Rum with a phew
Tobago isn’t just a paradise for relaxing – from paddleboarding to night kayaking, it’s round-the-clock fun
The English, Dutch, Spanish and French fought over Tobago for centuries and as a result this beautiful Caribbean island changed hands more than 30 times.
These days its beaches of warm white sand and sapphire seas are what it’s most famous for – but they are just the window dressing for a true Tobago adventure.
While I adore being on a sunbed, rum punch in one hand and Kindle in the other, I couldn’t have been more pleased that I got off my beach towel and discovered the great range of activities on offer in Tobago .
When will I get another chance to sit astride a horse as it swims along a coastline? When will I kayak at sea through the darkness of night? Or trek through a rainforest teeming with wildlife? Or rumble over deserted tracks on a 4x4 safari?
More relaxed activities were also on the menu and while staying at the
Castara Retreats resort, perched in the hills looking down on a perfect beach, I experienced a wonderfully peaceful yoga class. Even the first timers in our group enjoyed it.
Castara feels like a treehouse village hideaway tucked into a wooded hillside. You could hole up here for days, weeks even, enjoying the open-air Caribbean Kitchen restaurant which serves up fresh fish such as red snapper, kingfish or barracuda which is caught daily. And Keisha, who heads up the bar, can mix you the perfect cocktail accompaniments – usually involving a fair old glug of Caribbean rum!
If rum is your tipple, or even if it’s not, you have to visit Alison and Kenneth Sardinha at the Blue Crab restaurant. Their secret cocktail mix involving tamarind and lime was the standout taste of my trip.
Married for more than 50 years and running the restaurant for more than 30, they are something of a celebrity couple in Tobago’s capital, Scarborough.
Kenneth cooks while Alison is front of house, charming diners with tales of when she studied fashion in New York or outrageously cheeky tips on how to
catch and keep a man. When asked what she loves about her island, she doesn’t hesitate: “Tobago, like its food and its people, is real.”
And it is. There’s an incredibly strong sense of identity and community on the island. They even have a special language which adults use so they can gossip without youngsters discovering their grown up secrets!
They’re very clear on how they differ from their party crazy big brother Trinidad.
Everyone knows exactly when they gained independence, but they’re also fiercely proud of their heritage, quite often Dutch or Scottish. History is extremely important here.
I also stayed at the sublime Mount Irvine Bay Resort on the west of the island where I was told a story about how one of the hotel’s directors had worked on the land at the time it was a sugar mill. When an Irish man bought it, the future director and his workmates weren’t allowed back into the area. Rather than submit to such prejudice, they travelled to Ireland where they bought back the plot which later became the resort. This is now one of the top end properties on the island and since 1968 has had its own awardwinning golf course carved into the old sugar and coconut estate. Massive palm trees are scattered across the course which has spectacular sea views from every hole.
Every April thousands of locals and visitors gather on the resort’s shore for Jazz on the Beach, a key part of Tobago’s famous Jazz Festival.
Another musical extravaganza the island prides itself on is Sunday School in Buccoo, which kicks off every Sunday from 6pm and runs into the early hours of Monday.
There’s nothing religious about this weekly street party where grown ups, children, locals and tourists get together to enjoy singers, steel bands, local street food, rum and liming – the island’s
Massive palm trees are scattered across the golf course with spectacular sea views
wonderful word for relaxing with a drink, chatting away the evening in the company of friends.
Although much of our trip was chilled, some highlights were at the other end of the excitement spectrum – like paddleboarding in the sea or kayaking in search of bioluminescence.
Over at Pigeon Point, often considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, we were taken on a journey of a lifetime.
In the pitch black of the Tobago night we ventured out into the water in our kayaks and all seemed quiet until our guide, Brett, flashed on his torch, suddenly illuminating a frantic world of fish, including stingrays, and bats which darted about until his light went out and all seemed still again.
His words “time to jump in” terrified our entire group until one brave soul cautiously slipped out of their kayak and into the dark ocean. Think about the magical world in the movie Avatar and you’re on the right lines for what we saw. All around us the water sparkled with glitter; as your hand moved in front of you it was as if you’d switched on fairy lights. In fact, what we were seeing was bioluminescence, the glowing light produced by some plankton. As we clambered back into kayaks, awestruck, Brett calmly commented: “I wonder if we’ve got any baby sharks with us tonight.” But unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we hadn’t. After experiencing just a week’s worth of what diverse wonders Tobago has to offer it seems a shame anyone would visit and do nothing but lie on a beach. Though admittedly, they are some of the most spectacular beaches you’ll ever see…