Matanza, Cuba

February 12, 2011

A group of us from the Marina went for a day trip to Matanza.  We were picked up just outside of our Marina and the price of going on the bus was $10.00 CUC’s for a round trip. Matanza is about 40 miles away from the Marina to the west. The day was a bit overcast but perfect for traveling around.

Our Transportation.....Nice

Cuba has hills, mountains and deep gorges

We are headed to “The Caves”. This wonderful site is located high in the hills above the City of Matanza. This is a must see if you visit Cuba.  The price to enter is $5.00 Cuc’s. There is a small museum that shows you some of the tools that were used to excavate the opening of this cave. There are also other items of interest plus the history of these Caves.  As you enter these caves, it is very muggy and warm. The steps become wet and slippery and the ceiling begins to drip.  The lighting is not that great but the Guides are good and can speak 3 different languages to tell you the history and point out prominent sites. Our pictures are not that great as it is very dark but the crystals are beautiful and just makes your jaw drop.

Entrance to the Caves

After the caves, we boarded the bus again and headed to downtown Matanza.  We got off in the central part.  There are many narrow streets but there is a wonderful square with statues.  There is a modern hotel and the architecture beautiful.  The price to spend a night here was $70.00 Cuc’s per night.  We continued to walk and find a place to eat a late lunch before heading back to Varadero.  We did find a little place that looked classy but all they had to offer today was a ham and cheese sandwich and it was pricey, $4.00 Cuc’s each and they only had 1 menu and it was obvious that it was just for tourists just like us.  This was a disappointing. We had our lunch and continued on a walking tour of the downtown area.

 D

Judy, Shelly, Mark and Debbie...Our Sailing Buds
This is a private resident, look at that door, awesome!

The Grill Work....What Art and Talent

One of Many Squares and gathering places

Many Bronzes, This Women is Breaking the Chains

The Lobby of the Hotel.....Very Classy and Elegant

Getting Familiar with Cuba

Santa Martha, Cuba

Well, after a good sleep, it’s time to meet our fellow sailors and get familiar with the area and marina. There are lots of Canadian’s here, some live here full time now. 

We washed the boat of all the salt we collected and got to meet our neighbors. We had the drug dogs on our boat again.  Once we passed this second check, it was time to exchange some money and head into town (Santa Martha). There are two kinds of currency in Cuba.  The CUC or convertible peso’s (which is 1 for 1 or par) and the Nationale (24 to 1, therefore if you can use them, items are a lot cheaper). The CUC is the exchange that tourists use for everything. The Nationale is what the Cubans use.  When you are walking around in the town, you can see where the Nationales are accepted.  It is best to have Canadian Dollars to exchange, there is a big service charge for using US Dollars and the exchange is not that great.

We went to the Market in Santa Martha to get veggies and see what was available today. This is where you can spend your Nationale’s. The market is divided up into 2 areas…..the government run stalls and the newly created entrepreneurial stalls. Each stall has something different to offer.  If they do not have it today, there is always tomorrow.   There are no large grocery stores and items that are available are limited.  There is no beef here and pork is the #1 meat.  Bread is baked in government run shops and is available daily.  The price for a loaf of bread is $1 CUC. Eggs are hard to come by and when you do find them, they are about $0.03 each and they come in flats.  We shared when we found them.  Frozen chicken, hot dogs were available, when you could find them.  Pasta was available but cost about $4.00 CUC’s a box (same brand at home $0.99 each). So having a wide variety of canned goods in your ship stores is a must.

Pizza is available, hot and fresh.  They are made on the spot in stalls in the street.  The cost is $10.00 Nationales (which is about $0.40 cents Canadian) for a pizza with some ham. Ice cream is available too. Hamburgers are made fresh but are made with ground turkey or pork. One place we found also added a glass of juice for about $35.00 Nationales.

Private Homes in Santa Martha - Very Clean and Tidy

Apartment Living in Santa Martha Complete with Laundry Lines

The Street Pizza Stand on the Main Street Santa Martha

Sailing to Cuba

January 30, 2011 (Marathon, Florida – Boot Key Harbor)

We finished getting the boat ready to go and saying our last farewells to old and new friends.  Our next stop…Varadero, Cuba, just 95 nautical miles south. We left the harbor around 2 pm. We motor sailed for about 1 ½ hours (needed to charge our batteries) and headed to the Gulf Stream. Once we passed Sombero Key, the seas were a bit rough but the wind was perfect, so off went the motor. We sailed all night and at dawn, we could see Cuba in the distance.

At about 12 nautical miles from shore we contacted the Guarda Nationale, the transmission was scratchy and our Spanish is not that great.  We continued forward. As we now had our land markers in site, we contacted the Marina Darsenia again. They asked for our approximate time of arrival and that they would be there to greet us.  We arrived at 8:00 am.  We are tired but we need our second wind to enter the country.  We had ensured that we did not have any of the wrong goods aboard. These included veggies, eggs and meat – frozen or fresh. These are not permitted.

The first person aboard was the Coast Guard, then the drug sniffing dogs, custom officials, the doctor, the vet, the harbor master and a few more “officials”.  It took about 2 hours to finish the process and be awarded our “Visitors Visa’s”.  There were 2 more sailboats that arrived later in the day.  We are tired and head to bed for a few hours of much needed sleep…..We made it!

Land Hoe Cuba in the Distance

No Keys tied up at the dock in Varadero

Pelicans, Wrens and Seagulls watching from afar