The Fabulous North CoastIf you haven't seen the North Coast, you haven't seen Tobago as it ought to be seen!
CastaraTo get to Castara, you leave Scarborough taking the Northside Road, through a succession of small fairly built up communities. You will go past Mason Hall, Moriah and Runnemede before you find the Castara district.
The road to Castara is very, very scenic. The road is by my estimate, about 1000 feet above sea level, and as it winds along opens up some stunning vistas. On the seaward sides, the houses along the road are often discernible only by the roofs, since they are built on the downward slope of the mountainside. As you drive along, the road descends to dip briefly to sea-level in the village of Castara. Castara Bay comes into view.
Castara remains a fishing village till now, although catering to tourists is becoming an mini-industry here. On this beach the Castara Plantations stored its sugar and other products awaiting pick up by sailing boats called "lighters" to be transported away from the island.
The Castara River feeds into the bay. Some 40 years ago I worked with a gentleman from Tobago, who frequently remarked on the fact that if visitors to Castara drank the water from the river, they would come down with typhoid fever, whereas the villagers used the water all the time and for all purposes and never got sick from it. Doubtless a case of well developed early childhood immunities.
Englishman's BayBetween Castara and Parlatuvier on the North Coast Road is Englishman's Bay. You have to keep a sharp lookout for it, because the sign announcing Englishman's Bay seems to be no longer there. But you will see a large green sign opposite a bamboo grove that says 'Eula's Cafe By the Sea - Englishman's Bay.' Turn down the road towards the coast and you will be there in short order.Here is a picture of Englishman's Bay.
*The beach, some complain, is no longer as quiet. The authorities have been unable or unwilling to electrify the beach, so there is now a private generator that supplies electricity to make the ice-cream and provide lighting and pressurize the water supply, etc.
The beach itself slopes down toward the bay more steeply than usual, conveying the impression of a shallow amphitheatre. The waters are partially sheltered, but become deep rather more quickly than you might be accustomed to. If you can swim, that's hardly a problem. All in all it is considered a good, safe beach. There is also some good snorkelling to be done here. No snorkelling equipment? You can rent it at Eula's.
Not only is it a restaurant, but a crafts shop as well. Eula's husband Kenny Agard began some simple carving on bamboo. I first met him about 4 years ago. Since then he has made some considerable the progress in developing his craft !
Here are some of his pieces - made of bamboo or from the local calabash - and some shell work. The calabash is a kind of gourd with a thin but extremely tough shell, round or oblate spheroid, and grows directly out of the trunk of its tree. Green when on the tree and brown when dried out, inside it is full of seeds in a sort of thick tissue.Scrape it all out and you have a bowl, a dipper, an eating utensil, etc. - a calabash!
Batik, by the way, while widely regarded as a part of the West Indian culture, predates West Indian civilization by almost two thousand years. It was first found in the Far East, Middle East and India. However, Indonesia, and Java in particular, has seen its greatest development. Batik clothes and design is highly symbolic. It's popularity throughout the West Indian islands shows how thoroughly it has been adopted and absorbed.
Well, getting back to Eula, she has given out a phone number. It is 639 -6408.. So if you're going to Englishman's Bay, why not give her a call in advance and let her know what you want?
ParlatuvierAnother quiet and beautiful north coast beach and fishing centre, with its own jetty.
 The name of this north coast village suggests a French origin, although it is not now known why it was given that name. For the true eco-tourist, Parlatuvier is heaven. Matt Kelley describes how just before sundown and at the same time each day, in a certain patch of forest here along the north coast, there is a fly-in of the birds. Crested Oropendola or Yellowtails, Giant Cowbirds, and other species come together, some times by the thousands in a ritual that has been going on for as long as anyone alive can remember. Unobserved - except by some local people and the intrepid few who don't mind being in the forest after darkness falls! There was a call to have this section declared a sanctuary, but it appears that 'development' has been making inroads. This is quite a respectable north coast fishing spot as well.
Further along the north coast, you ccome to Bloody Bay. Do this by following the road signs at the junction just as the North Coast Road turns to go over the main ridge through the Forest Reserve. Or if you feel fit for a hike through the woods, continue on to the Gilpin Trail and take it through the forest ( use a guide.) The trail runs down past a waterfall to Bloody Bay. Best to arrange some kind of transportation back from Bloody Bay, unless you want to climb back up the hill down which you came!
The legend is that this north coast site saw a mighty naval battle here between the English, French and Dutch, and that the bay turned red with the blood of the slain. I say legend, because historians are unable to verify, from the name of the English Admiral supposed to have been involved, that any such battle took place here, although it is known that such an engagement took place elsewhere in the Caribbean. However the Bay is here, and so Bloody Bay it is!
Of course, this is not the only Bloody Bay in the West Indies. There is one in Little Cayman, and another at Negril, Jamaica. There is even one (once more pleasantly called the Bay of Flowers) in The Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada, inhabited in 1871 by about 120 folks, mostly Scots. That one got its name from the bloody episodes in the eighteenth century between the Beothuk aboriginees who came from inland, and the Europeans who came from the sea. The British described the Beothuks as 'savage people'. There is no record of what the aboriginees called the British.
But perhaps, in the end, it all goes back to Scotland, where in 1480, William Dubh MacLeod died while giving his support to John MacDonald in the Battle of Badh Na Fola - the Battle of Bloody Bay. So my thinking is that the Tobago Bloody Bay may have had nothing at all to do with any battle. Rather it might mark the wistful nostalgia of a Scotsman who found himself on this north coast. There were certainly enough of them to leave their names all over Tobago, both as place names and as personal names.
Even further along the north coast isL'anse Fourmi. This was as far as the ordinarily passable roads reached. A trail that is sometimes traversed by motorcycle and 4WD vehicles, goes from here to Charlotteville.
Here again is evidence of French occupation at one time. L'anse in French is a bight or bay. Fourmi is an ant. So just what does L'anse Fourmi mean. An ant-infested bay? Literal ants or metaphorical? An invading force, perhaps? Here is a ripe opportunity to start your own legend!
There have been recent efforts to extend the North Coast road where the trail now runs, and thus will open up other charming vistas to locals and tourists alike, and provide a proper bus service. More power to the road builders!
Return from North Coast to Places to See
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As you drop into this north coast village, a school on the left serves as the landmark for an immediate left turn towards the beach. The school was , not so long ago, located on the beach, which must have been both delightful and distracting to staff and students alike.
This spot is a favourite with visitors to the north coast. The beach is quiet *, there is lots of shade. If you wish to even just read a book, it's a great place to do it. Would you prefer a beach chair for greater comfort? Rent it at Eula's! 
Eula has been carrying on business here since at least 1996. She is an excellent cook. If you drive out that way there is no need to take food along with you. Eula will supply tasty meals at quite reasonable prices: Roti or barbecue, cakes or indigenous dishes, Eula can provide it! Soft drinks? A good variety, shandy or a local drink, and under $1 US. Prefer homemade ice cream? You'll get it here. 
Eula's is now the quaint little homebuilt cafe that you see here (There are lots of homebuilts in Tobago) with just enough seating for the trade. You may choose to enjoy your company of friends or have the meal looking out over the bay. Here is a picture of Eula standing in the doorway during a slack period.
