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Update #18 -November 2006 Hi
everybody,
Hope
you are staying warm in the frozen north. When you have decided
you have had enough of winter, Varadero is waiting for you, as
are we! We have had some pretty interesting times since our last
update, and have been reconnected with family and friends.
We
left Marathon at the end of January. (At this point we must make
a correction to a mistake we made in our previous update. We
had stated Bill and Barbara had visited us in Marathon on February
20th, when actually it was January 20th.)
As mentioned, Metal Magic, a boat originating from North Channel
Yacht Club, and Epiphany, hailing from Port Credit, slipped out
of the anchorage at Marathon with us – Captains Mel and
Ron respectively heading out to discover what draws us to this
beautiful paradise island.
We
had a fairly good crossing, arriving in Varadero the morning
of January 31st. As usual, the officials were there to
greet us, check us in, and then we got settled into our selected
slips. After a night crossing, we are pretty much wiped out,
but excited to see our friends, re-introduce Lobita to her familiar
cruising grounds (terra firma), then crash in the v-berth to
revitalize our systems.
It
was very exciting to have two “newcomers” in tow.
Mel and Ron had not ever considered coming to Cuba before meeting
us, and it was wonderful to introduce them to the market, the
local shops, and where to look for stuff not readily available
in stores or markets – such as eggs and potatoes. (Yes!
There are eggs and potatoes – you just have to know where
to get them.) We had brought back two bicycles we had rescued
from dumpsters in Marathon, so Ron worked on one of them, and
found he had instant transportation. Mel had his own bicycle
on board, so we were out and about fairly often. Just a note
to anyone considering cruising to Varadero – unless you
are an avid walker, a bicycle gives you great freedom. The market
is about a 15 minute walk from the marina, downtown about 20
minutes, but depending on where you want to go and what you want
to do, you will likely save money by bringing along bicycles
rather than relying on taxis and buses. (Especially, if you are
bringing back huge papayas, pineapples and many mangoes in your
knapsack).
In
mentioning the market, one day found us “stocking up” on
a few items. We bought 5 guyaba, (a tropical apple, so to speak),
3 limes, 6 bananas, a squash, 2 pineapples, 5 green peppers,
3 mangoes, 2 soft ice cream cones and paid the parking attendant
for watching our bicycles. Total cost, after paying in Cuban
national pesos, came to $2.68 in Cuban convertible pesos, which
would convert to approximately $3.00 U.S. Potatoes cost $1.00
a bag (approximately 25 potatoes per bag), and eggs are $0.10
each.
The magnificent Catedral de San Cristóbal in Old Havana Our
friend Luisa has a birthday at the end of January, and every
year it is celebrated with a traditional pig roast. Carlos and
Luisa had waited until we returned from Florida, and for Connie
and Gary to arrive, and the big day arrived. A whole pig spent
the day roasting over a charcoal bed, and the side dishes of
rice and beans, yucca (a root vegetable) with garlic sauce, salad
and other goodies were prepared. About 40 people attended, and
long into the night music and dancing entertained us all.
We
have always said to people coming down that a week is not long
enough for a proper holiday. Time flew by, and it was a very
tearful day when the short week was over and a cab whisked Connie
and Gary to the airport.
Debbie
and her sister Connie relaxing at the former
home of Al Capone One
thing we had requested from Canada, which Connie and Gary brought
down, is a book written by Jeananne Kathol Kirwin, called “Greetings
from Cool Breezes”. Jeananne, and her husband, Pat, were
here in January, 2001, on their catamaran, Cool Breezes, along
with their 4 children and a dog. They had taken a one year hiatus
from their law firm in Edmonton, sailed down the intracoastal
waterway, crossed to Cuba, went on to the Bahamas, then returned
to Florida before heading home, back to their other lives. The
book is very well written, describes a lot of the ups and downs
cruisers experience, and we recommend it. You may want to check
out Jeananne’s website www.JeananneKatholKirwin.ca. In
the third week of February of this year, Pat and Jeananne, along
with Jeananne’s sister Barb and her husband Bob, returned
here with another couple, by plane, for a week holiday. As it
happened, this was the time the Olympics were being televised.
On Wednesday afternoon, they joined us as we headed up to the
lobby with the T.V. to watch Canada and Russia play. We had quite
a crowd to watch Canada get a trouncing, but we all had a good
time snacking on pizza, drinking cuba libres (naturally) and
cheering for Canada! Next party – Grey Cup on November
19th.
At
the beginning of March, a young lady from Calgary, Tasha, her
boyfriend, and another couple arrived – again, just for
a week. Danny was good friends with Tasha’s father in Fort
McMurray more than thirty years ago, and Danny and Tasha had
a great reunion, as she and her friends visited a couple of afternoons.
We sure felt our ages trying to keep up with the youthful energy
of these 4 vacationers, but we were delighted with their visit.
Our
carpenter returned for our next major job. An eight foot section
of our deck was “soft”, so it was torn out and replaced,
along with sections of the toe rail. It is often said a boat
is just a hole in the water into which one continues to throw
money – and this certainly rings true. However, we are
very fortunate to have found such a talented young man, who is
truly an artisan. As well, labour rates here are considerably
less than in Canada and the United States, and although we feel
we overpay Robertico by Cuban standards, we could never afford
to have all this work done elsewhere.
The
third week of March brought the arrival of two of Debbie’s
sons, Kyle and Brad, and Kyle’s wife, Gloria. Again, for
just a week – not long enough!!! We had another trip into
Havana, snorkeling at a nearby coral reef, and once again, lots
of visiting and catching up on our respective lives. The three
of them had never been on a “tropical” holiday before,
and it was so much fun to see them experience things for the
first time. We still chuckle to think of the morning they regaled
us with the story of chasing a cockroach around their room the
night before. Once again, there was a tearful end to a short
week, but just for the gals.
On
March 31st, Bill and Barb finally arrived on their
new catamaran, “Babsea”, which they had sailed over
from South Africa at the end of 2005. They had left the boat
in Brazil over the Christmas holidays, and returned to Florida
to see their family in Fort Meyers, and the Armstrongs in Marathon.
They had e-mailed us from a port just east of Varadero, so we
were expecting them, and it was so exciting to see them cruising
down the canal. After their check-in, we got down to the business
of giving them a proper welcome. We had a wonderful eight days
with them, before they headed north to spend the summer at the
North Channel Yacht Club.
Danny
spent the month of May in Canada “taking care of business”.
He returned at the end May, with a small health problem. We don’t
recall if he was having trouble with his foot while we were in
Marathon in January, but by the time Debbie’s sister and
her husband arrived mid-February, his foot was swollen continuously,
and quite painful.
While
in the Sault, he tried to get in to see a doctor, but without
a family doctor this was impossible. He finally got into a clinic,
the foot was looked at, and he was asked what he was doing about
it. He replied that he was taking Ibuprofen, and he was told
to continue on.
Back
home (here in Varadero), a circulation specialist was in the
restaurant one Saturday evening. We were “summoned” by
one of the waiters, Amilkar, and Danny was examined. The doctor
said the problem was not circulatory, but Danny needed a full
blood workup and ultrasound. Of course, this doctor was in no
position to offer such service.
By
some quinky-dink coincidence, Luisa and Carlos showed up the
next day, and said they had arranged for Danny to go to their
home the following morning at 8 a.m., (Danny was impressed),
for blood and urine tests. It was so strange that they would
show up less than 24 hours of us hearing what Danny needed. He
had to supply his own syringe for the blood test – Robertico,
the carpenter, was here, hopped on his motorcycle, and went to
a clinic in Varadero to pick one up – free of charge.
Danny
had his blood test done, was home by 8:30, and then nothing.
Danny
decided in June he was going to pick July 01st to
quit smoking – and he did! However, that night, whenever
he lay down, he couldn’t breath. The following morning
Debbie suggested it was anxiety because of the big change he
was making in his life. However, all that day and night, he had
problems breathing. Quinky dink again!!!! Luisa’s sister
showed up Monday to say Danny had an 8 a.m. appointment Tuesday
morning for an ultrasound (are they psychic or what?). No, he
was not impressed.
Anyhow,
this is getting too long. Luisa took Danny around the following
morning for an ultrasound, x-ray, an EKG, he saw 3 different
doctors, the final one being a heart specialist. All of this
was done under the guise of Danny being Luisa’s husband.
Apparently, Danny has had fluid in his lungs, causing his heart
to work extra hard, and it is slightly enlarged. He is on a regimen
of 5 different medications, has had a second EKG, two more visits
to the heart specialist, and is scheduled to go back next month.
Between all the taxi trips, tests, doctors and medications, we
have spent under $130.00 – most of it in “tips” to
the doctors and technicians. We have spent $5.00 on pills – the
captain on the Varasub has a wife who is a doctor in Matanzas
and has been bringing us the medication in exchange for cookies
and brownies. We have since met another doctor, who for the price
of a $5.00 pizza, will also supply the required medications.
We
are now into November, Danny is still not smoking, but is eating
us out of house and home. Never have we ever had to have a continual
supply of chips and chocolate on board, but it is helping him
to ease the cravings, and, life not being fair at all, I am gaining
a little weight from all the extra goodies.
Now
we are back to varnishing, and have to start applying “maintenance” coats
of varnish to the stuff we did in April and May. However, once
we get on top of it, it will be easier to maintain.
Mel
had a 10 day trip back to Toronto, and the only thing I requested
he bring back was body butter. Debbie’s sister Connie had
brought her a container of body butter from The Body Shop – mango
flavour. It is so wonderful, she is telling everyone about it.
She plans on e-mailing The Body Shop to tell them that they owe
Connie something special for all the advertising they are getting
because of her gift.
Ron
had also spent some time in Canada, and told us he had done a
search on the Internet and found us! If you recall in a previous
update, in the spring of 2004, we had visitors here, Eileen Quinn
and her husband, David Allester. Eileen is a Canadian songwriter/singer
who composes songs about the cruising life. David writes articles
for different cruising magazines. David had written an article
about their time here, and it was published in Canadian Yachting
in the October 2004 edition. Ron had done a search on the Internet,
entering “Danny and Debbie Armstrong Marina Darsena”,
and found a second article by David in the BoatU.S. edition published
in May, 2004. Check it out!
Debbie’s
visa expired the end of July, so we headed the 60 miles to Cay
Sal Bank in the Bahamas – beautiful island, much bigger
than we imagined, and we had a couple of great days beachcombing
and enjoying our vacation.
So,
once again we will close out our ramblings. We hope you all have
a good winter, dreaming of sailing the beautiful North Channel,
and keeping warm! We miss you all, and maybe someday will return
to the north. Have a very happy holiday season, and all the very
best to you in 2007! All the very best, Danny,
Debbie y Lobita sailing on La Vida Dulce
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