Lowering our water line in Margarita

Monday morning, we boarded the “VIP” shopping bus to Sigo’s courtesy of Juan Marina and received our very important Sigo number pass. Later we learned the money we spend gives Juan and his family “points” at Sigo, so they essentially eat for free. See, you like that angle? And we thought the numbers were for free coffee.

Margarita, a duty free shopping zone, had the cheapest prices in the Caribbean, mainly due to the unofficial exchange rate of the bolívar to the dollar. When we saw the prices, we thought we were shopping in the 1950’s! Where else can you fill a jumbo shopping cart to the top with wine and spirits for a $100? The best part of shopping, from my perspective, were the Scotch reps. I swear they were all former Miss Venezuela contestants, clothed in black low cut spandex tops and form fitting pants. We must have enough Scotch to last us for the next 5 years now. Oh, the rest of the market was fantastic too, except there were no eggs or milk.

Chavez has price controls to keep basic items affordable for the 80% of the population that is impoverished. Watching kids tear apart my trash moments after depositing it was heart wrenching. Price controls includes fuel at $0.04 a gallon, beer at $2/case, cigarettes at $0.10/pack and other “necessities” such as sugar, eggs, milk, flour, and meats. One of the problems is the producers aren’t able to cover their expenses at times and will not supply the product. The milk gets powdered and stockpiled somewhere so there is no milk available. The eggs are sold illegally in the streets and open air markets for a premium price.

Margarita has 4 star malls, shopping, dining, and accommodations and is the vacation destination primarily for Venezuelans. Gated apartment high rises overlooking the ocean start at $20,000 including all the amenities. The “rabbit market” as it is called has great basic clothing, pirated CD’s and DVD’s, and generally decent produce. Cruising the high end mall, we realized just how much we did not need anymore. Xmas was around the corner and Margarita served us well for the kids.

Los Testigos

The Los Testigos is a delightful group of island with about 160 inhabitants who live by fishing. Other than a church, a school, and a beach bar (tin roof stick structure with Regional beer pennants and loud music) there is nothing else. To get supplies, they jump in their pirogues and zoom over to the mainland some 40 miles away.

There is a Costaguardia post that allowed us to stay for 3 days before moving on and officially checking into the country. Angie’s primal Spanish and some smiles were sufficient to check in. The arid islands were quite beautiful and the people were very friendly.

Our best experience was the sand dunes of Playa Gozman. From the SE shore we climbed up a path-wide sand dune from the water’s edge up to the top. Along the way, there were thousands of white butterflies floating about like snow in the tropics! As we climbed the soft sand trail, we sunk to our ankles. Approaching the top, the trail starts to widen out with nothing but sand and a few clumps of bushes. Cresting the top to view the oceanside was stupendous. On this side, the dune opens up and descends onto a half mile beach. The windswept landscape of powder dunes, desiccated tree trunks, and the random clumps of green were beyond words. I vote this the most beautiful untouched beach in the world! We spent the day frolicking in the waves, walking the shore and playing on the sand dune.

Chacachacare the Leper Colony

Side-by-Side headed west to explore the Trini island of Chacachacare (Chaka-cha-carie) some 13 miles away. In 1924 a leper colony was established here by the Dominican nuns, and continued until 1984. The hospital, houses, men and women dormitories, paved road, and church were simply left behind. Today most of the structures are still standing though Mother Nature is slowly absorbing them back into the earth. Walking through the buildings one must be careful of rotted or unsupported floors, especially on the second story! For a while the Trini Navy used it as a base but mysterious pulled out, rumor has it they were spooked away. The only island resident is a lighthouse keeper who lives high atop the island tending the lighthouse and communications tower and the mossies (mosquitoes).

We hiked up to the top of the island to have a look and take in the spectacular view. We stayed a couple of nights and opted to move to Scotland Bay back on the main island. As dusk was approaching, green parrots were flying all about. In the lush mountains rising up all around us we could hear the bone chilling howler monkeys. They sound like a monster having its arms ripped off… slowly. Our plan was to depart to Venezuela with a group of boats for security reasons. As seems to be the case in making boat plans, the 6 became 2 us and Grace, the boy boat. Our first destination was to be a speck on the sea called Los Testigos.

Ikin wit Jessie Janes and Snake

With two other kid boats, we organized a family ike (a/k/a hike) into the rain forest. Along the road we met “Snake” and company, our river guides. Their vehicle resembled a former demolition winner being held together by rope and chicken wire. Snake taught us that eating and drinking bacteria tainted food and river water would make our bodies stronger and healthier! He had a pet snake (hence the name) that the kids enjoyed holding. Jessie, the perpetual tour guide, engaged the kids in fauna and Hindi culture as the van chugged higher and higher into the mountains on the ever narrowing roads. Our initial walking decent was straight down a paved road that could only be used by 4x4’s in creeper gear. Angie’s knees screamed when not using any available body as a brace down the hill. The trail decent was easy and led us to the jungle stream. The fauna was lush and of ancient origin. The cool mountain stream eased our adult aches and pains and provided playful entertainment for the younger half of the tour. We climbed and jumped down waterfalls, floated along through gorges and waded in other areas. Alas, the trip up and out. Again the trail was easy but the road section was so steep we had to zig zag our way up it. How they were ever able to pave this I think must be the 8th wonder of the World. This climb brought tears to some due to the angle and necessitated heart saver breaks. Fortunately there were fruit trees with oranges and mangoes for everyone along the way. We completed the climb in an uncontrolled sweat and smiles of accomplishment on our faces.

Treasures of the Bilge and "the rock"

We had missed the morning “net” on our first Sunday back because we, like everyone else, are still sleeping. However, Kurt on Crystal was listening while on the john for “free treasures of the bilge”. This is a time when one man’s junk becomes another man’s treasure. Never in history has anyone come on the net giving a way a whole boat and all its contents to the first person who gets there! Kirk finished in a hurry and raced in the dink to the boat.

It seems an English man bought an older ferro-cement ketch on Ebay and flew to Trinidad to start working on it. The boat was too much hassle and he decided to give it away. For the $1 transaction fee, our friends on Crystal were the proud owners of a 47’ boat and all of its contents. The contents included a RIB dinghy, 15 HP Mercury, a new portable generator, more charts than one could ever imagine and a boat that needed a lot of love. Kurt, the optimist and head of the family, had the boat hauled out and was making plans to get her sailing again. Two boats needed work, two home-schooled kids a dog and a marriage are more that most people can handle at once. With a little nudging from an ex-navy captain, they decided to put boat on Ebay and were paid 10’s of thousands for their blood, sweat and tears spent cleaning her up.

Return to Trinidad

Oh, while you were away, a worker was stabbed at the ATM…. other than that, things have been pretty quiet. Side-by-Side was in perfect shape as we again sweated our pa-tuties off prepping her to go back in. All of our cash was spent paying the marina bill before we left. Unfortunately, we did not think to bring greenbacks with us. Off to the same ATM where the worker was stabbed, I reported that the card was rejected. Angie tried several machines, just to have hers eaten. Long story short, we had opened a new checking account for my dad to be able to pay some bills. Schwab, without ever telling us, cancelled EVERYTHING with our current checking account. Why would we need it since we had a ‘new’ one. Of course, the new checks, etc did not make it to Trinidad. No cash, not a good thing. Angie spent about $20 making calls to Schwab and got a promise of “overnight” delivery of new card. 5 days later, we had our cards. A similar story occurred with our internet antennae to be ‘overnight’ to Trinidad. The antennae which was to be received in Michigan, then Florida while we were there, but the no problems I received from the staff at Radio Labs turned into large problems. A replacement was “overnighted” I was assurued on 9/2/2007. After almost daily checking and finding out how packages are “held” at customs, it arrived in Trinidad, long after we had left on November 11.. 2 months later. Now you know why we had not updated our blog, no wifi antennae, no internet access. These are the stresses we experience....a complete paralysis to speed up packages, have working phones, internet, the basics that all Americans take for granted.

We motored around the corner to TTSA (Trinidad and Tobaga Sailling Association) where we reconnected with Puddle Jumper who we had last seen in North Carolina, and Sea You Manana with their two boys. There we met the self proclaimed “queens” of England, Chris and Chris of Grace. They had their Rainbow flag, Speedos at lunch, and TMI to make even us blush. And so it was … the beginning of a great friendship.

“Dis e the Y-Sat sutl, No problm, I’ll be der en won mint,” was the voice heard continuously on the VHF radio. Trinidadians by their nature cut short every word and speak in melody with a happy lift. Ann Vanderhoof, the writer of the cruising book “The Embarrassment of the Mangoes” said, “I fell in love with the soft, musical, lilting, smiling, flirtatious, seductive, down right sexy, melt-your-heart, Trini voice.” Ann is still out cruising and happened to be tied up at the marina across from us. Angie took her book to be signed, saw she wasn’t there and stopped by our friends on Alize to say goodbye. “Well Ann’s here on our boat having sundowners.” Angie and Nadine had a delightful chat with her and their books autographed.

Get Me Outta Here

Sweating like a pig, except I don’t think pigs sweat, we stripped off and secured everything above deck for hurricane season and opportunity seekers. The last night we treated ourselves to the motel across the street and met a lovely pulmonologist and her daughter. She, with her personal bodyguard spoke of the murder a day, 240 kidnappings in a single year for extortion, and a huge drug problem.

We were picked up at 10:45 a.m. (scheduled time 11:00), Angie still in her towel from the shower, for a 3:00 p.m. flight. Upon arrival the flight was Really delayed. Let’s get the famous East Indian doubles while waiting. What is a double exactly? Well it started out as a “single” round piece of fried flat bread rolled up with a chick pea based filler, some “Trini” sauce, and the optional black sauce from hell that melts your eyeballs into your brain. Following the marketing success of super sizing it, they started using two pieces of bread, “double”. We all enjoyed all of parts of them.. me the fire burning sauce.

At security, we were separated by sex, ask to remove every accessory, then pranced through and patted down in our knickers practically. Locals wearing big gold chains, baggy pants, hoody jackets walk on by as the red lights nearly explode off the graph. They look at them and don’t even pat them down (wouldn’t want to offend them or wand them or anything!! Today is the day of the breaking story of Trinis attempting to blow up JFK. Security was TIGHTED today.

As the sun is setting, we our wearily boarding our lunch time flight to Miami. Nice new age music is playing at a non-deafening volume, “complete” white smiles of the stewardesses and functioning A/C, are a reminder of what we left behind 9 months ago. Within a half hour we had our bags and were on the Crown Plaza shuttle for a night of pure decadence! The sheets were turned down over the goose down comforter. At the head of the bed was a selection of pillows numbering more than I could count. Everything worked and was like brand new. Aaahhh, its good to be back!