Aeeshah

 

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We arrived in the Rio Dulce on the 1st June after our month in Belize.

We had checked out from Placencia the day after Alan left having caught a water taxi up river. Our last night outside the Rio was spent at Cabo Tres Puntas which is just near Honduras enough that you are relieved when you see other cruising boats there too. This is the popular launching point to make the early morning run across the Bay of Honduras to catch the high tide of the full or new moon to gain just a few inches of extra depth…..why….because there is a mud bar that is about a mile wide and runs across the river mouth.

That night we had one of those thunderstorms from hell, lightning, thunder, wind gusting up to 42 knots accompanied by heavy rains. We weren’t hit by lightning nor did we drag and the weather eased by 9:00ish thank goodness!

Crossing the bar….

So off we set, in the early morning, to the bar and river mouth. Me, being worried, as per usual, John being confident, “stop worrying!” He says. We were the forth boat approaching, we could see the first boat had slowed and stopped, the second came to a full stop beside the third, three down. John was completely confident as we started over the bar, waving as going passed the third boat stuck in the mud, when we too slowed and we stop moving. “Humm, John we are not moving, we are stuck!” So he revs the boat fully we ease over one, two, three humps and then get stuck fast, even leaning over slightly.

Well along come the locals with their pirogue, (a long pointy 15 ft boat with a 75 hp engine), this is business as usual, saving visitors stuck in the mud. The method of extraction used is the main halyard, (rope), that’s attached to the top of the mast is tied to another line, which they then attach to their boat and they pull us over sideways so we were heeled over (leaning sideways), while John revved the engine while heading/stearing forward.

Quite an experience, Chico was howling with anxiety, I was hanging onto the up side just being as relaxed as was possible, under the circumstances. We made it over, checked in and headed up Rio.

The trip up the river is always wonderful!

The sides are tall, steep, thickly forested in lush tropical foliage and tall trees of all types. The bird life is prolific, herons, egrets, cormorants, swallows, birds of all types on the sides roosting in the trees, swooping, calling, singing. And the sounds of the insects, the cicadas screeching, crickets squeeling makes for a wonderful up Rio Dulce journey.

Of course you also have your locals fishing and casting nets from their canoes and the water taxis occasionally whizzing by too.

Once we reached the end of the gorge we headed to Texas Bay for the night where we anchored and had a very quiet evening.

The next morning we headed across the lake and into the area where all the marinas are located.

We checked into Catamaran, were welcomed back as family, welcomed by the locals we knew, even Chico had visitors at the dock to see him.

The marina is busy this year with a very nice bunch, Canadians, Americans, Austrailians, South Africans, Braizilian, Bermudian mix. We’ve met up with many of our old friends too, we’ve done lots of reconnecting with Guatamalan friends and craftsmen.

Catamaran Marina

Is the most wonderful place to have Aeeshah during the hurricane season. It is situated on an entire island, just across the water, far from the center of activity, that it is both convenient but quiet. It is also a resort with attractive, little cabanas that hang over the water.

The gardens are wonderful, orchids, bromeliads, air plants, climbing vines, palms and shrubs that are meticulously cared for by the grounds men. There are several restaurants/eating areas, an excellent reception, bar and recreation area plus the pool and bar area make for real luxury for us wanderers.

Chico is very happy to be back. He goes into the gardens and relaxes in the shade or can be seen chasing butterflies. And I do think he is shedding some of the weight he gained while in the USA. But he sure finds it hot here, he comes back panting, with his tongue hanging out and jumps up to lay under the AC vent.

I just love to wander the gardens looking at the many flowers, seeing Jesus Lizards, and spotting birds.

As said, there are many more folks here this season, so there are many more activities. Here at catamaran we have had movie nights, where we have watched several excellent films played on the big screens plus had our dinner served to us at the same time – real luxury!

There has also been a pool party at Catamaran, it was a huge success, with many folks attending and there is Mexican Train Dominoes on Sundays. John plays and I hope to play next Sunday.

John’s eyes have been seen too.

He’s had two visits to Dr. Morales, in which he had eye exams and was hooked up to all types of eye equipment. Then we travelled on a collectivo to the town of Morales to stay a night before and after his operation.

The “operation” was carried out at Dr. Morales’s surgery.

We arrived at 7:30 and along with 9 others he had his old lens removed and the new inserted. Apparently the eye lens he received works like a camera lens, an excellent lens at that. John had been assessed as blind in the right eye, could not even read the top letters of the eye chart. Anyway his new eye has a 1,000 year guarantee and is rated worldwide as the best available, the cost…..14,000Q which is $1,900 for the whole lot, examination, surgery and bionic eye, just amazing! When he had the eye patch removed the day after the surgery he said it was miraculous! Just unreal, the colours were so bright, everything so crisp with details he had not known were missing.

What do we do?

We are and have been kept busy with boat maintenance, and cleaning that was way over due. However we had also been walking the bridge for exercise. This bridge spans the river at Fronteras is quite high and so is fairly good exercise especially in the heat.

Fronteras, (meaning Frontier)

Is the little town on one side of the bridge where we go every other day or so to get our fresh supplies of veg, fruitas, eggs, milk and such.

To us it is a colourful, busy, busy, town that is full of character and surprise. The main road leaves the bridge and goes right through the center street…….

So you get semis towing trailers, sometime full of cattle, sometimes laden with lumber or tankers of oil or container trucks coming off the bridge or heading towards the bridge leaving very little room either side where there are venders selling practically anything one can think of, while pedestrians try to squeeze by or cross to the other side of the road……

With folks pushing trolleys or have small stalls where they are cooking foods, making tortillas, fellows squatting to have their shoes polished while the polishers sit roadside with their little polish boxes, and folks waiting for the collectivoes – mini buses/taxis. And meanwhile we go shopping…

We also went to Tortugal Marina one evening for the trivia evening…and believe it or not but our team won!

Plus we have met friends for lunch and others, Don and Pam, for mid-morning coffee or the famous local hot-chocolate.

A new walk for us…

We were chatting to some folks at the marina they mentioned a public dock across the way.

Off we went to explore and low and behold, a public dock giving us access to a whole new world – a village, lanes to walk passed rubber and palm oil plantations, up and down hills and with wild open space too.

This is our new walk of choice, but in the heat it is only sensible and possible to hike in the very early morning. A regular day has temperatures in the 90s – that’s in the shade.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

Chief Seattle

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BELIZE

Ambergrise Cay/checking in

We arrived in Belize on May 5th, crossed the cut in the reef at Long Cay and sailed north to Cay Caulker where we anchored off the fuel dock and dive resort as per usual.

As it was a weekend we decided to leave checking in until the Monday, as we knew the officials in San Pedro would be few and far between. Monday we got the 9:00am ferry from Cay Caulker to Ambergris Cay and made our way to the airport and the immigration officials.

Upon arriving we were given hell from 2 nasty officials. They told us we had to enter via the cut in the reef of Ambergrise Cay, anchor off San Pedro, and then call in or tie up to one of the marinas and get an agent. We explained we can not enter by the poorly marked channel – it only has 1 yellow buoy marking it, the anchorage is too shallow for us, plus it has poor holding, we are not able to call as we have no phone time, nor can we go along side docks that have very shallow waters. Well this nasty woman would not hear it; she said we should not have come. Finally she spoke to her associate who again spouted off a list of to dos that we cannot do with our boat. I noted they did not even have VHF for us to call them on. Finally they got on with what they were there to do – checking us in.  Our next two stops customs and Port Authority were very welcoming and easy going. However we will not be entering Belize via this port ever again, next time when we enter from the north we will go to Belize city.

Cay Caulker

Is a lovely laid back community. We spent our time getting the boat ready for John’s brother Alan’s arrival, doing all the usual chores and rearranging the boat to have him in the bow cabin. Plus we walked around the cay, enjoyed a few excellent sweet and sour chickens from my favorite Chinese eatery, and made friends with other cruisers in the bay.

One couple Derrick and Carol off Latitude from South Africa and another couple Daniel and Brigitte off from France ended up traveling with us off and on all the way to Placencia. We had several fun evenings and wanders around with them – they are all headed to the Rio Dulce too.

Alan arrived Wednesday 16th May; we had taken the ferry to Belize City to meet him. The brothers were happy to be reunited after several years; they had much to catch up on.

We headed back to Cay Caulker and Alan explained that his niece, Gabby was backpacking in Central America with a boyfriend, Laurence, they were diverting to hook up with him for a reunion.

So upon arriving on Aeeshah we went back ashore to meet Al’s niece Gabby and Laurence who had arrived on the next ferry from Belize City. It didn’t take too long for Alan to find his niece and her boyfriend so we proceeded to a popular outdoor bar/ restaurant to have a drink.

The following day Alan went off with his Gabby and Laurence to do a popular water site seeing excursion, John and I got the boat ready to leave the next morning. So finally May 18^th, we left to explore the cays of Belize while heading to Placencia.

Drowned Cays

Was our 1st destination with Alan. We sailed south towards Porto Stuck the notorious shallow channel in the company of Daniel and Brigitte on their boat. Actually going through the channel of Porto Stuck was absolutely fine we had at least a foot below the keel at all times. In the Drowned Cays we anchored in the brogue off of Gallows Point.

Once the anchor was set we went for a dingy ride around through the mangroves looking for manatees. That evening we went aboard Daniel and Brigitte’s boat for drinks and snacks, having a lovely evening as the sun set around us.

Colson Cays

Was our next destination. These are a small group of 5 mangrove cays that were said to offer good snorkeling, 3 blue holes, a bird nesting cay plus a mangrove lagoon.  We spent 2 days exploring the area.

On our first day we went in the dingy around the lagoon and the southern most cays. The mangrove reflections were lovely as the waters were dead calm. As we passed the lobster/fishing camp we were under the observation of 2 older local fishermen and their dogs. The dogs were very curious about our presence they even tried to swim to the dingy to say hello.

Back at the boat we swam and snorkeled around. There was little to see except large colourful starfish living in the turtle grass. After we got out I spotted an enormous green turtle surfacing not far for the boat.

Day 2 in the Colson Cays found us circumnavigating the northern cay and Nesting Bird Cay. At Nesting Bird there were a few late nesters, numerous cormorants took to flight as we rounded the mangroves and several frigate birds were roosting and soaring on and above the mangroves.

We found the blue holes and snorkeled the first. Above the water they appeared blue, but under the water all was green. You could see how the ground had literally shifted and collapsed and cracked where once there must have been underwater cavern.

There were all types of fish hiding along the ledges, a shark, snappers and other reef fish. The depths varied around the hole with the top edges being turtle grass and the bottom being a mix of grass and soft debris. I found the experience to quite eerie.

After lunch we snorkeled a reef area off of the southern cay that was supposed to be excellent reef snorkeling. I found it to be moderately good as there was quite a bit of algae and several large lionfish present, meaning the reef was under threat. We then went back to snorkel the other blue holes.

Again the blue holes were fascinating, following the edges and cracks with the fish hiding and peering out of the crevices. This time there was a huge school of rainbow runners circling and stingrays to watch.

We also snorkeled the mangroves that were nearby which again was a new experience. I had some small type of crustaceans attach themselves to me and they bit me! Looking them up the closest creature looked to be a ghost shrimp that burrow in the shallows.

Tobacco Range

Was our next destination. There we had planned to spend the day anchored off Tobacco Cay and the nights in Tobacco Range, but plans changed and as the weather was settled we spent a night off of Tobacco Cay. The cay is an attractive isle, fringed by palm trees and colourful cabanas of a small resort.

The story behind its name is that early English settlers tried to grow tobacco here. The cay sits right on the barrier reef so the waters are beautiful blues and turquoises with shallow reefs beneath. We snorkeled the inside shallow reef. Again it was an average reef, some lovely coral and again I found a shark snoozing under a reef ledge.

South Water Cay

Located just 10 miles beyond Tobacco Cay was our next destination. This cay is very beautiful with lovely beaches, immaculate grounds surrounded by tall palm trees it sits on the barrier reef, but also has a large cut to the ocean on its southern shore.

After arriving we went ashore to explore the cay. Landing at the southern beach area we walked along the western shore following a pathway towards the north.

The isle is beautiful and the locals even rake the sandy pathways and under the palms making patterns on the sand. There are a few small eco types of resorts and a research station for students studying the oceans. The atmosphere was one of complete relaxation. The next day we snorkeled the cut on the southern end of the cay.

Leaving the dingy off the beach we snorkeled out the cut and along the outside of the reef. It had been unusual weather with winds from the west so outside the reef was relatively calm compared to the usual seas crashing in. The corals were amazing, in excellent condition, the fish life was also wonderful, many many schools of fish of all types. John and Al even saw a group of large friendly tarpon. It was an excellent snorkel.

Carrie Bow Cay

Is right across the cut from South Water Cay cut, so in the afternoon we took the dingy across and went for a snorkel. This cay is used by the Smithsonian Institute along with Cambridge University as an atoll and reef research station. It too is a small, lovely palm fringed cay.

I found the snorkeling here to be some of the best! The corals were magnificent, the reef and fish plentiful and varied. It was wilder, with a stronger flow over the reef. John and Al even had the thrill of being surrounded by a school of barracudas, I was happy to miss that experience.

South Water Cay Pass, Queens Cays Pass and Hatchet Cay

From South Water Cay we passed through the cut and headed south towards Queens Cay Pass. It was a very still day; the seas were dead calm and glassy with just a slightly rolling swell. We hoped to catch a fish, but the seaweed was still rolling in large quantities.

We also hoped to sea a whale shark as it was the time and place for them, but there were none about. Arriving at Hatchet Cay, I was very happy to see mooring buoys as the previous night we had spent at anchor when thunder, lightning, winds and rain passed. We didn’t go ashore, but we could see that there was a small resort with a restaurant. The winds did increase during the night and turned to the west along with a nasty chop it was quite rough by the morning. Our plans were to head to Ranguana Cay, however that was now where the wind was coming from…..

Placencia

Our 10 mile, 2 hour passage to Ranguana turned into an all day passage/slog to Placencia. The wind was blowing right into most anchorages, the seas were up and we needed a safe anchorage, so Placencia it was to be. In Placencia the seas were rolling in, so much so that at the usual landing dock at Yolli’s had the seas rolling right over the dock and up to the bar. Placencia has very good holding and we anchored off the town dock with the cut behind us and we’re happy to be there.

In Placencia we found that Daniel and Bridgit had arrived too. He had suffered a back injury when he had a fall and was in a bad way. We got them ashore and I spoke to Yolli and her husband Regan, they then arranged a trip to the doctor, plus helped them get much needed supplies.

Then one evening we noticed a local boat trying to reach the town dock. It was under sail, heavily laden with canoes and men. It was one of the local fishing boats. John took the dingy over to ask if they needed help. He was the only cruiser that went, despite the fact that there were a good 13 boats in the bay. It turned out that they had been out at Lighthouse fishing. The engine had stopped working 3 days previously and they had been trying to get back in ever since. They were very grateful for the help as were their families all waiting on the town dock.

Meanwhile the 3 of us walked and toured Placencia, which is just a wonderful little village. The people are very friendly, the buildings and signs are colourful, the pace of life is dead slow, it’s a village one never tires of wandering through. At Yolli’s Al was taught the ring game, we all enjoyed a cold drink and relaxing.

Monkey River tour

We arranged to do the Monkey River tour on the Monday, the day before Al left. We met our boat and driver at Placencia town dock for 8am and sped off towards Monkey River town.

This “town” is quite a small settlement just off the beach at the mouth of Monkey River. The settlement has a small reserve up the river where they have Eco tours.

After reaching Monkey River Town for a brief stop and to pick up our guide we headed up river to see the wildlife. We proceeded slowly, stopping to view iguanas in trees, Jesus Lizards, egrets and other birds, plus Howler Monkey playing in the treetop.

At the reserve we stopped to walk inside the jungle. There we saw and were told about the many differing plants and their uses and our guide called the howlers.

Edmund made a similar call to the howlers plus banged his machete against the tree trunk and sure enough he got a response and soon we head and saw the howlers above us feeding in the treetops. I guess we spent about an hour in the jungle and then headed back to the boat.

We then headed down river searching for the crocodiles. We found a crocodile sunning itself on the riverbank and then it was off to lunch at Monkey River Town.

The lunch was an excellent spicy grilled chicken leg with side salad and beans/rice.

After which we headed out to look for manatees. We sped along mangrove canals and across the inner bay to our destination.

The driver knew where the manatees grazed and sure enough we soon saw the manatees surfacing. There were various groups or families of manatees.

To me they seemed to be trying to get away from their visitors….. Overall it was an excellent tour, a fun day.

The next morning we went via taxi to the tiny airstrip where Al got a local flight to Belize City and home to the UK.

We prepped the boat for leaving and next day, May 30th we checked out ready to head to Guatemala and the Rio Dulce.

“Every morning when we wake up, we have 24 brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift!” — Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

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Isla de La Juventud

Our route when leaving Cayo Campos was to go the inside route, heading northwest to La Pasa de la Manteca crossing the Golfo de Batabano.

Then to head into the anchorage in the bay next to Punta Colombo off of the north of Isla De La Juventud – Isle of Youth. The Golfo de Batabano is all shallow waters so we stuck to the given track or waypoints when crossing, but we found the waters all quite deep enough. The channel La Pasa de la Manteca is through the mangroves and had a number of Cuban fishermen heading to the fishing camp, many of the mangroves were dead possibly from previous hurricane damage, the area was still turquoise calm waters with the hills of Isla de La Juventud in the distance.

Isla de La Juventud, (Isle of Youth) otherwise known before 1976 as Isla de Pinos, (Isle of Pines), is the largest of all the isles in the south of Cuba. The population live in the smaller northern region of the isle where there is mainly farming and large citrus groves. The island is bisected by military checkpoints. The military check points are designed to protect the southern swamplands which a forms the Siguanea Nature Reserve a pristine area.

Punta Colombo

Our anchorage off of Punta Colombo was just under the slopes of the punta/point, which was vegetated with brush and the endemic Cuban palm. The bay shallowed out to what looked to be a rocky beach where there were a few fishermen. The inlet to the town of Nueva Geroma was just along past the bay and we could see roofs from the town in the distance. When anchored there that evening I watched 2 men wade out into the bay, one had a large piece of Styrofoam and a net atop, and the other had a black float inner tube. They floated across the bay and began to lay the net. As it grew dark I lost sight of them but after dawn they were still there and they were hauling the net. It was an incredible sight, one that truly shows the hardship in Cuba, which the people seem oblivious to or maybe just used to.

Leaving Punta Colombo we were unsure where to head, John wanted to get some lobsters from the fishermen in the Cayo Cocos and Cayos Del Perro, but the weather was changing again. So we decided to head to Caleta Puerto Frances a large bay on the south west point of Isla de La Juventud that was reputed to be magnificent especially underwater. It was an excellent choice.

Caleta Puerto Frances

We anchored in the large sandy area off of the eastern bay. The waters, the beach and the shoreline were just stunningly beautiful and there was once again nobody around.

It had been nearly 2 weeks since we had seen another sailboat. And the next evening a small sailboat came in with the single sailor from Norway. We enjoyed his company after not having any for so long.

This bay is used by divers who arrive in dive boats, which round the point from a dive resort on the other side. There are supposed to be underwater caves, black coral beds and a wall, which is popular with divers. Plus apparently once a week a small cruise ship arrives and uses the large yellow mooring buoy in the western most bay. However all the days we were there we saw very little human activity.

On our first day we took the dingy and cruised along the shoreline and then ashore to the beach where we beached it and started to walk the beach.

We found a sandy track above the beach and walked it for a short way, but as it led away from the beachside we returned to the shoreline. John then decided to go back to get the dingy and meet me at the structure that we could see in the distance of the second bay.

So off he went and I continued walking the beach looking for shells and beans. About 20 minutes later I met John at the structure on the beach where he was chatting to the caretaker, Peter and his companion Soul.

They were there for 20 days at a time and then the other crew took over. Their job being keeping an eye on the area, and being available for the small dive cruise that comes in once a week. In the off-season they would see nobody at all.

Peter spends his time carving all different wood into wonderful sculptures of sea life. He was sat there at that time carving a lump of cedar wood that he determined would be a turtle.

During our chat he said how they were having problems with the inverter, the piece of equipment that was attached to the solar panels providing energy to their communications – radio. Could John help? Plus he asked if we had any extra sand paper for his woodwork, any spare matches, maybe a knife and lastly he would love some rum, which he called vitamin-R. We replied we would return after lunch with what we had aboard.

Back we went after lunch, Peter was thrilled by the different grades sandpaper we gave him, some of which he had not been able to get in years. And with the matches to light his cigarettes, his biggest smile came from the rum, which he started to drink. He said he would gift us the turtle he was carving for the items we had given him and could John return at 5:30 or so to pick it up.

We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling along the waters were the cliffs were part of the shoreline. The corals were numerous in variety and quantity with schools of fish of all types. The water being crystal clear it was a great snorkel.

John went and picked up our turtle carved by Peter. It really is a wonderful carving. He is very talented and to think he created it in less than a full day, just incredible.

Another day we walked the shoreline past the cliffs where there was a bit of beach and then a jagged, rocky shoreline. I was amazed when I looked behind and advancing towards me were 2 Cubans in homemade wetsuit clothing, carrying a buoy, lines, snorkeling gear and large spear gun. Here we were in the middle of nowhere, miles and miles from anywhere and on the rocky shoreline out of the wilds they appear.

They continued in flip-flops to the point where the seas were breaking, climbed off the sharp slippery jagged rocks and disappeared into the swell. – We never saw them till the evening when they swam past our boat towards the shoreline and clambered up the cliff to the top carrying a line holding a batch of fish.

This was a good few miles from where they went into the ocean and at least 5 hours later. Just incredible to go through that for fish!

Anyway on this walk I found dozens of lovely shells and sea biscuits that had been thrown up into the tide pools. It was amazing they had not been broken.

Later we snorkeled the deeper reef and again the corals and fish life was excellent. John saw a ray that was a good 6-foot span, plus it was easy to approach.

We both loved Puerto Frances, it is incredibly beautiful.

Maria La Gorda and Cabo de San Antonio

Off we set to cover the 82 odd miles to Maria La Gorda. We had decided to start early and get into the bay late as we felt it would be easy to pick up a mooring buoy in the dark. We sailed most of the way and for just the last few hours motor sailed. As we entered the bay so the clouds started to cover the moon, it was darker than we had anticipated. After nearly running over a buoy we finally managed to hook it and tie up for the night. The next day we set off for Cabo de San Antonio.

We had thought to go into the mangroves for the first day. John hoped to find the fishermen and trade rum for lobsters. He so wanted to fill the freezer with lobster. Well we did not see a single fisherman. So we headed in to the dock to start our checking out process. The staff we knew were not on duty and we found out that it was the Easter weekend, Cuba was having a Holy week, everything was closed for the week, even the bar at San Antonio. So John was very sad to find out there was little chance of getting lobsters. Meanwhile arriving from Isla Mujares was “Tomorrow’s Dawn” with Mike and Jean our friends from 3 years back. We spent time catching up with them and enjoyed our last day in Cuba.

That evening we were approached by a couple of young guys who asked if we wanted to buy lobsters……John bought all 8 that the guys had and we filled the freezer with wonderful lobster tails.

Cuba is a very special country. It is culturally rich, development poor with many wonderful uninhabited areas. We both would love to return. We both never fully appreciated what freedom was until we traveled into Cuba. However the people of Cuba seem a very happy lot, contented with less at least they appear to be…..

Life should be touched not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.

Ray Bradbury

 

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Next stop Cayo Campos

This time we set off we followed a route along the inside of the reef to the south of the cays towards our destination. There were several lovely looking anchorages along the way, but the wind was blowing strongly from the south and we needed a northerly anchorage for the night and then a southerly anchorage for the following night as another northern was going to be bearing down towards us. So we motor sailed along the crystal clear waters of the inside where you would swear the water only a few feet deep.

Canalizo Aguarsiente and Acopio anchorage

Canalizo Aguarsiente was the channel we took between the cays and allowed us to pass from the southern Caribbean side to the Golfo de Batsbano side of the cays. The channel again looks so shallow, but is in fact quite deep enough. It had a wicked current running through which must keep it clear of silt. Once on the Golfo de Batsbano side of the cays we carefully followed given tracks and waypoints to the area know as Acopio, which is near a fishing station. There we dropped anchor and spent a lovely quiet evening and night.

The plan was to move after breakfast to the anchorage off of Cayo Campos, however when we went to shift the anchor there was a problem. We were stuck to the bottom as the chain and anchor had snagged to “something”. Luckily for us we have dive gear, so John put on the equipment and went below. He found we were wrapped around an old mooring weight in the form of an engine. After freeing us we were then off down the short channel to the southwestern side of Cayo Campos.

Cayo Campos

This cay is known for its large population of monkeys. Apparently the monkeys were put there as part of a research project. The population has grown, the research project is over and so there are rangers stationed there to feed the monkeys daily. The cay is truly beautiful, just the perfect beach with palm tree and hut for the rangers. We were anchored right in front in the beautiful clear water.

We went ashore and introduced ourselves to the rangers, of which there were three very friendly men. They told us about the pathways to walk to the different beaches and that the monkeys were fed at 3:00ish.

We had a short walk to one of the beaches on the south side, which was mainly lined with mangroves, but it was very pretty.

The cangrejo monkeys

We went ashore for the monkey feeding. One of the rangers brought out a large tub of what looked like large yellow pellets. He then called what sounded like “Noël! Noël!” and from the mangroves at the edge of the bay monkeys started to approach the pellets he tossed. There were probably over a hundred monkeys, not all at once but in separate groups/tribes.

They would take turns to come close and gather the pellets, stuffing them into their cheeks. Occasionally arguments and small fights broke out. Some of them seemed to sit at the side and watch, others had a drink of water from the trough,

the young chased each other and scampered up the coconut trees while a few were chased away at sat at a distance watching all that was going on. We watched the monkeys for an hour or so before heading back to the boat.

 

Southern beach walk

Early the next morning we set off ashore, said hello to the rangers and started down the track towards the large Playa – beach that runs all along the south coast. The path led inland and then cut across and up to a casuarinas grove, which we had seen behind the beach.

When we approached we found pools of green water within the grove, almost as if some caverns had collapsed and filled with either rain or sea water, maybe both. The area was quite different than any I had ever seen.

We wound our way around the ponds and out onto the beach where we headed towards the east – away from where the boat was anchored at the western end of the cay.

This beach was gorgeous, huge, sweeping off into the distance and we set off to find the end point. The top regions were covered in all sorts of litter and shells, beachcomber’s paradise, so I kept finding myself drawn to the lines and piles of debris. I found a little stuffed red bear, a small pink bunny, net floats and numerous shells and this was without really raking through the whole area.

Along the shoreline in the shallows were quite a few string rays hiding while above soared numerous birds, vultures, sea birds and osprey to name a few. We finally rounded the distant point only to see another in the distance, so off we set again to find the end. We finally did get to an area, which was close to the end of the island, but could not continue as the mangroves took over. John did try and sank up to his thighs in the quicksand type mangrove sludge.

We headed back along the way we had passed, but once we reached the casuarinas grove where we had entered the beach we decided to continue along the beach and shoreline to the western end and the camp where the dingy was located.

The beach narrowed and became rockier and then the mangroves were to the waterline so it meant wading along the shoreline. John tried to cut across a sand bar to wade away from the mangroves and again found the soft sinking muck sinking to his hips this time. Again there was a ton of sea trash thrown up, just everything imaginable, the plastic packing found in packages being just enmeshed in the seaweed, really very sad for the sea life.

This walk took over 5 hours, we arrived back just before 3:00pm in need of a swim to cool off, but we both had a wonderful time hiking the shoreline of Cayo Campos.

Around the Cayo

Living under our boat all the time we were anchored was a very large barracuda. He was an odd fish as he would dart out and try to eat the scrapes of our food; normally this breed catches fish to eat. John and I thought he was probably ill or elderly, anyway we called him Barney. He stayed with us right up till we left.

Another day we dingied to the neighboring island hoping to find the mangrove channels to the other side. We ended up just cruising the shoreline and then visiting the large sandbar in the bay where we were anchored and where a good number of cormorants were each day.

The sandbar was really quite large and most of the surrounding area was quite shallow. The colours of the bay across the water were just amazing, such clear blues and turquoises, so beautiful.

On our final day we had hoped to spend the day snorkeling, but the wind was blowing off the reefs and the currents were running strong so we went for another beach romp.

This time we took the dingy over the shallows to the southern beach where the shoreline was sheltered, hauled it up and set off. I spent most of my time looking through all the beach trash for shells and sea beans.

We both had another look at the ponds and still could not really understand how they had been formed. John found a message in a plastic bottle, but it just gave a name and date, no other information.

That evening the rangers gave us 4 coconuts as we had given them some fishing lures to trawl with. They normally trawled each day for their fish dinner.

We left Cayo Campos after several wonderful days enjoying the area immensely.

I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading: It vexes me to choose another guide. – Emiliy Bronte

 This journey has always been about reaching your own other shore, no matter what it is. – Diana Nyad

 

PHOTO LINK –>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/SuVkT1K3OL1uhtMo2

Trinidad

Our visit to Trinidad was arranged when we were in Cienfuegos. There was a guy that we met on one of our first daily walks towards the town just along the roadway from the marina. His name was Dario and he ran a “taxi” to where ever you wished to visit. So we arranged to meet his driver in the morning at 9:00am in front of the marina. 9:00 came and went, John went looking for Dario when finally he arrived with our driver in an old 1947 red American Chevrolet and his pushbike strapped in the boot. He explained the late arrival with, “This is Cuba…”

So we were off, 1^st we drove around to 2 hostels to pick up the other passengers. Heading out of Cienfuegos there were the driver, John and I in the front with a guy from Spain and a German couple in the back.

LAND CRABS

The drive started off just heading along a 2-lane roadway passing by countryside and farmland. We noticed that there were quite a few land crabs on the roadway. There were too many for the driver to avoid and so the car was crunch crunching the crabs.

I knew that land crabs migrate to the sea once a year on about the same days each year. It is a migration to breed in the sea, they then return to the land. We just happened to be travelling at the very time the land crabs were migrating to the coast.

As we continued so the numbers of crabs increased. Believe it or not but there were a few cars with flat tires due to the pinchers and the old worn tires being punctured, our driver even stopped to check one of the tires. The smell of squashed crabs was very unpleasant, the sound was just terrible.

Crabs, Rancheos and cattle

and then ahead we saw rancheros blocking the roadway. The rancheros were herding a large herd of cattle and required us to drive onto the verge and let them pass; we really did not need a herd of cattle stampeding towards us. The driver pulled off the side, squishing more and more crabs and we all alighted from the taxi, rather we fell out the doors as we were so packed inside. It gave us a chance to photograph the crabs and also watch the rancheros herd the cattle past. And then we were off again. The roads were still thick with crabs but as we drew closer to Trinidad, which is further inland, the crabs dwindled in numbers.

Trinidad

Trinidad is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being one of Cuba’s oldest, most complete towns. Its history dates back to 1494 when the Spanish settlement was first established. There is an air about the town that “time has frozen” with its narrow cobbled streets, red tiled roofs, mix of gaily painted pastel buildings with the older locals chatting and sit in doorways watching the passage of tourists.

We were dropped off on an outer street, as no vehicles drive into the main part of the town. From there we made our way to the:

Plaza Mayor

This is the heart of old Trinidad and is surrounded by the cathedral and old colonial mansions with balconies overlooking the square while in the center is a fenced garden. We chose to enter the:

Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad

This is the town’s main church, which is quite typical of other Spanish churches with many altars, and shrines that are very ornate. A Dominican friar donated many of them in the 1900s that wanted to liven up the church.

Ermita de la Popa and the Loma de la Vigia

Was our next stop. This sits above the town and is really just a ruin, but in front there is a wonderful view looking out over the whole of Trinidad.

The walk there and back was interesting too as we passed through the local neighborhood where the locals seemed to spend much time greeting the tourists that wandered by.

We found a wonderful café type restaurant for lunch and enjoyed bite to eat before heading off again. The first stop was:

Museo de la Lucha Contra Bandidos.

This building has a yellow and white trimmed bell tower, which was part of the eighteenth – century church and convent known as Iglesia and Convento de San Francisco de Asis.

The building also houses the museum whose displays cover the history of the revolutionary conflict of the 1950s, the central theme is – post 1959 fight against counter revolutionary groups – the bandidos…..the Bay of Pigs era foreign funded rebels.

We both found this display very educational and the photos compelling.

We climbed the bell tower up and up old rickardy wooden stairs all the way to the bell tower at the top. There the view was wonderful with the town and countryside stretching away for miles into the distance.

The alleyways and byways

 

Were just charming. I believe John and I wandered every nook and cranny possible, just looking at the architecture, the locals or peeping into windows where the interiors were just as charming.

We wandered to the Plaza Santa Ana

Which is the plaza where many of the locals shop. It’s quite dreary compared to the rest of Trinidad, but there is the Carcel Royal, the old military prison – housing the shops and bars and Iglesia Santa Ana an old derelict church. Here John was also able to renew our cash supply at the Cadeca.

Ride back

Was fast and furious. We met our driver just after leaving the Plaza Santa Ana. He did not have any other fares so he set off and kept up a crazy speed all the way to Cienfuegos. Again the countryside was lovely, surprisingly the crab migration was down to just a trickle of crabs crossing the road, but the roads were covered in a thick layer of squashed crabs.

Trinidad was a wonderful place to visit and we had an excellent day.

The extraordinary is waiting quietly beneth the shin of all that is ordinary. – Mark Nepo

 

 

 

 

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.

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. – Steve Jobs