Trinidad

 

Trinidad is a large island off the coast of Venezuela.  It’s a cruising destination mainly for boat maintenance and cultural activities, as well as getting away from the hurricane belt.  Cruisers don’t go to Trinidad for the beaches or snorkeling because there really isn’t much of that.  There are some beaches on the north side of the island, but not nicely protected ones.  The ones on the east side of the island have no anchoring areas and people go there by land mainly to see huge leatherback turtles lay eggs on the beaches. 

There are two main anchorages, both in Chaguaramas.   One is at the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association.  There are moorings there and room to anchor.  The other area is off most of the marinas and boatyards.  There are also moorings there as well as anchoring space.  Other anchorages are near the Yacht Club on the road to Port Of Spain and one at Scotland Bay, which is a deep bay near the Boca coming into Trinidad. 

The Trinidad people are warm and friendly and it seems that when cruisers go to Trinidad, there’s always something to keep them there longer than they think they will be.  It has some of the best provisioning in the Eastern Caribbean and quick access to boat parts.  It’s well out of the hurricane belt, so it gets crowded in the summer.  The food is great and inexpensive, - but beware of the hot sauce.   Trinis love HOT food!  Most of the food is made mild and they add sauce to it, so it’s usually not a problem at restaurants. 

My favorite is roti, a curried mix of chick peas, potatoes and chicken (or goat, shrimp, or just more veggies) wrapped up in a roti shell, which is like a tortilla but with a totally different texture and taste.  A Bake ‘N’ Shark is usually found at one of the northern beaches, carnival or other events and is basically a fried fish sandwich.  The combination of the freshly made bun and fried fish with whatever else you want to put on it is just a wonderfully unique flavor.  Another staple usually found at markets and on the streets is a “double”, another curry favorite.  There are two small pieces of flat bread, different from a roti skin, but similar, with curried chick peas on them and rolled up.  Sloppy to eat, but very good. 

Carnival is a great time of year and there are events for two weeks leading up to carnival.  I tried to attend most of them, including J’Ouvert – which starts about 4 in the morning.  Loud music, groups of people in costumes marching (they use the word chipping) down the street, some with painted faces, some covered in oil (yes, motor oil), and some with mud on them.  We were told it was a “special” clean mud.  Part of the fun of this event is knowing that sooner or later you will get mud, paint or oil (or all of it) on yourself.  Everyone has been warned in advance, so we always wore clothes that were close to being rags anyway.

Carnival music is blaring everywhere for weeks (months) before carnival and if you’re there for any length of time, you’ll find a favorite or two.  There’s new music every year and I have CDs from the two times I was at carnival in Trinidad.  For the parade days, Monday and Tuesday, most businesses are closed and streets are jammed with people, bands and parades.  There’s really no way to see it all.  But we always wore ourselves out trying to see as much as we could.

 

To contrast all that activity, one of my favorite places was Chacachacare.  This was an old leper colony on an island about 7 miles from Chaguaramas.  It’s mostly a deserted island now, except for the lighthouse keeper, any visiting cruisers or partying Trinis.  There are still buildings there and we went exploring to find many abandoned items from the leper colony, including medical records, x-rays, drugs and equipment.  For further information, see my blog about the island - http://islandfevercruising.blogspot.com/2013/02/chacachacare-trinidads-abandoned-leper.html

I spent so much time in Trinidad that I felt like it was home, and went back so much that our usual maxi-taxi driver, Jesse James, always gave us hugs and told us “welcome home”.  It’s not your usual tropical island that you think of when you think of Caribbean islands, but it’s got almost anything you need. 

Check out a few of my slide shows of Trinidad…..

Chacachacare – http://youtu.be/DYT1ExsgjjY

Trinidad - http://youtu.be/-UC4CVUa-mE
 

Trinidad - Carnival/Kid’s version - http://youtu.be/O-PcTSZfol0

Trinidad Carnival - http://youtu.be/Wj0PJj7U-Po

Trinidad Flora and Fauna  -  http://youtu.be/xz86x05MdZk

 

                      

 

 

 

Cattitude Adjustment - Sailing Kitty goes RVing

 

 

My Trinidad cat is now 14 years old, feisty as ever and believes that I am here just to serve her.  For the most part, she’s been healthy and hasn’t had to see the vet much.  But when she does – watch out!   As soon as I put her in her carrier and in the car, she howls all the way to the vet – thankfully a very short trip!

Because we will be traveling in a 5^th wheel, she needs to be trained to sit up in the truck with me – without the vocalization.  So I have a cage for her now instead of the carrier, maybe that will make her happier.  I’m putting her in it every day and sitting outside with her to acclimatize her to the cage and different scenery.  She doesn’t seem to mind, she’s had a strong interest in “outside” since she’s lived in a house.  She loved “outside” when we were on the boat and sat in the cockpit and watched other boats, dinghies, birds and fish in the water.

Yesterday, after sitting outside with her, I put the cage in the truck passenger seat, where she will be traveling (hopefully silent).  She didn’t seem to mind that either.  I found the seatbelt will go around the cage nicely to hold her in.  The true test will be when I start the engine – we’ll just sit there in the truck in the driveway.  After a few days of that, we’ll take a little drive around the neighborhood.  I’m hoping that this gentle, slow introduction to RVing will enable her to be a pleasant traveling companion instead of a howling monster. 

Overnight Passages

I never really minded overnight passages - well, most of them.  This picture was of a sunrise on the way to Trinidad one year - unfortunately, a motor trip, total lack of wind.  It was a very uneventful night.

But then, we had the passage from Margarita, Venezuela one year - the first 36 hours were horrible - confused seas, no rhythm at all AND to top it all off - the autopilot was broken!  By the third day, it was decently calm - but then, we had a call from the US Coast Guard cutter off our stern - they wanted to board us.   Here we were, a day away from land and they want to come over for an inspection and a drug swipe test.  Obviously, since I'm writing this - everything turned out fine.  We were really happy when we anchored after that trip.

Those were two extremes, and there have been others like them - maybe not just like them, but similar.  We were only boarded by the Coasties that once. 

One of my most memorable overnight, multi-day passages was from Margarita (again, different year) to St Thomas.  It was my first solo trip of multiple days.  The plan was to rest as much as possible during the day and at night, take 10 minute naps, get up and look around for other vessels, and take another nap.  It worked out pretty well, and the weather was behaving nicely, seas were a bit high, but they were coordinated with the wind and the boat was sailing along nicely.  I love having the motor off, nothing worse than that diesel chugging all the time! 

It was a bit cool, so I had sweats and a jacket on - yes, in the Caribbean, but it was winter!  And at night, with the wind blowing, it was chilly.   OK, I'll admit it, I'm a wimp and I like to be warm!  I was getting enough sleep during the night with my little timer buddy waking me up every 10 minutes or so, and I became very adept at falling asleep quickly after my search for other lights.  I think I saw only one other vessel, and he was miles away. 

The second night was totally moonless - but the stars were so bright you could actually see the reflections on the water.   There are so many more stars you can see without any ambient light, and they seem so much closer, and  so much brighter.  In spite of my need to sleep that night, one time I woke up, I just sat there and stared at the sky, marveling at the brilliance of light in the sky - it reminded me of glitter.   The Southern Cross was hanging perfectly over the solar panels mounted on my dinghy davits at the stern.  It was an amazing sight, and one I'll never forget. 

Now my plan is to go west in an RV and visit mountains, deserts, canyons and caverns.  I'm hoping I'll see a night sky as brilliant as the one I saw in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.  For those of you who want to follow my travels, join my page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LandCruisingAdventure   My wanderlust continues to control my life.

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

Medical Costs Outside the U S

 

LaGuardia, Venezuela

 

 

Medical care is always scary, but especially so if you happen to be in a foreign country and need something done. Most of my medical care has been in the States, but I have had medical procedures done in two other countries where I happened to be when I needed something done. I needed to be a hospital patient in both cases, luckily only on an out-patient basis – meaning I was in and out on the same day.

The first was in Trinidad, a simple procedure and I had been to this doctor numerous times during my visits to Trinidad - I liked him and trusted his judgment. I can’t say it was enjoyable because when I woke up in the recovery room, I was freezing, no blankets. However, I can’t say anything bad about the care I received there.

I also had imaging and lab tests done there. In the States, we go to the doctor to get the order, go to the x-ray facility and then go back to the doctor for him to tell us what’s wrong, or not. In Trinidad, we get the order, go to the imaging facility, and then sit in the waiting room for them to develop the film and print the reports – and they hand it to us. Great, no visit to the doctor unless we think there’s a problem or we need further discussion with him. This saves time, money and makes much more sense. Same with the lab, although I had to go back on another day since the blood testing took more time to complete.

All of these services, and medications, cost way less than it would have in the States. You can actually afford to go to a doctor and pay for it in these places.

My second experience was in Puerto LaCruz, Venezuela. I went to the hospital for checkin, much more complicated since I had to go through their translator, my meager Spanish was not enough. They were great – in the recovery room, they had a nice blanket on me AND a hose pushing heated air under it! I was nice and warm, very comfortable. Again, this was done at a fraction of what it would cost in the States.

Medications were easy to obtain in Venezuela also, and cost only a tiny percent of the money we fork out in the States for the same thing. Certain medications that require prescriptions in the States were available over the counter there also.

A cruiser woman I knew was having treatment for cancer in Puerto La Cruz while I was there. Her husband told me that they had gone back to the States for a visit and checked in with their former doctor. He went over all the information they had brought back with them and told them that the treatment she was getting in Venezuela was the same that he would have ordered for her if she had been treated there in the States. And way more affordable.

If people go out of the States to get medical care and receive the same level of care we have here, why are our costs so high? The cost of insurance is outrageous and I don’t think it’s going to get any better. Doctors pay amazing amounts for malpractice insurance because they are open for lawsuits for any reason a lawyer might think of. Drug companies say the cost of medications is high because of the research and development, not to mention advertising, of any new drug. If that’s the case, why are the same medications available from the same companies in these other countries at a fraction of the cost? And yes, we’re talking about the name brand drugs, not generics.

I know what my opinion is and I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but think about the information in the previous paragraph. The answers are there.

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

　
　
　

 

Chacachacare - Trinidad's Abandoned Leper Colony

                                                       http://youtu.be/DYT1Exsgjjy

Chacachacare is an island about 7 miles off the coast of northern Trinidad.  For years now, it has been inhabited only by the lighthouse keeper, iguanas and other wildlife.  It does include Trinidadians who arrive on boats for weekend camping and cookouts.  Cruisers also anchor there for weeks at a time.

In the past, it was a leper colony, but since leprosy was brought under control, the last patients left in the early 1980s.  It was just abandoned, no one bothered to clear out the furniture, medical equipment and records or other personal items.  The buildings are slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature and time.  This was one of my favorite places in Trinidad, the buildings were great examples of wonderful architecture of the islands, set on the hills surrounding the bay.  Large windows and doors brought in the light and fresh air – no air conditioning for this community. 

The community was self-contained and included a bakery, hospital/clinic, movie theater, library,  numerous churches and dormitory-like buildings for the patients.  Patients well enough to work built the buildings, worked in the gardens and helped in other areas.  Patients were taken care of by Dominican nuns, who lived in buildings across the bay.  There are a couple cemeteries on the island, most notably, one by the nun’s quarters that contained graves of the deceased nuns who had worked there. 

These days, it’s deserted most of the time.  When we were there, we would always take a hike up to the lighthouse, about an hour walk.  There were great views of both Venezuela and Trinidad from the top of the hill.  The lighthouse keeper was always friendly, they had a rotating staff, but they still got lonely being the only person living on the island. 

Unfortunately, Chacachacare was downwind from Trinidad and the bay was open to the east.  During heavy rains, trash would flow into the rivers to the bays of Trinidad and over to Chacachacare, catching in the big open bay.  Every time we would go over there to stay in a quiet, uninhabited place for a while, we would go over to the beaches and make a big pile of the trash and burn it, trying to clean up the place for the next visitors.  The idea caught on and we found that other cruisers were also cleaning up the place when they went over. 

I felt like the island was a museum of sorts, a look into the lives of people who were unfortunate to have a disease that separated them from everyone they knew.  Some patients spent most of their lives there and had no idea what life would be like when they moved back to Trinidad when the colony closed.  Cleaning up the beaches in the bay was the only way I felt that I could show my respect for the island and the people who had lived there.

Betty Karl
Chacachacare slide show - http:/youtu.be/YT1EXsgjjyY

Sloopy

SLOOPY 

                                                                                 

Sloopy is the tiny kitten I adopted in Trinidad when she was about 4 weeks old.  She and her brothers had been living under a pile of dinghies at a marina when the staff evicted them and took them to their animal shelter.  Another cruiser convinced me we needed to bail them out of kitty jail, so we did, found homes for the 2 boys and I kept the female. 

She liked living on the boat, except for rough passages, she was always intrigued by what she saw in the water around the boat.  When she was young, she fell off a few times, but always managed to rescue herself with her kitty ladder we had tied to the stern rail, some braided line.  She finally learned to stay on the boat. 

There's a chapter about her adoption in my book, Island Fever.  She wrote another chapter in the book, called "Security Officer", since that was our nickname for her.   When we left the boat, we always told her she was in charge.  Her idea of that duty was to take a nap. 

She was so cute and always getting into everything.  She absolutely loved it when we caught fish and cleaned them on the back deck - the girl loves her food!  She was a great companion on the boat and loved sitting in the cockpit watching everything going on in the anchorage. 

I put together her own slide show on You Tube - check it out at this link http://youtu.be/ZlPNmFKOmTI

Our book is at Amazon - http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G