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Social Profile
Food & Drink: Bars and restaurants open until late, with a very wide choice of local and Western food and drink. Chinese, Indian and West Indian cooking is available on both islands. Tobago also offers some notable seafood specialities such as lobster, conch and dumplings, crab and dumplings, and all types of fried fish. Local dishes include pilau rice and Creole soups, the best being sans coche, calaloo and peppery pigeon pea soup. Tatoo, manicou, pork souse, green salad, tum-tum (mashed green plantains), roast venison, lappe (island rabbit), quenk (wild pig), wild duck and pastelles (meat folded into cornmeal and wrapped in a banana leaf – a speciality generally available over Christmas) are also well worth trying if you can. Seafood in Trinidad includes bean-sized oysters and chip-chip (tiny shellfish similar in taste to clams). Crab malete is excellent, as is the freshwater fish cascadou. Indian dishes on both islands include roti (dahlpuri bread stuffed with chicken, fish, goat or vegetables), palhouri and hot curries.
Excellent rums and Angostura bitters are used to make rum punch. The local beers are Carib and Stag.
Nightlife: Trinidad has a wide and varied nightlife including hotel entertainment and nightclubs with calypso, limbo dancers and steel bands. During the carnival season (from New Year to Carnival, held two days before Ash Wednesday), both islands are alive with live music in the calypso tents and pan (steel band) yards. In Tobago, the main Calypsonians from Trinidad travel over to perform at Shaw Park, Scarborough and Roxborough. There is something happening most nights of the week at this time – details available from the locals and the Tobago News.
Shopping: Goods from all over the world can be found in Port of Spain, but local goods are always available. Special purchases include Calypso records, steel drums, leather bags and sandals, ceramics and woodcarvings. Gold and silver jewellery can be good value, as can Indian silks and fabrics. Rum should also be considered. Bright, printed fabrics and other summer garments are available in Trinidad & Tobago, particularly in Port of Spain. Shopping hours: Mon-Thurs 0800-1600, Fri 0800-1800 and Sat 0800-1300. Some shops stay open later in Port of Spain, and malls are often open till 2100. Shops close on public holidays, especially during Carnival.
Special Events: A vast mixture of races has led to a varied cultural life, the diversity of which is reflected in costume, religion, architecture, music, dance and place names.
The major event in Trinidad is the Carnival, renowned throughout the Caribbean and the rest of the world. The festivities climax at the beginning of Lent, on the two days immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, although the run-up to Carnival starts immediately after Christmas when the Calypso tents open and the Calypsonians perform their latest compositions and arrangements. During Carnival, normal life grinds to a halt and the whole of Trinidad & Tobago is absorbed in the festivities.
A week before the Carnival proper, Panorama is staged. This is the Grand Steel Drum (pan) tournament; all the big steel bands parade their skills around the Savannah, the large park in the north of Port of Spain. The Panorama preliminaries and local finals in Tobago are worth visiting, as are the pan yards as the bands practise for the big event.
Hosay, coinciding with the Muslim New Year, sees the Muslim population of Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tunapuna take to the streets in a festival of their own. Contact the Tourism and Industrial Development Company Ltd (see Contact Addresses section) for dates of all of the above. The following is a selection of festivals and other special events celebrated in 2003:
Feb/Mar Carnival. Mar 30 Phagwa Hindu Festival. Apr 6-30 Festival of Rapso and the Oral Traditions. Apr 30 Hosay Muslim Cultural Festival. May 11-16 Angostura Yachting Regatta. Jul 16-Aug 1 Tobago Heritage Festival, Tobago. Aug 24 Santa Rosa Festival, Arima. Sep Parang Festival. Oct 25 Divali Festival of Light.
Social Conventions: Liming, or talking for talking’s sake, is a popular pastime, as is chatting about, watching and playing cricket. Many local attitudes are often reflected in the lyrics of the calypso, the accepted medium for political and social satire since pre-emancipation days. Hospitality is important and entertaining is commonly done at home. Casual wear is usual, with shirt sleeves generally accepted for business and social gatherings, but beachwear is not worn in towns. Tipping: Most hotels and guest-houses add ten per cent service charge to the bill, otherwise a ten to 15 per cent tip is usual in hotels and restaurants.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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