PHOTOS LINK —->> https://photos.app.goo.gl/C3L6Qze3oHBCq7bN2
And on to Cienfuegos
The sail to Cienfuegos was a long all day passage that was mostly unmemorable, few ships, no fish caught, mainly comfortable and only a few other sailboats, which were following us.
Before entering the channel towards Cienfuegos we could look out across the waters of the Golfo de Cazones towards the Bay of Pigs and see the nuclear plant in the distance. This area is all classified as a no go zone and has been so since the Americans invaded back in the 1960s.
When going into the bay where Cienfuegos is situated we travelled down the long channel which passed homes of fishermen along the waterside, the huge “Bienvenidos Socialista” sign painted on the seawall above which I could see the Guarda with his binoculars trained on us and the old fortress – Castillo Jagua to the left. We crossed the waterway of the harbour and headed towards the marina where we had to check in with the Guarda and keep the boat whether at anchor or dockside. It was evening by the time we were anchoring up when we received a message via the vhf that the dock master required all vessels to go alongside.
Well, the wind had picked up; the other boats that had been following us had arrived so it was a chaotic half hour while we all eventually managed to get along a dock space. By the time the dock master had boarded Aeeshah, completed his paperwork, John gone to the 2 offices to do yet more paperwork, even having to recall the last 5 countries visited, it was dark, but oh no! We had to then go and anchor, just incase the dock space was needed, just us not the other boats. I was not impressed, so out we went after 14 hours of sailing and messing around with authorities to anchor in the dark in an unknown anchorage. Oh, and we had to pay $.30 per foot per night just for the anchorage.
Anyway it worked out and we finished the evening with dinner and drinks tired but, relaxed. (A new crew and dock-master took over a day later and he did not require any boats along side. The officials plus drug dog all went in the dock-masters little white speedboat out to the arriving boats:-)
Marina Marlin
The Marina Marlin is where we had to land the dingy before going ashore; they do not have a dingy dock, we had a choice of landing it on the rocky beach or along the concrete dockside, which had no fenders. We opted for the dockside. John had to drop me on the rocks first as the dock was too tall for me to climb up, so needless to say it comes across as a really shabby arrangement. To get wifi we would then walk to the park area about half a mile away where there was a public wifi hot spot. However on the plus side the marina did have a small shop selling basic supplies even eggs and bread.
Cienfuegos
The marina is situated just outside in an area called Punta Gorda so we would walk into the main part of town, Pueblo Nuevo, to wander around and get our supplies.
Pueblo Nuevo,
the main part of town was worn, busy, and tired looking, seedy in places, but also charming, another world,
and we always enjoyed seeing all that was going on. We found the panaderia – bakery easily and bought breads that were excellent.
To exchange our sterling and Euros we wanted to go into the Cadeca, moneychangers, but after finally finding it – was shut, but a Cuban fellow spoke to us and explained he could change our money for a good rate. So we dealt with the illegal moneychangers on the street, we both felt like drug dealers doing an underhanded deal.
The market took us a few days to find, mainly as our directions were not clear, but we had bought some produce from the few roadside carts available.
When we did find it the market on the Saturday, it was not very well stocked, there was little variety and so we got what we could and decided to go back the following week when fresh produce was due to arrive. However when returning the Wednesday we found even less choice. So we just got what we could. I feel that the average Cuban must be quite deprived for good fresh produce.
Parque Jose Marti
The center of Cienfuegos is a square called Parque Jose Marti Where when we visited we found that a fiesta was in progress.
It was a fiesta celebrating books; sort of what I think is a book fair. The families were very excited to look at the books and educational posters for sale, carefully selecting books or posters with the alphabet or such to buy with the children of all ages who were really happy to receive a new book, poster or to play with a balloon, so very different from the child in the average country.
There was a children’s musical skit being performed with lots of smiling faces all around. The buildings around the square were the older historical buildings, which had been well maintained.
The architecture was lovely to look at. We enjoyed looking around the cathedral, “Catedral de la Purisima Concepcion” which was a classic.
Punta Gorda
We visited the point at the end of Punta Gorda where we visited the really lovely Palacio de Valle. This wonderful building is striking to look at. There is a Moorish/Indian architectural look too much of the exterior design with turrets, carved windows, and arches. Inside it is lavishly decorated with mosaic floors, a marble staircase and detailed arches to name a few of the extras.
There we took a self-guided tour that included a Monito on the terrace of the roof and was highlighted by the excellent view from the top tower looking out over the bay.
In the same Punta Gorda area we visited the park at the end point La Punta that looked out across the bay. We walked passed other interesting hostels and homes along the shore side, enjoying the walk and the lovely day.
Cienfuegos is a very handy point from which to visit inland areas in Cuba. It’s a fun place to people watch, to see more of the Cuban way of life. They are a very happy people.
You can safely leave the boat and easily travel. We met a fellow called Dario who runs an unofficial taxi stand. He was able to arrange for us a “taxi” to and from Trinidad, which was where we really hoped to visit. And so for our last day in Cienfuegos we went to Trinidad.
