Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
April 7th, 2009Show on Map
Our first 24 hours in Cuba, Ian feels like he has died and gone to heaven with wonderful music, mojitos and friendly Spanish speaking people. As for me, it is an enlightening experience, full of wonderful wide eyed images.
Our sail to the eastern tip of Cuba from the Turks was fast and furious. Once in the lee of the island on the south side we sailed 100nms west to Santiago de Cuba. Half way along we are confronted by the might of the USA Military in the form of a patrol boat armed with machine guns and canon pointing directly at us. We are passing Guantanamo Bay, the United States Naval Base, and we wished to take a closer look but we are immediately informed by VHF radio that we are close to USA Territory (thoughts go to Rudd and Obama currently meeting; aren’t we on the same side?) and to identify ourselves. It actually took the operator six times to obtain all the information.
The ocean boundary is 3nms offshore and extends along the shore for over 8nms. The patrol boat was flanked between us and the shore for over an hour. It was a bit nerve racking watching the 20 year gunner with his finger on the tricker hoping he wouldn’t slip on a big wave by mistake. Undeterred we sail on to a very different port of entry… Santiago de Cuba. We are greeted by the historical Castillo de San Pedro Del Morro fort on the steep headland built by the Spanish in 1633 and a history lesson begins.
Our Cruising Guide has not been revised for ten years and we where expecting a filthy harbour, rickety wharf, officials wanting gifts and if you are lucky some other cruisers for company. This was not the case. From the moment we entered the fiord looking harbour, it opens up and with that wow factor! The water is clean, a stunning back drop of mountains, locals at the beach, palm trees everywhere and the marina is full with ten cruising yachts. What you do also notice is the lack of paint and maintenance everywhere like time has stood still for 50+ years although the beauty of the place and the delightful friendly people make up for it.
![]()
Once we passed the pleasant officials (lost count of the number) including a Doctor to make sure we have no diseases and a sniffer dog, we join a spontaneous 50th birthday party ashore for a pig on the spit and a whole new set of friends. Irish Nick on “Val” is single handing his way around the world and wants us to join him early the next morning to visit the farmers market in the centre of the city ten kilometres away. The main square, Parque Cespedes is just as we expected; Spanish architecture with some crumbling and some being restored, old colourful classic 1950’s American cars and an old woman smoking a cigar.
The first problem to cope with is the confusing double currency. Convertible pesos for tourists and for locals, national pesos but to buy at the local markets we need both. The farmers market is rustic and very very cheap. Farmers have only just recently been able to sell on the open market and although limited, it’s seasonal and very fresh. Meat is pork, pork and pork which is going to test my creative skills but at least we will end up with healthy hearts.
Coffee is at the Casa Grand Hotel overlooking the square in 20’s style with open veranda and art décor lights. Salsa music fills the air everywhere you go. Old men on benches strum guitars. Africans sing and dance to their own tune. Small café/bar theatres have day time free shows where locals do there own thing. One such place is Casa de la Trova where we spend many hours listening and having lunch in the Spanish open air style courtyard. This is the home of Cuban music and many famous bands have emerged from here including The Buenos Vista Social Club whose 70+ year old performers have toured the world. We had not realised it but Cuba is home to mojitos and we enjoy many. Their idea of rum and coke is a bottle of each for $5.
![]()
This is great, we need to freshen up back at the yacht and be back in town for the evening session. Our ride back is in a sky blue 1948 Buick; so much fun as the petrol engine roars into life. I can barely see out the window as I sink into old sky blue leather. Romantic salsa music fills the car… I’m in the movie ‘Grease’… the colourful, cute driver who loves his car will be back to pick us up.
Colourful ladies of the night, passionate salsa dancing, hustlers teaching the girls how it is done and long mojitos as the bands do their thing on stage; this night should never end. At 2pm there are not a lot of cars around, so we take our life in our own hands and get a 1970’s Russian Lada which is a beat up heap, coasting down hills to save fuel and on arrival looses its exhaust pipe.
Our next two days are spent at the marina just loving the weather and mucking about.
We have no choice but to be moored here as rules state we are not allowed to anchor out and we cannot use the dinghy to explore. But we do however have power, water and Havana Club rum at only US$4.00 a bottle.
Now it is time to see the back streets and what they don’t want the tourist to see!! Hiring a driver for the morning we check out the cigar factory. As luck would have it’s the MonteCristo Cigar factory, rated number two in the world behind another Cuban brand, Cohiba. The factory has 250 employees all producing 100% hand made cigars (totalmente a mano) and they turn out 20,000 a day. Unfortunately they would not let us take any photographs of these hard working locals that earn about US$15 a month.
The back streets show the other side. Dirt roads dug up trying to repair water pipes that have not been touched since before the revolution in 1959, bland Soviet Union built tenements which are free to all Cubans and people reverting to horse and cart due to lack of fuel. What does come as a surprise is that most people are well dressed. It’s just the in fore structure around that is in bad disrepair and what will happen if this continues much longer.
The only advertising you see are large billboards with images of the founding revolutionaries including Fidel and Che promoting the 50th anniversary of the success on 1 January 1959. Cuba has been a communist country ever since and the signs of this failed dream are everywhere. Fidel Castro overthrew a corrupt capitalist government that had been sponsored by the USA since 1899. Before these times it had been controlled by Spain, since Columbus arrived in 1492 until the Spanish land owners rebelled against control by Spain in 1868. Another rebellion was led by Marti in 1895 which resulted in the US involvement.
On a happier note the Santiago de Cuba musical festival has just started and this will make our stay very special.
