The wonder of Fort Abercromby. The idyllic beauty of Yarra Beach. The majesty of Avocat Waterfall. These were some of the sites during a North Coast tour on Thursday hosted by Island Girl Tours and Trini Surfer.
Newsday rendezvoused with the transport for the tour in Maraval — a green band 12-seater maxi taxi. We were greeted by company owner, the athletic and gregarious David Rajpaulsingh, his wife and general manager Anna, and assistant Ben Alemayehu. The clients for the day were Trinidad-born, New York-based retail operations director Steve Sooknanan who was visiting with his wife and two daughters, as well as his relatives.
During the maxi ride, Rajpaulsingh and Sooknanan traded stories about various places they had travelled and about moving about the US. Later in an interview, Rajpaulsingh explained that, having travelled the world, he enjoys talking to people about their country. He lived in Canada from 1991 to 2015 before moving back home.
[caption id="attachment_1053258" align="alignnone" width="576"] LA FILETTE: The tour group makes its way down some stairs to the beach at La Fillette. - Photo courtesy Island Girl Tours[/caption]
"At the time we moved back to look at Tobago as a viable place to come back and live. Now we never thought about tours. But then I did a couple of sightseeing (events) and tours and I realised the place was so ripe and so beautiful and so completely replete with so much gorgeousness and nature I (thought), 'We need to do this place justice.'"
He explained when he worked for the government in Canada he had a lot of experience with cabinet ministers and government officials in promoting and "selling" Ontario. And this gave him a revelation of what was needed for the sister isle.
"The beauty speaks for itself. The nature speaks for itself. What it needs is customer service. People to show this, show it in a fun, loving way, in a historical way, whatever way suits your fancy. But to make sure it is about the customers."
He recalled the company was created with the motto "Your happiness is our happiness."
"It's not about money – we make money – but it's about service."
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The company was unofficially launched in 2017 but became official in 2018 when the website was launched and the certification and registration were received.
Rajpaulsingh said their favourite tour group size is two to six people but they have done upwards of 75. He added the larger tours are less personal because you have to deal with a lot of people.
[caption id="attachment_1053255" align="alignnone" width="556"] ROCKS AND STONE: Island Girl Tours owner and guide David Rajpaulsingh holds up a colourful stone amidst the beautiful rock landscape at Fort Abercromby overlooking Las Cuevas Bay.Photo courtesy Island Girl Tours - Photo courtesy Island Girl Tours[/caption]
On their website they have several Tobago tours including the Off the Beaten Path (Hidden Gems Tour), Castara Bonfire, Waterfalls Tour and Sunday School Lime (Night Party). Their flagship tour, however, is t
