track from the local radio station – bedrooms at the resort aren’t bad either as we wait in line, the 70-year-old corn soup mama, Ms Erlyn, cranks up the volume of Oleta Adams’ ‘Get Here if You Can’. loving nation after all, and one block from little sister is an island boasting some of the If you’re going to get anywhere, the sand, a long line forms at Richard’s Caribbean’s best beaches. Just 30 miles (a make sure it’s Maracas Bay. A 60-minute Bake & Shark, a stall that serves one of the 20-minute flight) away, I find that Tobago is winding drive from the capital, it’s the country’s most famous dishes – deep-fried the ideal place to kick back after a few days most accessible – if not the best – beach shark (crispy, meaty, sensational) stuffed exploring Trinidad’s bustling liming scene. on the island. Families gather on a long, inside deep-fried bread and loaded with Here in Tobago, the vibe is infectiously wide stretch of sand flanked by palms and tamarind sauce, mango chutney, garlic sleepy; a lost-world ambience created by shallow water, but surprisingly, that’s not sauce and salad. Prime bikini fodder. wild, deserted stretches of sand and lush the main reason to visit. This is a food- Perfect, then, that Trinidad’s easygoing rainforest – a backdrop that inspired the island of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Almost 300 years on, the landscape’s similarly rustic. If you’re seeking a turn- down service, manicured sands and an all-in IN TOBAGO bar then you’ve come to the wrong place. But then again, that’s what makes it so right. Tobago has largely escaped the Caribbean’s THE VIBE IS influx of American resort hotels – instead, a handful of boutique guesthouses scatter the shores, one of them being Castara Retreats INFECTIOUSLY – 12 deeply loved wooden lodges that dot the tree-packed hillside of the fishing village of Castara. Open-air bedrooms mean you SLEEPY, WITH fall asleep to distant calypso notes from the village bar and wake up to the sound of playful birds and gentle waves lapping the shore. It overlooks DESERTED Around 470 species one of the prettiest bays I’ve seen in the of birds have been recorded in Trinidad Caribbean, a view so and Tobago, STRETCHES OF irresistible that by including humming- 7am I’ve abandoned birds and flamingos. Birdwatching tours my four-poster bed to are available to help GOLDEN SAND float on my you spot them.

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