Golfo de
Batabano separates the mainland of Cuba from the spectacular 350-island
chain of Archipielago de los Canarreos to the south. The largest
island in this group is Isla de la Juventud, a largely uninhabited island
specializing in agriculture and citrus production.
The distance from Maria La Gorda, on the southwest coast of
Cuba, to Hotel Colony, on the southwest coast of Isla de la Juventud, is
only 91 miles. Between these two points lie two sets of cays in
extremely shallow water on the western edge of Golfo de Batabano: Cayos de
San Felipe and Cayos Los Indios.
While there are possible anchorages for shallow draft boats of
less than one meter, it is preferable to pass well to the east or west of
these shallow mangrove cays. We left Maria La Gorda following a cold
front but experienced only a couple of hours of refreshing north winds
before the trades prevailed and the wind clocked to the south as a strong
head wind. It was a long, hard slog requiring 150 miles of tacking
offshore west of the shallow cays to make Hotel Colony on the southwest
coast of Isla de la Juventud.
CHART COURTESY OF SIMON CHARLES'CRUISING GUIDE TO CUBA
Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Youth, was originally called
Isla de Pinos, or Isle of Pines. Pirates once used the south coast of the
island as a base to attack Spanish treasure ships and reportedly buried
some of the treasure along the south shore. Legend has it this is
"Parrot Island," the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson
novel Treasure Island. The island is also renowned for its
presidio modelo, or model prison, which once confined Cuban patriot
Jose Marti, then later, Fidel Castro. During the 1960s and 1970s,
thousands of young people from all over the world came to the island to
study citrus cultivation and socialism. In 1978, the island was
renamed Isle of Youth to celebrate this new role.
The largest town, Nueva Gerona, is located on the north portion
of the island along the Rio Las Casas. There are no anchorages allowed in
the river and room for only a few boats to dock at the busy port.
The better place for cruising boats is Hotel Colony on the Ensenada
de la Siguanea, 41 kilometers southwest of Nueva Gerona. There is a
lovely resort catering to scuba divers and a small marina used to
transport divers to the reefs along Punta Francis, 5 kilometers to the
west.
After the obligatory visit by the Guarda Frontera aboard our
boat at anchor, we landed our dinghy at the small marina. We were
immediately met by the harbormaster, Orlando Fernandez, who allowed us to
tie our dinghy alongside the bulkhead. A thin, wiry man with a
cheerful sense of humor, Orlando displayed the intelligent and engaging
manner of most Cubans we met during our cruise. He spoke English as
well as German and Portuguese and was obviously a well-educated and
well-spoken man. Pointing to a citrus grove nearby bulging with
unpicked fruit and overgrown with brush and weeds, we asked Orlando if the
fruit was edible.
"That is just taranjas," he
replied. "The grove was originally established with a
corporation from Israel, and the taranjas were exported.
Those agreements no longer exist, and the grove is left for Mother
Nature."
We learned that Cubans love naranjas, or sweet oranges,
but they are not especially fond of taranjas, or grapefruit.
"Could we pick a few for our boat stores? " we asked.
"
"Por favor! Take all you want!" he answered
laughingly.
I think he thought us a bit strange for exhibiting such
excitement over the common grapefruit. We loaded two large sacks
with grapefruit and found them to be juicy and delicious although filled
with about twenty seeds each.
Sitting on the dock in the afternoon sun, Orlando explained that he
had spent three years in Germany studying the art of ceramics. Upon
returning to Cuba, he found the ceramics industry unable to run its kilns
due to the lack of fuel, and most remain closed.
He was able to attain the job of harbormaster because he speaks German,
and many divers from Germany and Austria spend their holidays at Hotel
Colony.
An easy overnight sail along the south coast of Juventud brought us
to Cayo Matias, just off the southeastern edge of Juventud in the string
of cays composing the archipielago. The Archipielago de los
Canarreos is primarily small mangrove islands with a pristine coral reef
extending along the entire south side of the archipielago. The
colors of the water throughout these cays are unbelievable!
Brilliant emerald greens deepen to aquamarine and turquoise as the
sea floor drops to abysmal depths just beyond the dark coral heads.
Lobsters abound on the reefs along these cays and grow to enormous
sizes. Using Nigel Calder's excellent book, Cuba A Cruising
Guide, and the Cuban Hydrographic Charts, we were able to negotiate in
and out of the reef passages without trouble. It is always good to
have a bow watch while traversing the reef and, if possible, try to enter
and exit between the breaks of reef while the sun is bright and high in
the sky. This will allow you see the coral heads clearly and arrive safely
at your planned anchorage with enough time to snorkel for dinner.
There are hundreds of wonderful anchorages throughout these
cays, which offer moderate protection in most wind directions and
relatively calm water for the boat. Some of our favorites were Cayo
Matias, Cayo Cantiles (where you'll find a monkey sanctuary to visit),
Cayo del Rosario (where you're apt to meet friendly local lobstermen in
their weary Cuban boats), and Cayos de Dios, where you'll see some
gorgeous reef fish and huge lobsters.
Cayo Largo is one of
Cuba's most popular and busiest tourist resorts. One of the larger
islands in the string of cays, Cayo Largo has spectacular long, white sand
beaches and accessible reefs for scuba diving in 30-100 feet of water.
Tourists arrive at the airport and are greeted by buses ready to
carry them to one of the eight resorts on the island. Bars, discos,
restaurants, dive boats, charter boats, and a turtle and crocodile farm
await the wayfarer. We found this island to be far from the Cuban
experience we relished in other areas, so we anchored along the reef for
the evening and made our way to Cayo Guano del Este in the early morning
light.
Our major source for weather is our single sideband using
November Mike November out of Norfolk, VA, on
channels 13089 (daytime, 1600 hours GMT) and 8764 or 6501 (evening, 2200
hours GMT). Typically, Mike (as we call the computer-generated
voice) predicts southeast to east winds and occasionally northeast to east
following a cold front.
However, there is a distinct daily wind pattern on the south coast
of
Cuba called the katabatic effect. The wind picks up quite suddenly
out of the northeast
15-25 knots during the nighttime, often causing a lumpy anchorage.
As the sun rises, the winds calm then pick up out of the east at
10-15 knots and begin clocking during the day, first to the
southeast, then the south and, by late afternoon, the wind almost dies.
The wind reappears
out of the west in the late afternoon 15-20 knots. According to the
locals, this pattern
is representative of the winds most of the year.
We are
able to receive a fairly decent local forecast on Cuban television in
Spanish and, with a view of the weather charts, it is easily understood.
Cuban television consists of two stations. One station is
dedicated to news, educational
programs and Cuban soap operas, which are highly popular. The other
station is set aside
for their beloved baseball.
Cruisers always have memorable stories to tell of dreadful passages,
breathtaking sunsets or simple acts of profound kindness from the locals.
|
|
At Cayo Guano del Este, we met Armando Artiz and Humberto Herrero,
lighthouse keepers for the rocket-shaped lighthouse on this jagged
limestone cay.
Cayo Guano del Este is less than one mile long, one-eighth mile
wide, and has one resident coconut palm and six goats. The
lighthouse keepers spend one month working at the lighthouse and one month
at their homes in Cienfuegos. It appears to be a rather desolate
place to spend every other month, but they were both spirited and
lighthearted men. They rowed a tiny wooden boat with handmade oars
and a large hole in the topsides of the boat into the anchorage area to
point out a mooring in the relatively deep water surrounding the cay.
We picked up the mooring line, a huge polypropylene line big enough
for a freighter and tied a line to it. Immediately, they rowed to
our boat to say the mooring was strong and free and greet us in the
ebullient, friendly style of Cubans speaking high-speed Spanish.
Their enthusiasm was invigorating, but we had to plead, Muy
despacio, por favor! Or, very slowly please!
Since this was our last cay in the Archipielago de los Canarreos,
we
planned to spend our time snorkeling on the reefs. Armando pointed
to an area west of Cayo
Guano del Este that was not written up in our cruising guide where the
reef was good and
the lobster and fish were por todas partes! (everywhere!).
Armando went snorkeling with us that day with fins held together
with
nylon fishing line and a spear gun he operated with deadly accuracy.
Armando caught a
beautiful Hawksbill turtle. He gently placed the turtle into the
dinghy, and I spent the rest of the afternoon worrying that he intended to
eat the turtle. How was I going to tell him there was no way I would
let him keep such a radiant creature? Not to worry. He only
intended that we take a foto and promptly released the turtle to
its home on the reef.
That evening, after a tour of the island and a spectacular sunset
viewed from atop the lighthouse, we ate fish and lobster asodo
(roasted) in a small open
pit and served with rice. The fish was cooked whole with dark yellow
spices put into
narrow slits cut into the sides of the fish. The lobster was removed
from the shell, fried
lightly, chopped and mixed with rice and a tomato sauce. The night
air was cool, and the sky was clear and filled with starlight as we ate
the delicious meal on the open patio underneath the great light.
We drank beer and rum with these fine men until the moon was high
and
the hour late, then said our good-byes for the evening. On many
occasions, Cubans invited us into their homes to share their evening meal,
a cup of strong Cuban coffee and their lively music. This type of
hospitality and openness is a part of their culture, and they give of
themselves as freely as small children.
nbsp; The passage from the Archipielago de los Canarreos to the
mainland of
Cuba requires crossing the Bahia de Cochinos, or Bay of Pigs, much of
which is prohibited
for navigation. We sailed the rhumb line skirting the edge of the
prohibited zone when again we heard the zing of the heavy fishing line
trolled behind the boat. This time the lure produced the most divine
marlin leaping dramatically from the water in graceful contortions to
shake the hook. While it is difficult to perceive oneself to be
Ernest Hemingway aboard the Pillar as we awkwardly fought this
magnificent beast from the narrow side deck of a sailboat, it was a
humbling encounter. Such beauty and nobility is almost beyond words.
We reverently pulled the marlin alongside and disengaged the hook
from his long bill. Truly, one of God's finest creations.
The city of Cienfuegos lies on the eastern side of the beautifully
protected Bahia de Cienfuegos on the mainland coast of Cuba. It is
one of Cuba's largest and most prospering cities boasting the world's
largest sugar-exporting facility, a fertilizer factory, cement works and a
paper mill.
Parque Marti is located in the center of the main square of
town with a statue of Cuba's most revered patriotic hero, Jose Marti, in
the center of the well-landscaped park and a triumphal arch dedicated to
Cuba's independence at the west end. Grand neoclassical architecture
outlines the park, lending an elegant and historical feel to the serenity
of the main square.
The cathedral on the east end of the impressive park was
erected in 1870 and has twin towers displaying lofty French stained-glass
windows depicting the twelve Apostles. The Teatro Tomas Terry on the
north side of the park was built by a Venezuelan sugar baron. It is
exquisite with Carrara marble, carved wooden seats, and an impressive
romantic fresco on the arched ceiling. It once boasted the likes of
Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt.
We wandered around the park and the main square and into an
elegant art gallery called Maroya, or Moon. Beautifully displayed in
the gallery was a collection of paintings, sculptures and antiques.
There I met a lovely, dignified woman, Amalia Cardentey, an
artist in the gallery. Amalia spoke quite good English and had
studied in Moscow. She talked of Cuba's love for the patriotic hero
Che Guevara, an Argentinian granted Cuban citizenship following the
revolution. In describing the part taken by Che during the
revolution, Amalia explained it was not just for his unquestionable belief
in the struggle but his candid charm and personable, caring speeches that
endeared Che to the Cuban people.
She described Fidel Castro as a private man, quiet and proud,
an extremely intelligent lawyer. She was open with her opinions,
neither overtly critical nor overtly flattering to the present Cuban
regime. Her comments were consistent with those of other Cubans and
not entirely different from the observation of the average American about
our own government.
As we left Maroya, we met a wonderful older Cuban gentleman
with chocolate brown skin and deep creases around his eyes, which deepened
into crevices as he smiled to offer flowers cut and sold on the
square.
"No permiso por Americanos," I said sadly.
"Lo siento." (Not permitted for Americans...I'm
sorry).
He smiled exposing perfectly white teeth between a half-smoked
cigar and shook his head in acknowledgment. I longed to ask this
elderly man about his life during the Batista regime, about Che Guevara
and Fidel Castro, and I wondered if he had participated in the revolution.
But he spoke no English, and my Spanish was not good enough for such
an in-depth conversation.
As I turned to leave, he grabbed a long green stalk with small
white flowers. Placing the flowers in my hands, he wrapped his tough
leathery hands completely around my hands as he spoke. Finally, I
understood the simple words spoken slowly in Spanish.
"Put these
in water and they will fill your house with sweet smells at night.
Then, you will remember me."
The flowers lasted about ten days, and every evening they produced
a sweet fragrance that permeated the boat's cabin. I thought of that
old Cuban man every evening as the sun set and the cabin was freshened
with this wonderful perfume. The flowers are gone now, but, I will
remember this man forever.
This cruise of Cuba continues in the August
edition of
|
