9 March 2010 Isla de la Juventud Cuba
The EJ's Voyage
Mike Everton-Jones
Tue 9 Mar 2010 14:17
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Been very busy these lat days and perhaps a
little lazy sometimes hence the long silence...
Contrary to what I had said, we left Cayos de la
Lena on a last minute decision after looking at the weather forecast.
Destination Maria La Gorda on the South coast. So we left there and then.
Good sail which was lucky because our engine was still hunting and stopped a few
times. Mike caught a tuna. He had a real struggle winding the fishing line and
when the tuna finally appeared on the edge of the water surface we understood
why: half his body had been eaten by a shark so for a while Mike must have
fought the tuna AND the shark!. We ate the tuna raw on Peter and Robyn's boat.
it was delicious. We got to Maria La Gorda around 5PM. Anchored
off in a sand patch. Hard to find there, lots of corals. La Guardia
man came on board dropped by a fishing boat. The water was very choppy and
the poor guy had a fright stepping on and off the boat. We went to bed
early. 4AM start the next morning to get to Isla the la Juventud, just
shy of a 100 nm.
Good start of the day eventhough it is very
uncivilised to have to get up at 3AM! Fetching all the way with very variable
winds speed and direction. In the afternoon our engine stopped again several
times so we repeated our bleeding procedure until the last time when we couldn't
start it up again. At that point we seriously envisaged to sail straight to
Caymans where at least we could be towed. Then Mike called the engineer in the
USA on Iridium and was advised to change the fuel filters. He did and the engine
started like a dream! No further problems so far.
We got to Punta Frances, the bay where Peter and
Robyn were anchored waiting for us. Sandy bottom easy anchorage. Magnificent bay
with pure turquoise water and miles long beach. Good snorkelling. We found a
delightful tiny beach amongst the rocks with a little cave where we set up our
BBQ with Peter and Robyn. We gather twigs from the abundant dead trees result of
the last hurricanes and Mike lit a fire. We had lobster, fish, steaks watching
the sunset. Memorable night. Fantastic.
Two days ago we went round the corner and anchored
in front of Marina Siguanea. Couldn't go inside as not enough water. Same
rigmarole with clearing in with La Guardia. There is a Hotel Colony nearby. We
took our dinghies and went ashore for a Mojito but got told off by La Guardia.
We cannot go by dinghy!!! We have to leave them at the marina and walk 2 km to
get to the hotel. Just mad!
Yesterday we hired a car with driver, an old Chevy.
Fun. We went to Gerona. Visited the prison where the Castro brothers were
imprisoned in 1956. Impressive buildings. Walked the town. Typical Cuban style.
Everything falling down, very poor. Had a delicious meal at a Casa Particular.
Went to the house of a wood carving guy. Huge black guy with a lovely smile. His
work was super. We bought a Pirate beautifully carved in cedar
wood.
Back on board last night. Peter and Mike had a go
at concocting Mojitos. A bottle of Rum later they were quite
successful...
We are going back to Gerona this morning by bus. We
need to extend our visas.
Must dash.
Love
Mike and Catherine
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