To the unsuspecting visitor, Tobago may be just another Caribbean destination, an island that the fabled Robinson Crusoe discovered.

On arrival by scheduled aircraft, the visitor will find an ultra-modern building with comfortable arrival and departure facilities.

The Crown Point International Airport in Tobago is the island's only airport but few would remember that the first aircraft to arrive on the island was a seaplane that landed on the beach off Plymouth.

Plymouth, considered the second largest town in Tobago, provides the island with much of its history.

Standing prominently overlooking Great Courland Bay in Plymouth is the Courland monument. This geometrically designed concrete construction of rounded pillars was established in 1978 to the memory of "the bold enterprising and industrious Courlanders from faraway Latvia on the Baltic Shores who had lived in this area from 1639 to 1693."

Plymouth is the site of the oldest Fort in Tobago and according to the signpost, is 'the Dutch Town Nieuw Vlisingen and settlement, Nieuw Walcheren, 1628-1630." Plymouth is also the site of the oldest church (Evangelican Lutheran) in Tobago 1654-1659; renamed as Fort Beveren under Dutch occupation 1659-1664, restored to the Couronians by the English; renamed as a point of attraction to the French, Dutch, British and Carib Invaders for the next 160 years.

Under the benevolent rule, (with interruptions from 1639-1693), of the Dukes of Courland in Latvia, the Germans, Latvians, Scandinavians, Dutch, British, French, Jews, Caribs, and Gambians from Africa, formed an international settlement of free men at the Great Courland Bay which engaged in trade with North America, Brazil, Europe and Africa. Other Couronian settlements were located at Black Rock (Fort Bennett), Mount Irvine (Little Courland Bay, Fort Monick, Fort Schmoll, Fort Casimir), King Peter Bay, (Kalpi Bay) and Castara Bay (Coerse Bay, Kursu Licis).

One of the old mysteries of Plymouth is the tomb of Betty Stiven on which there is the inscription; 'Beneath these walls are deposited the body of Mrs. Betty Stiven and her child. She was the beloved wife of Alex B Stiven. To the end of his days will deplore her death, which happened upon the 25^th November 1783 in the 23^rd year of her age. What was remarkable of her, she was a mother without knowing it, and a wife without letting her husband know it except by her kind indulgence to him.'

One man who claims to have unraveled the mystery is Arthur Gregoire of Plymouth. He explained that Betty Stiven was a black African woman and Alexander Stiven was a wealthy slave master who paid 8,000 monies to become warden for the area. Betty was not the woman's real name as she was African, but was a pet name meaning "darling" that is bestowed by a white man with amorous feelings for a woman.

Gregoire, a historian on Plymouth, states that the wealthy Alexander Stiven had a secret relationship with Betty since she was 12 years old. It wold not have been considered proper in those days to make public any liaison with a slave, but Stiven had a special fondness for this young woman.

Betty became pregnant bearing her master's children, but during her pregnancy she became very ill and was confined to bed. On September 25, 1781, while in an unconscious state, she gave birth to four children. One died but the other three survived - a son and two daughters.

The children were hastily given away to other female slaves who were sworn to secrecy and who also pretended that they were raped to explain the presence of the babies. This allowed Stiven to conceal his intimate relationship with Betty. When she regained consciousness, she was not aware that she had given birth to 3 children and was also unable to prove that she had a relationship with Alex Stiven.

Betty was considered by Stiven to be his wife, for custom at the time dictated that as long as a man was responsible for a woman's loss of virginity, she automatically became his wife and they were considered to be married. Solemnisation before a minister of religion or someone with authority to perform marriages was not considered necessary. According to this Plymouth historian, Betty was Stiven's wife, but not having gone to the altar or taken part in any other ritual, she was not aware that, for all intents and purposes, she was Stiven's wife.

Unable to recover from her illness, Betty died on November 25, 1783 at the age of 23, not knowing that she had become a mother. The surviving children were named Alexander, Mary and Sally. So fond was Alexander Stiven of Betty, he placed in her tomb, which was situated next to his house, 800 pounds worth of gold and three puncheons of rum - a ritual of the time when a loved one was buried.

One planter, a contemporary of Stiven who assisted in the burial, returned a few years later after Alexander Stiven had died and removed the gold and the rum from the tomb. Claiming that Stiven had brought the gold from Holland surreptitiously, he therefore decided to return it to Holland where he felt it belonged. It is said that Betty's body was also removed but no one knows where it was finally placed.

Information about the looting of Betty's grave was found in a note left there by the planter for those who would have gone there in search of the valuable items which were buried with her.

It is said that Alexander Stiven wrote the words that are now inscribed on Betty's tomb in such a way that he alone could understand, but would be a mystery to others. It was necessary in those days to conceal inter-racial relationships because of the stigma attached.

The tomb was refurbished in 1958 and is today one of the interesting features of Plymouth. It has aroused interest at home and abroad; many having left intrigued by the inscription, vowing to return.

At the Arnos Vale Waterwheel you dine in style and comfort, enjoying the finest meals a local restaurant can offer - one that has been visited and recommended by scores of world travellers.

Many can find nothing but superlatives to describe their gourmet experience at the Waterwheel. Dawn Beaty of Dive Training Magazine, who dined there recently, remarked that it was "the best restaurant food service in all the Caribbean."

The facility consists of a converted sugar factory that now comprises a nature park, historic site, museum, gift shop, theatre, restaurant and bar.

Owned by Bill and Cintra Bronte, the Waterwheel is situated on one of more than 100 sugar estates in Tobago. It was on these estates that the juice from the cane was transformed into sugar, molasses and rum for export in the last two centuries.

The actual wheel, now non-functional, was originally made in Scotland and taken to Tobago in pieces by ship and assembled on site. It is now the largest remaining artifact that has been preserved and according to Phillip Bronte, manager of the restaurant, the Arnos Vale Sugar Factory represents one of the best preserved examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century technology in Tobago.

Guides at the Waterwheel are available to show their visitors such places of interest as the preserves of the Arnos Vale Sugar Factory where archaeological sites have been identified. The remains of the Estate House, called Buckra House, are located on a hilltop offering visitors a spectacular view of the area. The dam that diverted water to the canal runs adjacent to the restaurant. The Slave Village, across the road from the factory, is where budding archaeologists can discover historic pottery.

And if that's not enough, you can visit the Enigmatic Tomb located near the Slave Village or either of the two Amerindian sites that have been located - one downstream from the factory and the other near to Arnos Vale Bay. Finally, there is the small museum house, which contains artifacts discovered during construction, including a large spanner (wrench) used in the maintenance of equipment at the sugar factory.

As you leave the Waterwheel at the end of the tour, or after a hearty meal, there is always the chance to purchase a souvenir for memory's sake.