Cuba - second visit

South coast of Cuba – April/May 2004

On Tuesday 13th April 2004 we saw Cuba at a distance of 35 miles from Santiago and that afternoon motored into the impressive natural harbour.

The fortress guarding the entrance to Santiago harbour – navigators will note the red cone buoy to be left to starboard – we are in the IALA B region!

It didn’t take long for the authorities to make contact and soon we were alongside and receiving the first of our visitors. Various officials came - my elementary Spanish was a great help – a search party of 3 men and a dog made a thorough and courteous inspection and eventually we were free to go ashore and see what the country was like. We took a bus into town – we were not disappointed – the Cuban people are amazingly friendly but in the recent years of greater openness towards tourist visitors many have become quite entrepreneurial – they have much to gain from contact with outsiders.

The sculptor Jorge Rodriguez Mena in Santiago displaying his carvings

We next sailed on to the village of Chivrico. We anchored in its well-sheltered bay after negotiating its very narrow entrance. The guarda official came aboard from a rowing boat, took our papers and told us clearly where we were permitted to land. At the guarded compound there it became clear that only the privileged few were allowed access to boats. There has after all been a history of escape attempts from Cuba! We met a young family there who showed us around the village. Cuba is well known for its 1950’s American cars. In this village horse-drawn route-taxis seemed to dominate. The fuel shortage (and expense) is such that you see many more motor vehicles stationary than moving.

One of the many horse-drawn route-taxis in the village of Chivrico. The horses were usually very thin – but then it was rare to see fat humans either!

Departure from Chivrico proved slightly frustrating. I had to wait for almost an hour for the guarda official to come and give us back our papers. Well it was Sunday morning and he didn’t have a watch! Our next stop was Marea del Portillo where we went through a similar routine with the guarda. In the morning we were able to buy tomatoes and onions from the guarda’s ferry woman. At our next stop the guarda were doing their own rowing but somewhat inexpertly.

The Guarda Frontera team in Cabo Cruz had to do their own rowing – it looked like they needed the practice

Thereafter we were cruising the deserted mangrove islands for a week. No guarda to visit us and only occasional fishing boats around. These islands are so densely wooded that it’s mostly impossible to get ashore – dinghy-exploration and snorkelling being alternative pursuits. In one anchorage 2 fishermen rowed up and presented us with 5 Lobsters !! I did say that one would be enough but they insisted that we take all five. Furthermore they were surprised when I gave them a bottle of rum in exchange!

Five Caribbean lobsters in the cockpit! Given to us by fishermen in Cayos Manuel Gomes on 24^th April

At one stop we are joined by 2 pidgeons – we give them water and food which they seem to appreciate – one of them hitches a ride with us next day to our destination of Casilda close to the city of Trinidad. We anchor in the well protected bay next to another yacht. We dinghy into the marina which is in a lagoon with a rather shallow entrance. We are disappointed when told that we are not allowed to go out of the marina compound – but we are allowed to take a shower there – some consolation! Next morning a motor boat (with outboard motor!) carrying officials comes out to see us – we are asked to come into the marina to check in and are offered a pilot to guide us in. We accept the offer and the pilot even mans the “handraulic” windlass to get the anchor up! Thereafter he stands at the bow and gives me hand signals to guide us in. He gets us to follow the keel furrows made by previous boats. It’s hard work and we get close to full power to maintain progress as we deepen the furrow in the soft sand. It turns out that the Italian owner of the yacht anchored next to us had refused to attempt the entry under these circumstances. However we get in OK and tie up in the marina’s prime position and get the usual official visits.

We get a co-co taxi into Trinidad – that’s a motor-trike taxi (known as an auto-rickshaw in Pakistan and India)

Typical Cuban road scene – on our way to Trinidad – cycling is very popular – you don’t have to put petrol into a bike and you go much faster than walking!

The city is of a smaller scale compared to Santiago but has just as much character –

One of the squares in Trinidad – a rather lovely city!

Next day we take a car taxi inland into the hills and do a walk downhill to a waterfall – we find the waterfall pool – it is beautiful! and take a swim

The waterfall pool in the mountains North of Trinidad

It’s more of an effort to walk back uphill to our starting point of course – but it was well worth it!

Soon we sail on to Cienfuegos – another fine city that we approach through a narrow entrance channel and then proceed to at the far side of a large pocket bay. Leading marks make the recommended channel very clear and the large guarda base seems rather devoid of activity. It does however make its welcome very clear!

The Guarda post in the narrows going up to Cienfuegos – This says “Welcome to Socialist Cuba” – but they built their searchlight hut in front of “to”!

Next we have to sail out around a prohibited area and to islands again. These ones are not so inhospitable as those previously and one is developed with loads of hotels and pleasure facilities for foreign visitors – Cayo Largo (Don’t confuse with Key Largo in the Florida Keys – you see when the Spaniards were discovering these places they ran a bit short of new names!). We entered the Cayo Largo channel past the Punto Mal Tiempo (Point of Bad Weather!) and found our way up the shallow channel to the marina. Quite a few foreign visiting yachts and locally based charter catamarans there – we check in with the authorities and enquire about fuel availability – no problem! – pay first and follow directions to the fuelling berth – we have space in the tank for an extra 50 litres – no problem – pay later! It being a bit late in the day we go and anchor for the night and next morning go back to the marina, pay for the extra 50 litres and check out with the officials – oh and that includes the vet this time – just in case we had any animals on board!

Our next stop is in between two islands in the Canal de Rosario. The following day sailing into the Golfo de Batabano in a brisk Easterly is a bit worrying – we do about 5 miles with less than a foot under the keel! Gradually the water gets deeper and then later in the day we motor through the well marked Pasa de Quitasol and then approach Isla Juventud or the Isle of Youth (previously known as the Isle of Pines). This is the largest island off the coast of Cuba and has been used as a place of exile and imprisonment since Spanish times. We enter the channel and go up the river to the main town of Nuevo Gerona.

Methods of fishing as seen in the river leading to Nuevo Gerona

There we are directed to go alongside the ferry wharf. As with many other Cuban ports it’s built of very rough concrete with a few lorry tyres as fenders and ashore it is a fully fenced and guarded compound. We go ashore and after a stroll find a restaurant for dinner. There’s live entertainment but a very limited choice on the menu. There’s a selection of pork done in four different ways – Julia chooses the salad and that turns out to be a plate of sliced cucumber! But this is not due to a lack of availability. Next day we visit the market and there is quite a bit of produce to be had and just out of town we find a vegetable growing co-operative.

Market stall in Nuevo Gerona – availability of produce but not abundance

Well-loaded horse-drawn vehicle leaving the market in Nuevo Gerona

We walk out of town to visit the house where the pre-revolutionary hero Jose Martin lived – it turns out to be closed for repairs. Then we visit one of the marble quarries for which the island is famous. Next day we sail on and stop at the diving resort of Siguanea. We anchor outside the marina, which is just as well since the entrance is far too shallow for us to attempt. We dinghy in and see the Guarda. In this case they don’t have access to a boat so I have to ferry them out to Ramprasad for them to have a quick look around. The Sergeant can’t be all that used to this since when climbing up the side he loses a bit off his gun-belt, and furthermore back in the marina getting out of the dinghy he loses another bit! That night I notice we have an unwelcome visitor – it has beady eyes, four legs and a long tail. Over the days that follow I conclude that it climbed aboard from the lorry tyre fenders in Nuevo Gerona and probably didn’t intend to stay with us as long as it did. Its favourite food seems to be tomatoes. We end up leaving Cuba from here. We sail around the Western end of Cuba and then head North-East against the wind. About a week later in another country after a couple of long beats (a big contrast to the downhill runs and reaches previously) I get to a hardware shop and buy a couple of traps and some tomatoes. That night I set both – it eats the bait from the one in the storeroom without setting it off. It goes out on deck for its nightly stroll, finds the other, sets it off and gets caught!

The trap caught the rodent by the nose and didn’t kill it – when dropped over the side it swam round in circles until the weak tide took it away – there was very little chance it got ashore – a Cuban escapee meets a sticky end!