Tobago

If you are looking for a different kind of Caribbean holiday, something a little more rustic and real, then Tobago may be the island for you. The twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago are the most southerly of the Caribbean islands and, lying close to Venezuela, share a similar topography.

After an eleven hour flight with a touchdown in Antigua, we were met at the airport for our transfer to Castara Retreats, about an hours drive away. We arrived in time for a spectacular sunset, a quick dinner and then fell asleep lulled by the distant waves crashing on the shore. It wasn’t until we woke up the next morning that we realised the true nature of where we would be staying for the next ten days. The view from our veranda was truly stunning!

Nestling high up on the hillside surrounding the bay, the wooden cabins of Castara Retreats are almost like tree houses, with verdant trees and lush plants making it a haven for all kinds of brightly coloured tropical birds – these are just a few of the birds we managed to capture.

This resort is not offering 5* slick, this is more eco chic and, rather than an all inclusive meal plan, you are encouraged to go into the village for breakfast and to try local restaurants so that the community benefit from the tourist dollar. We picked our way down through the gardens of the retreats to ‘Cheno’s’ for a breakfast of salt fish and coconut bake; this became a favourite of ours we loved the breakfast and would wait for the newly baked coconut bake each morning.

It is possible to self-cater at Castara Retreats, the kitchens are well stocked and there is a fridge and cooker, however it was not our intention to cook for ourselves, so apart from stocking up on beers, rum, pineapple juice and milk (for morning tea) we ate out at the local restaurants, all of which are pretty good, and the Caribbean Kitchen at Castara Retreats – we really enjoyed getting a taste of the Caribbean.

There is plenty to do locally and we enjoyed mooching around the village, watching the old ladies bake  bread and buns in the communal oven, joining in with the other tourists to help fishermen haul in the nets, learning to play the steel pans and enjoying drum night at the next bay with the infamous stilt walker.

Tempting as it was to while away our time relaxing on the palm fringed bay of Castara we felt we should at least explore a small part of the island so we booked an excursion to the Cocoa Estates chocolate plantation. The plantation has been reinstated to rejuvenate the cocoa industry and is now one of the major crops grown in Tobago. We learnt about the growing, fermentation and drying process. After this tour we cooled off at the Argyle Waterfall close by.

Another day out was a visit to Englishmans Bay a little further up from Castara. This is one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to and was completely empty of tourists. Stunning sandy bay fringed by palm trees where the rainforest meets the beach and large rolling waves it was a real Robinson Crusoe location.

Finally one of my ‘bucket list’ items was finally ticked off when we went on a bioluminescence tour (also know as the Avatar tour) from Pigeon Point. The tour is either on a stand up paddle board (experience necessary) or kayak. We set out at dusk and made it to the sandbar, which is at the start of the lagoon and where the calm water means that the plankton is visible. There has to be completely dark skies to be able to see this phenomenon, so no moonlight and your eyes have to get used to the nightlight but once you start to se the glowing plankton it is mesmerising – like pixie dust. Unfortunately it is not possible to capture on film so I don’t have any images, just this one of our tour group looking very pleased with ourselves when we arrived back!

For more information about this holiday contact us    or 01932 866565