Here we are back from our trip to Tobago! This had many mnay plusses, but also sadly a few minuses..............
Flights
we were booked to fly Heathrow/barbados with BWIA (aka BWee) and then change at Barbados onto LIAT ( Leeward Islands Air Transport) to fly on to Tobago, via Grenada.
On checking in at Heathrow we were firstly told that our flight was delayed by an hour.
We were then told that at Barbados we didn't need to go through immigration or customs as were 'transit' passengers. Our baggage, we were assured, would be checked through to Tobago.
The Bwee flight finally left for Barbados two hours and 20 minutes late. The in-flight movies - just two films, no other programmes - were poor. If you wanted a drink then if it contained alcohol, you had to pay for it.
We arrived in Barbados having made up about 40 minutes of the delay. It appeared that there was a good chance of still catching our scheduled scheduled LIAT flight, so we quickly got off the Bwee flight and got to gate 10A, for the LIAT plane.
We were told at that gate that we needed boarding cards, and were sent in to the terminal builing again. At the LIAT desk, we were told that we had to fill in immigration and customs forms , and leave the building, and check in afresh at LIAT departures.
After a scramble though immigration and customs we presented ourselves at LIAT check in, where they were amazed that we had gone that route, as, seemingly, we could have waited at Gate 10A and they would have given us boarding cards there and then!!!
The LIAT flight left a few minutes behind schedule, and we duly arrived in Tobago only 20 minutes after our scheduled arrival time. At the carousel, we found - along with 6 other couples -that our baggage had not arrived. Next problem - no rep from Kuoni to meet us. We found our way to the relevant desk to report our lost baggage, and filled inthe forms when, finally the Kuoni airport rep arrived.
He told us he would "look into" our missing baggage, and despatched us in taxis to the hotel, the Inn on The Bay at Lambeau.
The Inn has 20 main rooms in two wings of ten, five up and five down. It also has a number of bungalows in the extensive grounds. We found we had been allocated a bungalow - the only one of the arriving party to do so. The bungalow, only a few minutes walk from the main hotel building, boasted a large living room, with dining table and chairs, a three piece suite and a 26" TV. It also had a fully-fitted kitchen, complete with fridge-freezer, and two twin bedrooms, each with ensuite bathroom. The living room and bedrooms were fully airconditioned.
Dinner on that night was to be taken in the "Cat and Fiddle", a pub/restaurant in the grounds of the Inn. We went down there, had a meal and a few drinks, listened to the live carribean music and went to bed, reassured that the hotel was good despite our missing baggage.
Next morning we met the local Kuoni Rep, the exotically named Sparkle Braithwaite (!) After the usual explanations of excursions available, Sparkle told us that our baggage was still in Barbados but would arrive in Tobago about 12.30.
At about 2pm, a taxi arrived and offloaded precisely 5 suitcases. Sparkle had long since left the building but had her mobile number posted on the board at reception. I telephoned her and she "didn't know" why so few bags had arrived nor did she know where the reminder were. She said she ould investigate and call me back.
After 2 hours without a call back, I rang her again. She still knew nothing and couldn't offer any advice. Despairing of her, rang her manager, Randall.
He agreed that even bad news is better than no news at all, and would look into it. He rang back shortly thereafter to advise that all the missing cases would be on the 6.30 flight from Barbados.
very soon after, Sparkle rang (presumably after a rocket from Randall) to say that she herself would go to the Airport, liaise with the airport rep, and personally check that our luggage had arrived.
When it got to 7.30 and no sign of the luggage, I rang her again. From the background noise, she was clearly still at home, and indeed said that she had just spoken to the airport
(so much for "personally checking"!!) As usual she had no news.........so once again I rang Randall. He again said he would check, and ring back. Eventually he rang to tell me that the missing luggage was at that moment, in a taxi en route from the airport. the taxi arrived at 8.20 with - hurrah! - our luggage.
The hotel has two swimming pools, one by the bar (in between the two wings of rooms) and another larger pool, complete with jaccuzi on the hillside behind the bungalows - although larger, this pool has the disadvantage of being away from the facilities.
The food ( the hotel is "all-inclusive") was perfectly acceptable - there is a regular menu, and every day "specials" are posted on the blackboard. However, the "specials" are normally, just variations of items available anyway on the main menu.
We went on a guided walk to the local village (Lambeau), and had many plants trees and birds pointed out to us. The walk took us to the local elementary school where we met 50+ under 5's. They were all dressed in the school uniform - yellow dresses fro the girls with black skirts, yellow shirts for the boys. These kids were quite simply delightful! They sang songs for us, and were fascinated with video cameras and digital cameras where they could see the pictures immedaitely.
From, there we went to a local crafts shop and cafe "the Shore Thing" where we sat on their terrace with cold drinks and cake and watched the many highly coloured birds coming to feed.
For a bit of variety we took a taxi to Pigeon Point. Lambeau is on the south, Atlantic, side of the island, whereas Pigeon Point is on the northern Carribbean side. The contrast is remarkable! The beach is simply gorgeous, fine white sand gently sloping into an calm azure sea, fringed with palm trees - precisely what you envisage a tropical beach to be! There is a snack bar and a few craft shops.
Pigeon Point is private, so you need to pay a fee to enter - a mere TT$18 - or under £2.
On Saturday we went onto Tobago's small capital, Scarborough, for the market. Forget tourist markets, this is a locals' market, with fruit, veg, live animals, clothing and so on for sale. It is a small market, cramped, hot, and rather smelly.
Sunday saw us go to "Sunday School" at Buccoo Point, just round the bay from Pigeon Point. Sunday School is not what you imagine! It is, basically, one large street party, with traders' stalls, food stands, impromptu bars and a large ( and excellent!) steel pan band - the Buccoo-neers - playing. You basically just wander around eating, drinking chatting - what the locals call "lime" ( chill out!)
We had arranged via Sparkle a trip to sail out to the reef at Buccoo, in a glass-bottomed boat, to see the reef and visit the renowned "nylon pool"
Two other couples had booked the same trip.... we found that our tickets, all issued by Sparkle, variously gave the departure time as 9.30, 9.45 or 10.00!!
When, however, it came to 10.15 with no sign of transport, we called Sparkle over (it was her day/time to be at the hotel) She said she would check and wandered off to use her mobile. She returned to say "the coach is on its way". At 10.30 we asked her again. Again we were told "on it's way, not long now" ( we asked how it was that we had 3 different departure times and got a convoluted response which explained exctly nothing)
Suddenly, Sparkle re-appeared to say we were now going by taxi. Two taxis ferried us down to Buccoo, where, thankfully, the taxi driver pointed us in the right direction. After a short delay, the boat sailed. We were taken out over the reef, where to corals and fish visible were astonishing.
From there, we went to a small, shallow area for snorkelling - the boat provided the equipment. Thence to the Nylon Pool - a small area of water, inside the lagoon, yet a very long way off shore, where the water is incredibly clear, and the bottom is only 2 or 3 feet down. We swam in the warm waters of the Pool, and were served cold drinks whilst there!
On returning to the shore we found the bus waiting. The driver apologised for not picking us up that morning but the bus had had a breakdown (so much for Sparkle's "it's on its way")
Staying as we were in the bungalow a little away from the main building we missed the major drama which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
We heard some commotion, but though it was maybe the dustmen, or other workmen, and went back to sleep. On arriving in the dining room for breakfast we were met by the owner ( who had until then been notable by his absence)
He was pleasant and affable, and it was only when the other guests arrived for breakfast that we learnt that one of the rooms in the main hotel had caught fire!
The airconditioning unit had literally exploded, and set fire to the room. The occupant had had to run up and downt he corridors waking the other guests, as no staff were anywhere to be found - in fact he had to run all the way to the main gates to find the security staff to alert them and to get the fire brigade.
Although the fire brigade quickly dealt with the actual fire, allt he rooms in that wing were filled with black smutty smoke.
The occupants had all had much of their clothing and effects covered in soot. Although they were quickly relocated to other rooms and their clothing laundered, what is disturbing is the total lack of any visible evacuation plan, with no roll-calls, and no staff available!
Finally we left The Inn for the short transfer to the airport, for our flights home, via (this time) Trinidad and Barbados. We changed planes in Trinidad and thankfully, this time our luggage came too!
The Bwee flight from Barbados to Heathrow left only slightly late, although the loss was made up en route. However this was a poor flight; various electrical items (reading lights, the drop-down TV monitors) didn't work and we were served probably the worst in flight meal I have ever had.
Overall? A good holiday, certainly good value; the Inn's dining and lounge areas desperately need airconditioning, as the humidity is so high ; it is a relief to leave and get back to an airconditioned room, which is a pity a the lounge area is pleasant.
