Chilling in Tobago

My parents lived in their house at Friendship for 6 months of the year, the other 6 months in Muskoka Ontario, and Muskoka is where they met a Canadian lady named Cynthia Clovis. On learning that Cynthia and her Trinidadian husband Alan ran a small hotel on the island of Tobago, mom and dad decided to pay them a visit. They were so entranced by the charming hotel that they made the visit a regular event, stopping in Tobago for a few days each year on their way home to Canada.

One year mom and dad invited me to join them, it had been a hectic season and I was sorely in need of a break. They assured me that “Kariwak Village” was just what I needed to re-charge my batteries, and after an initial hesitation I accepted their invitation. Why NOT? The busy season had come to an end, so I packed my suitcase, kissed Mac and the children good-bye, and boarded the LIAT plane in St. Vincent for the flight to Trinidad. After a short wait on the tarmac in Trinidad we continued on to Tobago where, much to my surprise, we WALKED a short distance to the small hotel.

I was apprehensive; any hotel within walking distance of an airport was bound to be noisy, and the road was noisy too. I had been assured a quiet and peaceful time on Tobago – how was THAT going to happen? The sign at the entrance of the hotel also filled me with trepidation. “Kariwak Village Holistic Haven”??  Any mental images of hippies and sleepless nights I may have entertained fled the moment I entered the premises, the tranquility of the lush tropical gardens was magical, and the only noise to be heard was that of birds chirping in the background. Kariwak Village was small but incredibly beautiful, and I could see why my parents had urged me to come.

I was escorted to a dwelling near the swimming pool that resembled  a bee-hive, conical in shape and spotlessly clean. The room was extremely simple; there was no T.V., telephone or radio, just a welcoming bed, a washroom and blessed air-con. The thatched-roof restaurant, located on the other side of the pool, was surrounded by tropical greenery and colourful flowers. Feeders filled with honey were placed strategically in trees, and tiny bananaquits, hummingbirds and chakalakas fluttered between them throughout the day. The grounds boasted a large herb and vegetable garden, and I was told by the friendly gardener that everything he grew was used in the hotel’s kitchen.

Mom wanted to buy some rum, so we wandered down the road to a local shop. I noticed the sign on the building said “Mitchell’s Rum Shop”, and when the man behind the counter turned to greet us I actually gasped aloud. The handsome fellow was the SPITTING image of my husband Mac, it was quite uncanny! Mac got his good looks from the Mitchell side of the family, and it made me wonder if he had Trinidadian blood running through his veins!

Dinner that night reminded me of the Frangipani Hotel on Bequia in the earlier days. There was no a la carte menu, just two dinner choices, both of which were incredibly good. Cynthia Clovis was an inventive chef, and her use of fresh vegetables and herbs from the hotel’s garden further enhanced our tasty meals. Breakfast the following morning was equally delicious, and I happily ate fresh fruit, fish and coconut bakes along with Cynthia’s home-made jam. Having been assured that I didn’t have to participate in the free morning yoga session I plopped myself contentedly by the pool with a book, not moving until it was time for the next delicious meal!

My parents had arranged for a glass-bottom boat snorkeling tour the following day, news I accepted with an inward sigh. They obviously wanted to make me happy, but the thought of climbing into a boat filled with a bunch of tourists REALLY didn’t appeal to me.

My mother was not much of a swimmer and certainly had never snorkeled, so I knew that the tour had been organized especially for me. We boarded the glass-bottomed boat at Crown Point Beach and went to a spot called “Buccoo Reef”, where I was decidedly unimpressed. The water was shallow and murky, and as far as I was concerned there was nothing in that water to merit the sight-seeing trip! After eating some truly dreadful rotis purchased from a beach vendor we agreed that there was no point in remaining on the beach when we could be at Kariwak Village, what HAD we been thinking!

That trip to Tobago may have been my first but it wasn’t my last, the Kariwak Village Holistic Haven was a peaceful haven indeed. I may not have explored Tobago the way a tourist SHOULD, but I already lived on a beautiful tropical island with lovely white sand beaches and colourful coral reefs. All I wanted or needed was the tranquility of that special little hotel, it did me a world of good each and every time I went.