I found another place that doesn’t seem to have much of a wikipedia entry! Manzanilla Beach is on the east coast of Trinidad, facing the Atlantic Ocean. This one is a bit of a drive to get to, and we drove through some pretty horrible weather to get there. At some points it didn’t seem like we would make it out of the endless construction stops and insane detours, but I was determined to get to this place that existed vaguely in my memory. It’s pretty grey and gloomy each time I’ve been there, which I think now brings the total of times to 2 over a span of 19 or 21ish years. Nothing seems to have changed save a very odd looking resort, but it’s in relative isolation.
Most of the land on the east coast of Trinidad seems to have been spared from the rampant growth of the country, which appears to be centered around urban areas. If the roads to the east coast of the country were a bit more, lets say – direct, I could see this area taking off in the sunny season. However, we were there in the storm season, and the place looked it.
We saw a total of about 9 people there while we had a picnic and went out on the beach. This total includes 2 security guards in the washroom, where you have to pay a buck to go in. How’s that for making jobs? Egads.
If you google this place, you’ll find a bunch of resort stuff. I’m not sure where they got the photos from, however I’m sure it’s possible that it looks like that sometimes. However, each time I’ve been there, the water is very muddy from the local river – that might just be a seasonal thing. I’m not sure. Regardless, the area is a rather raw and unspoiled part of Trinidad definitely worth checking out.
