Aeeshah

 

PHOTO LINK –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/C3L6Qze3oHBCq7bN2

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 4^th March, to renew our visas. We arrived on the 3^rd 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

 

 

 

PHOTO LINK à> https://photos.app.goo.gl/HM9H3v9Z4n07Fsg63   Maria Gorda

 

Capo San Antonio to Maria Gorda

Having enjoyed our time at Capo San Antonio and meeting several fellow cruisers we left for a day sail around the Cape. We had waited for the weather to calm as we had been told the winds and seas can be vicious with the currents strong making for a very difficult passage east. We were fortunate as our crossing was relatively smooth; John had chosen the weather window well.

The cape itself is just a bare, rocky, cliff coast. We did see the bus running along the only road atop of the cliffs and a ship wrecked off the formidable looking shoreline.

The previous day/night one of the other sailboats had left we were happy to see them as soon as we arrived. Chris and Jess came out to “catch up” and were then off in their dingy. Then that evening the weather changed, we had much welcomed rain and also thunder and lightening.

 

The bay itself is huge with a beach running along the shoreline on the side we were on. The water just crystal clear, turquoises, aquamarine blues in every direction, just lovely. We had to pick up a buoy, as the area is a marine park so we were attached to one of the dive buoys and could easily see the reef below.

We headed ashore to the resort and dive center to “check in “ with the Guarda Frontera and to get some wifi connection for emails. The resort looks to be well established as a dive center. It was also relatively busy with guests. Again there were cats roaming around, kittens scrounging food, a nice bar area and comfortable looking accommodations.

A small cruise ship arrived for part of one day. Its passengers too were taken on the dive boats to snorkel and dive. It is definitely a destination I would recommend.

Our first day was spent taking the dingy along the shoreline towards the mouth of the bay along the beach and cliffs. The scenery was just wonderful, wild, untouched and untamed. We were able to pull the dingy onto a beach past the cliffs in an area where I doubt many folks ever get to see.

There we walked the beach. I was very contented to wander looking for shells, driftwood and sea glass. All of which I was able to find amongst the seaweed and sponges that had washed ashore. John strode out ahead and was soon in the distance. Thus the morning passed with us beach combing and very happily exploring the shoreline.

The afternoon we took the dingy to one of the dive buoys tied up and snorkeled the reef.

It was exquisite, the corals numerous and varied, schools and schools of fish of many varieties. We both saw fish we had never seem before and even rare species not usually seen for example hamlet and grouper. However the water is still chilly being February, so after an hour or so we had to get out.

The next day we enjoyed first exploring another area of the beach, near what looked to be an abandoned marina area. The inland area is densely forested with a palm tree species and other shrubs. Above the beach area is a long “wall of old gray, rocks that looks as if someone had build a wall.

However you realize that it’s the sea that has built the wall of rocks. The rocks have rolled and been thrown ashore over time with the high seas.

A walk towards the cliffs was very different as along this stretch the beach was more reef and so we waded in the shallows. It was just a lovely walk along the shoreline.

We both loved this beautiful area of Cuba and hope to return. After just a few days we needed to head out to Cayo Largo as our visa renewal was due. So we did a 184 passage straight to Cayo Largo.

“This world is but canvas to our imaginations.”  ― Henry David Thoreau

 

 

 

 

PHOTOS LINK à> https://photos.app.goo.gl/xla7O3Sp3jIl6bUm2

Our intension had been to spend only a few days in Hemmingway Marina, but that turned in 5 days. Chico was a huge star there, so many folks wanted to see him and photograph him. He seemed to enjoy the celebrity status.

February 12^th we said goodbye to our friends on Kestrel, who we had originally met in Brunswick, Georgia in late October. Then we went to the customs immigration dock and had paperwork sorted, received our dispatch papers and they checked boat again. The two young lady officials, came aboard, had a look and then wanted to hold and photograph Chico. So finally we set off for our first anchorage Bahia Honda.

Bahia Honda

This was a very protected anchorage in a large mangrove lagoon. Nearby there was an old shipyard that appeared to still be active, but also had several rusted ship hulks nearby.

We had a very quiet evening and only saw a couple of fishermen the next morning, they waved as they passed.

Cayo Levista

 

Cayo Levista was our second anchorage and my favourite. On this Cayo there is a small eco resort, plus there is a Guarda Frontera there daily. So we started by checking in with the Guarda. which is a must in Cuba. After which there was time to have a quick peek at where we were.

The beach on the other side was just magnificent! The resort looks lovely, beautiful place to stay. We were anchored just off of the resorts dock area and surprisingly there were no mosquitoes despite the nearby mangroves.

The following day we set off to explore the Cayo. First walking through the resort to the beach we then set off towards the eastern end of the Cayo. Here the beach wound along the coast and when the mangrove area started there was a pathway that we took continuing towards the end, which was a huge sandbar.

There we walked to the bitter end. There was an old wooden pier, which John went towards and suddenly sank up to his upper thigh in what had appeared to be sand, but was actually silt. At the time it was quite hilarious, but for a child could be quite dangerous.

At the center of the sandbar was an old palm thatched bar area where we stopped for a while just enjoying the day.

Back towards the beach we wandered and then proceeded to walk nearly to the other end along the beach. There were so many Portuguese Men of War washed ashore along the beach, some shells but few birds.

The afternoon we took the dingy and headed westwards along the mangroves. The lagoons were lovely, the water so clear, and finally I saw birds amongst the trees, herons, pelicans and a frigate bird.

We found one lagoon area, which was actually on the other side of the beach we had walked along in the morning. So we paddled the dingy ashore, pulled it up on the beach and walked along the stretch of beach we had missed in the morning, not a soul was in sight.

Upon returning to the dingy, surprisingly enough there was a cruising sailboat dropping anchor just outside the lagoon. They were as surprised to see us, as we were them. They had arrived from the same direction as us, but are headed to Mexico.

Cayo Restinga del Palo

Was our next evening anchorage. This passage was the one where John caught an enormous Wahoo.

We had had 2 barracuda strikes, which we released, and then, just as we were getting ready to head into the anchorage the rod went ziiinnnngggg!!! It took quite a long time to clean being about 40 – 45lbs of fish, but after filleting and all we had 3 large bags of fish for us and 1 for Chico. He was a very happy cat with all the fresh fish and blood.

 

The anchorage was behind a small Cayo and a sand bar, luckily it was not too windy so we did not bounce about too much. We never did go ashore, but left next morning to outside the reefs and round Cayo Jutias past the lighthouse to our next anchorage.

Punta Alonso de Rojas.

We had good reason not to fish that day as we were over stocked with Wahoo. When rounding Cayo Jutias there were many strong currents and whirlpools where the sea was disturbed and in these were just hundreds of Portuguese Men of War. I had never seen anything like that, there were just hundreds of them. Arriving at Punta Alonso de Rojas we found it to be another mangrove anchorage. We had a swim and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Cayo Buenvista

Was our next anchorage. Along the way there we accidentally came across a couple of fishermen. Accidentally because I was below deck and John was distracted by his book when he heard shouts. We had sailed nearly alongside them in their little fishing boat. They were very happy to have us drop by and asked if we would like to buy some la langosta aka lobster from them for 3CUC. Well despite having a ton of fish John felt we should buy 2. Then he went to find his wallet, well as we hadn’t used money for a number of days he couldn’t find it, so he ended up trading a couple of his T shirts. That evening we really did enjoy the lobster grilled on the barbeque.

Ensenada de San Fransisco

Was our next anchorage for the evening. This was an enormous bay again surrounded by mangroves with not a building, light or sign of human inhabitants in sight. Later we did have a fishing vessel drop anchor near us. It was one of the larger vessels and had a crew of 4 who would dive from the small rowboat that they also had with them.

2 of the crew came across in the rowboat. This time it was Red Snappers that they had for us and they wanted rum. Well we explained we really did not need fish, but they could have one of John’s small rums he had bought to trade with. They were nice fellows who chatted with John, just interested in where we were from and such. Once again Chico was a big hit!!

Marina Gaviota, Los Morros, Cabo de San Antonio Peninsula

We decided to head into this marina, which is at the end of the Cabo de San Antonio Peninsula. Arriving mid-afternoon when the wind was blowing quite strongly we found that the dock lies more or less south – north facing and the wind blows eastwardly mostly so the waves break along the eastern stretch of dock space, leaving the westward side for docking. It was quite a challenge to get the boat secured to the dock, but without mishap and with the assistance of several folks we were secured. The dock can only hold 3 boats, it is small, very rough concrete with gas pumps and construction in progress, well maybe not progressing, but sitting waiting to be to be finished.

We “checked” in again and found that there was indeed wifi so we could use our cards, plus a very nice little eatery and so booked a dinner. The food was very good, but American prices are not.

The other boats were 1 that left the next morning for Mexico and the other with 2 Americans, one originally from India and the other from Hawaii, whom we ended up having a very nice dinner with. Then a day later at around 8:00pm another small boat arrived from Belize with 4 aboard, 2 from Sweden, 1 from France and a Canadian. So then the dock was full again. We actually were getting used to the rough dock and surroundings by the 2^nd day.

Peninsula de Gaunahacabibes

John off loaded the bikes and we rode along the only road towards the small hotel. This hotel caters to people visiting the Peninsula de Gaunahacabibes. This peninsular is almost entirely a national forest park, with just the 1 small roadway in and out and the 2 very small “hotels” for tourists who like to bird watch or hike in the forest looking for wildlife. There are no ATMs, shops, fuel stations, houses or anything – it is a very isolated peninsular and marina that we were staying in.

That day we rode to the small hotel, which looked to only have a few workers there. We walked to the hotel beach, which is long and beautiful, we saw wild pigs, many birds but little else. 

On the way back we took another little dirt path and rode through the brush to the end of the point where the beach stretch as far as one could see.

Around the area

Another day we walked the long beach opposite the marina dock out to the point. This beach was covered in seaweed and such, few shells and surprisingly less plastic than usual.

Having stayed for a few days at this outpost was quite interesting in that it showed a bit of how life works here, or rather the structure of how life is set up for the locals. Everyone has a specific job. Take for instance the fellow who fills the jerry jugs with fuel. Every morning he arrives on the workers bus, he and he alone is allowed to cart the fuel jugs down the dock and fill them. To buy fuel – he is called for and he alone can only do that job. The marina staff do not do anything other than their own work, even though there are obviously many maintenance jobs waiting to be seen to, thats not their job. No they sit and play dominos, and that’s just the way it is here. We have noticed a complete lack of incentive, guessing that’s because living here you just have to accept your lot in life.

Faro Roncali lighthouse

Another day we rode past the little hotel for a further 2 miles to the lighthouse. There we saw the workers homes, and the guarda watching the shoreline. The lighthouse itself – Faro Roncali – was built in 1849, but is not open to visitors. We enjoyed the views from the cliff and headed back.

On the way back we stopped along the shore, walked out along the beach, John even jumped in to cool off and we stopped to look at some workers retrieving honey from bees. There were about a dozen or so people, like an extended family group. They had a large truck filled with barrels, which they were storing the honey in. Just off the road they had a fire burning, using the smoke to calm the bees, they were extracting the honey. The group was very friendly, offered us honey, but didn’t want any photos, which was a shame. Anyway they must be the Cuban honey gathers, as everyone has a job special to them only.

It was an enjoyable ride and again no traffic, few people, just birds and pigs – I saw the national hummingbird that’s the size of a bee.

A couple of nights before we left we had another excellent dinner. The waitress Boomboom convinced John he had to eat at the marina again. We had a wonderful lobster dinner.

Then the day before we were due to leave it was Gary’s 69th birthday and Vanoo arranged a small lunchtime “party, which was just excellent The marina made some lovely food and a chocolate cake. We all toasted Gary and then dung in to the food.

The weather is nearly perfect for us to round the Capo to the southern side of Cuba where we will head to Cayo Largo.

“People are opportunities. The gift is in the interaction and the connection with another person, whether it lasts forever or not.”  – Colleen Seifert

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.”

—  Jean Houston

 

 

 

PHOTOS LINK –>> 1st https://photos.app.goo.gl/CCac11M0117AzcT33  The village and Hemingway Marina

2nd https://photos.app.goo.gl/PEpm1jZUDld0W4LE2  Casablanca and Havana

Hemingway Marina and the local village

The day following our 1^st visit to Havana John and I rode around the marina. It is of an unusual design comprising of 4 long deep channels. The outside being just a rocky shore with a large seawall.

We rode to the very end of the marina where the entrance to Marina Hemingway is located.

There we saw a couple of sailboats that looked like they had recently been rescued from the rocks. Not sure if they are there as a warning of the entrance or for lack of any where to put them or any means of getting them there.

The sea is often rough due to the winds that predominately blow eastwards down the shore. It was a pleasant ride, but as it was a hot day we were dripping with sweat.

The afternoon we set off to walk around the village and check out a seafood restaurant that our taxi driver had recommended.

So out the marina, over the bridge and turning right we entered the village. We needed to ask the way to the tiny restaurant, finally finding it at the end of a narrow lane between homes and at the end where we had to ring the buzzer of a large door to be admitted to the restaurant.

We ordered some ceviche to share and sat on the porch over looking the small fishing port and boats. The ceviche was excellent, not sure what fish had been used but it was very good and a large portion. From there we wandered the tiny streets making our way to the shoreline. There we saw fishermen cleaning fish, the boats were made of Styrofoam strapped together in the shape of a boat.

Off of a large breakwater there were a few windsurfers. They must be excellent at their sport as the conditions were very windy and rough and without easy access to the shore it is not a coastline for amaturers.

Casablanca and 2nd visit to Havana

Our 2^nd visit to Havana was on a Saturday and the whole atmosphere was different but very enjoyable. This time the children were not in school and were playing on the streets, families were relaxing and congregating in the alleys, mothers were shopping and family groups were out for the day.

Once again we caught a taxi into Havana. This driver was speedy as in like a racing driver he even had us strap into our seatbelts in the back seats!

We alighted at Castillio del la Real Fuerza which we had previously visited on our last visit and made our way through the plazas and narrow lanes to the

Cross Bay ferry for Cassablanca.

Along the way we stopped at a small plaza where venders were selling old, old books and antiques. Most of the books were political in theme and many of the antiques were old currency, stamps, commemorative medals and such. It was really interesting almost like an out doors museum.

The Cross Bay ferry was small, ancient and quite crowded, there seemed to be many young folks heading to Cassablanca.

It was interesting looking at the buildings along the harbour for example the Sacra Catedral Ortodoxa Rusa – the Orthadox Russian cathedral next to the old port, quite sad to see the deterioration of the docks.

Upon reaching Casablanca we followed the crowd up the hill noting that most of them headed towards the gates of Castillio de los Tres Reyes del Morro aka El Morro.

Our first destination was the massive statue of Christ upon the hilltop – El Cristo de La Habana. It is made totally of marble and was erected just before the take over of Cuba by Castro. Our reason to visit was for the views of Havana across the waterway. The view was excellent and the statue really awesome in its size.

Our second destination was El Morro and again my reason to visit was for the view and to see the old fortifications.

We entered the huge gates and again noted all the folks heading the same way, thinking it must be some sort of pilgrimage or such. Inside the gates the walls rise to a great height around you, realizing they were built between 1589 – 1630 makes them even more impressive. How did they ever cut the huge stones and them haul them into place?

We followed along and up a rampart where there was a small opening to El Morro. Inside there was just a huge crowd of young people. Unfortunately I needed the banyo, well that proved to be a most unpleasant experience as the line was long, the smell very horrible and the conditions nasty.

We headed to the top of the ramparts and walked along enjoying the amazing view across to Havana.

The majority of the others were in the lower areas of the fortifications and it appeared to be some sort of fair, or festival for the young. Long story short we walked the ramparts, enjoyed the views and headed back to the Cross Bay ferry.

Havana again

Once back on the other shore we set off to explore areas of Havana we had not see previously.

“Ah…Havana, city of jarring paradoxes and unfathomable contradictions where seductive beauty sidles up to spectacular decay and revolutionary iconography is juxtaposed with sun, sea, sand, sex and a diluting slice of austere socialism. There’s fascinating history here, wrapped up in erudite museums and foresighted restoration projects, and tremendous music too, from gritty street rumba to kitschy cabaret.

But Havana’s greatest allure is its street theater, the raw snippets of everyday life that go on all around you: the mother in rollers and the baseball-playing schoolkids, the wandering troubadours and the cigar-smoking doctor trying to jumpstart his 1951 Plymouth. The attraction is the authenticity. Habaneros (the people of Havana) don’t just survive: they duck and dive, scheme and dream, create and debate, but most of all, they live – with a rare passion.” – Lonely Planet

Once again we were totally absorbed by watching life unfold around us in this amazing city.

Our starting area was Plaza Vieja – Old Havana with its restored porlicoed buildings and its cobbled streets we wandered.

We did enter the Convento de Santa Clara de Asis and admire the architecture and artwork. Plus at the Plaza de la San Fransisco we visited the Convento de San Fransisco de Asis which was a Franciscan friar missionary school built in 1739 where we had a marvelous view from the upper floors over the plaza.

From plaza to plaza we explored the streets and alleyways of Havana until we were exhausted and headed home in an old taxi of American heritage, from which we could see the road through holes on the floor driven by a father and son. Another thoroughly enjoyable day in Havana.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience and, therefore, the quality of our lives. Sam Harris

 

PHOTOS LINK –>>   https://photos.app.goo.gl/rfE9L6eXImFc2tbs1

Cayo Blanca

We were at Cayo Blanca for a few hours before we sailed to Marina Hemmingway. The water was just beautiful! However the main purpose was to get the boat ready for the 80 odd miles over night to Havana. The passage was a wonderful one. The only slight worry were the numerous little lights shinning on the water. They were actually lights from floating fishing lines attached to wooden crosses and a light, the Cuban fishermen’s night fishing tactics.

Marina Hemingway

Arriving at Marina Hemingway we were once again boarded by very young, mini skirted, officials wearing fishnet stockings. The young ladies filled out numerous paper work, looked through the boat and were very impressed with Chico, taking photos of our boy. Then we were off to channel 1 the dock where we were helped to tie up, hooked up with power and visited by the vet and agricultural fellows, who again couldn’t get enough of Chico. Yes Chico has proven to be a star here, folks actually visit us to see him and take pictures of him or with him, just crazy…..

Marina Hemmingway – 10 2018-02-09 00:33UTC http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=23.088203&lon=-82.500472 Sent via Iridium GO!

Into Havana

Our friends on Kestrel were also on dock 1 and they asked if we wanted to share a taxi into Havana the next day, so nice and early we were Havana bound via a taxi – a 1957 automobile!

We drove the 9 miles to Havana mainly along the front enjoying every bit of the journey, as it was so very different. There we disembarked at the Museo de la Revolution agreeing to meet there at 4:30.

 

There are no words to adequately describe Havana. It is the most amazing city we both have ever visited. It is vibrant, colourful, seducing you to wander the streets and alleyways for miles with the sites forever changing. Everywhere there is just too much to see.

 

Yes, it is simply too hard to describe Havana in few words. From the moment we set foot out of the old American car/taxi we felt as if time stood still in this place, that we had somehow traveled through a time capsule and landed in a beautiful yet chaotic and extremely poor city 50 years ago.

“No one could have invented Havana. It’s too audacious, too contradictory, and – despite 50 years of withering neglect – too damned beautiful. How it does it is anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s the swashbuckling history still almost perceptible in atmospheric colonial streets; the survivalist spirit of a populace scarred by two independence wars, a revolution and a US trade embargo; or the indefatigable salsa energy that ricochets off walls and emanates most emphatically from the people. Don’t come here with a long list of questions. Just arrive with an open mind and prepare for a long, slow seduction.” – Lonely Planet

After being dropped at the Museo de la Revolucion John and I wandered for hours, our route taking us firstly across the Monumento a Maximo Gomez towards the Castillio de San Salvador de la Punta There we could see across the entrance to Havana’s harbour to the lighthouse and Casa Blanca on the other side. There were quaint fishing boats heading back to port from fishing the scene was lovely.

We then crossed the Parque de los Martires and onto Paseo de Marti with its centre pedestrian walkway. Both side were lined with such interesting buildings where people where on porches, hanging clothes, or just gossiping. Everywhere we turned there was another story being played out. And some this was how the day continued for us.

 

We found Havana an enchanting and intriguing city. It is like no other place we have been. To say it is unique is an understatement, because its individuality is seen everywhere. I saw everyday sights, which never failed to surprise me. There were roosters, dogs, and cats roaming the streets, black smoke spewing from the old American cars, young boys on rollerblades holding on to buses and flying down main streets.

 

There were kids playing baseball with sticks and bottle caps, climbing the church gates to enter the grassy grounds to play. Laundry hanging and ladies gossiping from balconies that were near collapsing and opposite them amazingly crafted buildings having been lovingly restored. On and on sites were ever changing, every corner we turned we were surprised.

We wandered down alleys, across plazas just glued to the scenes around us, such an amazing city and nation of people.

 

Some of he highlights were simple: watching the school children play with the stilted performers and then watching them play in the park old fashioned games,

seeing the fishermen catching Jacks right out of the harbour, an old lady relaxing on the balcony way above the street, seeing the numerous happy people on the streets strolling back from work are just a few example of what made our first day in Havana special for John and myself.

Our return to the marina was again in an old fashioned American car that had been restored. The young fellow who drove us was charming and obviously very proud of his country. We all were exhausted!!

You’re worried about how you’re going to feel at the end of your life? What about right now? Live. Right this minute. That’s where the joy is at. :- Abigail Thomas

Travel is more than the seeing of the sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living:- Miriam Beard

 

 

PHOTO LINK——>>   https://photos.app.goo.gl/tdN8BMxzKqhCPVJi1  

Crossing to Cuba

Well we crossed to Cuba arriving yesterday, February 2nd morning. The passage was not fun, one of the worse, the weather was predicted to be 10-15 knots and instead was a steady over 20 knots with highest gust being 27 knots. Add that to opposing Gulf Stream current and we got a very nasty ride. I got sick, poor John had to do it all…. Anyway it wasn’t a long passage just 18 hours and we arrived in Marina Gaviota in Varadero……  08 2018-02-02 16:53UTC http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=23.190940&lon=-81.126317

We found the navigation charts to be very accurate when we were approaching the marina. The officials were excellent; they were waiting at the dock to help tie us up! There were a few officials involved, the doctor and the customs, both ladies were young professional and very attractive. They were very thorough, really checked all our documents reading everything, taking pictures of passport pages, boat papers just everything. Then we separately had walk across the dock into the customs house, which was very modern and just empty. There they photographed us and checked the passport again. After that the agricultural fellow and vet came onboard and checked our food and the vet checked Chico and his passport and health certificates. The vet was concerned that Chico’s shots were due in March of this year, so he arranged for him to be visited again the next day to get his rabies shot, costing us only $10! Anyway we were very impressed.

Marina Gaviota

The marina was built for 1,000 boats and there are just 6 of us here on our pier, so lots of spare dockage inside the marina. It’s new with all the facilities plus it is very inexpensive, $26 per night all-inclusive electricity, water and marina facilities. Attached to the marina is a small shopping tourist area, which caters to all the guests in the hotels. The entire peninsula caters to tourists with the Playa Blanca, one of the best beaches in the Caribbean stretching all along the outside shore.

Our first full day was miserable weather and we just walked around the hotel/plaza area, bought our Internet cards and exchanged some money. There are 2 currencies here, the one for the tourist and the one for locals. The local money buys much more, so that’s what we need to get next time.

We also used our bikes and rode around checking the rest of this end of the peninsular. We found there is not much to see as the facilities are all signed – No Passé – and have “guards”.

Cuba – cars

I think one of the most striking things you notice when you arrive in Cuba are the cars. They are mainly the very old from back in the 1900s. Most are just beautifully maintained. John has been just fasinated by all of them.

Veradero

On Sunday, February 4th we went on the bus to Verenaro the main centre for the tourist area found at the end of the peninsular on the mainland. To get there we got the Tourista bus, which is a double decker bus wit the top being open – natural air conditioning. The ride in and back was very interesting, passing all the many resorts, which are government run. They are beautifully maintained, manicured grounds with lovely architecture. I would imagine quite luxurious to stay in with all the extras.

Once in Veradero we walked towards Santa Marta the closest local village. We walked along the main road and the waterway to get to the marina – Darsnia where we planned to stay for a few days. Upon reaching the marina we found it to be quite adequate and with its close location to the village we thought exploring the area would be fun.

Back to Valadero we walked and found a restaurant for lunch. Ordering sandwiches, as  after showing us the menu that was what we were told all they had, no papa frias, aka French fries, no hambergesas, just cheese, ham and cheese and tuna sandwiches. My tuna sandwich I think was actually sardine and really wasn’t very impressive.

After lunch we strolled the streets and stopped to look at the beach and crafts. The beach Playa Blanca was amazing! Miles long with crystal clear water and fine white sand this beach really is rated as one of the best and you can see why, as it really looks it.

The crafts in the market were also impressive. The artwork – paintings were colourful and excellent plus there were many crafts that we had never seen before, wooden toys, cars and hats made from soda and beer cans, wonderful woodcarvings and excellent leatherwork, but no we didn’t buy anything.

Change of plans:

Our plan as mentioned was to sail to Darsinia And stay at the marina however when checking out of Veradero we were once again inspected by the officials and told it was not possible to go there unless we gave them our frutas/fruit. Reason/excuse being that Darsinia did not have an incinerator for our trash. Anyway what ever the fact or truth is we could not go there.

So it was plan B……go to Cayo Blanca, and outside Cay and get ready to sail over night to Havana and Marina Hemmingway. Cayo Largo was a beautiful anchorage, the sea crystal clear, turquoise and full of life. From there we set sail at 3:30 for Havana.

The purpose of life, after all, is to love it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience

Eleanor Roosevelt

PHOTO LINK –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/5MSK0lg7XdYfppI42

New Year:

January arrived with a beautiful day, so John and I headed off riding our bikes to Sombrero Beach. About 2/3ds of the way there I got a flat tire. What a pain! Back we walked me pushing my crippled bike. We opted for plan B and took the dingy out for a ride through Sister’s Creek, past Sombrero Beach and through the mangroves. It was a very nice dingy ride, in the mangroves we could see remnants of boats from the damage Irma had caused that had not been removed. In general though there are very few traces of the hurricane, which we are told blew at a sustained 120miles per hour.

The Wolf Super Full Moon

Most evenings we have had the most beautiful sunsets. I have now taken dozens of sunset pics. One evening the moonrise was a special and I managed to get a shot as it rose, before it vanished behind the clouds. This was the first Full Moon of the year is named after howling wolves. In some cultures, it was known as Old Moon, Ice Moon, SnowMoon, and the Moon after Yule. Wolf howl more during the their breeding season in January and February. The Wolf Moon on the night between 1 and 2 January 2018 was also a Super-moon. A Super-moon occurs when the moon appears bigger and brighter in the sky and occurs when the moon becomes full on the same day that it reaches its pedigree, the point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it is closest to Earth. We were very fortunate to be able to watch the Wolf Super Full Moon rise.

The majority of our time here has been dry with little rain, but with cold, cold, strong, northerly winds. While we enjoy riding our bikes every day to the shops, some of those days have been very challenging riding into 20 – 30 knots winds that are freezing. Chico’s answer to it all is to bury himself under the covers and sleep.

Convinced that we would be able to sail for Cuba shortly after New Year’s day, we hired a car, were given a truck and set off to shop and stock up. We drove to Homestead and enjoyed the day just being able to do something different.

However that wonderful weather window came, but we couldn’t leave. We were stuck here waiting for our new generator to arrive. The Honda generator was ordered on December 18^th from Amazon and basically just vanished. The tracking number was bogus, the company sending it was false and nobody knew where it could have been or if it had been. Anyway long story short, we ordered another this time from the actual Honda dealers and Amazon reimbursed us so all that was lost was time and our chance to sail in good weather. So we are still awaiting reasonable weather!

Celtic Festival

There was a Celtic Festival held in the Community Center, which is adjoined to the marina facilities, and we went along. I am not sure what we expected, but what we found we both totally enjoyed. There were several musical groups playing, Police Pipe and Drum Corps of Florida, the local Celtic followers dressed in their attire and played the bagpipes and drums while marching around. The Screaming Orphans and Albannach were two visiting bands/groups from Ireland and Scotland. There were various craft and food stalls to wander around. There were a group of ladies demonstrating the caber toss, sheaf toss, and heavy hammer tossing, plus a visiting sheepherder, with a few sheep and sheep dogs that put on a display of herding. We ended up spending over half the day at the Celtic fest and found it very entertaining and interesting.

Sombrero Beach and Manatees

John fixed my flat tire and we did ride to Sombrero Beach on another Sunday. On the way we stopped off at a sheltered area next to a canal to watch the Manatees – Sea Cows, they love the shallow sheltered areas and were quite active in this area. I even saw 2 huge ones off our boat in the mooring field. They were swimming on the surface right next to the boat. The day was a lovely sunny one and when we got to Sombrero beach we enjoyed the view of the beach before heading back. Most days we ride our bikes to the shops for basics and many days have been quite challenging riding into 20 – 30 knots of wind coming straight down Overseas Highway. – On the plus side riding back is a breeze!

John had been helping a friend with his engine transmission and doing repairs and maintenance on Aeeshah. I have been getting all sorts of projects completed. Many hundreds of hours of Go Pro footage has been edited, made into “films” and can now be viewed on the video clips page:  https://www.aeeshah.com/video-clips/

Plus I finally pulled out my paints and started some artwork. Just simple water-colour painting and I enjoyed the pass-time.

Flea markets and Key’s Deer

Our friends Roland and Leta invited us to go to a couple of flea markets with them. The first one was more focused on boating and fishing gear. John really enjoyed digging around and made some useful purchases. At the second flea market there were general stalls offering everything from plants to foods to junk. That was where I bought my new art set and committed myself to doing artwork.

After the flea market Roland drove around Deer Key showing us where they had owned land and looking for the Key’s Deer. Sure enough he found them right where he said they would be found. They are a very small breed of deer only found wild in the Keys and so very protected.

The Key Deer, member of a sub-species of the Virginia white-tailed deer, is found nowhere else in the world. It is thought that they came to the Keys from the mainland across a long land bridge and were isolated from their relatives, somewhere from 6,000 to 12,000 years ago, when the Wisconsin Glacier melted. The waters rose and divided this land bridge into the islands of the Florida Keys. Small and cute the deer seemed quite used to humans watching them. It was a really enjoyable day out.

We are hoping our time to leave will be in a few days and we will be heading to Cuba. We are fully stocked for several months of independent living away from civilization.

We have enjoyed Marathon and will miss, the great grocery stores, the wifi, a good social scene, bike riding daily and other pleasures in life here, but we sure look forward to exploring again.

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars and see yourself running with them. – Marcus Aurelius

 

We travel not to escape life, but so life does not escape us.

 

PHOTOS LINK —>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/nRSNofkZpu45lPmA2

The ICW Jekyll and Cumberland Islands

We were said to say goodbye to our friends but we were very happy to be heading out from Brunswick and onto our next adventure.

The ICW was our route of choice towards Florida. The first part of the ICW was passing through Jekyll Creek at mile marker 684. Here the water is very thin/shallow, as the creek is known for its shallow shoals. We had timed our passage so as to be moving on the rising tide, (Tides here are up to 7 feet), that way we had plenty of water under the keel.

Jekyll Island

Arriving at our anchorage across from Jekyll Island marina just after lunch meant we were able to go ashore for a walk and to explore.

We headed down a wooded trail towards the Atlantic shoreline where we deceived to walk the beach. It was a cool windy day, the tide was low and the walk was exhilarating. There were many Horseshoe Crabs lying on the beach where they had been washed ashore, some of them were just huge!

We met a ranger from the Jekyll island turtle/ reptile project. She was hunting in the shoreline-wooded debris and carrying a huge antenna. Asking her what she was hunting, I was surprised to hear, “Georgia Diamond Back snakes”. Apparently there was a female within 5 feet and she was checking on her. They keep records and research the snake population of Jekyll Island, as they are quite unique. We had an excellent few hours ashore and returned just in time as our dingy was nearly stranded in the mud with the low tide.

Setting off early again our next destination was Cumberland Island.

Cumberland Island

I had read about Cumberland Island and its wild horses and really hoped to visit. It was an early 7:00am start as we had a good 20 miles of the ICW to cover before the end of the day.

Most of this stretch of the ICW is through extensive marshlands as the canal just winds and twists its way along it is wild and lovely. Before we reached the northern end of Cumberland Island we had to cross the St. Andrews Sound and to avoid the shoals and bars our track lead us quite far outside and the back into the sound next to the north of Cumberland Island. Just after noon we reached Cumberland Sound where we anchored near the National Park and Sea Camp Ranger Station of Cumberland Island.

Cumberland Island National Seashore is Georgia’s largest, southernmost barrier island. Congress protected it under the 1964 Wilderness Act. It has 36,000 acres of pristine maritime forests, wild beach, freshwater lakes and saltwater marshes and 9,800 acres of wilderness a magnificent national park.

There are many many species of bird, from Peregrine Falcons to Great Horned Owls to the Rails and Terns. Animals range from bobcat, to raccoon to deer and horses, which the Spanish freed in the 1700s. It is only accessible by boat and has no services except rough camping. Cumberland Island has the largest barrier island wilderness on the East coast of the USA.

We went ashore that first afternoon to have a walk and we’re thrilled to find out that we could take our bikes ashore and ride along the trails. That afternoon however we walked across the island to the Sea Camp Beach and headed north along the beach. And WOW! What a beach, as long as you could see in both directions and wide as the tide was well out.

The next day we went ashore with our bikes and headed south on Cumberland to explore as much of the island as we could in one day.

Stopping at the Ice House we read the history of the Timucuan people who first inhabited the area 2000bc until the British annihilated them and saw some of the artifacts found from these ancients lives.

Our next stop was the Dungeness ruins via the Duck pond and the back entrance. The Dungeness ruins are what are left of a mansion built in 1884 by Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy. From the bit of history we read I don’t think the family had much luck as each of their properties burnt down. The ruins look quite dramatic sitting above the water on a slight rise.

We also encountered the Cumberland wild horses in this area of the island; apparently they were released by the Spanish in the 1700s. We had a look at the cemetery where the Carnegie family was buried and passed by other cottages in the southern end of the island.

Our lunch stop was the Sea Camp Station where we relaxed in a rocking chair eating our lunch.

After lunch we set off down the shady lane towards the north stopping first at the Greyfield’s area to have a look. There we followed another lane passed a few cabins that looked deserted and finally coming out at the Little Greyfield’s beach.

We were going to ride north along the beach but the wind was blowing towards us and it would have been a cold hard slog, so we returned inland. We decided to take one of the trails that ran north – the Parallel Trail.

This was quite challenging riding along trails designed for hiking and quite often we had to lift the bikes over the fallen trees. Our aim was to get to Stafford beach, well, we found that the trail seemed to go on forever, finally coming out on the main lane which we then had to follow for a few miles to get to the beach, in other words we took a very long route.

At the beach we rode the bikes south with the wind behind us and it was fabulous! The sun was shining, the wind was blowing and we were whizzing along effortlessly.

The previous day John had seen some huge poles with stainless nuts and bolts attached, he stopped and using the tools he had brought along her helped himself. I just beach combed for shells along the way, finding some nice whelks.

We had a wonderful day on Cumberland and I calculated we rode between 13 and 15 miles.

Fernandina Beach

Our next stop was Fernandina Beach where we got a mooring buoy from the City Marina. Fernandina Beach is a lovely little town, full of old historic buildings like the old historic courthouse and the oldest saloon in the south.

We enjoyed walking the streets seeing the sites. This visit coincided with the day after Thanksgiving and many folks were wearing PJs….. Very odd. After asking we were told that it was a town tradition and as it was a big sales/shopping day you would get an even steeper discount if you wore PJs.

There are 2 paper mills at either end of the town and it was interesting seeing the slow trains run between them and off to the port. Apparently paper is a big industry in this area. I really enjoyed the antique shops with all the different odds and ends.

On our last day there before we set out on our overnight passage we found the farmers market and bought 2 small quiche from “Me Myself and Pies” for our dinner and they were the best quiche we have ever had! If you come across them be sure to buy one!

Aeeshah sailed from Fernandina Beach in the afternoon and arrived in St. Augustine the next morning after a quiet night sail. We did encounter many ships and shrimp boats off of Jacksonville and we even saw the Oleander the Bermuda freighter, but the weather was calm.

St Augustine

John and I found St Augustine to be such a beautiful city. It has a reputation for being one of the most attractive cities in the USA and it really is.

The city has existed for 450 years founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Ayiles. Named St. Augustine because his fleet reached the Florida shores the day of the festival of San Augustin. The city has a colourful history with many historical buildings.

The massive Castillo de San Marcos that was constructed in the 17^th century to defend the ocean inlet that allowed entry into the bay. This was our 1^st place to visit. The great coquina, (shell stone), fort was built to replace the original wooden fort due to a brutal attack by pirates.

It has high thick stonewalls and is designed with four diamond-shaped bastions to prevent attack from all angles. The 70 cannons are still present facing out to sea and in towards the land to prevent any attacks on all sides. We spent several hours wandering around reading the comprehensive history of the Castillo de San Marcos and St Augustine which the United States took possession of in 1821. St Augustine then became Americanized.

Another very interesting visit was to the Flagler College, formally Hotel Ponce de Leon.

This amazing building was one of many built by Henry Morrison Flagler. He was a self-made millionaire who along with John D Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company.

Henry Flagler decided to develop St. Augustine into a winter get away for the rich. He employed the so-called Spanish Renaissance Revival as the architectural style for his huge hotels. This style called for extensive red terracotta ornamentation, red clay roofs, and rounded arches. In 1888 at a cost of $250,000 the Ponce de Leon opened for guests.

Today it functions as the Flagler College and is open for tours twice a day. John and I were very impressed with the Flagler College, the tour was excellent telling the history of the Flagler family, the family and of course the building.

The Tiffany glass windows, all the gilded roofs, artwork and décor are the original and perfectly maintained. The chandeliers are worth over $50,000 each for the small ones, $250,000 for the largest and there are numerous chandeliers.

Our friends Don and Pam arrived and we went together to visit St Augustine Lighthouse and museum. We walked there across the Ponce de Leon Bridge…. Bridge of Lions, to Anastasia Island.

The St. Augustine Light Station is an active lighthouse, and was built in 1874.

We had a very comprehensive tour where we saw the keeper’s house, toured the boat building exhibit, heard all about the history of the area and the lighthouse, plus saw artifacts from shipwrecks off shore St Augustine.

On our return walk we stopped for a lovely ice cream at Wetstone Ice Cream.

The weather was great, but there was no wind to sail down the coast soooo, we decided to do the ICW again.

ICW south

We motored for 53 miles to Daytona Beach where we were shown to a very nice anchorage by our friends Don and Pam on Rainbow’s End.

This journey along the ICW was a very straight forward one compared to our ones in North and South Carolina. The canal is straightforward with few shoals and twists and bends.

There were numerous birds to see in the marshland areas, the houses were interesting to see and most of the traffic was going our way. There were also many dolphins swimming by, playing in the waterways.

The next day was a 37-mile motor to Titusville.

This day we had engine “problems”, the engine was struggling, surging then decreasing, and unable to maintain the steady 5kts that it usually finds easy at 17 hundred rpms. It was quite a worry. We hoped to get a mooring buoy, but none were available, so we anchored. John got his snorkel and mask to go over and see if the growth we had accumulated could account for our problems. What he found was thin blue line from a crab-pot buoy, fishing line and a few barnacles on the shaft and prop. He cleared everything and the next day we found that everything was fine. So somewhere early the previous day we picked up the debris, it wrapped around the shaft and prop and was preventing proper engine performance. We were very relieved.

The next overnight stop was the Banana River, by Dragon’s Head in the Palm Bay region. The passage here was uneventful, along wide waterways, actually quite a boring passage. However when we neared our destination we saw our friends Alan and Claire’s boat Moonstone. So that afternoon they dingied over and we were able to catch up on each other’s news.

Vero Beach

Vero Beach is/was more or less our last stop on the ICW. This time we were able to get a mooring buoy, but when here they raft boats together, up to 3 boats per mooring. We were rafted to Autumn Bourne. Our main concern was Chico and how he would be received and how he would behave. So far all is great, Sue and Dean are a nice quiet couple too and they don’t mind Chico sometimes wandering in to say hello/meow!

 

Vero Beach is mainly a residential area, very upscale manicured properties that must cost a small fortune. The beach area is just that…a beach area. The marina is very convenient, good laundry, handy free transport and excellent wifi.

 

John and I have enjoyed riding our bikes each day looking around the neighborhoods and the beach.

Vero Beach is just a weather stop; a deep cold front is passing and then we need wind, but in the correct direction for our next leg south. We will travel the ICW for 12 miles to Fort Pierce, then we sail south along the Atlantic coast to Marathon.

Soon we hope to be off again, heading south ……

“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.” — Neil Gaiman