Local Culture, People & Heritage A warm welcome


Steel-pan drumming resonates through the warm night air at the seafront in Buccoo, during an event called Sunday School. Except, in place of a priest reciting sermons, locals are here to meet, share drinks and dance to a 20-strong troupe of steel drummers, who are slowly building up into a rousing chorus of Hotel California. Culture is very much alive in Tobago,


an island brimming with personality. And Sunday School, every Sunday from 9pm, is where locals come to ‘lime’ and enjoy live steelpan music that turns into DJ sets until the small hours. It doesn’t take much time in


Tobago to experience the true meaning of the Caribbean term


‘liming’: simply hanging out and relaxing with friends, whether that means soaking up the atmosphere at a party or kicking back on the beach with a barbecue and a Carib beer. There are very few large chain


hotels to get lost in – most hotels are compact and locally owned – and all beaches are kept public for everyone to enjoy, so it’s easy for visitors to venture out to get a sense of local life.


PEOPLE AND NATURE With vast swathes of tropical rainforest and coral-filled marine areas, the local life has much to do with the island’s natural landscapes. There are inextricable links between


the people and their environment, from fishermen heading out onto the water and bringing back their catch to the island’s restaurants, to the expert guides leading nature and birdwatching hikes in the rainforest. It’s little wonder that the island’s


northeast region, with its ridge-to- ocean ecosystem that includes the lush Main Ridge Forest Reserve, has been designated a biosphere reserve by the Unesco Man and the Biosphere Programme. The reserve is the oldest legally protected rainforest in the western hemisphere, and the programme works not only to protect the ecosystems but also to improve local people’s livelihoods and strengthen the relationship between communities and their environments to ensure


Tobago is known for its fresh food and friendly locals


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