Sejur Trinidad and Tobago

Carnival and limbo dance

It is Carnival in Port of Spain. Soca music throbs in the streets, and a woman furrows her brow, shaking and gyrating as the beads on her bikini seem close to flying off. She is Trinidad and Tobago. An East Indian couple serves pungent curried doubles at lightning speed on the street corner, fishermen plunk their catch on splintering docks as the new morning spreads over an azure ocean, an oil-industry businessman walks from crumbling streets into a modern air-conditioned building where he navigates the global economy for his nation, and a crazy-haired steel-pan player lays into an oil drum reaching a seventh-level of ecstasy – they are all Trinidad and Tobago.
National pride, a sordid history of slavery and indenture, and the love of music and liming unite the myriad colors, ethnicities and cultures that make up the dual-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Dive in. Be prepared to experience beaches so mesmerizing you will forget your name, first-class diving through coral wonderlands, a Carnival to end all Carnivals, and luxuriant rainforests prime for bird-watching, hiking, and cycling. Of the two islands, Tobago is the laidback pleasure center, while hard-working Trinidad has less of a tourist infrastructure...but plenty of natural and nocturnal attractions.
ATRACTII

Queens Park Savannah Area. About seven blocks north of Woodford Square is a open green space about a kilometer square, though it is somewhat irregular in shape. It is not the open space which is interesting, but the elegant old and modern buildings around the perimeter. In touring these attractions, note that the traffic is one way clockwise with parking on the side of the street opposite the buildings themselves.
Botanical Garden. Arrayed along the north edge of Queens Park Savannah and bordering the Presidents residence, these gardens contain a simple array of tropical flowers and palms.
Red House Parliament / Woodford Square. Built in Renaissance style, the impressive red building now serves the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. It is capped with a large square dome. The original assembly building on the site was destroyed by fire in 1801.
Independence Square. This "square" is actually the extra wide median strip of the street which runs between Kings Wharf on the cruise port and the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Now set with interlocking brick, benches, trees and artwork, the square has become a lively center. Many flanking older buildings are brightly painted sporting eating spots. Some attractive modern buildings are recent additions to this strip.
Trinidads carnival is the definitive street party. Each year, thousands of scantily-clad, sequinned and feathered masqueraders take to the streets to music provided by DJ trucks.
Carnival comprises a series of keenly-contested and widely-attended competitions. Combined with the hundreds of street and indoor fêtes, they bring the excitement throughout the country to fever pitch. Watch out for the finals of the steelband competition, the battles for the Soca and Calypso Monarch titles and the choosing of the carnival King And Queen.