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Charlotteville
has about 2000 inhabitants and is situated at the “Man of War”
Bay at the Caribbean Sea . This village is still preserved in
the quite original form with village centre, churches, schools,
a new library, police station, some good small restaurants with
local food, some bars, some small grocery shops, a bus stop
and a gas station.
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The
village is nestled at a beautiful hillside with rainforest and
nice hiking paths. Charlotteville has no banks, drugstores or
fancy shops; you have to drive to the capital Scarborough or
further down to the beaches of Mt. Irvine or Crown Point . The
distance to Scarborough is about an 80 minutes drive and to
the airport another 20 minutes. There is an irregular bus service;
it gets difficult to get around in the evening, during weekends
and on public holidays.
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Charlotteville
Lookout |
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Do not
expect “First World” standard in Charlotteville, the accommodations
are nice and clean but not everything is brand new, the floors
not always tiled, the hot water supply not always functioning,
and if there is a problem people will deal with it in the Caribbean
way: take it easy, relax and improvise. The plumber will e.g.
not be there to fix something the very next day, he might come
later in the week or never, it depends.
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Charlotteville
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| Charlotteville
is a village with village sounds such as barking dogs, crowing
cocks (and they sometimes do that all night long in Tobago), bleating
sheep and goats, and, of course, many people and children milling
around. |
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People
rise and go to bed early. Noise doesn't necessarily bother Tobagonians;
if the neighbour wants to cut down a tree with an electric saw
at 6 o clock in the morning, and listen to gospel music or a
cricket match in the radio at top volume he will do so and there
is hardly anything you can do about it.
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Charlotteville
beach |
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On the
other hand a holiday in Charlotteville can be an unforgettable
experience to get in touch with another culture, beautiful nature,
friendly people, good food and – if you let go of it – no stress
at all. The beaches are nice; you can snorkel, swim or dive,
go out fishing with a fisherman or rent a car to explore the
rest of the island.
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CHRISTMAS TIME AND NEW YEAR : There is a quite annoying and boring tradition called “bamboo shooting” or “to buss the bamboo”. You cut a thick bamboo, clean it out and then heat it for hours with a pitch torch. The hotter the bamboo gets the louder the “shots” until the bamboo explodes, preferably not in your face but at the other end. Originally an old custom mainly performed by kids to “shoot out the Old Year” it has deteriorated over the years to a noisy spectacle mainly performed by bored youths who also have copied the silly habit of throwing firecrackers into crowds – stay away from them. Nothing can be done about the “shooting” itself, annoying and senseless as it may be. It is part of a “tradition” and you will just have to bear with it. It hopefully eases up around 11 pm and earwax helps a lot. (From “ Island Notes” by Ulli Jenisch, October 2003)
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