Sail on Sail Pending

The Cat Crew!!

The Cat (catamaran) Crew started in the Grenadine’s last May. We were a group of sailing catamarans who bonded as we were headed South and we traveled together through the Grenadine’s and Grenada.

Once we reached Grenada, some left their boats and flew home for Hurricane Season, another boat continued Westward and are currently sailing to the South Pacific, another sold their catamaran and are continuing their adventures on a trawler….. But, Last year, over a couple of drinks, 3 of the Cats made a plan to meet up and sail along the Southern Coast of Cuba together. As most people know, live aboard cruisers plans are written in the sand at low tide, so we were doubtful that this would ever happen.

Over the past 4 days, all 3 Cats have sailed into Santiago de Cuba, from 3 different countries and are back together and ready to sail together along the Southern Coast of Cuba!!

Yesterday, after the 3rd Cat cleared customs, the six adults poured some nice Cuban Rum and toasted the Cat Crew and all of the original members!! We talked about all of you and remembered the fun times in the Grenadines. Cheers!!!

For all those who are dreaming or planning a Liveaboard life and may be worried about feeling isolated or not having strong friendships “out here,” don’t let that hold you back from untying the lines and sailing away. The people you meet along the way are amazing and the friendships created have a special bond that I don’t think is even possible with land based relationships. We have learned that we never say goodbye to the people we meet; we say, “Until We See You Again” …..

Just a couple more pictures.

I really wish we had access to wifi to post lots of pictures of how amazing this city really is. For tonight, the satellite will only allow me to post this one.

Santiago de Cuba will definitely rank as one of my favorite city’s in the world!! Everywhere you turn is a photo op! The city is beautiful and Cuban people are amazing!! The old cars driving around are an added bonus!! Love ❤️ Love it here!!!

Lost Boat Cat.

We are currently at the marina in Santiago de Cuba and there is a boat cat who has been left behind.

The officials and marina manager do not know who’s cat it is. It has been going from boat to boat, we think to find its people. It prefers catamarans so we are also guessing it must have come from a catamaran.

I only have satellite communications so I can not post this on any of the Cuba Facebook pages, and I am sure whoever lost the cat can’t check Facebook either….. but, I am hoping maybe one of my Facebook friends will share this to a Cuba site or will let me know me if there is a vessel in Cuba who may have posted that they are missing their pet.

The black and white cat is very friendly and likes dingy rides.

If anyone has information I can only be reached via email at:

sail.sailpending@gmail.com

Adalberto was one of the first people we met when we arrived, because as soon as we cleared custom we went to the marina restaurant to get something to eat.

Aldalberto was our server at the government operated restaurant above the marina and I think we may have been his only customers all day. Aldalberto allowed us to pay for our meal in USD since it was too late to get into the city to exchange our money into Cuban Currency.

Aldalberto was so happy to serve us and kept asking if we needed anything and if everything was alright. I had a plate of grilled shrimp in a lite garlic sauce over rice, Rich had a skirt steak, and Tyler had pork. All plates were served with a fresh green salad and Aldelberto gave us another plate that was toppling over with extra rice. After the long crossing the cold beer tasted amazing and Rich and I each had 3!! Tyler has 2 of Cuba’s versions of Sprite. Our entire bill came to $30 USD, so we gave Aldelberto $35.00 USD and told him to keep the change. He was ecstatic!!! He gave us his telephone number and address and told us we must come visit him and meet his family. We explained to Aldelberto that we were very tired from the crossing and told him we couldn’t make any plans right then. We asked him when he worked next and that we would come back to plan a visit. He told us that he worked the next day so we asked if he could make us Mojito’s and he said yes, that his brot
her grows mint in his garden at home and he would bring a bunch to make us Mojito’s the next day. As we left he shook our hands and then hugged each of us, so happy that we arranged a return visit. He said he could not wait to see us the next day.

Note: At this point we were in the country for a little over an hour. It seemed very odd to us that Aldelberto would invite us back to his home…. but now, as I write this 48 hours later we are realizing that this is normal Cuban culture. The people of Cuba are as intrigued with the outside world as we are of them and their country.

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Sorry for the low resolution pictures.
This Blog was posted via our IridiumGo!

To follow along on our journey subscribe to our YouTube channel:

http://www.YouTube.com/user/SailonSailPending

All videos from Cuba will be uploaded as soon as we have access to wifi.

Contact us at: Sail.SailPending@gmail.com

Dining Options in Cuba

There are a couple different types of dining options in Cuba.

1.) The Government Restaurants: These are easy to find and where most tourist will go. They are just like any nice restaurant in the United States or throughout the world and usually have a vast menu of items to satisfy anyone’s palette. The table are covered with beautiful tablecloths and will have matching plates and cutlery. The service will be top notch. The prices at these are in CUC’s

2.) Private Paladars: These small restaurants are located in a private home. Some are government approved others are not. They are a little harder to find and usually you have to ask a local to take you to one or sometimes a local will approach you and ask if you are looking for something to eat.

The private paladars will only offer locally sourced food and may only have one or two specialties on the menus. Sometimes the person taking your order is also the one cooking your food. So, patience is key here, but it will not go unrewarded. The food is served with love and is usually as fresh as you could possibly get!! The prices listed at these are usually in CUP’s, but can be in CUC’s at the government approved establishments.

3.) Food Kiosk’s and Street Vendors: These can be found anywhere there are people gathering, such as a busy street or ferry dock. They will serve anything from fresh fruits, to warm roasted peanuts, pork sandwiches, to a whole roasted pig. The prices listed at these are usually CUP’s

We have tried to eat mostly at private paladars and the food has been amazing!!! We have only been here 3 full days and have eaten the local Shrimp, Lobster, Calamari, Octopus, Red Snapper and have been impressed by every meal.

The picture is of the first paladar that we visited just outside of Santiago de Cuba. It was located on the 2 and third floor of the home, with spectacular views overlooking the bay.

Santiago de Cuba

Christoper Columbus has been quoted saying that Cuba was the most beautiful islands that he ever sailed into!

This is one of the main reasons we are so excited to visit and explore. But, as American’s we are also allured to and are excited to explore something that is “off limits” to the typical American tourist.

As we sailed along the Southern Coast of Cuba, we are probably experiencing about the same view that Columbus had in the 15th century. There is nothing, not a house, not a resort, not a road….All we have seen are lush green mountains that extend from the sea up into the clouds.

Santiago de Cuba is the first stop on our adventures through Cuba. The city is located on the South Eastern side of the island and features a protected bay that is connected to the Caribbean Sea. This allows for a major sea port and probably why it is the second largest city in Cuba with a population of over 1,000,000 people.

The majestic Castillo del Morro overlooks the harbor entrance and reminded us of the entrance into San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once you enter through the narrow entrance the bay opens up. As we navigated to the marina we dodged local fishermen who were not fishing from boats but from home made personal floats that looked like they were made from truck or tractor tire tubes. They all smiled and waved as we passed by.

The city was established by the Spanish in the year 1515, but has been plundered by French and British forces throughout the years, so the city is rich with Spanish, French, and African cultures. Santiago de Cuba is known for its music and traditional dances. It is where the Salsa (the dance, not the sauce) originated.

We took a taxi into the city to exchange money and on our drive in, I just kept thinking that I felt like I was in an old movie that was reproduced in color. Donkey’s pulling carts of fruits and veggies are sharing the road with 1957 Chevys and old motorcycle with side cars.

Another thing that made us feel like we were in a movie was that everything was perfect! The grass on the side of the road manicured, there was not any site of garbage along the road or in the streets, and we never saw a homeless person or anyone begging for money. This is extremely rare for a Caribbean Island and was a pleasant change that we were not expecting. It’s not that we only stayed in the “touristy” areas either, we walked and ventured outside the zone, as we always do. 🙂

The people of Cuba are so amazing and so welcoming of us, into their country, that I am going to start to write not only about the spots we visit, but also about the people we have met.

Santiago de Cuba

Christoper Columbus has been quoted saying that Cuba was the most beautiful islands that he ever sailed into!

This is one of the main reasons we are so excited to visit and explore. But, as American’s we are also allured to and are excited to explore something that is “off limits” to the typical American tourist.

As we sailed along the Southern Coast of Cuba, we are probably experiencing about the same view that Columbus had in the 15th century. There is nothing, not a house, not a resort, not a road….All we have seen are lush green mountains that extend from the sea up into the clouds.

Santiago de Cuba is the first stop on our adventures through Cuba. The city is located on the South Eastern side of the island and features a protected bay that is connected to the Caribbean Sea. This allows for a major sea port and probably why it is the second largest city in Cuba with a population of over 1,000,000 people.

The majestic Castillo del Morro overlooks the harbor entrance and reminded us of the entrance into San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once you enter through the narrow entrance the bay opens up. As we navigated to the marina we dodged local fishermen who were not fishing from boats but from home made personal floats that looked like they were made from truck or tractor tire tubes. They all smiled and waved as we passed by.

The city was established by the Spanish in the year 1515, but has been plundered by French and British forces throughout the years, so the city is rich with Spanish, French, and African cultures. Santiago de Cuba is known for its music and traditional dances. It is where the Salsa (the dance, not the sauce) originated.

We took a taxi into the city to exchange money and on our drive in, I just kept thinking that I felt like I was in an old movie that was reproduced in color. Donkey’s pulling carts of fruits and veggies are sharing the road with 1957 Chevys and old motorcycle with side cars.

Another thing that made us feel like we were in a movie was that everything was perfect! The grass on the side of the road manicured, there was not any site of garbage along the road or in the streets, and we never saw a homeless person or anyone begging for money. This is extremely rare for a Caribbean Island and was a pleasant change that we were not expecting. It’s not that we only stayed in the “touristy” areas either, we walked and ventured outside the zone, as we always do. 🙂

The people of Cuba are so amazing and so welcoming of us, into their country, that I am going to start to write not only about the spots we visit, but also about the people we have met.

Cuban Currency

We have been planning our trip to Cuba for over 7 months now.

Any credit cards, debit cards and/or ATM cards that are issued in the United States are worthless and will not work in Cuba, so we had to make sure we enough cash on board to cover absolutely any expense that we may have for the next 2 months while we are there.

To exchange any currency in Cuba there is an automatic 3% fee. In addition, there is a 10% penalty for exchanging USD’s into Cuban Peso’s. So, $100 USD will only get us about 87 Cuban Peso’s.

I hate penalties and loosing money, so we stocked up on Euro’s when we were in Martinique. We will not encounter the 10% penalty when exchanging Euro’s.

There are 2 different types of currency in Cuba.

CUC, (also known as the Peso Convertible)
1.) The currency used by tourist
2.) Has Pictures of statues
3.) Feels more official

CUP
1.) The currency used by the locals.
2.) Has pictures of people
3.) Its usually more worn

The CUC is = to $1 USD
1 CUC is = to 25 CUP

Ok, are you confused yet?

We CAN convert our CUC to CUP to use for taxi rides, groceries or really anything local. But we can not exchange Euro’s or USD for CUP.

The best part about this whole currency thing is (sarcastic voice) …. most places don’t say whether the listed prices are CUC or CUP!!

Here’s a picture of the currency.

The 50 is really only worth $2.00 USD since it is a CUP.

The 20 is worth $20 USD and the 5 is worth $5 USD since they are CUC’s….

This should be fun to try to figure out!!