I woke up early the next morning to catch my flight from Trinidad to Tobago, which was about a 20 minute flight and costs about $50 (US) round trip. I arrived in Tobago, met with Nigel (my tour guide) and Roger (my driver) and they drove me to the Bacolet Beach Club (
http://www.bacoletbeachclub.com/) where I stayed for the next two nights while in Tobago. I had just enough time to appreciate the rose petals scattered over my bed, drop my bags off and get back in the car as we headed to Argyle Falls.
A 15-minute hike took us to the island’s highest falls. The Argyle waterfall is located on the Roxborough Estate which was a thriving sugar estate up to the 1870s. Ruins and artifacts of the old sugar mill are still in place. Today it provides a natural area for residents and visitors to enjoy. After the falls, we had lunch at Jemma’s Seaview Kitchen & Treehouse Restaurant, which serves sides family style with your choice of fish, chicken, lobster or shrimp for your main course. A great meal with a fabulous view!! During our lunch I met Newton George who is widely recognized as the leading bird watching, wildlife and natural history tour guide leader on Tobago. Bird watchers from around the world come to Tobago in order to see amazing, one-of-a-kind birds here, as well as learn from Mr. George. Nearly 470 birds have been recorded on Tobago and Newton knows them all by sight, sound and often nests.
After lunch we departed from Blue Water’s Inn for our Little Tobago Tour, which included bird watching with Newton George. This small, forested island just offshore of Speyside is one of the most important seabird sanctuaries in the Caribbean. The nature series "The Trials of Life" by Richard Attenborough was filmed here. It plays host to the Red-Billed Tropic Bird among others and at one time was home to transplanted Birds of Paradise from New Guinea. The Tropic Birds are most prevalent during the months of October to June, so I was just in time. It was a real honor to be guided by Newton as he knows everything there is to know about wildlife in Tobago. We not only saw the birds, but learned about their habitats, feeding habits, mating rituals and life cycle. It was truly amazing! After the island tour, we stopped at the reef for some snorkeling. Randy pointed out several different kinds of fish, such as the Blue Tang, Grouper and Parrotfish. After our snorkel, we enjoyed dinner at Kariwak Village Holistic Haven and Hotel (www.kariwak.com), which included a delicious buffet and live music (dancing optional).
Photo: Girls Getaway to Tobago with Newton George, Tobago's #1 bird and nature guide.
After my last snorkel, it was time to say goodbye to Trinidad and Tobago. Although I felt like I was on a whirlwind tour, I already plan to return to experience the infamous Carnival celebration and enjoy some downtime in February 2011. Thank you to Kiran Maharaj, Newton George, Trinidad and Tobago Tourism and Cheryl Andrews Marketing for a wonderful trip!
We woke up early Saturday morning for a hike through the Tobago Rainforest with Newton George. This rainforest is the oldest in the Western Hemisphere and was originally established by the French. This forested area has incredible biodiveristy including many species of birds, mammals, frogs, (nonpoisonous) snakes, butterflies, crabs and other invertebrates. You normally don’t see a celebrity while hiking through a rainforest, but The Getaway Girl travel sightings never cease to amaze anyone.
I woke up early the next morning to catch my flight from Trinidad to Tobago, which was about a 20 minute flight and costs about $50 (US) round trip. I arrived in Tobago, met with Nigel (my tour guide) and Roger (my driver) and they drove me to the Bacolet Beach Club (http://www.bacoletbeachclub.com/) where I stayed for the next two nights while in Tobago. I had just enough time to appreciate the rose petals scattered over my bed, drop my bags off and get back in the car as we headed to Argyle Falls.
The next morning consisted of a visit to the Heartbeat Radio for Women office in Trinidad http://www.heartbeatradiott.com/ where I phoned the U.S. station for my weekly Travel Segment (airs every Thursday at 9:30 AM). Best Life Barb was jealous I got to visit Trinidad before she did, but we agreed we’d come for their famous Carnival celebration in February. After the radio segment, Kiran drove me to the popular beach area of Maracas Bay for some beach time and my very first Bake N’ Shark. What is Bake N’ Shark you ask? It is basically fried dough and highly seasoned fried fish (shark), which does not sound all that amazing or innovative but it is very popular with the locals (also known as Trinis). I learned is that the popularity of this sandwich is all in the execution. The condiment bar is often as large as the fish stand that cooks it and contains everything from cilantro sauces to garlic sauce, tamarind sauce, chopped vegetables and of course pepper sauce. There are several fish shacks near the beach that sell Bake N’ Shark, but be sure you go to the one with the longest line as that is usually the best!
Located just seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, Trindad and Tobago are the southeasterly islands of the Antilles. This is the birthplace of calypso music and the steelpan, which are both evident in the variety of musical events held throughout the year. I arrived at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad (http://www.trinidad.hyatt.com/), dropped my bags and went directly to their spa for four hours worth of spa treatments, which included a soak, scrub, massage and facial. These were amazing treatments that were much needed after all the traveling I had been doing before I even got to Trinidad. After the spa, I was off to Trinidad & Tobago’s Fashion Week, which was held that night at my hotel and where we watched some of the best fashion designers from the two islands showcase their fashions.
Has SATC changed female friendships? See what The Getaway Girl has to say: http://tinyurl.com/2wuwyf8 in this recent article.
Watch my latest Daytime TV show travel segment on Cruise Vacation Tips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TkYNbT4j3k