Trinidad Things to Do

During our visit to the Mt. St. Benedict Monastary and the Pax Guest House for our afternoon tea, the monastary manager/guide, Mr. Gerard Ramsawak, discribed to us how the monastary is the site of an unusual religious rite of devotion.

During the last days of Lent, pilgrims and parishioners make the tortorous journey up the road leading to the monastary ON THEIR KNEES!! Stopping at each station of the "Sign of the Cross" and praying and making repentence for sins, the journey may take as long as 14 hours which leads up to the time of the Sunrise services on Easter morning.

I have heard of this extreme self-sacrifice and extreme devotion taking place in other countries as well. Sometimes a similar event involves acending steps on one's knees or carrying a life-size cross while wearing a crown of thorns like Jesus did; in any case, it gives you many things to ponder concerning yourself.

You will also be able to visit a cemetaey on the side of the hill which like the rest of the monastary is quite historical and most certainly unique. Can you guess why these graves are above ground?

We made a short visit to the cemetery where our tour guide pointed out interesting facts and history about some of those buried here and their connection to the church or are. I wish I could remember all that he said; however, the heat & humidity was having a great effect on me and virtually the only thing I could concentrate on was how much I wanted to be in an air-conditioned room regardless of how interesting the historical information was.

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From Port of Spain, take a drive across town and up into the high hills where you will find the Monastary at Mt. St. Benedict perched on the hillside of Mt. Tabor. From this point you will have a sweeping view of the Caroni Plains. The ARIPO Savannah lies to the south.

The monastary was founded in 1912 by Abbot Majuel when the Bernadine monks fled religious persecution in Brazil. In the past, the original monastary you see in the accompanying picture was home to as many as 90 monks and also served as a stopover for those traveling through this area. It was said the arched entry was built just large enough for a man riding a horse to pass under it as the rider ventured up into the mountains. The monastary is 800 ft. above sea level.

Today, the monastary is a "working" institution where the remaining monks tend to farming, beekeeping, baking bread, making jams, jellies & yogurt all of which are for sale to the public. There is a gift shop here which sells mostly religious articles in addition to the food products. The Pax Guest House accommodates travelers but also seems a likely place for a religious retreat since it is virtually next door to the very large church (Our Lady of Exiles) here. The Manager of the Guest House (maybe the several businesses of the monastary as well) was Mr. Gerard Ramsawak and he did an excellent job of imparting information and making us feel quite welcome as he gave us a tour of the church, the guest house where he hosted our afternoon tea.

The Temple by the Sea, sometimes referred to as Waterloo Temple is a nice place to visit, particularly during dusk as the sun is setting.

It is a relatively small temple, but the setting is wonderful. Entrance is free, but the gates may be locked after sunset.

Immediately adjacent to the temple parking lot is a popular cremation site. If you visit during the opportune time, you may witness ritualistic cremation and the funeral pyres.

There is a view point before you reach Maracas, if you travel from the West end of Trinidad. You can also reach this place from the east of Trinidad via ASA Wright nature center & Blantechure (not sure about the spelling) beach.

Most of the tourist will end up in this beach, since its one of the beautiful beaches in Trinidad and very easily accessible. If you go on weekends & public holidays you will find n no. of Trinis there. If you have very short time in Trinidad, make sure to visit this beach instead of the other ones. Unless like other beaches, this beach has some shops especially the famous 'Bake & shark'. If you tell someone in Trinidad that you have visited Maracas, the next thing they will ask you that have you tasted 'Bake & Shark'.

This is a nice place which is well located inside the dense forest mountains, nice place for bird watching in Trinidad. You can take a hike with the guide arranged by them. They have nice little restaurant and lovely rooms for staying too. If you have enough time, check it out - worth traveling that far, if like birds & nature.

Go for this amazing trip into the Caroni Swamp Bird Sanctuary, there is a maze of waterways in the mangrove swamp. We experience with lot of birds, snakes and other species.

You can book a tour with Nanan's tour company.