We had a great sail over to the Bahamas, anchored the night in a shallow spot and rolled all night before enjoying a gentle sail the next day to Manjack Island where friends were celebrating New Years Eve around a fire on the beach.....been a long time since we have done that! Bill and Leslie have an idyllic lifestyle there, growing their own food and living in a stunning home they built. They are now in the process of building a smaller house for their old age which is a big project in such a spot.
While we were there we joined all the other cruisers on a trip over to Green Turtle to see in the New Year. The parade was only small due to the loss of costumes in the hurricane but it was still fun. The destruction is major but the community seems in good spirit and everyone is pitching in to get back to normal.
After 5 days we were able to sail south towards Cuba, doing a mix of overnighters and day sails. Leaving the southern island of Great Inagua after a rolly night, we had a 164 mile sail to the southern coast of Cuba. Sailing past Guantanamo in the middle of the night, over 2 miles off shore, with the sails wing and wing in a confused sea, we were suddenly in the spotlight, sirens going and being told to change course immediately which of course we couldn't do. With our own escort we continued on as best we could until they realised we were not a threat and left us in peace. The place is a lot bigger than I imagined and had an evil feel about it, knowing what goes on there. That was the only "hostile territory" we found in Cuba.
It was a magnificent entrance at dawn with the fort guarding Santiaga de Cuba. We went alongside a pretty rough dock at the marina to clear in. Officials were very friendly and it all went smoothly. The south coast is a lot more relaxed for cruisers and was a good mix of towns, villages and deserted islands. Cruising the northern coast means going from marina to marina. If there was a marina we had to use it and could only go ashore there but otherwise we were free to anchor. Santiago was a good first stop. We had an exciting bus ride into the city where the driver seemed a little crazy but at a few cents each it was a cheap thrill. It seemed a lot poorer than we expected but the people were friendly and colourful, the streets were fun to explore and the local restaurants were good. Shops were pretty empty with rice, oil and flour the only things in abundance. It was a shock to have our credit cards denied. Mine disappeared into the machine and it was a long drawn out process getting it back, involving many hours in queues, mostly standing outside. Four people allowed in as four came out, and that was the case in most shops. Luckily we had some American dollars to tide us over.
After 5 days exploring the area we headed west to the next small town Chivirico, 33 miles away.
The entrance wasn't as bad as the guide book made out but not one to be attempted on a rough day.
We had to check in with the local Guarda Fronterre at each spot and it was always fun. They were super friendly and spoke very little English so that made it interesting. A few questions, then they would take away our paperwork and return it with its stamps as we left. I was Captain for the stay as Phil would not have been patient enough!!!! We were cruising in company with a great English couple we met at Santiago de Cuba and got together every night to enjoy the stunning sunsets along with a rum or two. As well, we had friends on board so it was a pretty social time.
Cabo Cruz was a colourful stop with friendly officials who had a long row out to our boat in a pretty strong wind. It was a very shallow anchorage behind a reef.
After Cabo Cruz we explored the "Queens Gardens", a string of islands which we found out later we should have sailed on past. A warden had stopped by the boat to say hello because his name was Nelson which is our home port but all he did was remind us not to fish there. Apparently some rich fellow has bought the whole group and isn't keen to share them.
Here's Steve off "Miles" getting ashore in what looked like sand.
There was the fishing boat called "Plastico" and another called "Ferrocementico". Trading a little cash and an old wetsuit got us a decent feed of lobsters.
This is an amazing country to explore by boat. We definitely get to see more than the touristy spots and the occasional person who speaks English gives us an idea of how life is for the locals, wages being low and choices very limited.
