Mayaro Bay

Mayaro Bay stretches for nine miles on the east coast of the island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The beach which lines the bay, Mayaro Beach, is a popular destination for holidays, long weekends, and is one of the traditional places to spend the Easter holidays. Not only do beach-goers swim, but they also kayak, bird watch, camp, and occasionally kite surf, making Mayaro a tourist hot spot. Located at the southern end of Manzanilla Beach, Trinidad and Tobago, one can reach Mayaro Beach by traveling along the Mayaro-Guayaguayare road or the Mayaro-Naparima road.

The name ‘Mayaro’ originates from maya, a plant that grew in abundance locally, and ‘ro’ meaning ‘the place of’ in an Arawak tongue.

French planters and African slaves were the first to settle the beach in 1783, after receiving land offered by the Spanish governor at the time, Don Jose Maria Chacon. Chacon welcomed the French planters, as they were fleeing from unrest in French islands, such as Martinique and Guadeloupe. Chacon's motives behind inviting the French planters would soon emerge, as the planters later aided Chacon in developing the profitable features of the island. After some time, residents managed to secure sixty-five cotton plantations, with a few others growing coffee and sugar cane, despite lacking roads in the area. By 1818, twenty-one new plantations were added as the bay grew more popular. In response to the rapid growth, Governor Sir Ralph James provided a steamboat to transport commodities and supplies around Trinidad.

When slaves were emancipated in 1838, land belonging to whites was allocated and given to the freedmen. In 1849, however, Lord Harris passed a pay ward system which stripped land from newly freed Africans that were unwilling to pay the rates. The system would later change in 1870 when the concept of government schools was adopted.

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