LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Trinidad: Trinidad Island
built 281 days ago
The first European to reach Trinidad and Tobago was Christopher Columbus. He named Trinidad (meaning “Trinity” in Spanish) after three peaks he saw from his ship. The name he gave Tobago, Bella Forma (“Beautiful Shape”), did not stick. The island’s present name comes from the word tobacco, which Carib Indians grew on Tobago. Columbus claimed Trinidad for Spain, and it remained a Spanish colony until 1802, when Britain took it. Tobago’s history remained separate until Britain joined it with Trinidad in 1889. Before then, Tobago changed hands many times.
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Trinidad & Tobago vacation rentals are most commonly found on the quiet island of Tobago, a small island that offers beautiful beaches, flourishing rainforest and coral reefs. Just off the coast of Venezuela, this small nation straddles the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. Trinidad is the livelier of the two islands with many festivals, restaurants and art galleries in its capital city, Port of Spain. Trinidad ... has gorgeous beaches and mountains for hiking. Trinidad and Tobago are the home of calypso music, but steelpan and carnival music are also common and popular. The food reflects the multi-ethnic culture and ranges from Spanish dishes to Chinese, French or Indian cuisine.
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Trinidad has only one natural harbor, at Chaguaramas on the western coast, but the entire Gulf of Paria provides safe anchorage. The northern coast of the island is rocky and indented with sandy bays, the southern coast is steep, and the eastern coast is exposed to heavy surf. In southwestern Trinidad is an asphalt lake, filled with crude oil that has seeped up from the ground. The 42-hectare (104-acre) Pitch Lake is the world’s largest natural reservoir of asphalt.
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If planning to go to the other side of the island (Trinidad), get an early start and allow the entire day with nothing important scheduled for the late afternoon. Although the island is not huge, getting somewhere can take longer than you might think. With the influx of used cars from Asia (locally called "foreign used" or "foreign use (uze)" cars and the growing economy, more people own cars than ever. Therefore traffic jams are not uncommon, especially when going to Port of Spain.
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The twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago continues to experience real GDP growth as a result of economic reforms, tight monetary policy, fiscal responsibility, and high oil prices. In 2006 the country experienced a real GDP growth rate of 12.2%. This was expected to level off to 5.5% in 2007. The PNM-led government continues its sound macroeconomic policies. Long-term growth looks promising, as Trinidad and Tobago further develops its oil and gas resources and the industries dependent on natural gas, including petrochemicals, fertilizers, iron/steel and aluminum. Additional growth potential ... exists in financial services, telecommunications and transport.
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Both Trinidad and Tobago were originally settled by Amerindians of South American origin. Trinidad was first settled by pre-agricultural Archaic people at least 7,000 years ago,[3] making it the earliest-settled part of the Caribbean. Ceramic-using agriculturalists settled Trinidad around 250 BCE and then moved further up the Lesser Antillean chain. At the time of European contact Trinidad was occupied by various Arawakan-speaking groups including the Nepoya and Suppoya, and Cariban-speaking groups such as the Yao, while Tobago was occupied by the Island Caribs and Galibi. The Amerindian name for Trinidad was Kairi or Iere which is usually translated as The Land of the Hummingbird, although others have reported that it simply meant island. Christopher Columbus encountered the island of Trinidad on July 31, 1498 and named it after the Holy Trinity.
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Trinidad Island