It was that time again, time to hit the road! Covid is still raging so no flights were involved. This was a local road trip and all safety precautions were observed with masks worn at all times! Just a small group of people were in the group and we were sectioned off into even smaller groups when observing the sites. Safety was indeed the priority!
So why Moruga? Well, even though I live in Trinidad I have never been out to that side…. sad isn’t it? But nevertheless, like all my other international trips, I thought it would be fun to go out to learn and experience whatever I could just, on a smaller, albeit domestic level!
Fun facts! The village of Moruga is located on the central south coast of Trinidad at the western end of the Trinity Hills. It’s primarily a fishing village and it’s the place where Christopher Columbus landed in 1498 when he “discovered” Trinidad. BTW he never stepped on the land but sent his people to deal with the local ‘situation’…you feel me?? Okay, moving on…
Thanks to RoadtripTT, I signed up for their Taste of Moruga road trip. I met up with the group at the pickup spot – Mt Hope and our small group boarded a minibus to head to Moruga. First, we stopped in Debe to see the Digity mud volcano. Such a cool name it and a bit of a badass as mud volcanoes go. Digity is over 20ft high and has the single largest cone in Trinidad. Over 20 years ago, apparently this mud volcano swallowed a whole oil rig and back in 1938, it was reported that an oil well disappeared and was never recovered. After those stories, I stepped gingerly and tried to communicate my silent respects to Digity just in case. We toured for about 30 minutes and I was pleased to be able to collect some very aged mud for my therapeutic mud mask later that I would enjoy with a side of wine. Bliss! We were then off to our next stop, Moruga Cocoa Chocolate Museum.
At the museum we saw old barracks, horse stables, manager’s quarters and cocoa houses. We also saw archival records with the names of some indentured labourers, Merikins and creole peoples who worked on the plantation back in the 1800s. Our host was the Merikin, Prince of Moruga, owner of the estate and next in line as his cousin is the oldest living Chief. He explained the history and took us to around and showed us the still standing cocoa house used to dry the beans. He even shared some of his own patented and potent cocoa rum for our lunch.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to Keisha’s Dirt Oven. There we had homemade cake and pone and collected our previously ordered sweets and breads. They sell a variety of Trinbagonian desserts and cakes. I ordered whole wheat bread, coconut bake and a pizza all for the low, low price of TT$145. Take note that I am not usually a bread lover but let me just say that all the baked goods were scrumptious and it was all well worth the price. We learned how the dirt ovens were made and how the baking is done daily. Fresh and wonderful!
Our last stop on the trip was Moruga Bay to see the St Peter’s and Columbus’ monuments and the La Ruffin Spring Bridge. I learned that the coastline here is subject to severe coastal erosion as its constantly battered by rough seas. We could see the damage done to the buildings and monuments. It was yet another reminder that we as Trinbagonians need to take care of our history because time and weather will erase it all before our very eyes and leave nothing of the past. To quote Winston Churchill: “A nation that forgets its past has no future”. True talk!
All in all, I was really happy to get out of my house, gain some new experiences and great pictures and learn some more about my sweet island, TnT! This was one of the best Saturdays that I have experienced in a while!!
Check out @roadtriptt and their various local trips, it’s worth it!
