It\u2019s Tuesday morning and we are getting ready to head out later this morning to explore the city of Santiago de Cuba.\u00a0 We have hired Noel, a local taxi driver that was recommended to us a couple, Brian and Nancy from Canada sailing aboard \u201cAfreeka\u201d.\u00a0 Love that name for a boat.\u00a0 After buying the boat in June, they got ready in record time to head out and have spent the last six months heading south, beginning with the Erie Canal, down the U.S. coast all the way to Marathon FL in the Keys.\u00a0 They have spent the last month cruising the south coast of Cuba on their way to their ultimate destination, Trinidad.\u00a0 They are quite the adventurers, although new to boating, having spent a lot of time in Tanzania Africa by land over the last few years.\u00a0 Can you find Tanzania on a map?\u00a0 I surely can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
We spent some time with them yesterday to get a lay of the (Cuba) land.\u00a0 As they are heading east toward Haiti, against the prevailing winds, they do their sailing at night and headed out from the marina \u00a0at dusk last night to take advantage of the katabatic winds coming down from the mountains overnight.<\/p>\n
Katabatic winds are the cooling air from the mountains rushes downhill towards the coast at night and shift the easterly trade winds from east to the north.\u00a0 That makes for a nice close reach sail toward the east as opposed to having winds on the nose as is the case during the daylight hours.<\/p>\n
It was nice to get their perspective, albeit a bit negative as they were plenty frustrated from waiting for fuel and water for the last few days.\u00a0 The marina\u2019s fuel pumps have been out of commission for years and water has to be brought in by tanker truck and that had been promised for days and not yet delivered.\u00a0 I checked again this morning and they said \u201ctoday, we hope\u201d.\u00a0 Sounds familiar, I guess.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good thing that we have a watermaker as Brenda isn\u2019t happy when she has to skip her shower.\u00a0 Me too.\u00a0 Can you say sticky?<\/p>\n
Water is a problem in this area and all homes have large water tanks on their roof so that they can store water when the municipal supply is working and still have some to use when it\u2019s not. \u00a0I was told by Noel that sometimes they can\u2019t get water for ten days at a time so they have to keep plenty on hand, just in case.<\/p>\n
After all the months of preparation for getting to Cuba, I can\u2019t believe that we are finally here.\u00a0 In spite of all the reading about what the experience is like, it\u2019s quite different than what we had heard.\u00a0 We had read that the clearing in process took hours and that we\u2019d have to give up most or all of our fresh food and that any chicken would have to go too.\u00a0\u00a0 We were prepared for \u201cwhatever\u201dand had all of our documents in place, ready to go.\u00a0 We even prepared a detailed \u201ccrew list\u201d document with all the particulars of the boat and crew which I printed out in duplicate.<\/p>\n
As we made our way west along the coast, we were entranced by the views of the mountains.![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/3-8-16a-003.jpg\")
As we approached the entrance of the harbor, and a dramatic one it is, we began hailing the Guarda Frontera on the VHF radio.\u00a0 We had been told to begin calling when we were about 15 miles out with the understanding that they probably wouldn\u2019t respond until we were within a few miles as they only have hand held VHF radios.<\/p>\n
After spending time in the Bahamas, with its low lying islands, over the last few years, I wasn\u2019t prepared for the dramatic landscape and tall mountains of Cuba\u2019s south coast.\u00a0\u00a0 What a dramatic view of the coast with mountains everywhere.<\/p>\n
As we approached the harbor, we were greeted by a fabulous fort, Castillo de Morro, built in the 1500s.\u00a0 What a sight. We continued past the fort and into the harbor, all the while hailing the authorities, again with no response.\u00a0\u00a0 The channel near the fort is literally hundreds of feet deep with cliffs looming up dramatically on either side.\u00a0\u00a0 I was busily snapping photos of the fort and was startled, no make that shocked to hear a booming voice shouting in Spanish so close that I thought someone was in the cockpit with us.\u00a0 It turns out that I was almost correct as a moment later I saw a head bobbing in our wake, complete with snorkel and wet suit.\u00a0 There was someone in the water and I had nearly run him down. \u00a0\u00a0What the %$#@ was someone swimming in a major shipping channel with ships like this heading in and out all day long.<\/p>\n
As we came within sight of Marina Santiago, we were finally hailed on the radio by Guarda Frontera and instructed to anchor on the other side of the harbor in the \u201cquarantine\u201d area, about a mile from the marina. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Moments later a launch pulled up and dropped off the health inspector, a young Cuban woman with really, really red hair.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We offered her a cold Coke which she accepted with thanks and quietly slipped it into her purse.\u00a0 She took our temperature with a laser thermometer pointed at our foreheads smiled and declared Brenda to be \u201chot\u201d.\u00a0 Yes, she can be that, I agreed.<\/p>\n
She knew only a very little English and patiently waited while we thumbed through the phrase book to find answers to her questions. The whole process lasted about an hour and was very pleasant. When she was finished she started talking about \u201ctoasting\u201d our arrival.\u00a0 After a LOT of back and forth and puzzled looks from us, we finally realized that she was looking for a beer.\u00a0 Of course!\u00a0 Brenda and I split one and she finished her\u2019s off in short order.\u00a0 We exchanged information about family, showed photos of children all around and posed for a \u201cselfie\u201d.\u00a0 What a hoot.\u00a0 \u201cWelcome to Cuba!\u201d![\"1-2-16](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/1-2-16-016.jpg\")
After that, we raised the anchor and headed back across the harbor and anchored as there was no room at the dock for us.\u00a0 We dropped the dink and took her ashore and us to meet with Immigration.\u00a0 That process took another hour and was followed by that official coming out to Pandora where he searched every nook and cranny for who knows what.\u00a0 \u00a0After that, a beer together.<\/p>\n