Cuba - Part One

Cuba

Well here's the thing, the passage from Jamaica to Cuba was without a doubt the toughest we have had on a boat!

 


















Things started off really well. 10 to 12 knots of breeze, just about in the beam, calm seas, sunny skies, and progress was relaxed if not a little sedate. Our slightly slower speed than usual for the wind and sea conditions was down to the amount of weed that had grown on the hull in Montego Bay.

As we settled into our routine, which these days is mainly reading and drinking cups of tea, we relished in the conditions and the fact that the forecast was due to be the same all the way to Cienfuegos. The distance was about 260nm so we had already rigged the sea berth as we expected to take a little over two nights to arrive at the entrance to the bay. We watched yet another stunning sunset and used the twilight to eat dinner by. Our first three hour watch normally starts at 9.00pm. By the time the watch changeover was due at midnight, the wind strength had increased to just over 15 knots and our progress was excellent. Within another 10 minutes the wind picked up again, climbing to just over 20 knots. We reefed the main and genoa, and turned the radar on to look for a squall. We had nearly a full moon and the sky looked clear. No sign of any squall on the radar. By now the wind generator was telling us the strength had picked up again. The direction had backed as well. We put nearly all the main away, and all of the genoa, and unfurled our stay sail. Waves were coming at us beam on and it made life on board less than comfortable, especially the ones that broke into the cockpit. We always wear our life jackets at night and clip on anyway, but this was becoming less and less enjoyable. The wind instruments showed 33 knots more or less constantly. 

Our autopilot was working well, we had left it on setting 3, and in any case we had a huge amount of amps coming from the wind generator.

It was too noisy to sleep, so each tucked under the spray hood, playing chicken now and then with breaking waves in the cockpit, to go and check the chart plotter for any traffic. By 4.00am we had just under 40 knots, but the staysail did its job and the boat was well balanced. The roar of the wind in the rigging was like a constant banshee howling. At times like these you keep your thoughts to yourself. I think we both hoped the the wind would not increase anymore and looked forward to day break.

As dawn broke, the wind dropped down to a more manageable 25 knots, and then an hour or so later just below 20. We pulled out a little main and genoa leaving the staysail set, and flew along in the huge seas. Exhausted by a lack of sleep we started the watch system again after breakfast. The rest of the day was more or less the same. The wind did drop again and we managed a couple of hours under full main and genoa.

That night we had an early dinner, just before sunset, to be on the safe side. Sure enough soon after midnight the wind started to increase. We knew the drill and it turned out to be almost a repeat of the previous evening. If anything the wind gusted higher, and in the early hours we scrambled around to find some bungee cords to stop the wind generator blades going around. With us both clipped on, we pointed the head unit out of the wind, holding on tightly as the boat pitched and rolled. Once we got the blades to stop, we lowered the head unit and tied the blades off. It was only a matter of time before the forces would blow the acetyl gear drive, and the blades would go supersonic.

So that was another night without sleep! As daybreak came once again the wind dropped, with 10nm or so to go to the entrance channel we had full main and genoa out, and soon after the sails started to flog as the wind dropped to almost nothing. It was a real paradox to have to start the engine to motor the rest of the way.

Cienfuegos is a port of entry in Cuba, and the marina is about 6 nautical miles from the sea. The rules in Cuba are strict. You cannot disembark without first having cleared in. This meant taking the boat onto a waiting dock. We spent a good hour calling on the VHF, and some time just circling around to await instructions. Eventually someone answered and we tied up on one of the charter boat berths. Within minutes the officials started to arrive, plus a sniffer dog! After about 40 minutes we slipped the lines and went out to anchor. What did annoy us was the fact the marina charges you to anchor to the tune of approximately £13 per day!

 

By the time we had put the anchor snubber on, made an entry in the log book, replaced the sun covers on the instruments, switched off all non essential systems, we were ready for sleep. And sleep we did, both for a solid 12 hours.

Cienfuegos beckoned to be explored, so the next day having rested well, we walked into town, about 30 to 40 mins away, depending on how long you took to stare at the old American cars. Just like in Jamaica, the taxi drivers were enthusiastic for business. Unlike Jamaica we only had to say 'No' once and they left us alone. The choice of taxi was commendable. An old American car, a Lada, a powered trike, or some poor guy pedalling a rickshaw type contraption.

Our first priority was to find a bank and convert some Sterling and Euros to local currency. Cuba has a strange setup when it comes to currency. The locals use the CUP, and visitors the CUC. There are roughly 25 CUP to 1 CUC. Visitors are not allowed CUP so have to pay over the odds for goods and services in CUC. Let us just say for the record, Cuba is not a cheap place for the tourist.

We queued for over an hour outside a bank in the sweltering heat. Once we eventually got inside, a lady on reception took pity on us and fast tracked us through the system. Ten minutes later we had changed our money. Then we wanted to get some wifi. This being Cuba it is not straightforward. You first have to buy a wifi voucher from the Tourist Information Office, and then find a wifi hot spot. Armed with some vouchers we headed back down the strip past the marina, and sat in the lobby of a hotel where there was a wifi hot spot. Along the way we called into a little cafe, having been lured in by the photograph of a juicy burger. After two bites of the burger we threw them away. Whatever passed for meat was full of gristle.

We decided to come back into town another day to explore some more, and made a plan to go and see a town called Trinidad, about two hours away by taxi. The next day we did exactly that. Our chosen steed was a white Lada of indiscernible vintage, but it clearly was old. Our driver only spoke Spanish, but we managed to get him to agree to a round trip.

Once on the move and out of town, it became evident we had not chosen well. The only thing that did not overtake us that day was a horse and cart. The car would try and shake itself apart well before the speed limit, and the gear lever would randomly pop out of gear. Putting it back in resulted in a disturbing graunching noise. The leaf spring suspension was not at home on the pot-holed roads, and the noise of the engine stilted any conversation. Still, we got to see the countryside in all its glory. This was a side of Cuba we had not prepared ourselves for. The houses looked in poor repair, breeze block and corrugated roof structures, or wooden shacks. Hard to say if they had running water or electricity. In truth it was a little depressing. One stretch of road that ran adjacent to the seafront appeared to have a moving brightly coloured surface. This turned about to be thousands of land crabs attempting to cross the road, the majority of which did not make it.

Trinidad is one of the most intact colonial towns in the Americas, and in 2014 celebrated its 500th Anniversary. The town is full of rambling, cobbled streets, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988. It has been described as being Cuba's oldest 'outdoor museum'. In the 17th century, Trinidad became a haven for pirates and smugglers who conducted an illegal and very lucrative slave trade with Jamaica. In the early 19th century, hundreds of French refugees fleeing a slave rebellion in nearby Haiti arrived. These refugees set up small sugar mills, and by the mid 19th century, the area around Trinidad was producing around a third of all Cuba's sugar, making Trinidad a wealthy area. During the Independence Wars, however, the sugar plantations were razed to the ground during the fighting, and the town of Trinidad slipped into an economic decline. It became the town that time forgot.

Plaza Mayor is the main square in the heart of the old town, and this is where most people seem to congregate. Nearly every door you passed was open, and you were beckoned in to view pieces of artwork, embroidery, or to look at souvenirs. The area was pedestrianised and you really had the sense you had 'stepped back in time'. We viewed one art gallery, and from their top floor balcony, got a good view of the centre of the square. We also mooched around a couple of small museums. Sadly, all the signs were in Spanish but we managed to understand some things on display.
 

After a late buffet lunch in Restaurante Plaza Mayor (a government run restaurant), we headed back to our rendezvous spot with our driver for the journey home, trying to avoid being run down by the many horse drawn carts that appeared to be the main mode of transport in the town.

Luckily we got back to Cienfuegos before dark, as we had no idea if the headlights on the Lada would throw a beam far enough to be of any use.

The next few days were spent socialising with fellow yachties, and exploring more of Cienfuegos.

Known as the 'Pearl of the South', Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by a French emigre from Louisiana, named Don Louis D'Clouet. At that time, there was a scheme to increase the the population of whites on the island, and D'Clouet invited 40 families from New Orleans, Philadelphia and Bordeaux to establish a fledgling settlement. Cienfuegos's fortunes blossomed and from this wealth, many elaborate buildings were erected, harking back to the neoclassicism of their French Forefathers. 

One of Cuba's most famous musicians, Bartolomé 'Benny' Maximiliano Moré, was born in the Cienfuegos province in 1919. He moved to Havana in 1936 to try and make his fame and fortune. He got his first big break in 1943 when he won first prize in a local radio station singing competition. Two years later, he was spotted by Cuba's biggest son-bolero band, Trio Matamoros. He joined as lead vocalist for a tour of Mexico, and in the late 1940's, was signed up by RCA records when his fame spread rapidly. He returned to Cuba in 1950 and was affectionately referred to as the 'Prince of Mambo' and the 'Barbarian of Rhythm'. He went on to put together his own 40 piece backing orchestra, the 'Banda Gigante' and it was with this orchestra that he performed at the 1957 Oscars ceremony. When he died in 1963, over 100,000 people attended his funeral. One of his most famous songs was 'Cienfuegos', with the line "La cuidad que mas gusta a mi" (the city I like the best).

To honour Benny More, there is a statue of him in the town centre, holding his trademark cane.

Statue of Bartolomé 'Benny' Maximiliano Moré

 





















Whilst in town, we called into the stunning Hotel Internacional to try and use our wifi vouchers. The hotel looked a little bland from the outside, but once past reception it opened up into two beautiful courtyards.

The main square in Cienfuegos is the Parque José Martí. Surrounding this park are several grand buildings, including the Palacio de Gobierno (the house of the provincial government), the Museo Provincial, TeatroTomas Terry, and the Casa de la Cultura Benjamin Duarte. At one end of the park is the Arco de Triunfuno (arch of triumph), which is dedicated to Cuban Independence. The arch leads you into the park and toward a marble statue of revolutionary and philosopher José Martí.
 

The marina is situated in an area called Punta Gorda, which is Cienfuegos's old upper class neighbourhood. Here there are several Grand buildings, including the Palacio de Valle, an Arabian Nights like palace built in 1917. The owner planned to convert the building into a casino, but today it is a restaurant with a pretty terrace on the roof. The Club Cienfuegos and the Palacio Azul (now a hotel), are next to the marina. There is also a sculpture park close by.

 

















A few days before we left Cienfuegos, we found a lovely restaurant, the Grill Restaurante Punta Gorda, just along the road from the marina. Basically, someone had converted their garage which was attached to their house into a small restaurant that could seat about 30 people. The food was of very good quality, and the portions of a good size. The service was excellent and we found ourselves eating here a few days running, much to the amusement and delight of the waiting staff. 

 














Food shopping is quite an experience in Cuba. They recommend in the guide books that if you see anything you like in a supermarket (more like corner shops), you should buy it there and then, as the chances are it won't be there the next time you visit. The nearest shop to the marina had about four aisles. One aisle was dedicated to alcohol, one to salted biscuits and long-life yogurts that did not need refrigeration (if you like banana flavour, you would be in heaven here), and one dedicated to tinned vegetables, tomato purée and cooking oils. There was also dried pasta and rice, but that was pretty much it. If you wanted vegetables, you had to go to the market in town. We did visit the market and the range of goods was fairly wide and the prices cheap, which is more than can be said for the prices in the supermarket. You could buy meat from the market too, but seeing the amount of flies swarming around the unrefrigerated things on offer, made us decide we would be happy to become vegetarians for a while. 

We had intended to head around the coast to do some more exploring. We toyed with the idea of leaving Azzy at anchor whilst we went off for 4 days, but thankfully for peace of mind, a berth became available and we left Azzy in the marina.

 















Next up, we surprise ourselves as Havana becomes one the the highlights of our travels to date.