We depart Cuba for Nassau



The World Cruise of Veleda IV

We Depart Cuba - January 28, 1999 We hired a private taxi to take us to Pinar del Rio, a lovely rural mountain tourist area. It was interesting to drive outside the Havana area into the more rural countryside. There were actual four lane highways with minimal signage, occasional lapses of white lane lines, and several areas where people gathered to hope for lifts by other cars. We drove through sugar cane fields and open farmlands. The countryside was beautiful. The road off to Pinar Del Rio was even more rural, with as many horse and ox drawn wagons on the roads as cars and trucks. We went through several small communities that had adequate housing for the people and fewer derelict houses than we saw in Havana. As we went up into the mountains there were several tourist resorts. They were quite nice with swimming pools, lovely tropical gardens and walks meandering around their grounds. These were state sponsored tourist facilities for Cubans and foreign tourists at a reasonable price of $ 40.00 per night for a bungalow or chalet in the mountains. The foliage and views from these resorts were impressive. We loved the flowers: reds, purples, vivid pinks and yellows in bloom and were told that there was a two week season earlier in the year when the blooms were in far greater profusion. A lovely park with a waterfall and an orchid garden, made the area an attractive place to spend a vacation. On our way out, we stopped at a local "restaurant". It was an open thatched roof "Tiki-type" bar with a primitive cooking area out back. We had a tasty meal with beer or mineral water for about $ 8.00 each. We had chickens around the table, pecking at crumbs on the floor, and a few mangy dogs longingly eyeing our food. An ox-drawn cart came across the parking area a few feet from our table with a very primitive head harness for the two animals. We didn't dare avail ourselves of the "outhouse" with footpads. When asked by our driver if we would like to wash our hands after the meal, we were escorted behind the cooking area and a cooking pot of cold water was poured onto our hands. This was followed by a sprinkle of powdered laundry soap, then another pour of water for a rinse, and a paper napkin as towel. Such was the washing facility. We preferred not to think about how the cook kept things clean (or whether he did!). Meanwhile, back at the boat, I had hired a young man to help me clean the hull with a rubbing compound and wax it. He was at it for two days. A good job was done, but I noticed he enjoyed socializing with many other nationals along the dock. However for $ 10.00 a day, it was good service that helped me get my hull cleaned and provided him with a good source of money, considering the wage for a skilled person or a professional person such as a doctor would only be $ 20.00 a month! In addition we gave him some soap (for a girlfriend) and a Canadian flag which he was proudly affixing to the handlebars of his motorcycle when we last saw him. I had an expensive lesson in the use of my E-mail at Club Nautico at Marina Hemingway. The standard charge was $2.50 a minute anywhere in North America. I tried the Key West local access number with no luck. It would not accept a 1-800 number either. Since it was anywhere in North America, we tried our home number in Toronto, and, 'Hallelujah', it worked! I activated the "flash session" which quickly sends out the messages pre-keyed in, and downloads all the mail waiting for me in less than 5 minutes. However, the sending of each message was agonizingly long, about 5 minutes for each of the 6 messages prepared; then it started to very slowly download the E-mail waiting to the extent I was embarrassed at holding up the office's phone line for over 25 minutes. So I broke the connection and hope I can pick up the waiting messages from the Bahamas in a few days time. This session cost over $70.00 to send only the six messages! Why? When I went into the setup menu for E-mail access numbers, I realized the Toronto number, for some reason, was set at a ridiculously low baud rate of only 1200, whereas most are at 9600 or 14400. Thus it took six to eight times as long to send my flash sessions at the fantastic cost of $2.50 per minute. An expensive lesson! From now on I will look carefully at the baud rate for any local access number being used and boost it up if I can. We stocked up on rum, fruit juice, beer and a few other commodities from the Ships' Chandlery at the marina at very good prices. We were all set to leave at 0800 the next morning, January 28, having checked out with the dock master the afternoon before. However, he advised us to leave at 0700 at the Garda as there is a shift change at 0800 and we may have to wait an hour afterwards . That's what we did, except at 0700 the immigration officials came to our boat at our slip and checked us out there. It was about 0715 before we got to the Garda dock, and were checked out by medical, agricultural and customs before 0745. But then we had to wait for the Garda people who did not show up until, at about 0915, I went over to the bar area and asked for the Garda, who was on the phone . I knew there would be some waiting, but this was ridiculous. There were no other boats waiting, and the previous boat had left over a half hour earlier. Anyway, he came over with me and brought another young Garda person with him. We went through the forms and a routine search. They asked for a drink, and I was able to give them some coca-cola. I was a bit offended by the other young man who, after he finished the search, sat in the cockpit and lit up a cigarette. The official completing the forms had finished his paperwork and I expected him to leave. However he lingered and was browsing through my collection of CD's and asking what kind of music we liked. I suspect it was an obvious attempt to get us to give him a CD as a gift. When that didn't work, he asked my wife for some money for his friend, and she got up and got a $5.00 bill and gave it to him. I could not understand his minimal English, but that was what satisfied him, and then he left. I was greatly offended at this extortion. I wish I had taken a picture of Judy giving him the $5.00 or thrown him off the boat, but if we wanted to leave we had to play his game. I intend to write to the dock master about this type of incident as all the other officials were most courteous and professional in their duties, but this character was out of line! Oh, I was seething when we finally left at 0945! Out we went into the Gulf Stream off Havana, course 052 into an easterly wind and increasing waves. Earlier would have been much better as the winds are less earlier in the morning. As we got off Havana we called Moro Signal Station, as we had visited them when we toured through Moro Castle a couple of days earlier. The watch officer recognized us and as Judy was on the VHF, he asked how Aubrey was. It was an enjoyable last contact with Cuba, as this person was most hospitable when we visited his harbour control centre at the castle, and had asked us to call him on our way out to the Bahamas. We found this with most of the people we met in Cuba, very friendly and helpful. We had watched the weather the night before and, of course, in the morning before departing. We had 230 nautical miles to cover going up the Gulf Stream to Gun Key. The weather predicted 20 knot winds from the east and ten foot waves in the Gulf Stream. Heavy going, but we could handle it. However, the forecast was not quite accurate. More about this passage in my next log.

The World Cruise of Veleda IV