myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Hello:

I will be arriving in Tobago via Trinidad in 4 weeks, bringing with me 7 Canadians, several of whom do not usually travel. We will be staying at a hotel with a kitchenette and due to the limited variety of foodstuffs available, I've read that if one is used to a certain brand of coffee/tea (for example), you should bring it with you.

I just want to make sure that any dried goods we bring. are not confiscated on arrival to Trinidad.

Thanks

Hi Indy

I've had a quick search, but can't find any information on non-permissible imports. Hopefully somebody in Tobago will read the post and offer advice.

However, I think you will have no problem with conventional dry goods. We ALWAYS take our own coffee and tea (Jill would be like a beast with two heads without her morning cuppa) and there is very limited choice of brands (the local coffee is gross, IMHO). I think common sense will tell you whether it’s likely to be allowed or not – obviously bringing a dried hogs head in might cause a few raised eyebrows (don’t laugh – my daughter and son-in-law are Immigration Officers at Heathrow airport and tell me that you wouldn’t believe the stuff that people bring in on a daily basis).

Talking of Immigration Officers, a correspondent in the forum asked why IO’s are always so miserable – so I asked my son-in-law and daughter. They are the happiest, jolliest people you could meet. They said you’d be miserable too if you had to deal with axxe-hxxxs the whole day long.

Hi there from an un-miserable ex-chief immigration officer! You ought not to bring any fuits, vegetables or meats into T&T, since the customs declaration form that all passengers must complete asks for these items to be declared (in my experience this means that casual unlicensed import will be banned). However, all your US/canadian/european favourites are readily available here in a newish supermarket in Mount Pleasant village (SW Tobago) called Morshead. It is owned by a Brit who ships in goodies to suit non-Tobago folk, plus he has a wide selection of local products too. It is sometimes a bit pricey though, eg a UK PG Tips Tea packet I saw yesterday with £1.59 on the box was selling for $33tt, or over double. Sometimes stuff runs out too, but generally we find that north american products are reasonably priced and frozen meat selections are good. It is also air conditioned with a large car park and without the friendly chaos you somtimes encounter in Penny Savers and the ilk (being miserable now), plus, all prices are fixed and marked. You will be able to eat "Canadian" well here, whatever it is that Canadians eat!? Moose pie? Have fun, Glyn

Thank Glyn – I was thinking of you when I said that ‘somebody’ might be able to advise. I didn’t mean to encourage anyone to break the law!!!

I know it’s off topic, Glyn, and I certainly mean no disrespect, but WHY do IOs always seem so miserable? I always feel that I’ll get the third degree if I try to be friendly and pleasant. My thoughts were prompted by comments in two different threads in the forum – one from Barry and one from Ulrich. I know exactly what they mean. IOs always seem to be dour and unfriendly everywhere in the world (Brits are bad, but American and Canadian officers top the chart by far, in my experience – no offence meant, Indy). You know my son-in-law – you couldn’t meet a happier more jovial character, but I’ve certainly never met anyone like him on the desk at any airport. Is it just because officers have to be so ‘suspicious’ of every entry and being pleasant might be a distraction?

Anyway, back to the topic - it looks like I better not bring in my stocks of uncooked black pudding and haggis on my next visit to Tobago.

Aha, so you are the Tobago Black Pudding smuggler. I have passed this intelligence to customs at Crown Point, so it's no use hiding it in your trousers again. As for IOs, I can mainly speak for UK ones. Myself and a fair few colleagues were friendly and cheerful, but the job on the entry control of major air (and sea) ports can be a grind - your often up at 04:00, drive past the milkman then on the desk at 05:30 with 2-3000 passengers being disgorged in front of you for processing - at least 1% of whom are persona non grata, another percentage of that group holding forged documents that you must spot etc etc. Terrorism hasn't helped - the thought that someone who you allow in (in error) might then kill and maim is a weighty responsibility on one's shoulders. Finally, more IOs are physically/verbally assaulted on the control than on "raids" looking for illegals, believe it or not - you really have no idea who is standing at your desk, and we all had our fair share of disturbed people - for some reason the Royal Family attracts these people from all around the world. We ended up repatriating many to their country of origin's social services, if they came from a country boasting such a service! My last 9 years in the job were spent arresting illegals in the sink estates of London, but I do recall, in spite of the sheer tediom, responsibility and stress of the on entry job, many a light moment shared with passengers. Even funnier were the pranks we used to play (not me of course) on bewildered travellers - eg when everyone on the desks agreed to speak in French, convincing a US tour group their plane had landed in Paris then sending them off perplexed to the baggage hall - harmless fun I guess, noone got hurt. With innocent and obvious tourists it was nice to chat, and give advice etc, but having the time to do it was a luxury - if you spend too much time with one quickly processable passenger then your colleagues bore more of the brunt of the queue. Massive influxes of asylum seekers and an unfair panning in the media hasn't helped morale in recent years - all in all, considering these pressures, I think the professionals of the UK service do it much credit, even if humour sometimes has to take a back seat. By the way - I too have encountered humourless IOs in other countries, and (unless you have done the job) I agree that it is a shame when the first person you meet in a new country is rude to you. Smile and lead by exmple I guess, wear them down. Alternatively, try the line: "I have a tip for you......ask your charm school for a refund". That ought to get you a full body search! Cheers, Glyn

Hi Indy:

I just vacationed in Tobago and as a Canadian I must say that I had no trouble finding familiar stuff at the Pennysavers. While I must admit I lugged my Tchibo Coffee Grounds and filters and my Tetley Teabags, everything else could be found there at more or less the same exchange rate.

Remember you are on vacation, who wants to cook - try the local foods - you may pleasantly be surprised. We had breakfast in but lunch and dinner were eaten out - to give me, MOM, a well-deserved break!

Relax and enjoy the different cuisine!

Joanne

Thanks so much for the replies. My soon to be husband (from Newfoundland) is quite adventurous in the kitchen, thankfully, else we would never be compatible. We love different cuisines, but his parents will need some comfort of home while in Tobago. I will make note of the various stores mentioned and suggest they bring their own tea.

Can't wait to get to Tobago!

Indy