CUBA!!

13.12.11 Marina Hemingway, Cuba

We sailed into the marina at 8am after a very vigorous sail through the Gulf Stream.  The crossing took about 15 hours and we were seeing 8-10’ waves and 20 knt winds- very lumpy and not much sleep during my first off- watch ( we do 4 hours each- I do 10pm – 2am and try to sleep either side).

To meet us at the official entry dock were many officials. Firstly the doctor in a white coat, who asked us about our health, checked the general cleanliness of the boat. Then came the agriculture guys, who wanted to see the provisions- looking for fish, meat etc. Then came the sniffer dog & handler looking for drugs. All these 4 men went below with Paddy and whispered to him for mordido (money for graft). Paddy said no but did give the dog handler and old watch that he admired- it was broken but he didn’t seem to mind. Next came 4 immigration and customs men who filled out many forms – all in triplicate and with carbon paper, checked passports then looked in every locker, cupboard & drawer on the boat. All this took about 3 hours. We then had to go into town in a hire car and get some money to pay all the fees. It was a good excuse to have a quick look at the locals and surrounds. We are tied up on a very long dock, parallel parking, and it is very well guarded and all amenities. I dropped off the laundry today to a woman who will do a load of wash/dry for 5 CUC. This is the Cuban money: there are 2 systems, the locals use pesos and the tourists use CUC (convertible pesos). I changed 20 Euros and got 25.60 CUC’s. I will change some of these into the local pesos to use at markets, on buses etc.

 In the afternoon, we walked over to a nearby hotel where we used the internet for I hour (6 CUC’s) and then an early night as we were both exhausted from the previous 24 hours. Today at 3.30, our driver (Rogney) is taking us into Havana for the evening and tomorrow a fellow US cruiser who has been here 14 times wants to take us in to Havana and see his favorite haunts. All very exciting.