I've finally gone where my Dad hasn't!!!!

As some of you may know, my Dad and step mom are AVID travelers. They have been all over the world, including the Antartica and USSR before it was open to the West. But, finally, I got him! CUBA! All it took was a busy 2 hours in the middle of the night and the breeze kicking in between us and Key West, and Havana was the place for us to stop so Jim could McGiver a fix so the entire rig won't fall down. (Sorry MR.E. I know that's a run on sentence.)

So here's my version/highlights of what's gone on for the last few days.

Mast: It was a beautiful night, 3/4 moon. We came off a big wave, TWANG...intermediate rod rigging broke. Scurry around, Jib in, Main down, motor on. I get to sleep for 4 hours because Jim's too worried about the mast coming down.

Next am, haul Jim up the mast to put up a quick fix. Motor slowly along coast of Cuba, which is beautiful BTW. Wind comes up, so we opt to go into Havana to put up a more substantial repair.

Go through Customs. As Latin American countries go, it was easy. Everyone we needed to clear with was right there. The dock was good. People knew what they were doing. Everyone asked for a tip on the sly, but as we had no cash, they went untipped. Then motored 5 min over to Hemingway Marina.

From what we've seen, you can tell that Marina Hemingway used to be beautiful. Facilities are great, hotels with pools, lots of lawn. But now its a little rough. The Men's head has been broken for 4 years, so everyone shares the ladies. 6 stall, 3 work, no seats. 6 sinks, 1 works. Haven't tried the showers yet. Hotels are a little blocky, and they have beautiful fountains with no water in them. We are tied side to a good concrete dock, but it allows for a TON of people to come by say hello, offer services like laundry, repairs, diesel, taxi, money laundering...

So that's it up to now. Ita is loving land, but after 3 weeks in boat jail in the Caymans, she is totally ok with the boat. The last passage was a piece of cake for her.

I'll have more details on the rest of Cuba after we have more experience. We are safe and happy.

Love to All, and NA NA NA BOO BOO to my Dad!

Deb

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