Caribbean and Central America Travel

Trinidad and its sister island Tobago, is the perfect example of contrasts. While Tobago is a sleepy small town, Trinidad is just bursting with life. Known largely for its annual Carnival, Trinidad and Tobago can be deserted during the off season.

The carnival, which takes its roots from West African festivals, is celebrated a week before Ash Wednesday. The pre-lenten festival has been adapted in accordance to the Roman Catholic teaching of carne vale - farewell to the flesh. Carnival celebrates life, and Trinidadians & Tobagonians do so with music, extravagant costumes and dancing in the streets.

Calypso is one of the mainstays of the Carnival. This musical genre that originated in Trinidad was the African slaves’ way of communicating with each other, as speaking among slaves are prohibited. Over the years, it evolved as a means of spreading news around the island. It became the people’s medium for expressing their thoughts on island life, current events, and even politics. In recent years however, it was Soca, or soul calypso that has been taking precedent in the carnival. Originating from the calypso, Soca mixes the island beat of the steel pan and electronic percussion which blends into a rich dance music that’s perfect for the festivities of carnival.

Like most islands in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is boosted by tourism. However, unlike the other Caribbean islands, the other pillar of their economy is petroleum, not agriculture.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has its history tied with England, being one of the British colonies in the Caribbean. Today, however, they are now an independent nation and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Located in the Lesser Antilles, it is composed of the island of Saint Vincent, and two-thirds of the Grenadine group of islands.

Among the 600 islands, these are the Grenadine islands under Saint Vincent:

• Bequia
• Petite Nevis
• Quatre
• Bettowia
• Baliceaux
• Mustique
• Petite Mustique
• Savan
• Petite Canouan
• Canouan
• Mayreau
• The Tobago Cays
• Union Island
• Petit Saint Vincent
• Palm Island

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The island of Saint Martin is the smallest island in the world that is divided into two seperate territories. The southern half of the island is part of the Windward islands of the Netherlands Antilles: Sint Maarten. The northern half of the island is an overseas territory of France: Collectivité de Saint-Martin. This entry is about the French half of the island.

This small island however, was first sighted by an Italian, who was and explorer for Spain: Christopher Columbus. It was said that he probably discovered the island on November 11, 1493, on the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. In honor of the saint, Christopher Columbus named the island after him.
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