Cuba Info

Rather than the normal “It’s wonderful” blog post, I was asked to do a dump on information that would be useful for those exploring Cuba.  I’ve tried to keep it at the big picture for folk and haven’t detailed individual casas or the alike. I dare say there will be other specific questions people may have. Just fire them in and I’ll try and help as best we can.
I’ll say now that the limited cruising information on the S coast is hearsay from those we met in the Marina as we chose to park up at Marina Santiago and explore Cuba by bus rather than lose Easting before our hike down to Panama. I can make no comment on the N coast or up towards Havana by sail. Take said information as you see fit.

One thing to note. Throughout Cuba we were treated more as guests rather than “bloody tourists”. The Cuban people may not have a lot of material possessions but they make up for it in pride in their country. Never be scared in asking for advice or help from one. They will, as we found on numerous occasions, go out of their way to help you. Maybe we just got lucky but I don’t think so. Great people.

Port of Entries

There are only 7 ports of entry and you must clear in at one of these before you do any further travel. They are Marina Santiago de Cuba, Puerto Vita, Cayo Coco, Varadero, Marina Hemingway, Cayo Levisa, Marina Cabo San Antonio, Cayo Largo and Cienfuegos

You must book in at one of these before you travel further.

Entry procedure

Noonsite gives you details of having to raise the Cuban Coastguard by radio at the 12mile line.  However, I’d emailed the Marina to tell them of our arrival and asked for direction.  What I got back was rather different.  Come straight in, calling the Marina directly on Ch72 three miles out, anchor at a designated lat/long and await medical clearance.
In the end, I decided to call the Coastguard as well on Ch16 but had no luck raising them over a period of several hours. I found out later that down by Santiago they don’t even have a radio and get the chat from the Harbour Master!

All marinas are manned 24/7 and you should talk with the Harbour Master ( a person of influence) as you approach.  Don’t just anchor up.  He will get upset and certainly here at Santiago, will direct you to move.  Note that all marinas are permanently staffed with Customs and Immigration officers.  If you annoy the Harbour Master, they will know about it.  Just saying………

We played nice and were directed to anchor 100m off the Marina.  Someone that didn’t play the game and ignored the gradually more annoyed Harbour Master calling them on Ch72, were directed to up anchor and to go to the formal anchor/check  point, a couple of miles away on the other side of the bay.  They got to wait a while before the doctor was sent out too.

The doctor came to the boat and we were asked a number of questions about the health of the crew.  No big deal. Temperatures were taken.  She inspected the boat including the cleanliness of the loos, happily giving advice out.  Having been in Cuba for a month and seeing the general standard of loos (few flushing, generally foul and rarely with seats), I’d now comment – bloody cheek!

Food stores were checked with particular interest in fresh veg and meats.  We had meats from Puerto Rico which were noted down.  This required a visit from another official to do a further inspection.  When queried, we were told they are more interested in meats coming in from DR and Haiti where they think potential infection may be carried from.  She also commented on a few rusty tins that we had in storage.  We assured her that we would eat them soon.

Once the doctor had left us (asking a “little gift” before she left – more on this later) we were moved to the dock to allow the Customs officials aboard.  Our passports were taken off us by the Immigration officer in a bit of concurrent activity whilst we were searched.
Although we were inspected and searched pretty comprehensively to the point of unworn short’s pockets being searched, it was done professionally and politely.  Only issue we had was when they found my 2nd passport (carried because of my previous business endeavours) but that was soon explained. The search took about 45 minutes.

We also had a drugs dog brought on board, the impact of it largely spoilt by the squeals of delight from Hannah as the dog came aboard.  It spent more time being petted than searching the yacht.

Immigration was easy and all the normal stuff.  Clearing papers from your previous country.  They are interested in where you have been in the last six months.  How long are you going to stay?  Where?  Travel intentions?  They loved it when I told them our vague plan then asked them for advice on improving it.  They got the map out to discuss options.  It took about 30 minutes and I left with four visas, permission for Lou and the kids to come ashore and some good information.

Visas are given in 30 day chunks.  I believe you can also get 90 day visas but from the chat in country, people found that getting extensions was easy.
Last “official” chat was with the Marina Harbour Master.

Key Rules

1. Dinghies to be used between your boat and the Marina dinghy dock or other foreign yachts only.  No exploring with them.  Tried to get an idea why on this and got “It’s just the rules”.
2. Cubans nationals may not, under any circumstance, visit your yacht.
3. No hand held GPS equipment may be taken off your yacht.  I didn’t like to tell him that even our compact camera has GPS these days, tagging each pictures with a location………….
4. And then the more normal ones on rubbish dumping, black water, oil and the rest.

My general comment here is all the staff we met during the entry are just doing their job, one which here is a significantly more comprehensive than other Caribbean countries.  You are probably going to be the only boat they will deal with in a day and they will do their job properly.  Go through it in good humour with them (Ernesto, take heed….!) and it all goes quickly.

Note that the Custom and Immigration officers are permanent fixtures at the Marina and do 24hr shifts.  Once you are alongside you will find that they are both helpful in information on local requirements and interested in you and your travels as well.  All of them are expecting that as the country opens, the “rules” are going to have to be relaxed and updated.  However, no one in any position of authority thought that this would be happening soon.

“Money Gifts“.

Other than the doctor, sadly the very first person that we met in Cuba and in a position to cause you mischief (she signs off on food stuff inspection, med kit checks and alike), we have not been asked for money, other than a very few beggars.  Asking around the marina, all had been asked for a “gift” .  Most people gave her between $5-10US or equivilent. One boat that had $3 left, other than a $20 that they weren’t prepared to give her, were told that $3 was a poor offering and “surely” they had other currency.  We have had a quiet word with one of the Harbour Masters about it as most people are unhappy with her.

However, you will interact with a lot of Cubans who may ask if you have kids clothes, old shoes, fishing gear and the like.  They will asked for it in a no obligation way.  Up to you how you play this.  The odd t-shirt and fishing hooks were v gratefully received.  We will be staying in touch with one person who was very helpful to us.  Hopefully a parcel will get through to them in due course.

Money

This is a cash society.  Do not expect to be able to use your credit card for anything other than, perhaps, your westernised hotel. And check on that.
Cuba currently has two currencies.
CUC – Convertable peso. The foreigners’ currency. Currently 1.1CUC to 1 Euro.
CUP – Cuban Peso.  What locals use. 25CUP to 1 Euro.
If you are visiting any tourist site and any of the major cities, you will be expected to pay in CUC.  Tourist rates are completely different to local. E.g. The 30 minute ferry from the marina to city costs us 1 CUC per head.  The locals pay 1 CUP.

If you get out of the areas used to seeing tourists then you will sometimes be able to use CUP.  Most of these incidences for us involved buying street food from vendors.

DON’T BRING US DOLLARS!  The exchange rate has an 8% cost attached and then there is a further 10% penalty charge for using the great capitalist enemy’s currency.  Euros, UK Sterling and CA dollars are the preferred currencies.
I would suggest that to minimise ATM transaction costs, bring as much cash as you can.
There is a Cuban aspiration to combine the two currencies.  I don’t think it will happen soon.

Credit Cards and ATMs

Mastercard will only be accepted within a bank for cash withdrawal.  It will not work in any ATM nor be accepted in hotels.  American Express?  Not a chance.
Visa (both credit and debit) is accepted in ATMs and ours worked without incident.
Bank issued debit cards may or not be accepted.  Maestro cards, a fairly standard European type are not.
Note that the most cash you can withdraw in one transaction is 150CUC with a 4.50CUC charge on each transaction.  You can, however, leave the card in and make further withdrawals up to your own card daily limit.

Internet and Phones

Although there has been internet available in Cuba for some years at a very few internet cafes, Wifi is only just starting to make an appearance.  At time of writing (Feb 16), Trinidad has had Wifi available in the town square for four months, Havana and Santiago for about 18 months.  To use Wifi you are required to buy an access card from an ETECSA office, the communication provider for Cuba.  This means standing in a long queue.  The shortest time I queued was 45 mins.  Cards are available for periods of 30mins, 1hr and 5hrs. Price is 2CUC per hour.  The offices often run out of cards.  My advice is to buy a good stock when you get the chance.

Wifi hot spots are rare.  Trinidad has one which is the main square.  Santiago has one in the main square by the Cathedral and another at the ferry dock.  Havana has several as many of the larger tourist hotels have been equipped to act as one.  If you find the ETECSA office in a town, you are probably at the only place wifi may be available.  Data speed is reasonable but not fast.  Don’t expect to be able to upload large files.

Although Cuban phone sim cards are available, they are not available with a data package.  Foreign sim cards do get access to an EDGE service but the roaming rate is prohibitively expensive. Be very careful and check your rate before you think about using it.

Travelling around

By Sea – Anchoring and exploring the Cuban Coast

The “Rules” state that cruisers are only allowed to touch land at the port of entry locations, detailed above.  Crazily restricted and it is nearly as restrictive in real life.  You may also land at some designated tourist sites (Trinidad is one) but they are few in number.  You are allowed to anchor around the coast but the restrictions in landing on the mainland remain.  They don’t like you to drop your dinghy and explore, especially if you are on the mainland. Bit disappointing not being able to visit villages……. My advice, straight from an Immigration Officer is not to flout this.

To sail around the Cuban coast you need a Despacho from the Immigration Officer you booked in with.  On this you will need to have detailed each and every anchorage you want to use on your trip.  They will allow visits to the islands off the South coast where you are out of sight of land but for the rest, it seems to be at the grant of which ever Immigration officer you get.  The officers in Santiago were, I think, pretty on side and certainly a Danish boat in with us was surprised at how helpful their one was, to the point of suggesting pretty anchorages and snorkeling sites.  Have a good idea what you want to do and be prepared to discuss it with them in detail over a few days before you go firm with your final plan.

One thing to remember is that most Cuban officials don’t want to make a decision, particularly involving a tourist and the default setting is “no, you can’t”.  The other thing to remember is that your boat will be tracked by the Cubans and you will be asked why you went elsewhere if you try it on.  The in country security network they have is excellent……

By Land 

The main road linking the East and West of Cuba is a dual carriageway running only for the first few hundred km E out of Havana.  Thereafter the road changes to a single carriageway. The main roads running to major towns off this spinal corridor are again single carriageway.  These roads would equate to a poor A road in the UK.  Country side roads off the main roads are normally packed dirt only.  There are rarely road markings. There are more horse and carts using the roads than lorries and traffic is never heavy.
Cubans are safe and considerate drivers.  Due to the unaffordability of new cars or even replacement parts, they baby their vehicles.  They drive conservatively with big gaps and frequent use of the horn to make sure everyone knows where they are.  We have driven about in a 43 year old Lada, a 58 year old Plymouth and a Buick of the same era.  I won’t say any of them would pass a UK MOT (not even close) but they are still running because they are looked after carefully. Don’t expect seat belts.

Getting Around

Taxis – there are a few yellow cabs using Chinese imported cars, mainly in the cities.  Expensive, modern and they will have a meter (not always used) and seat belts.  Most cabs are older cars and all would be classed as classics.  Some of the Havana taxis are spectacular.  Pricing is a matter of discussion before you get into the cab and they are happy to bargain.  You’ll often have a few drivers competing for your business.  Use it to your advantage.  You can ask pricing for single trips but they are equally happy to discuss day tour pricing as well.
Don’t tip if you have agreed a price.  It is not necessary.

Hire Cars – expensive.  Don’t expect anything more than a basic compact for about 60Euro a day.  We were told there are significant additional charges if you want to drop off at anywhere other than your original location.  However, with the ability to design your own trip and really go off the main bus and therefore tourist routes, if you can afford it and you are brave, a great way to look around.

Train – although we know one person who recommended taking the train up to Havana, even the locals we spoke to just smiled, shook their heads and directed us to get the bus instead.  The guide books say only for aficionados; I’ll concur.  Dirty, smelly, holes in the stained floor for a toilet and slow.

Buses – Note here that there are few buses travelling between the cities and you need to book your ticket ahead.  We got caught out in Trinidad, ending up spending an extra couple of days there before we could get on a bus going back to Santiago.  Book either at the Omnibus Station or at a Cubancan office.  Pay in cash and you will need your passport.
There are three main bus companies.
The Omnibus (Viazul) is the government owned long distance intercity service covering the nation.  They use older Chinese buses but these are perfectly serviceable and the ones we were on had aircon.  This is the only bus service that charges 1/2 fare for a child.  Stops are made at bus stations in most towns so if you have time and want to explore the towns along the main routes, this is the service I’d recommend.
Cubanacan is the company you book either Transgaviota and Transtur tickets through.  These use newer buses and pick up from hotels only.  Their hub is Havana and you are able to use them to and from there only, with a few limited routes outside Havana, mainly tourist destination to destination.  Stops are made at their own posh cafes and restaurants which are well run but expensive. Check about lunch on longer trips (Santiago to Havana). It is generally included in the price.
All services stop regularly, generally no more than every 1.5 hrs.
For an idea of pricing from our trip.
Santiago – Havana. 17hrs. 51CUC per person. Lunch included
Havana – Vinales. 5hr. 16CUC per person
Vinales – Cienfuegos. 8hrs. 32CUC per person

Cienfuegos – Trinidad. 1 hr. 6CUC per head but we got a taxi for the same price. More fun going by a geriatric car with no seat belts and sounding if it was powered by a tractor engine!

Trinidad – Santiago. 12hrs. 33CUC per person

Scooters and bikes – Both were available for hire in the main towns. We used neither and can’t comment on pricing.

Accommodation

In the cities there are western hotels none of any great standard that I could see and pretty expensive.  Havana price is around 130CUC for a double room per night.
Our preferred accommodation were Casas, houses that Cubans have been given permission to rent out rooms.  It is a superb way to meet Cubans.  The accommodation is generally interesting and very clean.  One of the houses we stayed in had a 7m atrium and we slept on a bed which was 150yrs old.  The neighbour of another one we stayed at unfortunately had a cockerel that started every morning before 0300! All had very friendly families, happy to help us in advice on what to visit or do in their town.

Pricing for a night varies between 20 and 40CUC a night dependent on room size. It is a good idea to book ahead.  Vinales (pop around 1000), one of our stops, is very popular and frequently fills up.  Researching ahead also allows you to select casas with better recommendations.  Alternatively, if you don’t want to waste time searching for your next casa if you are not travelling to a set timetable, don’t be shy to ask for help from your hosting family in recommending or helping you find accommodation in your next port of call.  Many have friends and family that they can quickly arrange something with.

Remember internet is not widely available and you don’t want to waste time in searching for and booking casas when you have a city to explore.

Note that the Cuban government takes the vast majority of the room price you pay to the family.  The family make their money with you having breakfast and we were happy to support them by accepting the offer.  All charged 5CUC a head – well worth it – we were always stuffed when we left the table.

Most casas offer you dinner as well.  Price is normally about 8-12CUC a head for a three course meal, drinks extra.  We ate at two casas, both excellent meals, but we found that we preferred to eat out to enjoy the street atmosphere.

Restaurants will have a fairly standard fare (burgers, pizza, rice and bean dishes, pasta (limited but the seafood choices are excellent) Prices vary little between restaurants and you will normally be asked for between 8 and 15 CUC for a main.

Finding a Casa

Google Casa Particular and the government site will come up. Not great to navigate around but it covers the whole country. http://www.cubacasas.com
Another site is http://www.cnccuba.com
Many casa are now on Tripadvisor. Check their ratings.

There are also a few houses appearing on Air BNB. We didn’t use this resource.

Stocking up – Food, Booze etc – Before and During

Food in Cuba is difficult to find, limited in choice and expensive in the “supermarkets” there are.  Bread, eggs, dried beans and limited fruit and veg are generally findible but don’t expect anything fancy. Meat of any great quality is difficult to find – chicken is your best bet. If you are going to tour, try and stock up the boat before you come.

Once you have arrived, the boats in the marina found that if they kept the requirements simple, the best way not to get ripped off was to get a local to do a shop for you. Plenty of them are willing to help. They will be looking for a goodwill gesture in return. Eggs are wonderfully cheap. 2CUC for 30, about a quarter of what we are paying here in Jamaica currently. Chicken is cheap too but don’t expect it to arrive in anything other than a bloody plastic bag.

You will be advised off street food by the various officials at the Marinas and told to stick to restaurants.  We used the same rules as for the rest of the Caribbean.  If there is a pile of locals buying from a stall, the food is probably good enough for you. Seemed to work for us and you will pay in CUP rather than CUC.

Rum is cheap, filthy cheap. You can spend as little as 3CUC on a bottle of white rum (what they will use for drinks in bars) but be able to get a litre bottle of good sipping rum for 10CUC. I wish I had loaded up but I was being sensible. More fool me.

Best choices?

Top end. Havana Club 7yrs at 19CUC a litre – outstanding

Mid. Havana Club Especial at 10CUC a litre. – best value

Bottom. The base brown Havana Club at 5CUC a litre. Perfect for mixing

There are other brands of rum available occasionally but Havana Club you will find everywhere.

You will be offered cigars wherever you go and most of them will be fake. Think you can buy a box of Cohibas for 45CUC when they are 300+CUC in the official shop? Really??

The advice I got from a Canadian Havana resident was to buy direct from a farmer if I could (what is known as a Pura cigar) made by him from the tobacco he is allowed to keep. Farmers lose 90% of his crop to the government for officially  made cigars.

In Vinales, I paid 40CUC for 21 No4 equivalents in a simple cedar box which his family made that are simply superb. I got another 50 Panama size for 15CUC from a friendly local that were what he smoked. Still pretty good but nothing of the quality that I got at the farm.

Puerto Rico is an island of high hills and with US foresight, a fantastic rain forest at the E end of the island, heavily protected for all the population to enjoy. Almost There, who had visited it before for very keen to take us there and show us the sights.

Having all clambered in to the Jeep (a bit crushed) we headed up the hills to explore. As we got up into the hills the views were spectacular, even more so from the jeep although trying to look at them proved difficult once Robert decided to dance.

As you can see the kids got into the spirit of it!

We eventually reached the excellent visitor centre, high in the hills to find pleasantly, that there were no poisonous animals, snakes or spiders and wonderfully no mosquitoes in the forest. The only thing to watch out for is the occasional rabid racoon………..

There are a large number of waterfalls and walks available in the forest. In the end, we headed up to  La Mina Falls and work our way back down the hill.

La Mina Falls required a 30 minutes trek from the very, very busy parking lot, with an over enthusiastic ranger merrily improving everyone’s day by issuing tickets for anyone parking at the side of the road at a rapid rate of knots.

The trail wasn’t really. The area is filled with concrete pathways to limit the damage to the park and we passed lots of folk making their way back and forth to the falls but the stream we walked down beside was lovely. H forced the pace as she needed to get to the falls quickly. The speed she disrobed and shortly thereafter the look of relief was hilarious.

The falls were pleasant , little different than those we had visited on Dominica or elsewhere down island other than the numbers there. They were very overcrowded. Serves us right for going at a weekend. H found a friend to pull her closer to the falls. Small children who are confident and smile seem always to get a helping hand!

Heading back down the hill we stopped for some lunch at one of the street cafes – delicious – then headed for the Yokahu Tower. Once used by the Forest Rangers, it is now a great spot for tourists to look down towards the coast.

Next stop down was the La Coca Falls. Just off the road, most folk just drive past. They are missing one of the best photo opportunities.  We all had fun trying to frame the best shots!

There are a number of longer walks within the park which would have been fun to do but we had no time to organise these. For anyone following us, I’d recommend a couple of days in the park midweek to get away from the crowds and perhaps to see a little more of trail than we did. A great place to explore and a great day out.

Graduation ceremony with Ernesto presiding

Hannah graduating from Year 2

ELeanor graduating from Year 4

Drinks and play on Gone Walkabout before Fish Friday.

Sunset at Gouyave with our fellow cruisers.

Spoilt for choice.

Yummy!

Some of the food stalls serving some great local fare.

Little Adam from Dark House chancing his arm for a sip

Annika watching the luckiest kitten in Gouyave enjoying some supper

Hannah with chums, Ollie and Lincoln.

Steel band at Fish Friday

The Blood Moon

Waking the girls to see the Blood Moon and lunar eclipse

Haul out day at Grenada Marine

Haul out day!

Eleanor’s handiwork – it ad to be a big one to feed that number of kids (and adults).

Anticipation of cake…..

Happy 8th Birthday, Hannah

Boat kids!

Crystal clear!

Looking North to St Georges

Magazine Beach

Fun with the girls.

The beach sometimes can’t compete with a good book.

Sunset at beautiful Magazine Beach

Happy Birthday Margeaux!

Pola and Eleanor

Fun at Hog Island with Lagom, Shambala and Pontea.

Fun at Hog Island with Lagom, Shambala and Pontea.

We finally got to Grenada in mid July, six weeks after the start of the hurricane season. We had been watching the weather closely and with conditions being benign, we decided that we were safe to stay up island. We were always in a position to run the 100miles or so S well before any weather system could get to us.
We arrived to book in at St Georges, which has a good anchorage just outside the harbour entrance, which we stayed in for several days. We got the feel of the town and found a pretty good supermarket close by. Prices were reasonable in comparison to up island so the horror stories we had been told of super inflated prices was thankfully wrong.
There are many great anchorages on the S side of Grenada, all very well filled during the hurricane season. The main ones we thought about were Prickly Bay, Mount Hartmen Bay, aka Secret Harbour and Hog Island, all close together on the SW corner of the island. Prickly has the best access to services, Secret the best bar and social scene (including volleyball, played by myself three times a week) and Hogg island had the reputation of having the most kids boats in previous years. This year it was Secret Harbour with 20+ kids ranging from babe in arms (born over the summer).
However, whilst we were in St Georges we had discovered at the Grenada Yacht Club was going to have kids sailing lessons lasting two weeks which we quickly signed the kids up for. For ease of getting them the 30 minutes drive to St Georges we decided that Prickly Bay was our best option. We were glad to find that there were a good crowd of kids boats there too, a lot of whom we had met up island. We also signed up for membership of the University Club after getting a recommendation to do so from Tomas and Karin, a lovely couple, both vets, who are lecturers at the Uni. We had met them at Bequia. Whilst we used the club (a great pool and friendly bar) for most of the summer, next years cruisers will not be able to do so. The club has changed its membership requirements, now wanting a permenant address on the island – sailors are not welcome.
For our first period in Prickly, we parked up close to the Spice Island channel, right beside our good friends on Taia. Great holding, convenient to the local bus service and a short run in to the Prickly Bay Bar and its free internet. The downside is that you have little tidal movement, the Grenada Coast Guard in their fast ribs crashing though and if anyone believes that yachts in the bay don’t flush straight out rather than using holding tanks, they are a little naive. Heavy bottom growth is fast to appear in that nutruient rich environment! With most main anchorages in the Carribean serviced by an industrious soul with a pump out boat, normally offering water and diesel at the same time, I was amazed that no-one has set up that service for the several hundred boats parked up, just in these bays. All three bays would be a lot sweeter………
After we returned from a forray up to Tobago Cays (see seperate post) we decided that we would stay out at the edge of the Prickly Bay, off the University Club. This was very well sheltered (better than in the main bay area) with little or none of the prevelent easterly swell wrapping around the headland getting to us. Downside? With the water much cleaner, I had no excuse not to scrub Skylark clean of growth!
We also anchored in Clarks Court Bay, choosing to take the big boat around for a concert held there rather than dinghy the four miles. There was plenty of wind (always a good thing listening to the wind generator providing “free” power) and little fetch. Although there were a couple of small marinas there, there was little else to recommend the anchorage to us. It is difficult to get anywhere from there.
We travelled up to Gouyave on the NW of the island for their celebrated “Fish Friday” event. Great fun to do with a live steel drum band giving it laldy and some wonderful street food on offer. The anchorage itself is straight off the beach used by all the local fishermen. It has good enough holding but it is exposed and not an anchorage I’d want to stay at in poor weather. In a N wrap around swell, you would have an interesting time. You do have to keep a close eye out for the huge number of fish traps here.
We did have a few days in Secret Harbour after our haul out at Grenada Marine, which is another couple of hours E from Prickly. We did enjoy it there but in the end we enjoyed the University Club and its pool more. The 20 minute walk to get across to Secret was enjoyable exercise as well.
I think that we made a good choice in Prickly for our time in Grenada. It is certainly the most convenient to getting work done, exploring other areas of the island by bus and access to the shops. Its proximity to Secret Harbour was great….. but my liver probably suffered less abuse by being far enough away from it too!

The fruit and veg man!

A big thumbs up from Olivia.

Toby snorkelling.

Water-baby Eleanor.

Water-baby Olivia!

Extreme hide and seek.

Grande Anse des Salines.

Sunset at Sainte-Anne

Dinner!

Arty shot of Skylark and tender.

Hannah at Petit Meunier.

Skylark has some visitors (of the winged variety).

Another arty shot.

The only boat in the bay – that’s a first.

It’s a tiddler!

The Motley Crew.

Beautiful!

Ernesto and Camila at Mount Pelee.

Hannah and Matias

Mount Pelee.

Natalia keeping the kids going.

A rather damp descent.

Hannah at Mount Pelee.

Skylark, Almost There, Taia and Arthi.

It was definitely a great purchase! How many kids can we fit on it?

Local fishermen at Grand Anse d’Arlet.

Might as well have a go…..

Street urchins sheltering from the rain.

Next stop – St Lucia!  When the Thomas family first mentioned a potential visit, I had to do a very rough estimate as to where we may well be during May half term week.  At the time St Lucia seemed a pretty good bet.  However as we talked to more and more cruisers, it seemed that St Lucia was not as popular amongst the cruising community as one would have imagined.  This is due to various reasons, including aggressive boat boys, security concerns and, more worryingly, the murder of a yachstman on his boat at the beginning of 2014.  We decided not to hang around long.

We arrived in Rodney Bay in the early hours of the morning so sailed in as far as we dared in the dark before dropping anchor and getting our heads down.  The following morning we were up early and speaking to the marina – having not stayed in a marina since Nanny Cay, BVI in March, I was determined to make sure we had a full day to make the most of the facilities.  First stop – the pool!

The Thomases arrived safely and after lots of hugging and ‘haven’t you grown’ (for the kids, not us!!), we loaded them onto the boat.  It was like Christmas (again!) with presents and internet orders that I had asked them to bring out.   Following our night in the marina, we anchored in Rodney Bay for a night and then we decided to head north to Martinique, which turned out to be a great decision.

We anchored in Sainte-Anne so that we could book in.  It was a beautiful anchorage, with swimming and snorkelling opportunities for the kids.  The town itself was lovely; there were several restaurants, a couple of little supermarkets and, most importantly, a boulangerie!

The following day we decided to try the day anchorages to the south of the island.   We initially anchored at Anse Meunier and headed ashore.  Having explored onland a little and with the promise of showers, we motored further round to Grande Anse des Salines – we were the only boat in the bay.  Sadly the promised showers were shut as it was out of season but we did find an outdoor shower at the restaurant on the point, which we were not shy in making the most of!  The anchorages were beautiful and deserted – we can highly recommend them as a day trip from St Anne.

Following a quick exploration of the (somewhat limited) delights of Le Marin the following morning we decided to head north.  We sailed past Diamond Rock, which had interestingly been HMS Diamond Rock in 1803 due to its strategic location and a shortage of available Navy ships at the time.

Diamond Rock

We then anchored in Petite Anse d’Arlet for the night on the promise of some excellent snorkelling, which the kids made the most of while Janet and I lounged on the trampoline, slowly getting sunburnt.

Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, had been born in Trois Ilets, on the south side of the bay from Fort de France, the island’s capital.  Tempted by a little history, we sailed round and anchored for lunch.  Sadly this is most definitely a department of France and our trip ashore to eat lunch out was a positive failure!  Everywhere was closed, with the exception of the boulangerie, whose sandwich fillings were limited to ham.  Unfortunately our luck did not improve in Fort de France, where we anchored that night – dinner was KFC!  We were not entirely enamoured with Fort de France so after Simon managed to buy their ferry tickets to St Lucia, we hot-footed it to Anse Mitan, a holiday village across the bay, which proved to be a much more favourable location.  I decided there and then that this was where we would be staying for Stewart’s trip to Dominica for the cricket.

It was an emotional farewell the following day as we said farewell to the Thomases and it was the first time that I had really felt homesick.  Fortunately it was short-lived as the following day our friends from Almost There, closely followed by Taia, arrived in the anchorage.  The girls also made friends with two little girls from S/V Lagom and happily decided that school was over early that day, swimming across at the earliest opportunity.

Stewart headed off for the cricket (more of that later!) and the girls and I enjoyed the time being stationary for a while, catching up on home-schooling, swimming and generally relaxing.

Martinique, being a French island, is well served by hypermarkets and European stores.  Not to miss out on yet another great provisioning opportunity, we hired a car, offloaded the children onto the menfolk, headed onshore and became women on a mission.  I was pretty excited to find a reasonably priced kayak at the Inter Sport (finally!) but with a small hire car, I needed to get rid of all the shopping plus my two friends before I could purchase it.  Speeding back round the dual carriageway in an attempt to make it back before closing time, I had not really thought the whole thing through.  Fortunately the store was still open ten minutes after closing time and I successfully made the purchase.  The security guard was particularly unhelpful and dumped the kayak outside the front door and left me to it.  Sadly the kayak was somewhat bigger than the hire car….. Mmm – great!  With the help of a friendly local with a pick up truck and a bungee, I managed to load the kayak into the back of the car.  The boot was carefully held down as I drove somewhat more sedately on the way home.

In 1902, the town of Sainte Pierre, the Paris of the West Indies,  was devastated by the eruption of the volcano, Mont Pelee.  Of the 30,000 inhabitants, only one survived – Auguste Ciparis, the sole occupant of the city’s dungeon.  After surviving four days in his cell, which was buried beneath layers of ash, his sentence (for assault) was suspended and he spent the rest of his days touring with the Barnum and Bailey Circus – as an exhibit in a replica of his prison cell.  Having seen Montserrat, we decided that climbing this infamous volcano was a must during our visit.  It was a great hike followed by a  tour of the island in search of somewhere for lunch.  Again we were completely stymied by French opening times – what is it with not being able to eat outside their set meal times!

We waved a sad farewell to Martinique, which had some of the best cruising waters that we had seen in a while.  Having sampled St Lucia briefly, we decided to completely bypass it on the way south again.  Taia accompanied us and we set out for an overnight sail to Bequia (also missing an equally unsecure St Vincent!).

Ile Fourchue.

Ile Fourchue panoramic.

View of St Barts from Ile Fourchue.

The bay at Ile Fourche – Skylark is down there somewhere.

on the outskirts of Flamands.

The coastal route to Flamands.

With our friends from Taia.

Eleanor and Camila

Hannah the Explorer.

The beautiful Anse de Colombier.

Gustavia

Gustavia still has Swedish and French street names.

The smart streets of Gustavia.

I think the girls liked this one!

Gustavia

The girls on the anchor at the waterfront in Gustavia.

The brick house in Gustavia.

Hannah and Matias.

Gustavia Port.

Shell Beach – not quite the same as the other Shell Beach.

View from Fort Karl to the south.

The view from Fort Karl.

View of Gustavia.

Finally made it to the museum only to find it shut – and it wasn’t even a public holiday!! Not having much luck with museums.

After nearly a month on the hook in St Martin, it was with itchy feet that we hoisted sails and headed for the small island of St Barts.  Our first stop was anchoring off the uninhabited Ile Fourchue, a marine park that lies between St Martin and St Barts.  It was originally home to a group of goats but they literally ate themselves out of house and home and the small number that survived were removed from the island.  Vegetation is slowly returning….

We went ashore to explore and take in some of the great views from the various high points, whilst trying to stop the kids throwing themselves off.  It was a welcome hike following our sail.  The next morning we snorkelled off one of the points in the bay.  The snorkelling was pretty good but not the best we have seen, by far.  I think the high point for Stewart was the number of very large barracuda lurking right on the point.

The next morning we sailed down to Anse de Colombier at the north end of St Barts.  It is a pretty little bay and beach within the marine reserve with no road access but a short hike around the coast will get you to civilisation.  And boy was it civilised!  The beach at Flamands was surrounded by exclusive hotels with guests enjoying the golden sand from beautiful white sunlongers.  We were enjoying it too, but at a fraction of the cost.  Having asked directions to the main street, we were directed through one of the afore-mentioned posh hotels, the White Horse. The kids had a sneaky foot dip in the infinity pool to get rid of the sand.  I was considering disowning them but managed to get them out in time for the concierge not to see them.

It was decided that we would attempt another field trip (following our unsuccessful trip to the museum in St Martin) so we headed into Gustavia to look at Forts and museums for the day.  While Stewart and Ernesto drooled over a very posh racing yacht, called Nomad IV (http://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-47466/nomad-iv.htm ) that was in port, we popped into the Tourist Office to check out entry details for the fort.  Alas we failed at step one – the fort is actually the Gendarmerie and the other two forts that were displayed on the map are not actually forts.  Not to be defeated, we headed round town to take in the historical points of interest.  We managed to finally drag Stewart and Ernesto away from Nomad IV after they decided that she would be FAR too uncomfortable as a cruising yacht as she was rolling like a pig.  I don’t know, I reckon I would have been able to make myself at home.  Our frustrations were not over.  We finally made it to the museum only to find that it was closed for the day, for no apparent reason.  Not an entirely successful field trip but the kids did learn a fair amount about the history and we had a very nice lunch at the popular ‘Le Select’ restaurant, which seems to be a popular spot for yachties.

Gustavia is a very well maintained, pretty port and town but the entry fees are set so as not to encourage sailors to hang around too long.  We had a lovely few days and I would certainly like to come back, either on a yacht or a nice hotel (if we ever win the lottery!).