Pregnant Dentist

The next few days were sore and trying, and as we checked into every port we would ask the officials if they had a dentist in town. At Bahia de Nuevitas, there was an English-speaking charter boat diver who offered to take us into the town of Santa Lucia where there was a dentist, but since we were directed by la Guarda to anchor out in the middle of a river near the port, there was no way we'd be able to get the dinghy to shore in this fast moving current.

We sail out next day to Cayo Confites under a strong wind which got us there quickly, but we realized there is precious little chance a dentist would be residing on these isolated cays. We took the outside passage up the North coast of Cuba, and unfortunately it's all cays with little chance of getting in to the mainland. It's also so shallow and the sea so rough that we can't even get out of the boat into the dinghy to explore the beaches. Maciek spends his time trying to repair our solar panels, which don't seem to be producing enough power to recharge our batteries (which run the depth sounder and lights; thankfully our handheld GPS runs of AA batteries, take note cruisers!) and I spend my time composing short stories of no consequence, and not looking in the mirror.

After a day there, during which I manage to get out and snorkel to an uninteresting reef, we sail on to Paredon Grande, whose only interesting feature is a hideous black-and-orange checkerboard lighthouse. Again, we can't get out of the boat and I am getting frustrated. The tooth doesn't hurt much, just a bit sensitive to cold and hot but I want to get it dealt with. Our next visit turns out to be a cay with some habitation, Cayo Coco and is in fact a big tourist destination. So there's a chance there's a dentist there and we're determined not to miss it.

We radio in to the guard and he tells us some coordinates where we can anchor, but as it's marked on our chartlet that it's a "Marina" we thought we would just pull up to the dock and tell the officials about our problem. And then we discover the two naval gunships - of modest size, (they would look like toys next to the ones we see later in the States) – it’s a Cuban Navy base. Ooops.

They come out to the shore and try and tell us to get the heck out of there but I yell some words about "doctor and emergency". Once they understand there's an unusual circumstance afoot, they become cooperative and tell us to get on the radio. They get someone from a Marina down the way who speaks English to get our info and he tells us that they will send a car down to the dock where we were to bring us to the dentist. Relief! We might be able to get some help after all. Then an ambulance pulls up 20 minutes later and my heart sinks, I can't imagine how much this is going to cost.

The naval guys let us pull the boat up and tie up at their dock, right under the nose of a gunship and a motorboat from Florida, no doubt a confiscated one from someone who made a mistake. After I show the Jefe of the compound my tooth and he shows a sympathetic face ("Pretty Girl Maimed On Grand Holiday") we climb into the ambulance and our driver takes us to.....

A tourist resort. This is not what I expect but we wait patiently and soon, sure enough, we pull up outside a room that has a red cross sign and is apparently a dentist's office. The dentist is working on someone but she says she can see me that day. She is an 8 1/2 months pregnant first time mother and we're shocked that she's still working. At any rate, she examines me professionally enough and tells me she can either put on some medicine to keep it from being sensitive, or repair it completely. I ask her how much, she says it'll be $20 for the exam and $20 for the repair. For that price, I'll let anyone - even a pregnant mother who shouldn't be working, experiment with my smile!

The work was done quickly and I was amazed at how it looked, not even a difference in colour, and it felt great! We paid and got out, after arranging to come the next day to get Maciek's cavities done as he thought even he would splurge for that price. On the way back, we bartered with Pedro our ambulance driver, for the price of the 20 minute ride and settled on $20 for the 2 days. Back at our boat, we were happy and I flash my tooth in a jaunty smile that I hadn't smiled for days.

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