Whilst we were in Isle a Vache our friends On Witte Raaf caught up with us.  Joanna was fully recovered. We had spoken to other cruisers who were returning from Cuba. They were all very enthusiastic. Why not? To be so near and it was very unlikely that the opportunity would arise again so we changed our mind overnight and headed towards Santiago de Cuba.

The journey was 187 Nm. And in the log we entered “A very rough and painful passage”! We had strong winds and big seas on the beam across The Windward Passage. The main cabin was soaking. We had left the hatch covers on, the water seeped through.

We were never more pleased to enter the protected waters of Santiago and to be welcomed into the marina at Punta Gorda

George the duty harbourmaster, who spoke good English, despite never having travelled anywhere, explained in detail the sequence of official visits to obtain “entry permits” and visas. First the Doctor: Daniella a delightful young lady who ascertained that we were ALIVE AND WELL. Charged us 30 cuc’s and gave us permission to take down the yellow flag. She left with a smile on her face, clutching well hidden cosmetics we had donated (difficult to obtain in Cuba and extremely expensive). Next came Customs complete with a rather dopey looking spaniel whose job it was to sniff out anything interesting on the boat. His particular fancy was white powder but he left with a disappointed look on his face. Two polite officers searched through bits of the boat but as it was late Sunday afternoon they quickly lost interest and moved on: Cost 20 cuc’s.

George returned with our passports and visas for 30 days, Cost: 15 cuc’s. The following day we were visited by the two Carlos: Vet and Public Health. No animals on board? Our rice and pasta were examined for wee beasties and given a clean bill of health. 5 cuc’s for the vet. The only other charges were the cruising permit 20 cuc’s and entry fee 10 cuc’s. The officers were all very polite and correct. It gave us a good feeling for our future time in Cuba.

George also enlightened us on the rules and regulations regarding our stay in the Marina. We may fraternise among the yachts on the Pontoon but at no time were any Cubans allowed near any yachts!... Outside foreign visitors had to have special permission to visit and pay a fee of 10 Cuc.  At once we were reminded that we had to watch our steps. We were under no illusion that this was a police run state. We had so many eyes watching that we felt totally safe and no need to lock the boat. Friendship with Cubans is not encouraged.

No one seemed flustered by the fact we had no local money. ‘Pay us whenever you go to the bank in Santiago’, with difficulty we tried to understand the extraordinary and unique Cuban currency system. Cuba’s National currency is the Peso, used to pay Cubans’ salaries. The Peso Convertible (CUC) is used by visitors (it was introduced in 1995 and has now completely replaced the US$). All official tourist oriented facilities are charged in CUC. National peso can be spent in markets to buy vegetables, fruits, meat etc. And of course local buses!

 I Cuc = 24 Pesos = 0.80p.   1 peso = 3.3p.

We decided to leave the complicated mathematics for another day. 

The first day after our arrival was spent clearing up the mess inside the boat. We had not been in a Marina since Trinidad therefore running was a bonus, but of course we are talking about Cuba, WHEN running, the water flow was very slow, still we managed and soon Scorch wa sparkling and

                                       dry again. ,

Two days later we thought it was time to brave the outside of the Marina. We decided to take the local bus (0.66p as opposed to £8 for the Official taxi) for the 13 km to Santiago. In any case we always favour the buses as it is more fun, when they turn up of course! No official time table so the wait can be either few minutes to 2 hrs. The waiting passengers were very friendly and we practiced our non-existent Spanish.  By the time we reached town the very old bus was full to capacity and we had our first glimpse of Cuba and its people.