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Update #17 - January 2006 Hello everybody, Hope you are having a nice wintery season, and are making big plans for the upcoming boating season. We have been very busy since our last update in July, and have made great progress in our projects. As we had mentioned, we had engine problems last March. We had to order parts, get them shipped to friends, and then have them brought down to us. A very slow process, but after five months and a lot of sweat, Danny finally got the engine running, and she purrs like a kitten. What a nice feeling to be mobile again. In the middle of September, Debbie’s visa was about to expire, the engine was running, but Robertico and Belarmino still had work to do on the hard top. So….. it was off to Mexico for Debbie’s second trip. She had gone in March, (when our engine problems were first discovered), had stayed one night, did a bit of shopping, and returned to Cuba the following day. However, this time she had a companion – Heather on “Nut’N’Honey” decided a little vacation was in order, and decided to tag along to Cancun. They planned on spending 3 nights in order to get any shopping done in a relaxed fashion, instead of running around trying to get everything done in a few hours. They had a wonderful time, relaxing in the hotel’s swimming pool, browsing through the artisan markets, and, of course, shopping. Cuba has a ban on importing beef products unless strictly regulated, (such as for the state to sell in grocery stores, for hotels to serve to tourists, and for foreign companies for their camps). We are always made aware of the regulations when we bring dog food into the country. Most dry dog food labels list bone meal as an ingredient, but Debbie brought back a 4 kilogram bag of “Chicken and Rice” hoping to get it past Customs. The Customs officer at the airport tried to confiscate it, but after hauling this little bag of dog food in a knapsack, (on her back) through the airport in Cancun, onto the plane, off the plane and through line-ups at Immigration and Customs, she wasn’t about to give in without a fight. She also had 2 litres of transmission oil, lotions and mustard in the knapsack, so was a little sore and weary, and was determined to guard that dog food (sort of like a dog with a bone). So, she explained “bone meal” was just like the corn meal they use in Cuba - it wasn’t actually “meat”. She also pointed out the Agriculture and Veterinarian officials at the marina had told her this particular type of dog food was permissible. So, they let her through, dog food in hand (perhaps the late hour had more to do with it than actually convincing the officials it was perfectly permissible). Lobita was very happy! When Debbie returned to the boat after her excursion, she was ecstatic to discover the cockpit had walls and windows on the front half. Progress is a good thing. While the gals were away, Danny and Jerry toured the shipyard in Cardenas where Robertico works. They were quite impressed with the vast amount of equipment they have, plus the extensive rail system for removing boats from the water in a dry workshop. The following week (September 19), it was time, once again to batten down for another hurricane – this gal’s name was Rita. Robertico and Danny screwed a piece of plywood onto the door frame on the starboard side, and a second piece was ready to go onto the port side, if needed. We tend to use the dock as our private garage, so we had to haul everything off the dock up to a storage room near the dockmaster’s office. After each hurricane, we swear we are going to get rid of all this stuff instead of bringing it back to the dock, but somehow it manages to make it’s way back to us. It was much more comforting to know we were better prepared this time – it really helps to have a roof, walls and windows to help keep out the wind and rain. We moved the tarp from on top of the boom to the top of the roof, got it well tied down, moved the boat slightly off the dock, and screwed on the other piece of plywood across the port door. (We still needed the tarp as the wood on the roof had not yet been protected with fibreglass and paint, and we were still missing the walls at the back). We had sent Lobita home with Robertico, so we could sit in the middle of the slip without having to worry about her “potty breaks”. The winds picked up just after midnight, and continued to howl throughout the night. Lots of rain, but we were staying relatively dry. Because the walls at the back of the cockpit were not installed yet, we had some mopping up to do on the aft cabin roof, but the benches and floors stayed dry – hooray!!! However, due diligence was still required, so throughout the night, we took turns keeping watch on the lines, the sea surge, and any other problems which might have arisen. The storm continued throughout the following day (Tuesday). Although we were far from the centre of the storm, it is incredibly tiring to be coping with so much continual wind and rain. Especially without being able to catch a good sound sleep. The wind and rain finally abated Wednesday, and we were ready to get things back to normal. We waited for Lobita to return, but realized she was probably staying in Cardenas another night – wondering if she really wanted to return home, or was she enjoying the life of a “dirt dweller”. When she finally showed up Thursday afternoon, we were both quite offended when she wasn’t exactly thrilled to see us, and tried to get in Robertico’s car when he left the marina. That little ungrateful cur! For the next few weeks, things continued progressing on the construction of the hard top. Since we never knew when “the boys” would show up, we basically stuck close to home. As mentioned in the previous update, Jerry was always ready for a scooter trip to the market, or into Varadero for supplies, so one of us was usually on the boat while the other was out doing what had to be done. One little incident occurred which almost ended Debbie’s “scooter freedom”.
One morning, she and Jerry headed off to the market in Cardenas, trying to find a tomato or a cucumber for a treat. Not! Still too hot to hope for such luxuries – usually by November the fresh vegetables start returning. Returning to the marina, they were travelling north on a 4 lane stretch of highway. A cute young woman was hitchhiking, as the scooter approached her, a small van left a yard on the other side of the four lanes, sped across the 4 lanes to where the woman was standing, causing the scooter to run right into the van’s rear quarter. Luckily Jerry had figured out what was happening just before the “crash” and managed to slow down a bit, but he and Debbie went flying off the scooter and into the ditch. Hard hit! Once they were up, the driver of the van tried to explain about wanting to give his “co-worker” a ride and didn’t see us. Debbie thoughtfully taught him a few choice words of English, (which cannot be published in this update). The scooter had some minor damage, the police were called, and everyone had to go to the police station in Varadero. After waiting a couple of hours, the rent-a-scooter representative appeared, declared the damage to the scooter minimal, they would not be seeking damages, and everyone left. It was quite a surprise to discover no names or addresses were recorded by the police, and no charges laid. Debbie and Jerry were asked several times if they wanted medical aid (free, they were assured), but except for a few scrapes and scratches they seemed fine. They returned home, and all seemed well until Debbie’s hip and knee starting aching in the late afternoon. The next day a big angry bruise appeared on her hip, and for almost a month this bruise was a nasty reminder of the incident. She monitored her progress by timing how long it took to make up the v-berth every morning. Perhaps the medical aid should have been pursued, as it still bothers her quite often, especially when the weather changes. After many months, we finally did a spaghetti dinner at Carlos and Luisa’s. They had family coming in from the small community of Bolondron, and invited us, Heather and Jerry, to join them for an evening. The nice surprise – Carlos was doing all the cooking. Usually, spaghetti night means we go there and Debbie does the cooking, but she had the night off and Carlos took care of everything. Not only did he have a mountain of spaghetti, he also had a huge pan of lasagna. Of course, everyone ate too much, but it was a real special night! The manatees reappeared around the marina in early October. We hadn’t seen them since late winter/early spring, so suspect they head a little further north for the summer. This year we have a huge “grandpa”, a mama and a cute little baby (which weighs, maybe about 500 pounds). These sea cows are such incredible creatures. They grow to around 3000 pounds, have walrus-faces with whiskers, and are generally pretty ugly – but in a cute kind of way. They are an endangered species, as they are so slow moving and are targets for propellers on outboard motors. They cause much excitement when they appear, and everyone waits for them to surface so they can be watched. The summer had been very hot, and the fresh vegetables were slow in appearing at the market. The corn and watermelon we had planted did not amount to very much, so we were having to rely on canned vegetables. Because we had been in Cuba much longer than anticipated, our own stock-up of canned foods was diminishing, and we started buying canned vegetables – Del Monte, imported cans of peas and corn costing $1.65 each. Needless to say, canned vegetables were not on the menu daily, but enough to keep our bodies happy and healthy. We were very pleased with Lobita’s progress. Because she was now eating homemade turkey stew and rice, she was losing weight and becoming more active. It was almost like having a new puppy around. However, this created a dilemma. Will we continue cooking for her, or stock up on dog food once we reach Florida? By the 19th of October, we were once again clearing off the dock in preparation for Hurricane Wilma. She had been slowly moving westward along the south side of Cuba, gathering strength, and although we didn’t expect much fuss from her, when dealing with hurricanes, you cannot accurately predict what will happen. As you all know, she was huge, developed huge strength overnight, hit Havana pretty hard (130 kilometres west of us), nailed Cancun and Isla de Mujeres in Mexico, then hit the Florida Keys with a fury. Because of our position in relationship to her winds, we were very lucky. On Monday, the 24th, we expected the worst of her effects, which amounted to some wind, but not enough to stop Robertico and Belarmino from finishing off the installation of the doors. A banner day for us – the tarp, plastic and plywood were put into storage, never again to grace our boat. A celebration for sure. We no longer looked like, or felt like, refugees or a couple of homeless people. At the end of October, Debbie found a lovely round squash at the market and cut a jack-o-lantern out of it. After lighting it on the dock for a few nights, we left it in the restaurant on the 30th and 31st. One of the waiters and one of the wives of another live-aboard dressed up and our little bag of penny candy was shared by all. Sometimes we wonder what the Cuban people really think of some of our customs. Sunday, November 06th was a sad day as it was time to say adios to Heather and Jerry on Nut’N’Honey. They had been at the marina for 5 months, and we spent many enjoyable hours with them. They were heading to Key West, and we agreed to get in touch with them once we got over there. The only positive note on their departure was Debbie was forced to shake the cobwebs off her bicycle and start riding again – the scooter was returned to the rent-me place. So, she was back to pedaling her butt all over town. The tourist season started in early November with Lori and Jerry from Calgary showing up. We have become fairly good friends with them over the last few years, stay in touch throughout the year, and it is always nice to see them arrive. They stayed for a couple of weeks, did some travelling, lots of visiting, and soaked up lots of sun (and a little rum). They joined us for a spaghetti night at Carlos and Luisa’s – except this time Debbie was delegated to do the spaghetti, and Carlos did his “soon-to-be-famous” lasagna. Always a good time. It was time to think about crossing to Florida, as Danny’s visa was expiring in early December, and we were desperate for a major stock-up of supplies and parts for the boat. The “boys” worked on the hard top up to departure day, and except for needing a bit of paint and varnish, the construction was done!!
We prepared, waited for weather, and when the winds were forecasted to be gentle southeast-south-southwest for a 24 hour period, we checked out and slipped out of the marina – right into northeast winds right on the nose. We chugged along for a few hours, not much wind, little waves, nice ride, but then we entered the gulf stream. When the wind is from a direction opposing the flow of current from the gulf stream, people often refer to it as “confused seas”. Let us tell you – these seas were not confused – they were downright insane. Debbie said it was like being a single sock in a commercial washing machine. We could not stand without stumbling around, had to hand-steer as the autopilot would not function in such a state, and sleeping was out of the question. We were in these conditions for about 6 hours, before a gentle south wind pushed us into Marathon. Danny’s comment was, “They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t tell you what direction the wind is going to blow”. With the repaired engine working wonderfully, it was one of the fastest trips we ever made, and pulled into the Dockside Marina in Marathon at daybreak on November 30th. After a day of rest, we started the familiar dance of stocking up, buying parts, contacting family, and spending far too much money. Pineapples at Publix are $6.00 - $0.50 in Santa Marta. A bonus – Sharon, a Canadian friend on her Non-Such “My Detour” was in Varadero when we left, planned on being there another week or so, and traded her car keys for our bicycles. So, we had transportation for the first week of running around. We were anxious to leave and go back to our little piece of paradise, but Danny had many little jobs to do first. Debbie was a little frustrated to learn he wanted to do all this work while in Florida, thinking it is much cheaper to stay in Varadero and work on projects. But Danny’s position was that if he needed parts or materials to do these projects, he would like to be in Marathon where they are readily available. This turned out to be a good thing as we discovered on the day he started to install a new oil pressure gauge. Napa had sent the wrong gauge, and we had to wait a couple of days until the proper one arrived. If we had been in Varadero, he would have been out of luck big time. One day as Debbie was puttering inside the boat, she heard a boat in the harbour calling another boat. After a bit of investigation we discovered the boat was indeed Mike and Elizabeth Buettel’s “Metal Magic”. We contacted the new owner, Mel, and have spent quite a few afternoons visiting with him. He is alone on the boat, and had met another cruiser, Ron, on his boat, “Epiphany”. After the two fellows listened to our stories about our life in Cuba, they have decided to accompany us across to Varadero and spend time with us there. Heather and Jerry arrived from Key West, and are docked at the next marina – very nice to have friends close at hand. Many people from our stay here last year are still around, and are always welcoming and helpful. So, although it is very expensive to be here, there are some perks – great grocery stores, parts stores, and friends. Danny claims to be absolutely amazed that a person can walk into a Publix grocery store and actually buy groceries – a dream come true.
We were very excited to hear Bill and Barbara had successfully crossed the big, big ocean, and brought their brand new catamaran, Babsea, to Brazil. After flying home for holidays with their families in Fort Meyers, and friends in Canada, they are currently preparing to return to Brazil to bring Babsea north. Of course, we will be waiting for them as they stop in Varadero to visit us. However, a trip to Marathon was in order, so on February 20th, they drove down to visit us. How exciting – it had been more than a year since we last saw them, and we had a great time catching up with news and nonsense. We often think of our first friends in boating, and that would be our fellow members at the North Channel Yacht Club. We hope you are all well, and doing your best to stay warm. We miss you, and you never know – one day La Vida Dulce may be sliding up to the fuel dock, arriving for a summertime visit (no more snow and cold for these two casi Cubanos, (“almost Cubans, as they call us in Varadero). All the very best, Danny,
Debbie y Lobita sailing on La Vida Dulce
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