Sights to See: Indian Trinidad, around Carapichaima in Trinidad

INDIAN TRINIDAD
With a population that is more than 40% East Indian, Trinidad has organically incorporated Hindu traditions and cuisine into the cultural landscape.  This area shows the Indian culture most dramatically. 

●Highway Roti Shop  in FREEPORT.  With a range of curries from chicken to vegetarian and from mild to spicy, Indian cuisine in Trinidad offers a plethora of tasty street foods as well as simple restaurants and fine dining.  Dishes are made with both traditional recipes and modern twists, perfuming the air exotically with cumin, ginger, coriander and more.  At this roadside roti cafe, all fillings are curry and all meats are cooked with bones in for flavor.  Goat and duck are the most popular, but I found the veggie garbanzo-tomato-potato filling to be superb.  Here for 35 years, the kitchen knows what they are doing.
sign for Highway Roti Shop in Freeport, Trinidad
menu at Highway Roti Shop in Freeport, Trinidad
dining patio at Highway Roti Shop in Freeport, Trinidad
veggie curry at Highway Roti Shop in Freeport, Trinidad
●Dattatreya Temple and Yoga Centre  Off the Old Southern Main road, on Orange Field Rd., in CARAPICHAIMA.  The temple is considered to be spiritually connected with India.  Two gray concrete elephants provide water for washing feet before entering the main temple.
exterior of Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima, Trinidad
ornate door of Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima, Trinidad
colorful dome at Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima, Trinidad

          ●Hanuman Murti statue  This colorful 85-foot-tall statue is of the Hindu god Lord Hanuman--who represents wisdom, righteousness, and strength--is the tallest outside of India.  It is quite a surprise to see it towering over houses in a suburban area.
Hanuman Murti statue at Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima, Trinidad
          ●ET-like camel statue
camel statue at Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima, Trinidad
●Temple in the Sea at Waterloo  On Gulf of Paria, in CARAPICHAIMA.  Causeway 6am-6pm; temple hrs. irregular.  Begun in 1947 by a devotee (his statue is seen in the parking lot) but completed by others in 1995, a walkway leads from the water’s edge across the water to this floating Hindu temple.  It was built on the water because it was forbidden by colonial officials to build a temple on land.  Though a sacred site for Hindu worshipers, it welcomes visitors.
entrance to Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
exterior of Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
god statues at Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
elephant god statue at Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
colorful flag display at Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
exterior altar at Temple in the Sea at Waterloo in Carapichaima, Trinidad
●Indian Caribbean Museum  On Waterloo Rd., in CARAPICHAIMA; www.icmtt.org.  Free.  This small museum is dedicated to preserving the material history of more than 1 million Caribbean East Indians and South Asians.  Artifacts include vintage hand irons, a pick axe, musical instruments, and gold jewelry including a nose ring.  A primitive East Indian “tapia house” is being constructed near the entrance.
exterior of Indian Caribbean Museum in Carapichaima, Trinidad
More things to do in Trinidad.

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images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers