The weather in Tobago has been a bit of everything with each day starting off differently as to how it actually finished. Yesterday, a bit cloudy then into the most gorgeous Caribbean day, windy with blue blue skies. Today, overcast, especially looking down to Trinidad, we will see what happens. There is a cruise ship in the harbour at Scarborough so I hope the visitors are not disappointed. We went to Pigeon Pt yesterday and parked up on the lagoon side with the Tobago ridge in full view. I still maintain that Tobago must be classed in the top ten Caribbean Islands for its natural beauty.
How do you mix swimmers, kite boarding, wind surfing, fete boats, glass bottom boats and jet ski's? The simple answer is you don't. Sitting on the lagoon side of Pigeon Pt it was scary to see the mix. First off you cannot have motorised craft being operated within the same area as sail craft and people swimming. There have been approximately 8 fatalities and countless injuries, some with serious permanent disability and the authorities do not seem to think that this is an area of concern. Yesterday there was at least one near miss with the motorised craft and sail.
The jet ski users are flying low in between the sail craft. Are jet ski users trained in the operation of the machine, are users allowed to drive whilst intoxicated, is there an age limit? A run of the mill jet ski can travel at speeds exceeding 60 mph. How is it possible to mix the two, motorised and sail craft?
The reef boats or what were the reef boats and now the new breed of reef/party boats traveling, albeit at a much reduced speed, but nevertheless, motorised, blasting music, how can the operator even hear of a warning shout from someone in the water?
Islands that are serious about their tourism are also serious about the safety of their own citizens and visitors alike. There is room for all, there is not room for the mix. Reef/party boats can operate along particular routes without interfering with the experience as can sail craft have their own designated area. As for jet ski's I propose a total ban. They are extremely dangerous, annoying and have no place in green, serene Tobago and Trinidad.
A couple years ago there was a horrible accident off of Pigeon Pt involving a T&T national and his girlfriend, a Spanish national, and a pirogue. The result was permanent disability. The immediate response by the THA was to install signs along the beach area where the accident had occurred 'NO SWIMMING ALLOWED'. Of course unbeknownst to the THA is the fact that Pigeon Point is designated as a 'heritage park' for recreational use.
Have we seen the condition of the Piarco International Airport? Have we seen the state of the public carpark? We cannot even cut the grass on the verges. The place is in a mess. The Tobago passenger terminal is a dump. Busted seats, the one beverage dispenser broken, a single AC outlet to charge phones, it looks like a regular government office waiting room. Not exactly inviting and surely not what you would want to see as the start of your mini vacation. I guess it's only Tobago so what exactly is your problem? The new ferry, soon to arrive, may very well attract a similar sentiment, is only Tobago, so?
Last one on the beautiful island of Tobago. One of the ways Tobago could further claim independence from Trinidad would be to issue its own Drivers Permit. This could happen in the morning without any major legislation or public consultation.
Tobago has very different driving rules and regulations.
- A solid white line in the centre of the roadway does not mean 'no overtaking'. It actually is a signal to do the complete opposite and overtake as many times as you can.
- Overtaking is allowed on either the left or the right of any vehicle.
- An intersection is normally widened to allow for a turning right lane. This would allow for a free flow of traffic on the left avoiding a traffic backup. In Tobago the turning lane is in fact an additional lane for vehicles travelling at a greater speed than allowed where one can overtake the rest of the traffic.
- An indicator flashing is actually a signal for those vehicles to instantly overtake you rather than having to wait, while you make a safe turn.
- Like the autobahn in Germany there is no speed limit in many areas.
- Tobago drivers very rarely stop to let one out from a minor road, again keeping with internationally recognised bad driving habits.
- The accepted distance between two vehicles could be 5 mtrs on average. In Tobago there are times when you cannot see the headlights of the car behind you because they are so close
Without any salutations, no eye contact the question was simply ' yuh have a whole shoe?' My life partner looking a bit perplexed was asked again 'yuh have a whole shoe?' After some deep thought she realised that the word 'shoe' probably referred to her own footwear and deduced that the word 'whole' meant whether or not she was wearing an open toe, Kolhapuri Chappals, flip flops or a pair of Worishofer's. The lady partner had gone to collect a package from a private warehouse that had a Bonded Custom's area and therefore even though the private warehouse had no issue with shoes, she dared enter a government controlled space with the dreaded 'Dress Code'.
In fact the signage did not stop with the big 'NO' only for non Caribbean clothing but also for the day to day operations such as 'NO Soliciting/ NO Truck Drivers' and other 'NO's'. As luck would have it after being asked numerous times from complete strangers, one whose name was Sydney aka Satan, if she required any assistance with 'transport' the very kind 'NO's' helped her to load her car with the packages.
I think the public of the Rock needs to know who created the dress code and for what purpose? Who is trained in determining the parameters for the dress code? What constitutes a 'noodle strap or frill'? The dress code is yet another carry over from Colonialism where the 'masters' simply come up with a new regulation for no apparent reason. At least in the days of the Brits one could have gone into a government office in short pants. The constabulary wore short pants, surely short pants is a common, far more practical type of clothing for our 33 C weather.
Can someone in 'officialdom' tell the plebs what is the purpose of the dress code and who is authorised to determine what is acceptable and what is not?........whole shoe....
Life is good, Carnival is in the air big time, controversy is all around, the talk about good, bad or great fete, loud music, no music using ear phones, road march. This should keep us going until the middle of February.
People of the Rock enjoy your Sunday, enjoy the week ahead!
Goodbye and good luck!
Comments
Post a Comment