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Cayo Largo and Cayos Dios – Cayo Sal and Cayo Guano Este
We did a 38-hour passage to Cayo Largo from Maria Gorda,
leaving at 05:00 hours, not my favourite time to leave. Overall it was a good passage, we could have used more wind but the current wasn’t against us, the seas were average and we were comfortable.
Cayo Largo
Cayo Largo was where we needed to be on the 4th March, to renew our visas. We arrived on the 3rd in the evening and anchored, not going ashore to the Guarda Frontera, as we were both needing rest.
Visa renewal
We chose to anchor in the inner bay area, which was totally sheltered, quiet and calm. The next morning we went in the dingy, tied up to the dock at the marina and looked for the Guarda Frontera office.
The renewal process was painless, totally easy and as he told up our visas were good until midnight we were in plenty of time. First we had to go to the bank and purchase two 20 stamps and two 5 stamps, and return. These are visa stamps, which are officially attached to your visa. In the bank we found that there were 2 lines, but one dealt with the 5 stamps and 1 dealt with the 20 stamps, and no they could not pass them between, you have to go from one line to the next. So leaving passports, stamps and all with the Guarda we set off to find wifi and have a look around.
Cayo Largo was again not what we had expected. The whole Cayo is for tourists and caters to tourists, no locals live there, the locals are just staff that work on a monthly basis. The marina area where we were just deals with sailboats, charters, diving, water excursions etc. There are a few very basic tiendas – shops with souvenirs, sodas and snacks, no foods or supplies that cruisers need. The tourists staying in hotels along the beach are further down the Cay and are transported by little trains. Coaches transport the staff. There is an airport where the tourists enter and leave. It impressed us as being quite regimented without the average tourist realizing that it is so. We sat next to the restaurant area and did our online business and emails.
The inside anchorage was where we were anchored and despite it being some way from the marina we had been informed that we would need to pay $.30 per foot per day. This did not go down well with either of us, so we determined to have a look around and leave as soon as possible.
We explored the bar near the anchorage. It is a lovely bar at the end of a wonderfully long beach.
The water was gorgeous, the colours just stunning and with conchs and starfish right up to the shoreline. We landed the dingy and walked the beach area enjoying the lovely scenery.
Mangrove channels
Later that day we set off to find the fuel dock, which was located in a mangrove lagoon near the small, port where supply boats land.
The reflections along the shoreline were just perfect for photography, so very symmetrical. The fuel dock, when we found it was locked off and looked to be little used. John decided we could do without the hassle of getting fuel. We continued along the mangrove channels and found that it was just lovely.
There were wading birds all around, clear waters in which countless fish swam, rays gliding by, reflections all around from the sunny still day. The water was flowing through between the mangrove isles, schools of large Jacks flew past, parrotfish grazed below, and other reef fish were around the corals, a very healthy area.
Cayo Iguana
Heading back to the boat we ventured towards a cayo where we had seen tourist boats stop, plus where I had seen what looked like a white cliff. Approaching the cay the water shallowed into lagoon type bay surrounded by bars, so we got out and dragged the dingy across the shallows to the beach.
Straight away we were approached by dozens of iguanas, all sizes, some creeping up and some running up to greet us. The visiting boats must feed them, as they seemed to expect food from us. It really was quite a sight being surrounded by dozens of iguanas. We walked along the cay and could see how the iguanas had burrows in the soft sandstone cliff. John found that inland was infested with mosquitoes, so there was probably a salt pond there.
Los Dios Cays
Leaving Cayo Largo we sailed for the Los Dios Cays. These are a small group of cays that are the finals cays of the southern chain situated right on the edge of the deep water. The passage took us first in the deep water off the bank of reef and then we cut into the shallows to seek calmer waters.
The shallows are just beautifully clear; you feel for sure that the boat will hit the bottom, but its deep, just that the crystal clear waters give the illusion of being shallow.
Cayo Sal
Cayo Sal was our stop for the day. This is literally just a very narrow, long rock isle with about 7 palm trees trying to survive. The surrounding reef is amazing and we really wished to return to snorkel.
We were the only boat, that evening I looked out and saw what appeared to be an apparition, a small wooden boat was approaching, sure enough out of nowhere appeared a small wooden fishing boat with 4 Cuban guys, an ancient engine bellowing smoke and awash in the bilges dozens of lobsters and silk snappers. These were a very happy group of fishermen, they wanted rum for lobsters. Plus they asked if we had any spare flippers as theirs were falling apart. So we traded a pair of fins and a small bottle of rum for 8 lobsters, however we only took 4 as we just could not manage the rest. The guys were very happy. They were also very impressed with Chico; he was very impressed with their fish and lobster.
Cayo Guano Del Este
We were supposed to sail to Cienfuegos, but instead pulled into the last cay in the chain. This anchorage is supposedly just a day anchorage, or a night anchorage in dead calm conditions. The weather looked great, the lighthouse on the cay and the beautiful crystal clear waters were just too tempting to pass by.
So we anchored, it was just 9:00am, and we had a full day to enjoy the cay. There were already 2 other boats in the anchorage, a chartered catamaran and a mono cruiser like us. I was very happy to see the dingy from the other cruiser’s boat go to the shore a be greeted by the lighthouse keeper, so not long later we were off ashore too.
The lighthouse
Upon reaching the rocky shoreline the keeper and his assistant were there to help us ashore and to greet us. The keeper William and his helper Frank were very sweet. They let us roam around and even climb up the lighthouse.
The view from the top was awesome, just spectacular looking out across the reefs.
We roamed all the way along the inside shore to the eastern point and then all along the outside shore back to the lighthouse. It was a great hike.
The young helper Frank showed us how he had a fishing rod but had lost all his hooks so we returned with some fishhooks and some chocolate kisses I had on board. Then they gave us this root vegetable, a very strange looking brown tuber sort of like a bulb. Anyway William explained to me how to cook it, which I did that night and it was very nice, reminds one of a potato.
The afternoon we went in the dingy along the inside shoreline, looking at the rocky shoreline and the few weathered inlets. We stopped and snorkeled, the water was clear, the reefs wonderful and fish of all types and sizes everywhere. Another lovely day.
That evening about half a dozen chartered catamarans appeared and anchored in the same anchorage. It was suddenly crowded and no longer peaceful. The wind rose and started blowing too strongly for comfort. Our night’s sleep was not restful. John was up most of the night watching out for dragging catamarans. However all was fine and we were off at sunrise for Cienfuegos.
“Life can be found only in the present moment.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
