Wild Tobago

Pat Ganase details the process of going for a sea bath in the time of Covid-19. She journeyed to Barbados, and learned about another Caribbean island. Photos by Pat Ganase   We are islands. Wherever we live, it’s not far from the sea. Even when we don’t go to the beach, we know we can reach there in half an hour or less. The ocean is our blood. “Blood can also be thought of as a private ocean,” wrote Natalie Angier on The Wonders of Blood, “Not only is blood mostly water, but the watery portion of blood, the plasma, has a concentration of salt and other ions that is remarkably similar to sea water.” (The Wonders of Blood, Natalie Angier, NYT October 20, 2008) During Covid-19, while we understand the need not to congregate – in rumshops, churches, groceries, parks, playgrounds, even at home – the ban from the beach feels like a separation from an essential self. But the beach is still open in Barbados.   Getting to Barbados requires proof of complete vaccination (tw...

Many dive operators are hunters, capturing trophy or food fish.  After more than 25 years diving, Ron Tiah, operating Dive TnT, has turned himself into an ocean protector. Today, he shoots lionfish to save the coral reefs. And he shoots with his camera so that we can see what’s alive in the ocean, the good and the bad. This feature was first published in the Tobago Newsday on June 8, World Oceans Day. All photos courtesy Ron Tiah Another world, underwater at Brothers rock, Caribbean Sea, off Tobago Who is Ron Tiah? I grew up in Pointe-a- Pierre; my dad Robert Tiah was Rexformer Superintendent at the Texaco Refinery. I would say he was my mentor and hero. I inherited my love for the sea, the land and conservation from him. He cultivated one of the most successful citrus plantations in Trinidad, still operating today. He was also an academic, who insisted on further studies for me at Albert College and York University in Canada. I also wanted to learn to scuba dive. ...