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Larry's LogSaturday I started changing the bolts on the staysail chainplate out. One of the bolts had snapped when reinstalling it after I rebedded it back in Martinique. I figured if one had weakened (crystallized probably), the rest should also be swapped out so I got new cap screws to use. Unfortunately, they weren't very easy to remove and when I got the last 2 in, they were a bit short. Looking in my supplies, I had 2 of the next size and so used those. So, what I thought would have taken an hour actually took 2 and one-half. Oh well, those are the pleasures of boat work. That evening we went to a very good Chinese restaurant with Paul and Vivian from Autumn Wind. They were leaving (flying) to go back to the States Monday and we wanted to get together with them before they left. Their boat was on the hard already and they were staying in the CrewsInn Hotel. The meal at Jenny's was excellent and we had a very nice time. They are the couple who were true "rocket scientists" and it was always interesting talking to them. Vivian didn't talk about their former work but Paul did, I think because he missed it. They had both worked at Livermore Labs in California and he always said that if they would start work on a fusion reactor or a mission to Mars, they would go back to do that. Yep, I guess those things would be pretty interesting!! Sunday we also went out, but with Ken and Vesta to a barbeque they were having at their new apartment. They had rented a nice place from Cosmos (the guy who originally had rented us an air conditioner the first time we were at CrewsInn) and also had rented a car from him so Ken picked us up and Nick, the new owner of Great White Wonder. We went to their place and we had a nice party with about 12 people (all cruisers) Cosmos had invited. The apartment was in Cosmos' house and was pretty nice - all the modern conveniences, air conditioning, washer, dryer, TV, etc. Army, from Passe Partout, drove us and Nick back. He was a nice guy who had also been in Trinidad for many years. Monday was pretty busy. Diane worked on the slipcovers and I went to do more shopping and get another quote on some woodwork I wanted done. The quote was still pretty high and I wasn't sure if we would actually get it done since we were spending a lot of money here. Of course, some of the expenses were unavoidable but some were discretionary. Diane, of course, didn't think we should have the work done but we would see. It would create some badly needed storage space in an area that was full of plastic bags holding things like videotapes on the floor, and it looked bad. Then again, it wasn't something that "had" to be done. We would talk about it some more. I went back a couple of times that day to the stores across the bay and finished up some more of my shopping. I still needed to do some more but the majority of my supplies were fine. Diane made a very nice fish that evening which had been given to us by Rex the day before. It was a local fish caught in the Gulf of Paria and had a very delicate flavor. Rex said he like it better than Dorado or Kingfish, and I could see why. He had also cleaned it for us and I watched as he did it. He really knew how and when he was done, there were absolutely no bones in the filets. Thanks Rex. Tuesday we worked on the slipcovers again and I went shopping for more supplies. Diane also went to the doctor for a checkup in Port of Spain so I had lunch at Joe's Pizza, since I was on the other side of the bay anyway. One of the things I bought was a stainless steel cover for the outboard engine turn screws, which when fitted with the stainless steel lock I also bought, should make it pretty difficult for thieves to steal the engine. I was going to also go to Echo Marine, a store down the bay but the surge was so bad at the "dinghy" dock that I couldn't land. Actually the dock was for a small ferry to Gaspary Island and was very rough concrete covered by some old tires and was pretty bad even with no surge. Diane also bought some more fabric for the slipcovers since we figured we wouldn't have enough. When she got back, we worked on them some more. It was slow going even though we had gotten some instruction from Carlos. The next morning, Wednesday, we went back into Port of Spain for a repeat lab test and got back by 11am. When we got back, I tried to figure out what the problem was with the sewing machine without much luck. The bobbin was not working right and I couldn't figure it out. Some other people tried but also without success. Carlos has offered to have his brother, who fixed all his machines, come over but we said we would try to bring it over that Friday when we were going to rent a car. That evening we have Rex and his wife Marilyn come over for dinner. Rex had been so nice to us and we all have a very nice time. They brought over some "Julie" mangos and said they should be ready to eat very soon. There are dozens of varieties of mangos and these were the best. We had had some in the past that were excellent and also some that were almost inedible. These were going to be very good. Thursday we went back to the doctor and got some very good news. My PSA was down and it seemed that the antibiotics got rid of the infection that caused the high reading. Needless to say, I was pretty happy about the result. He said just to get it checked periodically and to make sure that I drank enough fluids, as concentrated urine would aggravate it. OK. After the doctor, we went to the Trinidad National Museum, which was really good. It had sections on the natural history if the island as well as the human history, and also has a large room that outlined the history of "pan" (the steel drum) that was developed here. The room on Carnival, for which Trinidad is famous, was great, with some costumes on display and pictures of the ones that had won prizes in the past - they were simply spectacular. One reason though why we went at that time was that there was a photography exhibit from the People's Republic of China. Of course, they didn't have anything negative, like from Tianamin Square, but the pictures of the natural beauty and the buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties were outstanding. One impressive set of shots was of the Dalai Lama Palace in what was Tibet. Those were also kind of sad though, considering the current political situation. The next day, we rented a car to go for a doctor's appointment at 9:30 and then to the Caroni swamp and the Asa Wright Nature Center over the weekend. We also wanted to go bring the sewing machine over to Alpha Canvas so Carlos' brother could look at it and do some shopping at the large PriceSmart Warehouse Shopping store in Chaguanas (near Caroni) but unfortunately, the car we reserved wasn't available. Finally, we got the manager's car to use for the day but thought we would have to swap it at the airport or near Port of Spain. Michelle, the salesperson at Chaguaramas, said we could call her manager and make arrangements later and that we could have the car until around 3pm Monday to make up for the problem. We picked up the car at about 11am and left. We brought the sewing machine to Alpha Canvas and Carlos' brother figured out how to insert the bobbin holder correctly. After thanking him and Carlos, we left for the doctor. I had a small cyst on my leg and a growth on my hand I wanted examined and after that we had a reservation for the Caroni Swamp tour at 4pm. We wouldn't have enough time to go shopping as well. Diane had called to cancel our original appointment but the receptionist said to just come in and there would be no problem although we might have to wait. We got to the doctor's office around noon, well after our original appointment but fortunately didn't have to wait long. I thought she was just going to examine the areas and give me another appointment to remove them but she said we would do it now so I was in the office for about 45 minutes. The procedures were "relatively" painless and she gave me another appointment to remove the stitches on June 7. Well, I guess we'll be in Trinidad until then at least! After that, and lunch at Pizza Hut (the only one in Trinidad), we left for the swamp. We got to the swamp about an hour early for our tour and just talked to the guides and the other "early birds." The tour, always in the early evening so you can see the birds come in to roost, was a boat ride through the natural and man-made canals of the swamp to see the birds and other animals found there. We had put on plenty of bug spray and also had long pants on, just like the locals. The tour itself was excellent, We saw a large cayman, a kind of crocodile, about 6 feet long sunning itself on the bank, a small snake - a Mangrove Boa Constrictor - curled up in a branch just hanging over the canal and many, many Scarlet Ibis, the national bird of Trinidad. The area is famous for these birds and we saw many flocks flying overhead. The tour goes to a spot where they are known to roost for the night and we stopped there to watch them come in. Although it was nesting season and not as many birds come to that particular little island, going to their nests instead, the sight of so many brilliantly colored birds in the same tree made for a very impressive sight. People have described it as looking like a Christmas tree with red ornaments after the birds are there, and it really did look that way! After the tour, which ended at 6:30pm, we drove back to Chaguaramas, Diane called the car rental manager and exchanged the care for the one we originally were supposed to have. |