“21:38.413N 79:53.495W”

 

Seven days was plenty enough to explore Cienfuegos.  We’d shared a ‘57 Pontiac taxi with Matt and Karen off “Where II” to visit Che Guevara’s Mausoleum at Santa Clara and beautiful Trinidad that Columbus founded back in 1514.  It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site and probably the most attractive and well preserved city in Cuba.

 

So in order to up anchor it was first necessary to visit the dockmaster to pay our dues and to request the Guarda Frontera to issue us with a ‘Despatcho’ that would allow us to visit other Cuban ports without changing our visa.  We told the dockmaster that we would be leaving at 5am and that we would come ashore slightly earlier in the dinghy to collect the despatcho but no he insisted the Guarda Frontera would visit us on Moonstone out at anchor at 4.50am to check we weren’t people smuggling first!   OK its 4.50 am and no sign of the Guarda Frontera, 5.10am and I’m getting irritated so we radioed the Guarda and silence.....of course they don’t reply because they don’t speak English.  Obviously it did the trick as 15 minutes later a little speedboat with no lights turned up alongside and the Guarda, in uniform and flip flops, came aboard......we think he’d been asleep.  Anyway lots of form filling and stamping and we were free to go.

 

Tonight we are anchored in turquoise water by a small cay (desert island) complete with palm trees, no residents except a (24/7) bar!