Road Network

John Hill · Post by **John Hill** » Sat May 03, 2003 5:38 am

Can someone please advise me can you drive in a standard car from Charlotteville to Parlatuvier without going back via Roxborough.

Frank Tettemer · Post by **Frank Tettemer** » Sat May 03, 2003 12:47 pm

Hi John,

During the first week of April, we went from Charlottevile to Hermitage, one morning. On the way we noted many road workers. The road is currently under construction, and because of that, there were many spots to wait patiently until the road builders completed a certain job, i.e., pouring concrete, pumping water, excavating. It took an hour to drive about 10 kilometers.

On the positive side, because they were working on the road, it was at least roughly passable, as they needed to keep it navigable in order to drive their own equiptment on it. There was one spot, though, just a few kilometers past a pair of bridges that were under construction, near Hermitage, where we had to fiord the river, around the bridge construction. At this point, we dragged a tailpipe, and scraped a bit of muffler, but no harm was done.

Past Hermitage, it was a bit rougher going, and there were some other unavoidable scrapes, even though I'm an experienced back roads driver here in Canada, and was driving slowly and carefully. By L'Anse Fourmi, things were much better, but still a long way from being well graded and paved.

Thus, as everyone had advised me, a four-wheel-drive would have been much better. I was driving a Nissan Sunny, automatic transmission with baffed-out shocks. Apparently, I had been the only idiot to drive a car through that construction in quite some time. Call me foolish, certainly, but also label me 'curious' and and a 'happy' explorer! (The Americans call all of us "Crazy Canucks"!)

All in all, it looked like construction would be going on for quite a while yet. My thought was that if they didn't complete some areas very soon, they might lose a lot of construction to washouts, if the rainy season come on soon and strong. This would be too bad, as it's a beautiful road.

I hope this description is of some help. Bon Voyage!

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Sat May 03, 2003 2:00 pm

Dear John, readers and car rental firms on Tobago.

May I apologize for the above post and stress that only a small minority of us “Crazy Canucks” show so little disregard for other people’s property. Whilst I hate to criticize a fellow Canadian, much less a fellow Ontarian, I could not believe my eyes reading the post above. “Fioding rivers”, “dragging tailpipes”, “scraping mufflers”, “unavoidable scrapes”. I had no choice but to register an account on this excellent forum and express my disgust and shame.

Searching for other posts by this gentleman, I see that he hired his Sunny from Mr Ancle at the Naturalist Beach Resort. I trust that Mr Ancle will pass this gentleman’s name to every car rental firm on Tobago. People like this spoil it for us all.

I apologize on behalf of all Canadians. The vast majority of us will show nothing but respect for your beautiful country and your property.

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Sun May 04, 2003 2:45 pm

I have pondered on the above posts for 24 hours. I would frankly have preferred to avoid becoming involved. However, there are two important and fundamental issues at stake, so I have no choice.

Mike, as heart-felt as your message appears to be, your post represents a flame – a personal attack on another forum user. This is strictly not allowed in the forum. Subscribers must show respect for the views of others, even when they strongly disagree. Reasoned argument – FINE! Personal attacks – NO! I also doubt that you have the authority to speak on behalf of ALL Canadians, so in its own way your post was as ill-advised as Frank’s actions.

The issue that upset MikeB is, of course, the fact that Frank went off-roading in a rental vehicle. It is only fair to disclose that I have been in touch with Frank since he made the post, so I have the benefit of further details.

Frank assures me that he had fully discussed his plans with Ancle George before the trip, including the fact that he was considering the section of road between Charlotteville and L'Anse Fourmi. They had discussed the insurance implications and Frank understood and accepted full responsibility. He further explains that he has considerable off-road experience and 1 million kilometres of accident-free driving. In hindsight, he accepts that attempting the journey might have been somewhat irresponsible as he hadn't fully realised the implications should the vehicle be damaged.

Just for the record and for the benefit of others, may I explain the situation here.

The road from Charlotteville to L’Anse Fourmi has been virtually impassable for many, many years. It’s not even shown on most roadmaps of Tobago. It has only been used by experienced local drivers, with ‘proper’ 4x4s, in the 45 years or so that I have been visiting Tobago. The road is currently being rebuilt and will eventually enable visitors to make a full circular tour of the island.

Now, we (should) all know that vehicle insurance specifically exempts off-road driving. Insurance companies will argue that the Charlotteville-L’Anse Fourmi road is technically closed and therefore constitutes off-road driving. I know for a fact that some Tobago car rental companies specifically name this stretch of road (and the track to Back Bay) in their exemptions. So, if you attempt the road and incur any damage, your liability will not be restricted to the agreed insurance excess and any CDW will be invalid. You will be liable for 100% of all damage repair costs, plus the cost of recovering the vehicle. You will also be liable for the loss of earnings of the vehicle. Please do not forget this latter aspect - most small rental firms struggle to make a living and while a vehicle is off the road, they struggle even more.

Frank accepts that he had not thought of this and that in the light of this his actions may therefore have been ill-advised. In holiday spirit it is all too easy to forget these things and get carried away with our own enthusiasm.

MikeB, I would suggest that you were also somewhat over the top in your own response. You were highly judgemental of Frank’s actions, without in any way knowing the type of guy he really is, or the actions and discussion that he had with the rental owner before the trip. I for one am satisfied that Frank is not the irresponsible character you seem to suggest.

Frank has asked me to post the following response to MikeB:

Mr. Mike B, I must tell you that I became very upset when you assumed the right and the need to speak as a representative of Canada. It is so much more useful, to write from one's own opinion and take personal responsibility for one's own feelings. If you had objected to my post from a personal point of view, and spoken from your own heart, it would have been easier for me to hear you.

I think enough has been said on this matter. It's all your fault, John! Seriously though, the answer to your question is NO - not at the moment and not without checking the situation very carefully with your car rental firm. I don't know when the road will be completed. To be honest, knowing Tobago I'm not holding my breath.

John Hill · Post by **John Hill** » Sun May 04, 2003 3:01 pm

SORRY

Glad I am leaving for Tobago in 15 hours time.
Come on guys thats it over and done, no harm ment.
Steve have you ever considered going into Politics you could do a good job.

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Sun May 04, 2003 3:05 pm

I somehow don't think so, John. My memory is so bad that I've found it impossible to lie - I simply can't remember what I said. Therefore, the only workable solution I've found over the years is to be absolutely down-the-line honest. In view of this, I doubt whether I'd last five minutes as a politician.

Anyway, enjoy your trip and keep in touch.

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:15 pm

Frank and Steve, I do apologize. I agree that my post was hasty. Our last holiday in the Cayman Islands was ruined by hostility from the owners of the guest house. They went out of their way to be nice to other guests but totally snubbed us. I thought they were just homophobic, but the maid told us they had major problems with some Canadians the week before. It was very hurtful. I took your post at face value and just thought it was another case of us getting a bad name. Sorry!

Frank Tettemer · Post by **Frank Tettemer** » Mon May 05, 2003 7:12 pm

Mike B, apology gracefully accepted, I hold no grudges. Your point about ruining it for others is a good one. It's a good reminder to all of us to be the best we can be, at home or abroad.

I'm sorry you had to take the brunt of it in the Cayman Islands. Racial oppression and nationalist zeal all have detrimental affects, and we have all been on the receiving end at times, and felt the sting and hurt, as well as finding ourselves, inadvertantly at other times, to be the oppressor. Since we, the readers of this forum, all have the ability, however difficult, to somehow find the cash to fly to the Carribean, we are quite often viewed as "the Wealthy" by those who's lives are suffering, and who often blame their troubles on "Having Not". This is most especially true in those countries were oppressive governments make it difficult for the low-or-no-income people.

However, what I find most refreshing about the village people of Tobago, is that their lives can potentially be fulfilling and rich without a lot of financial wealth.
I don't want ot open a can of worms with that statement, so I would ask readers to simply examine that statement at face value and find their own sense of truth in the matter. What I'm implying is that at Charlotteville and Castara, the fundamental needs appear to be covered, by a social and benevalent government, and the village social fabric, a collection of diversely religious and cooperative peoples, has enough basic freedom to allow individual fulfillment and consequential satisfaction in life. In other words, the look given to a tourist is not such a thing as to reflect a wide gap between the 'haves', (us tourists), and the 'have nots'. Tourist business people, i.e., guest house owners, tour guides, craft, art, and souvenirs sales people, all appear to find some level of success and satisfaction in their work, however humble it may be. Thus, when I walked in the village streets, I felt comfortable to meet peoples eyes, without the unconcious need to be on the defence, from being hustled, cajoled, or begged at.

If we, as travelers, can stay open-hearted and honest in our dealings with Tobagonians, we do a great deal to preserve their sense of self-worth and independence. Which paves the way for other, future visitors, as well as giving us our own dignity, and a delightful and rejunvinating holiday visit.

Thanks for your reply, Mike. I hope you have a delightful trip.

Frank

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Mon May 05, 2003 7:23 pm

Here, here, Frank! You've hit the nail on the head. That's why I expressed the sentiments I did on the first two paragraphs of the myTobago.info home page.

Mike. Thanks for your courtesy in responding and for you apology of course.

John Hill · Post by **John Hill** » Fri May 30, 2003 12:34 pm

The road is being built the sign said will open in 2004, we shall see