Caveat Emptor already activated

So, as I was talking to Tim last night he pointed out that the wording for the OFAC general license was different when we flew to Cuba in January.

I checked, and sure enough it was.

I looked further and there was an update to the OFAC general license January 7, 2017.

So, the wording that stated People-to-people contact has been removed and now is stated as 'support for the Cuban people'

That being said, our boat trip fell under the general license guideline of sporting event or exhibition because of the boat parade.

So, let me reiterate--if you are going to CUBA, make sure you due your OWN research.  Make sure your travel can be justified by one of the guidelines stated under the OFAC general license.

Document. Document. Document.  That's not meaning that Uncle Sam is going to ask you for a book report, but you better be able to prove that you went to Cuba for a good reason and spent a majority of your time for that reason. 

Take pictures/write a blog or diary/keep receipts and fliers from the places you visited, get to know the locals and document their stories.

And guess what?  Laying on the beach sipping mojitos is not an acceptable cause.

But in my humble opinion--visiting Cuba is completely worth the extra legwork you have to do to get there.

Checking out of Cuba and heading home

We began the process of checking out of Cuba the night before we left.  The first thing you do is to settle your bill with the dock master.  This is also when you pay your Cuban cruising permit and your visas.  You have to get this done first and an invoice marked with your right to clear out for Customs or you are not leaving.

We weren't the only people with this brainy idea, so we had a small wait in line.  Just as we were next the dockmaster pops out of his office, sees us all and says: No more today! I'm going home.  Then proceeds to crack up and do a little dance.  Funny guy.

We didn't think of checking our electricity consumption  before we came up, but he simply asked: Did you run a/c? Yes. Tim says we have two.  Dockmaster says, I don't want to hear that. You have one. It is cheaper.  Okay. We have one. And he asked if we filled our tanks, we did and told him our tankage.  Once again, he wouldn't let us take that times two.

So, a rough estimate of our costs.
The total was around 640 CUC—the dockmaster was taking US dollars also.  But to translate CUC to USD it would be around $760USD.

That included:
6 days dockage at ~ 45 CUC/day  (we have a 45 ft boat)
Cruising permit  for boat 55 CUC
Visas 75 CUC per person
Electricity and Water ~ it was done by rough estimate based on whether we ran A/C and filled our tanks
10% tip for the dockmaster/staff--now some people asked to have that removed, but I thought it was bad form, so we left it on. 

Once we agreed on our charges with the dockmaster, you went over to the money lady and paid the bill and she'd stamp you as cleared to leave the country on your invoice.

The next morning, you pull up the the customs dock, they do a brief inspection to make sure you don't have any stowaways and we go into the office to have our exit pictures taken (we had pictures taken in bound also).  They take the other half of our visa and at that point you can have your passport stamped or not.  Different from how it happened at the airport customs.  Everybody was very nice.

Sunrise over Cuba.

Working on the beacon at the end of the channel to Hemingway harbor.

Out the channel we go and set our course for our #1 marker on our channel.  We had done one last check of our weather and decided to motor sail it so we could beat most of it and definitely so we could get out of the Gulf Stream.

Compared to the ride down, this was a cake walk. Hardly any wind, and the Stream was flat and smooth.  What took us 18 hours to get down to Cuba was around 13 hours on the way back.

24 hours before you are due to arrive in the US, it is requested that you call the USCG of your intentions.  They have a file of your US permit to cruise Cuban waters, so they know you are out there.  Upon arrival in the US, you need to call the CBP and give them information of your crew/your boat and where you are at in the US.  They then tell you what office you need to check into and they give you a 16 digit code that indicates initial check in process has started.  See upcoming blog entry on cruising paperwork for more information.

That's a lovely way to cross the gulf stream.

We got friends visiting!

Sunset-almost two hours left to Key West.

Las Terrazas

One of the things that Cuba has done incredibly right is the preservation and reforestation of their island.

They could have so easily have gone the route of Haiti or the DR, but they didn't.  They should be commended for their efforts.

Our last day trip was to the eco-reserve of Las Terrazas.  This was an area that had been mostly stripped of its local flora for cultivation of coffee.  After the revolution, in the 1960s, they began reclaiming the area for a biological reserve.  The name of Las Terrazas is for the terracing project they did to replant trees and vegetation.

Today, Las Terrazas (along with Vinales) is an UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Preserve.  So, well done Cuba.

The remains of one of the first coffee plantations is now on display with full explanation on how coffee was grown back then.

At one of the rest areas/bar.  Our first Cuban Boy Band.  (they were good)

Original plantation house.

Outdoor kitchen area.

Remains of old slave quarters by the coffee bean drying areas.

 Within the area of Las Terrazas is the village of the same name.  This village is unique in that it is a self-sustaining eco-village.  In order to be able to live there, you must sign on and adhere to the rules of the village's sustainability.  There is one small hotel there and many small artisan shops.  We stopped by where they were recycling old paper to recreate into hand made art paper and he sold paintings and prints of the area.

Drying sheets of paper hand dyed with local plants.

Other samples of the paper made.

We made stopped for lunch at the Paladar Campesino (farm worker). Beautiful area up in the mountains and he had quite the menagerie of various fowl.

 Our final stop was the Orquideario de Soroa.  Beautiful little garden with amazing examples of orchids and other plant life of the area.  There is a beautiful overlook that you can see the mogotes (mountains with rounded tops).  I would spend more time in this area to visit the waterfalls and such next time.

Remains of an old limestone wall.

A humming bird. I can't believe it sat still long enough for us to take pictures.

This would be our last night in Cuba.  We had a dinner that night with the rally on property and we also closed out what was due with the dockmaster.  We planned on an early departure so that we'd be only a few hours out from Key West before the forecasted front hit us.

Buena Vista Social Club

The band, not the place.  We found out that they were playing at the famous Hotel Nacional so we decided to go.  Fun. Fun. Fun.

They had some original band members and they were adorable.  Grandma with her 5 inch heels, you go girl.

The band interchanges musicians and instruments, there's 3-4 singers and some dancers.  Interspersed with that is some goofing off with each other. 

So glad we went.

Oh, these two. I wanted to kidnap them.

Walking around Jaimanitas and some history of Marina Hemingway.

While our crew headed off to Varadero for the day, Tim and I decided to chill after our long Vinales excursion and explore the area and check on provisions.

Since trying to get history in Cuba pre-revolutions tends to be a bit..let's say...rewritten? I had to do some research to find out the history of the marina.  It was originally built in 1953 as the Marina Barlovento Complex intended to be a playground for the wealthy with houses/hotels and private canals for boats.

Then the revolution happened.

The government took over the ownership of the marina and after that time stood still.  It was renamed Marina Hemingway after Ernest. Some of the original bungalows were torn down, we can still see the foundations from them.  Two hotels remain--both are getting worked on. One is habitable, the other....not so much, but it is being worked on.  The hotel Acuario is where you can pick up wifi (it's not very good) and you can buy a day pass to the pool. The Old Man and the Sea hotel (El Viejo y El Mar) is in desperate need of renovation.  It had been used in the past as a hostel for medical tourists and medical students.  If they can get her fixed up she has some killer views of the ocean and the Havana skyline.  There is also a small bowling alley that the locals go to.

Solar powered water heaters located on property.

The marina has an Italian/pizza restaurant, a small cafe/bakery and a Chinese restaurant.  Yes. Chinese restaurant as only Cuban government run restaurants can do chinese food, which is....not very well.  They were out of a lot of items (common with the government run properties) and vino 'no es bueno' and indeed it was not. 

Besides the restaurants there was a chandelry-which supplies pretty much anything but stuff for your boat.  They had wine, rum, jellies by the pack, butter (!-not easy to get in Cuba), cheeses and things that weren't at the actual market.  However, the lovely gentleman at the chandelry could probably have helped us out if needed.  The main store had bottle water, sodas, every ripoff of Kellog's cereals you could imagine.  A row of what appeared to be manicotti and other assorted pastas and some paper products.  There was also a government run liquor store attached to the market and a meat market attached to the store.

For some reason, I don't seem to have pictures of all of these places.

All products-including those in the chandelry--is based on what can be acquired on a delivery by delivery basis.

We ran over to the bakery to by their last loaf of Pan Molde (loaf of bread) and I decided to add a bag of small croissants last minute.  Let's just say Pan Molde 'no es bueno'.  The croissants were marvelous.  If we had waited, we could have bought non-government bread from the bakery/electronics shop just outside the marina.  Lesson learned.

Improvements are being made to the marina itself, new lighting around the facility and new pedestals have been installed at most of the slips.

 We walked around the small of Jaimanitas outside the marina finally winding up at this paladar called Restaurante Santy Pescador.  It is a sushi restaurant.  Yes. Sushi.  Admittedly we weren't brave enough to go Cuban sushi, but the restaurant gets rave reviews for its fresh fish.  We wound up having the seafood pasta which was delicious, and there was a ton of it, we should have shared.  No menu, she just rattles off what they have available that day.  I didn't know all the spanish seafood names and she wasn't sure of all the english names so we stayed with what we understood.

Santy is a licensed fisherman and the paladar is located on the inlet of the Rio Jaimanitas.  There is a small working marina of fishing boats, everything a bit haphazard as far as docks and facilities.

I'm sure when we go again, we'll be exploring outside the marina more.

Rio Jaimanitos. Santy's is the wooden building in the center of the picture.

First Place trophy from the Hemingway Fishing Tournament

Upstairs at Santy's.

I would laugh. But I used to have a boat at a marina that wasn't much better.

Day Trip to Vinales

Hold on to your bootstraps--this is a long one.

Today was our day trip to Vinales--a rural valley west of Havana about 2 hours.  We had a 7:30am departure, luckily we had decided to take it easy the night before.  Our tour guides were great, the bus driver was great also, I wouldn't want to drive a full size tour bus on those mountain roads.

For awhile we were on the main 'interstate' of Cuba.  Four lanes, but, like everything else, a bit dilapidated.  Not many cars, but different traffic sources coming from horse carts, oxen carts, loose farm life wandering about.

Not much traffic.

Very common sight.

Accident.  I think it involved a motorcycle and a palm frond.
Not kidding. Not kidding at all.

We took a short rest stop at a government run rest area.  Very nice, with a bar/coffee shop (of course), gift shop and restrooms.  It was also a bit staged with the neighboring farmer bringing out his livestock.  I'm sure to show how the rural folk live--quaint nevertheless.  

Time to take the pig for a swim!

Cuban barn.

We stopped first at this awesome little hotel that has an overlook over part of the Vinales area. It would have a great place to stay for a few days, lots of things to do based from the hotel. 

Psst. Watch out, the KGB are here.

Vinales is where they tried to grow grapes for wine at one time.  It didn't work out, the wine was crap.  So, now other crops are grown there, mainly tobacco and done in a very traditional way-as in, not farm implements, but by hand. The orginal tobacco farmers came from the Canary Islands.  Geographically, the place is beautiful. With unique limestone cliffs and mountains.  

Our next stop was the cave-Cordillero de Guaniguanico which runs completely throughout La Sierra Guasasa.  The cave starts out with a bar (surprise!) and at the other end is a recreation of a Palenque de los Cimarrones.  Escaped slaves merged with the local Taino Indian population.

Not quite the Budweiser Clydesdales, but she'll do.

I have to hand it to some of our group who partook of the bar in the morning.
I guess Tim and I haven't been sailing long enough yet.

Sculpture in the cave.
Designed to scare the crap out of you. (or at least me)

Recreation of the settlement with dancing and singing.

Another sculpture showing slave rebelling.

From the Palenque we walked down to a tobacco farm where we got a tour of the growing/drying and rolling of the cigars.  80% of the farmers crop goes to the state, the other 20% he makes his own artisanal blend from by soaking the leaves in a mixture of coffee, vanilla, cinnamon and other spices.  All of which he grows on the farm.

Drying of the leaves.

Outside of the drying shed.  Completely made from palm fronds.

The tobacco here was hand harvested. He has a small knife on his thumb.

Me being an asshat, takinga  picture of the Cruising World photographer John
taking a picture of momma cow.  Momma cow was not happy and had already
started stomping her feet.  I was hoping to get a picture of him being
chased by the cow.
(I told John this story later-he laughed)

Rodents Of Unusual Size. aka Hutia. aka dinner most likely.
Bonus points if you got the Princess Bride reference.

Pressing fresh juice from the sugar cane for drinks.

Nice. That's all I got.

Small banana grove.

Our tobacco farmer. 
Or somebody called up from central casting. You decide.

Besides the ubiquitous cattle, chickens, dogs and cats, they also had some very large rodents called Hutia in a cage.  The tour guide said they were pets, but I researched that later and I'm pretty sure they were going to be dinner (and why not?).  Cubans are not allowed to raise cattle for beef--they are used for the production of dairy products, only very few have the license to raise beef for consumption.  Even then, I think a lot of the beef comes from other countrie

After visiting the tobacco farm we went back to the village of Vinales to have lunch at the Finca Agroecologica El Paraiso.  A family run restaurant in which every menu item (except fish) is grown on their farm.  Everything is completely organic, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

In a word. Delicious.  Simply the best meal hands down we had in Cuba.  There was plenty of it.  Everything is served family style with what is ready to go that day.  We had root vegetable stew, 3 different salads, 2-3 appetizers, the ubiquitous rice and beans, plaintains, chicken, pork fish and flan for dessert. Also included is their special Anti-Stress Cocktail'.  Basically it is a pina colada with their own special blend of herbals (yerba buena, mint, basil, anise, etc).  It is served to you virgin and then they plop down a bottle of rum for you to doctor it up yourself. The rum is 'Vitamin R'.

The restaurant overlooks their farm and the presentation garden of veggies and flowers.  Just a stupendously beautiful view out over the valley.  It was an amazing experience.  The family is delightful and you feel like you are at a big family dinner with them.

The gang trying to keep up with all the food.

 

View from our table.

Daughter of the original owner. Sassy one, adorable.

Part of the farm available for tour

View of the restaurant from below.

Typical traffic in the area.

These busses actually take workers to the farms.
(I thought they might be for prisoners at first--whoops)

 After a brief stop in the downtown area of Vinales to walk off lunch, we made one last stop at the Mural de Prehistoria. The mural is a bit of a misnomer since it ISN'T prehistoric, but more of a modern art interpretation of prehistoric life done in the '60s. It's quite....um......colorful?  if you ever want to entertain yourself, read the reviews about it online.  Especially those who expected to see real prehistoric art. 

There is a restaurant/bar/gift shop there also.  Another small bar featured pina coladas for 3 CUC--you add the Havana Club.  Delicious.  Everything is made from fresh pineapple and coconut milk.  I must have offended the bartender on my pour size because he shook his head at me and gave me another shot.  Yep, I'm sleeping on the way home!

The mural.

Pina colada--medicate yourself.