SCARBOROUGH THE PRESUMPTIVE CAPITAL
The place doesn't need a mayor and here's why. The entire island of Tobago has only 54,000 souls. Just about the size of a smallish North American town! Although legally a ward of Trinidad at first, due to a coming together of history and politics Tobago now has its own House of Assembly. Its function is to look after the affairs of all Tobago. So really there is no need for another governing body.
This town is dominated by the port. There used to be sailings of the ferry to Port of Spain each day. There are now two fast catamarans that have cut the journey to a little over two hours. What's more, one of them leaves at 6.30 in the morning so as to be in Port of Spain by 9.00-9.30 am. A late afternoon return trip means you can now go to Trinidad and return the same day.
Opposite the port. Kentucky Fried Chicken does a roaring trade. If you don't specify they will ask you if you want the regular or the spicy. Choose the spicy. You will agree that Colonel Sanders never imagined anything like it. Beginning in 2003, the competition has shown up in the form of Church's Chicken, Royal Castle, etc. which is a tribute to the success of KFC.
Adjoining Church's is Pizza Boys. When that started we wondered how they would fare. Pizza was unknown to the majority of the population, unless they went to one of the Italian restaurants. Pizza Boys also serves coffee and doughnuts as well as danishes and they surely managed to expand the horizons of the Tobago taste buds. They also sell roti, the local delicacy which you can get almost anywhere in denominations of beef, chicken, goat, shrimp, plain potato, even vegetarian.. Along with a cold drink, its a complete meal for less than $4.00 US.
Unless you come by the boat, the main approach to Scarborough is along the Claude Noel Highway from the airport. Turn right at the lights at Wilson Road. Scarborough is divided geographically into "downtown" which means on the flat, and "uptown" which , as you must guess, means up the hill.
Running west from the Port Authority building is the Esplanade. It goes about a mile and ends at the Coast Guard station. The Esplanade is a faith-testing umpteen-million dollar project started some eight or nine years ago. Completed in 2004, it will stand (as long as it stands) as a monument to the patience of the community. The roadway has been widened to what could be a four lane road, and closer to mthe dock kiosks have been constructed as part of the development to acommodate handicraft and other stores. The sidewalk, paved with a tastefull pattern of interlocking paving blocks in grey and pink, runs behind a wall that keeps back the sea.
Many of the buildings that formerly stood on this roadway had fallen into disrepair, due to the combination of neglect and the constant sea-blast. Those that were well maintained are still there, and there is a thrust towards renovation or rebuilding. You can now find there hardware stores, electrical suppliers, furniture and home appliance stores, various eating establishments, the island's Education Secretariat and an adjoining commercial plaza, 2 of the island's 6 gas stations - one belonging to a taxi co-operative but open to the public.
A word about gas stations in Tobago: "Self-serve" is a concept unheard of here, until recently. There are uniformed (sometimes!) attendants, with fistfuls of cash, to serve you, collect your money and make change. Speed of service is hardly a consideration. Also the management, or lack of management, means there are long line-ups for gasoline. The best times to get gas is early morning, or in the afternoons before 3.00 o'clock, that is to say, before the after-school and after-work rush. Schools close at 3.00 p.m. and most working people quit at 4.00 p.m. Most stations are open until 9.00 o'clock at night and part of the day on Sundays,some all of Sunday. (If you are going to the east of Scarborough, be aware that there are only 2 stations there, at Roxborough and at Charlotteville: and the one at Roxborough is closed on Saturdays.)
That situation may soon change, as the word is out that approval has been given for three new stations in Tobago. A large new one, the "flagship" station for all Trinidad and Tobago, is due to open shortly. We could hardly wait.
[Happiness all around! Since end-2006, the flagship is open. There are 16 pumps, bright overhead lighting, an efficient staff in red Jerseys with the NP logo - and a "Quick Shoppe"! The long line-ups at all the other western Tobago stations are but a fading memory!]
The Botanical Gardens slope upwards from Gardenside Street, and has become something of a favorite spot for outdoor weddings. There is a large construction project now happening betwen Gardenside and Wilson, so as to put a Financial Complex in what is now Market Square.
Downtown you will find the port, the grocery stores, some hardware stores, two of the island's six gas stations, some of the banks and their ATM machines, the market, the Scarborough Mall, quite a few taxi stands, and scores of roadside vendors.
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Indeed, a caller to the local Tambrin Radio FM 92.1 wanted to know who was the mayor of Scarborough, and what were its boundaries? There really are no anwsers to these questions. Nor does anybody really care. 
During the high season, there are visits by cruise ships carrying vast quantities of tourists. This one, the Sundream, brought 1150 tourists, but it docked for only one day, unfortunately a Sunday, when nothing much happens in Scarborough, or for that matter, in Tobago. But for the2004-2005 cruise season a channel was dredged so the largest ships can come alongside. There have been already a number of huge ships dwarfing the Port Authority building.
A number of private yachts can sometimes also be seen in the harbour.
Wilson Road runs down the middle of Scarborough to the Port Authority installation. However you can't drive all the way down Wilson Road. About halfway down, you must turn either right or left. Right takes you up Dutch Fort road and back down onto the western end of the port. Left takes you along Gardenside Street to Carrington Street on the eastern side of,the port. Both Dutch Fort Road and Gardenside Street are one-way south, while the lower side of Wilson Road is one-way north.
Off the Esplanade, running uphill away from the sea is Sangster's Hill, with another plaza, and terminating in a large denominational school. The plaza houses various commercial enterprises including the offices of Tobago News (published weekly on Wednesdays), the Tax Department, and the local cable TV offices. In areas served by cable TV, subscribers can access about 56 channels, including, ABC, CBS, MNBC, CNN, Toronto's City Pulse TV, HBO, and international stations like Britain's BBC, Germany's Deutsch Welle; informational channels like The Learning Channel. PBS, Canada's Home and Garden TV, Discovery Channel. If sports is your passion, you can see a number of Championship games and the events leading up to them: the NFL Super Bowl. the various College Bowls, boxing matches, horse racing, golfing Masters series. tennis up to and including Wimbledon, baseball's World Cup, Europe's FIFA soccer events, figure skating, round the world sailing, hockey and the Olympics. Never a dull moment!
