Food Feature: Footprints in Tobago

Travel magazines these days are filled with articles and ads for so-called eco-resorts in exotic locales where, for $2,500 a week or more, you can mingle in four-star luxury with the CEOs of multinational corporations enjoying a guilt-free holiday from their work polluting the world and driving down wages in the countries they're visiting. Footprints Eco Resort, on the little island of Tobago, offers many of the same luxuries at a much more reasonable price, and with a lot less attitude. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there recently, and found that it struck a perfect balance between Robinson Crusoe and Robin Leach.

Footprints is the brainchild of Mia Persad, who purchased 62 acres of a former sugar and cocoa plantation on Tobago to fulfill her dream of giving back to her native home. The resort houses a garden, wildlife, a saltwater fish pond and solar-assisted power systems. There are three villas, two suites and four oceanfront rooms on the property, making it seem at times that you are the lord of the estate, with a small staff to attend to your needs. The villas are constructed of local and recycled woods with thatch roofs and feature teak furniture, garden showers and a small refrigerator.

At the tiny Tobago airport, our driver, Floyd, picked us up to take us to Footprints, which is located about 15 miles up the leeward coast of the island in a narrow vale facing Culloden Bay. As we descended the final mile down a rutted dirt road, we saw chickens running loose on the road and goats grazing on the steep hillsides that plunged down to the sea.

The thatched-roof building that serves as the resort reception area, restaurant and bar is modeled after the local cocoa houses, which had retractable roofs to cover the drying beans in the event of rain. We were greeted by Judy, the manager, and were each handed a welcome punch made of fresh fruit. Then we were shown to our villa — the Lovers' Retreat.

Nestled in a hollow, the Lovers' Retreat was a fenced-in compound that allowed us to go native all the time, without the humiliation of having our pasty, flabby bodies compared to the svelte, tanned models that frequent the nude beaches of the glitzy Caribbean islands. Our love nest had its own small swimming pool and solar-heated hot tub.

The main room was spacious, with a high, pyramid ceiling made of stretched fabric. Although we could see daylight through the roughly constructed walls and floor, there were no leaks in the roof, and the quiet, efficient air conditioner made the room a comfortable retreat from the heat outside.

For the next 24 hours we holed up in our compound, wandering blissfully between the hammock, lounge chairs, pool, hot tub and bed, sipping rum punches we made with ingredients we purchased on our drive to the resort.

Breakfast and a four-course dinner were included in the price and were brought to the room gratis and placed in the privacy door so we could be as indecent as we wanted. We called down to the front desk to select from the menu, which featured native dishes with a hint of Continental flair.

For breakfast, we usually split a local (fried fish with bread) and a Continental (fresh baked breads with fruit and cheese). Dinner also was amazing. An appetizer of shrimp-filled crépes in a rich, pumpkin curry made us shudder with joy. Salads were made from fresh fruits and vegetables from the resort's garden or from local markets (you may never eat a California-grown tomato again). Entrees usually included a fresh catch of the day prepared with a curry, Creole, jerk or garlic sauce. We always made room for the fresh-baked desserts and homemade ice cream (coconut, peanut, Guinness and our favorite, mango). There also was an adequate wine list from which to choose an accompaniment to each meal. For all this, our room was $225 a night. Rates are higher during the dry season, which runs from December to May and coincides with Carnival, aka Mardi Gras, the principal tourist attraction in Trinidad and Tobago.

Guided trips on land and sea are offered for an extra charge, including moonlight and sunset sails and jungle treks. We just guided ourselves and saw plenty. Tobago is a major birding destination; colorful tropical birds lighted in the trees right outside our villa. We also shared the place with lizards and a pair of bats that hung from our eaves, occasionally fluttering past us on the deck and unnerving us somewhat. The staff did not know a gentle way to discourage them, so we chalked it up to the experience. After all, nature is the reason for an eco-vacation.

We snorkeled right off the beach of Culloden Bay. A huge school of tiny, silvery fish was a dramatic sight, appearing as a wall in front of us and casting a dark shadow on the ocean bottom.

We took a short, late afternoon hike on one of the several nature trails that led up the hillside behind the resort. As we walked up the steep trail cut with steps, we watched a local Rastafarian checking his small plots of vegetables (yes, they were just vegetables) planted on narrow terraces. At the top of the hill, we stopped at a wonderful overlook, where we sat under a tree on a simple wooden bench and watched the sunset.

Arriving less than a month after 9-11, things were pretty quiet, and we saw almost no Americans and only a few European tourists. It seemed odd that people would stay away from a place that was so far from the rest of the world. We hated to return to that world, but of course, we were not really castaways or independently wealthy, so we had to go back to our dreary lives. Still, it was nice to know that there are places like Footprints, where the land is respected, and you don't have to be rich or beautiful to experience a little pampering amid the natural wonders that should be there for all to enjoy.

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