Welcome to Trinidad & Tobago, my 144th Visit and 139th Run UN Country out of a UN total of 193. After my blog photos below are the key statistics, brief history and interesting facts about this destination.
What a contrast today was against yesterday !!! Our car hire guy “Frank” was on time and even rang us to say he was coming. First and only person to do this in 13 car hires !!! There is still hope in the world. First off the ship and first off running early at 830am. Very humid but a good run. By 930am we were on our way westwards towards Buccoo Bay where all the commercial fishing is brought in. The west is fairly flat but still green. No jungle. No rainforest. Roads are great. Store Bay has waves but the best is easily Pidgeon Point Beach with iconic green-turquoise-blue waters, white sands and waving palms. This is precisely what I had imagined the Caribbean would look like and here it was so far south, almost on the doorstep of Venezuela. At 11am we embarked on what became the best daytime experience for us. A 3-hour cruise to the Buccoo Reef to snorkel, followed by swimming on a sandbank and finished off with drinks on an island. 30min of snorkelling revealed coral limited in colour but diverse in shapes as you will see. Ample fish but nothing like Key West. Our swim on a shallow sandbank in the middle of the ocean was graced with local rum served from floating bars in the water !!! We then topped the day off with cold local lager on a thin slither of sandy island with palms. We had an old wooden rickety boat almost to ourselves with only a dozen people on board. This was the first time we used a brand-new snorkelling gear and they turned out a treat. The images below tell a glorious tale.
It was 2pm when we hit the road again with only enough time for Fort King George towards the west. Here there are serious hills but not mountains or peaks. Vegetation is thicker and wilder. The road also twists and turns but nothing like the last few islands. We made it back right on 4pm to meet Frank and complete a worthwhile interview. Our ship was right there and we boarded last at 420pm for a 430pm cast-off.
What a day and what a contrast from yesterday. A real Caribbean seaside day and if the photos below do not do it justice then I do not know what will…
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO IN A NUTSHELL:
• Population (2025): 1,511,155.
• Urbanization: 49.1%.
• Median Age: 37.7 years.
• Ethnic Composition: East Indian (35.4%), African (34.2%), Mixed (30.1%).
• Total Land Area: 5,130 sq km.
• GDP (2025): $USD26.47 billion.
• GDP Growth (2025): 1.4%.
• GDP Per Capita (2025): $USD36,020.
• Oil and gas account for roughly 40% of GDP and 80% of total export earnings, though they represent only 5% of direct employment.
• Inflation (CPI, 2025): 2.4%.
• Unemployment Rate (2024): 4.5%.
• Life Expectancy (2024): 73.6 years.
• Literacy Rate: at 98%.
• Infant Mortality: 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• System: Unitary parliamentary republic.
BRIEF HISTORY OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
Trinidad and Tobago have a history defined by shifting colonial powers, a unique blend of diverse ethnicities, and a significant transition from a plantation-based to an oil-driven economy.
· Inhabited for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples, primarily the Arawakan-speaking Nepoya and Shebaya, and the Cariban-speaking Yao.
· 1498: Christopher Columbus sighted Trinidad on his third voyage, claiming it for Spain
· Spanish Colonization (1592): Antonio de Berrio established the first lasting settlement, San José de Oruña (modern-day St. Joseph), on Trinidad.
· Between the 17th and 18th centuries, Tobago changed hands more than 30 times between the Dutch, French, Courlanders (Latvia), and British.
· Spain encouraged French Catholic planters and their enslaved Africans to settle in Trinidad, creating a unique French-influenced culture despite Spanish rule in 1793.
· Britain captured Trinidad from Spain in 1797 and was formally ceded the island in 1802.
· Slavery was abolished in 1834, followed by a mandatory "apprenticeship" period that ended early in 1838.
· Indentured Labor (1845–1917): To address labour shortages on sugar plantations, the British imported over 145,000 indentured workers from India, as well as smaller groups from China and Portugal, fundamentally shaping the nation’s ethnic diversity.
· Unified Colony (1889): Trinidad and Tobago were administratively joined into a single British colony to reduce governance costs.
· Led by Dr. Eric Williams and the People’s National Movement (PNM), the nation gained full independence from Britain on 31 August 1962.
· On 1 August 1, 1976, the country became a republic, with the former Governor-General Sir Ellis Clarke becoming its first President.
· 1990 Coup Attempt: The radical group Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted a coup d'état, holding the Prime Minister and Parliament hostage for six days before surrendering.
· 2010: Kamla Persad-Bissessar was sworn in as the country's first female Prime Minister.
· 2018: Paula-Mae Weekes became the first female President.
· 2025: Following elections in April, Kamla Persad-Bissessar returned to office as Prime Minister.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:
1. Birthplace of the steelpan, the only major acoustic musical instrument.
2. The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is one of the world's largest and most famous cultural festivals.
3. Pitch Lake is the world's largest natural deposit of asphalt, holding 10 million tonnes.
4. Oldest UNESCO Protected Rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, established in 1776.
5. Highest Bird Density in the World with over 470 recorded species. Home to 19 species of hummingbirds, earning Trinidad the nickname "Land of the Hummingbird".
6. Birthplace of the Limbo Dance.
7. Largest Brain Coral Globally.
8. Second largest nesting ground of the rare Leatherback Turtle.
9. Home of the Moruga Scorpion pepper – one of the world's hottest chili.
10. Nylon Pool is a natural, waist-deep swimming pool in the middle of the sea.
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