Rock It to Soccolo, the Port-of-Spain to Paramin tour being held on May 7 by final-year tourism management students at the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute, Chaguaramas, promises to be an enlightening, educational and exciting experience.
Lecturer Kathryn McConnie said the Port-of-Spain leg of the tour leaves the Cruise Ship Complex at 12.30 pm. It will feature areas such as Independence Square, King Street, “the whole history of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the Railway, the Red House and Woodford Square, Trinity Cathedral, all the way around the Queen’s Park Savannah.”
McConnie said: “You’ll get the story of the Peschier family and the Peschier ghost in the Savannah. You’ll also get the stories of the winding of the clock in the Trinity Cathedral and the petition that was signed for that, the Water Riots. Then you’ll continue through Maraval where you’ll hear about the Grenadian man who was responsible for bringing the French to Trinidad. You’re going to get a lot of historical information that you would never have known before, all the way back to the 1800s.”
This part of the tour should take about an hour and 15 minutes, with the guests being driven around in maxis, each with its own tour guide. McConnie said the buses will leave promptly, whether or not all guests are there, as she has taught the students that time is critical.
Class representative Shammah Taylor said guests will then be taken in jeeps up to Paramin, where they will tour the Our Lady of Guadeloupe RC Church, followed by the Soucouyant grounds. They will then be taken to Barre La Vigie, on the fourth highest mountain of the Northern Range, “where they can see the Caribbean Sea, Saut D’eau Island, Tobago and on a very clear day they can even see Grenada.” This should take two hours, to be followed by a grand reception at Soccolo Peak.
Taylor was excited by the variety of food and beverages to be available at the reception, especially as all the catering will be done in Paramin. She also raved about the entertainment, also from the community, which will include traditional folk characters such as the Dame Lorraine and the Paramin Blue Devils, as well as music and dancing.
In addition, there will be a stall where someone from Paramin will be selling spices and local products. At the start of the tour, the guests will also get light refreshments and a hearty snack plate. Following the festivities, the guests will be taken back to the Cruise Ship Complex for 8.30 pm. They will each receive a well-packed token bag.
While the guests are having fun, the students will be graded on their performance—including the planning stage—there will be three judges along on the tour. Students will have to write individual reports after analysing the process. McConnie said it’s a big grade and anyone who doesn’t do well will have to repeat.
McConnie said she has worked with the students all through the year to make sure the experience will be a quality one. There’s an emphasis on using local guides, with income going back into the community, as the students are studying sustainable tourism.
McConnie said domestic tourism experiences like this can help “Trinidadians establish pride in our country.” She commented on the good responses from those who have been on such tours: “People always says they want to come back, they learned so much, they want to do it again. It’s a great selling opportunity for the students, and they learn a lot on how to promote their own country.”
McConnie said she chose the Port-of-Spain to Paramin tour because she thought it would be ideally suited to the students, a lot of whom are from South Trinidad.
“My rationale is that it’s an easy sell because many people have never been and it’s always exciting, but more so because it would be easy to sell the tickets to their families and friends.”
She said every year she tries to come up with a different tour that she thinks will be suited to the students.
“It should be a lot of fun and I think people are going to learn a lot from it and certainly enjoy everything that Paramin has to offer. It’s a very warm and friendly family community and the people are always excited to have people come in and see what they’re doing.”
• Tickets cost $400 and are all-inclusive. Start time is 12.30 pm, on May 7, at the Cruise Ship Complex, Port-of-Spain. Secured parking is available and the tour ends at 8.30 pm. For further information, call 634-1315/4250/4456.