Saturday, December 28, 2019

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken on December 24, 2008. Our friend's cousin dressed up as Santa and gave Mattie a surprise visit. Including gifts of course. In addition, Mattie's surgeon came over to remove the cast on his left arm. All of this should have provided joy and happiness to Mattie. It did in the moment, but these happy moments were unfortunately fleeting for Mattie and therefore of us. Which is how we learned first hand that childhood cancer is also a psychosocial disease.






Quote of the day: Oh, it was easy to see why people had whirlwind shipboard romances, for it was a temporary journey into fantasy, where dreams could come true if only for the duration of the cruise. ~ Patricia Hagan

We arrived in Trinidad this morning. As we were coming into the Port of Spain (the capital of the island), we passed many oil rigs. Trinidad produces over 100,000 barrels of oil per day, which is a significant part of the island's industry. 

The island is 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela and is the southernmost island in the Caribbean. 

The island was once under Spanish rule. Then in 1797, the British took over. There are 1.2 million people on Trinidad, which makes it the largest populated island in the Caribbean we have visited. 

Do you see the big silver complex? You can't miss it from the harbor. It is huge. The Port of Spain Performing Arts Center is one of those iconic buildings you can't forget. Some people think it looks like the Sydney Opera House. While the Sydney Opera House was designed to resemble a ship’s sails, the Port of Spain Performing Arts Center was designed to resemble Trinidad and Tobago’s national flower, the Chaconia (a wild forest flower also known as a ”Wild Poinsettia” and the Pride of Trinidad and Tobago).

When we got off the ship, we were greeted by men walking on stilts, and women dressed in local costumes. 

Our tour guide's name was Judy and our bus driver with Keith. It was a very hot day today and the tour was about five hours long, in a bus with little to no air conditioning. 

The first stop on the tour was to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The Gardens, which were established in 1818. This is one of the oldest Botanic Gardens in the world. The landscaped site occupies 61.8 acres and contains some 700 trees, of which some 13% are indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago, while others are collected from every continent of the world.

I would have to say after touring the Balata Gardens in Martinique yesterday, today's gardens were very unimpressive.

This very large tree is a Brazilian Nut tree. On the tree are objects hanging from it that look as big as coconuts. It turns out these large pods contain the nuts. 

This is an example of the large pod I am talking about. One had fallen to the ground and many of us were examining it. 

This beautiful tree is called the bootlace tree. It has long rope like things that hang from the tree. 

At the end of the ropes are these beautiful pink like flowers! It is a tree that is truly intriguing and draws you in to learn more. 

Our guide gave us a tour of the gardens but she did not know the names of many of the plants and trees we saw. Though this looked like a big lilac, it wasn't a lilac tree. 

 Another beautiful tree!

Overlooking the Royal Botanical Gardens is this huge estate. This is where the Prime Minister lives.

The famous Trinidad flower, the Chaconia. This is the flower that inspired the design of the big silver performing arts complex.

This is the Red House, the seat of Parliament in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago built in German Renaissance style. It would be equivalent to our US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. 

We drove passed the Magnificent Seven. A group of extravagant and eccentrically designed mansions lining the western side of the Queen's Park Savannah, built around the turn of the 20th century. 

Stollmeyer's Castle, also called Killarney, is a Scottish Baronial style residence. Built on land that was previously used as the government stock farm, it was the first residence built in the St Clair neighborhood. It is named for Charles Fourier Stollmeyer, who hired the Scottish architect Robert Gillies to design the house, which is said to be patterned after a wing of Balmoral Castle. The two-year construction project began in 1902. When his wife said that she preferred a simpler home, Stollmeyer gave the house to his son, Conrad. His wife named it for Killarney, Ireland.

This house is called the "gingerbread house." It is a private residence and recently sold for 1.6 million Trinidad dollars. Which is equivalent to around $266,000 (1 Trinidad dollar is worth 6 US dollars).

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain is a metropolitan diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. 

White Hall - The office of the Prime Minster.

We drove up into the hills and stopped at the Lady Young Lookout for a stunning panoramic view of Port of Spain. From the lookout we could see our ship. 

The beauty of Trinidad.

While at the lookout, a man was there serenading people for money. He asked me to sing along with him, so I did! 

Next we journeyed to the edge of Trinidad's tropical forest to ascend to Mount St. Benedict's Monastery, also known as the Abbey of Our Lady of Exile, nestled peacefully in the mountains. It was so peaceful there that the tour should have allowed for some down time there. 

Once on the Abbey's property, we first stopped at the Pax Guest House, the oldest guest house in Trinidad and Tobago established in 1916 by the monks. Apparently one of the principles of the Benedictine monks, is to provide a safe retreat and hospitality to anyone who wants it. Which is why there are 'guest houses' located near all Benedictine monasteries. 

At the guest house we were treated to hot tea, coffee, orange juice and freshly baked breads.

We sat outside on a picturesque patio while having tea and breads. Frankly I could have used more time there to soak up the serene and beautiful surroundings. But the problem with being on a tour is you are on tour time. 

The dining area within the guest house where tea and breads were served. 

The Abbey of Mount St. Benedict was founded in 1912 by a small group of monks from the Abbey of San Sebastian in Brazil. These men sought refuge in Trinidad after fleeing the threat of religious persecution. Here the monks quickly set to work, building the new monastery high in the hills. They dedicated the site to the Blessed Mother under the title, Our Lady of Exile. The community rapidly grew, and within five years Mount St. Benedict had become an accepted center of Catholic life and worship in Trinidad. By 1950, the monks had established the Abbey, started a seminary (which is still in exist today), and began a boarding school for boys. 

The inside of the Abbey. The major ministry of the monks (there are only 5 left and they range from 60 to 96 years old) today is pastoral counseling. They open their doors to hundreds of people each week and make a commitment to meet with anyone who wishes to speak with one of the brethren. 

The Abbey gift shop sells candles. We bought two candles today for $3. Keep in mind that in Martinique we bought one candle for $5. 

We lit a candle for family members (white) and a red candle for Mattie. The two candles you see at the 7'o clock position are the candles we lit. 

This was the type of roads we drove on up to the mountains. It was very windy and narrow, but the bus driver handled it beautifully.