I like life in Tobago, it's well suited to rest and relaxation. The driving is so crazy on the roads, you're tempted to ask: What's the hurry? People are rushing nowhere. You get the feeling that drivers are celebrating an escape from the donkey-that old mode of transport.Or is it that they are playing the donkey? There could be a link. With its quiet, relaxed environment, Tobago is a sad place...no lie.Tobago could make you cry. By now readers should know I'm an emotional guy; I cry at weddings and funerals. Call me town crier if you want, I don't really care.What's sad about Tobago is its under-development. So after 50 years I returned to my old stomping ground at King's Bay and nothing has changed. It's like I went back in time. My mind was blown, how except for a few tourist huts by Tobago's Department of Tourism, I found my childhood comfort zone... untouched.
Every August vacation my mom (bless her soul) will gather up her bundle (seven children) and its off to Tobago. I loved that outing like cooked food. It was a happy time. So when I went across for the Pan/Jazz I took the time to check on relatives and the "countryside."Outside of Scarborough, there's not much development, all the villages remain as I left them some 50 years ago. They are charming.You'll be amazed at the jungle Tobago is. Bush punctuated by breath-taking scenes of coconut trees and salt water.Breath-taking cliff, too, burning you close to your mortality. Approaching them you call on the Almighty, and hope the driver's brakes hold. It's really scary.Prices, too, are a killer; they can empty your pocket faster than the Manning administration spent the money in the Treasury. The people are politically astute; the ones I ran into love "political talk."
They worry about the career of former THA's Jeff Hockey Charles; and the superimposition of Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, Minister of Tobago Development as the "boss" of the Tobago House of Assembly. What an amazing colonial arrangement! Why is Orville London taking that and cooking it. Tobago needs constitutional reform quickly to get rid of these awkward situations and the belief of rulers that they are "Governors" of Tobago sent by some colonial power in Trinidad. Yes, Tobago is being colonised by Trinidad.Tobago needs equality; especially in its treatment of tourists. I was told that the hotels are doing tourism a disservice in Tobago with one price for locals and another for tourists."That's why they are staying away," says a balding Mike. He runs a quaint restaurant that serves barbecue chicken and fries. It tasted good, though I found the price a bit high...35 smackers.Mike talks about tourism with such pain. He feels it for the island.You could see he loves the place. Now I didn't make it to Jemma's of Speyside, but I hear they serve a delicious "breadfruit pie" and creative dishes.
You see me, I gone!