Places to Walk in Trinidad: Fort George

March 19, 2018

Places to Walk in Trinidad: Fort George

Y'all the Savannah and Chancellor Hill are nice and all, but it gets boring. And it gets crowded. And y'all know I'm always looking for a way to avoid people.

So when a friend suggested Fort George and told me there's usually hardly anybody up there, I was sold.

So off I went on a walk I never did before just to see what there is to see.

Firstly, the views are fantasticorgeous which is a word I just made up.

But most importantly, I did not encounter a single jogger/runner or walker in the one hour and 45 minutes it took me to get there and back. And very little vehicular traffic too.

Anyway, the walk was pretty uneventful apart from the two times I sprawled flat out in the road to rest because going up is pure hill.

I was huffing and puffing and sweating like a horse. (Do horses sweat?)

The distance is not too long, just about 3km one way from the bottom of Fort George Road in St James. But keep in mind it is all going uphill.

I had intended to go beyond the Fort up to the antenna thingies on the top of the mountain. But by the time I got to the Fort, I was too tired so it was a no from me. Perhaps some other day.

The Fort itself has been maintained beautifully and provides a small history lesson for those who care.

According to the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago, Fort George, formerly called La Vigie, was built in 1804 under the direction of the then British Governor, Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Hislop.

It was the major defensive position in Trinidad and was considered to be impregnable. We will never know because it never experienced any military action.

The main building was restored in 1965 and is today a historical site and tourist attraction.

There are lots of things to see including a never used jailhouse, cannons and those fantasticorgeous views I mentioned earlier. My pictures really don't do it any justice.

All in all, I enjoyed the walk. I'd do it again.