Our landscape in this country is so colourful and when the rain falls it seems as though the water increases its vibrancy. This is something I love to observe as the various shades of colours of the plants, fruit and leaves that surround us all become enhanced when soaked by the raindrops. This was even more pronounced when walking through a heavy rain shower as I did recently during a visit to the Nariva Swamp!
Cool, crisp air envelops us and my friend visiting from the U.S. shivers, expressing surprise that it gets this cold in T&T. Four of us were having an afternoon adventure in Paramin, and while we were waiting for our guide at the start of the Saut d’Eau trail, we began to explore. The clouds rolled down the mountainside enveloping us in mist.
What do you do on your day off in Tobago? Heading to the beach comes to mind, especially on bright sunny days like the one I spent with Rhea, but I had something else in mind. Camouflaged in the landscape, sometimes shrouded by trees and tall brush, sugar mills dot the island, giving us a brief reminder of our island’s history as sugar producers from as far back as the late 1700’s. These structures that are still standing have always mesmerized me and it’s incredible that we can explore them up close, appreciating the architecture and feeling the handmade stone and coral bricks that form them. The ones we explored and photographed, sit on an estate that has three mills and a huge water well. Getting to these mills was a little difficult because of the overgrown brush that surrounds them, but there are two beautiful Sugar Mills off of Shirvan road, where the area has been landscaped, making them easily accessible.
