Friday, November 10, 1995 - Trinidad

A couple of days ago, someone told us there's a local VHF net on channel 68 from 8 to 8:30 every morning, so I tuned it in this morning. Robin on Malu announced two tours this weekend, but she didn't give details, so after the net I tried to contact her, but without success. I asked about good supermarkets and was given the names and locations of two, so we caught the 12:30 bus to Port-of-Spain. Walked around the downtown area. Saw the Parliament building, which is a big Victorian style building left over from British rule. It's painted red, so it's known as the Red House. We ate lunch at a little local restaurant that was very inexpen- sive. We only paid 35 TT's -- less than $6 U.S. for the two of us. The food was mediocre, but the fruit punch was the best I've ever tasted, and the ice cream was delicious. After we'd eaten, we walked two more blocks and saw McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Pizza Boys, etc. Oh well, we'll know next time. When we found the Excellent Supermarket that had been recommended, we were greatly disappointed. It didn't have much of anything. The Hi Lo we've been going to is a hundred times better. We caught the 3:30 bus back, and I got off at West Mall. Tried to use the ATM at the entrance, but it wouldn't accept my card. I'd forgotten there was a Cirrus ATM in Hi Lo. I only had 45 TT's left, so I couldn't buy very much. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough left for busfare back to Peake's. Bought chicken and some vegetables. Came to 42.63. After I'd checked out, I saw the ATM, so I got 1000 TT's, but I didn't feel like buying more stuff and going through the checkout again. At least I had busfare.