Our flight to Port of Spain, Trinidad, was with British Airways from London Gatwick. Pushback of flight BA2159 from the gate was delayed by around 50 minutes but some of this time was made up at the intermediate stop in St Lucia. By the time we arrived at Piarco International Airport at Port of Spain we were around 25 minutes late.

The immigration queue was fairly slow and the questioning was thorough. We finally got a stamp in our passports and were allowed to enter Trinidad and Tobago, our 77th country.

The drive into Port of Spain (PoS) would have been easier in the daylight but it wasn't too difficult and we were at our accommodation after around 35-40 minutes. They say first impressions count, and the area where we were staying seemed very quiet, possibly a bit rough, and the hotel/guest house seemed a bit basic.

We headed out for some food and the guy on reception was a man of few words, and had very few suggestions of where to eat. It seemed that McDonalds or TGI Fridays were the only options within easy walking distance. The receptionist's estimate of a 15 minute walk to TGI Fridays was actually less than 5 minutes. It was good to have a local beer/cocktail and a bite to eat after the flight before settling in for the night.

We were up early on the Monday morning and headed out to find some breakfast. A local coffee shop, Rituals, was OK and the slightly spicy beef pasty was an interesting way to start the day. In daylight, with people heading to work the area around the hotel seemed very different to our first impressions the previous night. We still weren't sure, but it did seem quite a bit better.

We headed out of PoS by car to the south to visit the Temple on the Sea at Waterloo. This was a 45 minute drive and whilst it was good to see . . . it certainly wasn't a fantastic tourist attraction. We didn't stay too long and were soon back on the move.

Driving back via the outskirts of PoS we ended up at Maracas Beach. The drive, once through PoS, was along winding mountain roads before dropping back down to sea level at Maracas Beach. The beach was truly Caribbean, with palms trees, golden sand and beach shacks selling food. We really should have tried the 'bake and shark' which was being served up at many of the shacks, but only found out about it after our visit, it's a Maracas Beach specialty (deep fried shark meat, in a fried bread roll stuffed with veggies). Next time maybe?

The following day we left the car at our accommodation and wandered the streets of PoS. We started off by walking part of the Queen's Park Savannah to view the buildings known as the Magnificent Seven. These buildings including the home of the Prime Minister were built originally by local businessmen, some are in need of repair (one is currently undergoing considerable refurbishment) but others seem to be in good condition. We also walked through the Botanical Gardens, around the rest of the Queen's Park Savannah - which is a huge park in the centre of the city - before visiting the National Museum. The central area of PoS really isn't that much to write home about and we wandered through Woodford Square and then Independence Square before arriving at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the waterfront. It feels like there is much work to do to make this a real tourist destination - but too be fair, that's were Tobago comes in - and Trinidad continues to make money from the rich oil and gas reserves instead.

In the evening we joined a trip that took around some of the 'Pan Yards'. These are where the steel drum groups are based and there are plenty of them as this is a big thing in Trinidad and Tobago (they invented the instrument). There is great competition between the groups to be crowned as champions every year during the carnival/pan-orama event. Even though we only saw small groups practising (of around 15 people) the sound was fabulous - when they get to the competition the groups will number 100 plus. It must be wonderful to hear a full group working together to bring those Caribbean soca or calypso vibes to life.

After the pan yards we were taken to a couple of local bars (to taste the local rum), and tried some of the local street food. The vendors on the street corner selling Doubles make a reasonable living. These streetside snacks consist of two flour tortillas, with a healthy dollop of what is a chickpea based gloop with the addition of some chutneys and different flavoured sauces. It was challenging to eat without losing the filling, but it was rather tasty.

That pretty much brings our time in Trinidad to a close, so the following morning we headed back to the airport for the short 15 minute flight to Tobago. It'll be interesting to see the difference between the two main islands of this country.