Mission Ocean: Cruising Cuba, Part 3 - Jardin de la Reina, Trinidad and Cienfuegos
by Mission Océan 25 Jul 2019 16:02 UTC
Fire on the beach in the Jardin de la Reina, with Contigo anchored behind © Mission Ocean
Our stay in the Jardin de la Reina was unfortunately short-lived. Many boats spend days, even weeks, exploring this little paradise of uninhabited islands off the coast of Cuba. But after what could only be described as a horrendous overnight sail from Cabo Cruz to the southern islands - into a short, steep swell with gusts well over 35 knots - our non-sailing guests were keen to return to a terra firma that the small sandy beaches and mangrove forests just could not satisfy.
Nonetheless, we visited a handful of islands and met several friendly fishing boats who were more than happy to trade liens, fins and beers for fish, lobster and prawns, which we grilled over a fire on the beach as the sun set over Contigo. Had it just been the two of us, we would have lingered a lot more and sought out the crystal clear snorkelling spots that the fishermen had tantalizingly described to us.
Another nasty night of sailing gave us our first taste of the infamous "Northerner" storms that blow up out of nowhere, gusting 50 knots and more. We used our radar to dodge the squalls, Space Invader style, and made it to the bay of Casilda near Trinidad around midday on Valentine's Day, with a couple of hundred litres of rainwater in buckets waiting to be filtered into our tank.
Following a clearly marked channel into the bay, we dropped our anchor almost exactly on the anchorage symbol on our chart, all the more reassured by the second boat that anchored nearby a few minutes later. Exhausted from the long, wet night, we began rising and hanging out our foul weather gear as our friends prepared their things to go ashore.
The Guarda Frontera military boat that we were now so accustomed to seeing in every anchorage was soon on his way to us, but instead of asking for our paperwork, the green-uniformed soldier shook his head and waved a finger at us.
"You can't anchor here, you must go to the marina."
Along with our neighbours, we protested but soon gave in to the military man's authority.
"Go to the marina or leave."
We went to the marina.
Accessing it was quite an adventure, with our depth sounder reading 1.2m (our draft) as we headed into the mangrove maze that lead to a small, well-protected anchorage with a couple of pontoons. We dropped anchor next to another French-flagged boat, where early-evening beers could be heard popping open. This steel-hulled boat belonged to a family of "bon-vivants", a French word for people who love to eat, drink and generally be merry. We joined the three generations of salty seadogs for a "quick drink" and ended up staying on board until 3am, washing down ripe camembert with lashings of red wine. The crew of Trugarez were to become close friends, and we cruised together for the rest of our stay in Cuba.
The marina was quite some way from the town of Trinidad, at the end of a peninsula dotted with all-inclusive resorts catering to all budgets. The cost of taxi rides to-and-from the centre soon began to mount up, and we resorted to pedalling the 25km round trip on our little folding bikes. Luckily, we had disembarked one set of guests and had a few days until some friends arrived from Paris.
The town of Trinidad has lots to offer in terms of tourist attractions and night life, but after a day or two we quickly found it to be just a bit too touristy for our liking. The majority of visitors seems to be French, all rather ironically clutching the same guidebook that claimed to be "off the beaten track". Having spent the first few weeks of our Cuban adventure in the tourist-free south and the uninhabited Jardin de la Reina, we experienced a sort of reverse culture shock when surrounded by so many Europeans.
We enjoyed the nightlife a lot more, and Henrique was even invited to sing two gigs at the famous Canchanchara bar, bringing the house down with his own salsa and bachata compositions (one of which, Contigo, gave its name to our boat).
We hired a little taxi one day and drove to Spirito Sanctus, around 60km away, stopping at roadside stalls along the way to buy fruit, vegetables and eggs. One couple selling cabbages even invited us into their home to share a strong, sweet Cuban coffee together on their mismatched sofas. In Spirito Sanctus, we found all the colonial charm of Trinidad - and a UNESCO heritage certified bridge - without the throngs of tourists calling loudly for another mojito.
Just off Trinidad lies the island of Cayo Blanco, a destination for tourist boats by day but an excellent, deserted anchorage by night. We traded a wetsuit for a meal for eight (us, our newly arrived guests, and the crew from Trugarez), with the island's only human inhabitant who runs a little paella restaurant. To our great amusement, he spent most of the evening chasing iguanas, hermit crabs and fat little agoutis from his kitchen with a broom, only for them to stroll back in again moments later.
We had planned to cruise some of the other islands near Trinidad, but we suddenly lost the use of our starboard engine when investigating a tight anchorage. A quick glance inside the engine compartment confirmed our fears - the gearbox was full of seawater. Deciding that the best plan of action was to head straight to our final destination in Cuba, with light winds and following seas we set a course straight for Cienfuegos. Other than cleaning and flushing the gearbox to avoid any corrosion, there was little we could do to resolved our engine problems without hauling out. Whilst this would have been possible in Cienfuegos, we had already reserved a space in the shipyard in Panama for a couple of weeks later and so we decided to live with the issue until then, with our friends from Trugarez on hand to assist us with anchoring.
We loved Cienfuegos from the very first moment, from its muddy vegetable markets (five carrots for 10 cents!) to the palaces that line the seafront. And sailing into the lagoon really is something else ! We spent several days there, waving goodbye to our guests, provisioning and welcoming two crew members on board.
There was just time for a quick buf bourgignon and a last bottle of red with the Trugarez crew before we went our separate ways, them to Jamaica and Columbia, us to Panama via the Cayman Islands. Our Cuban adventure, from Santiago to Cienfuegos, had its highs and lows but the best moments by far were those spent in the company of the Cuban people. The fishermen in the Jardin de la Reina, the cabbage-growing couple with their rocket fuel coffee, the grumbling island restaurant owner and his losing battle against the agoutis... That's the real Cuba.
Mission Ocean is proud to be supported by: Boero, Doyle Sails Palma, Rotary District 1730, Navigair, OctoMarine, Battery World Service, Victron Energy, Sovedis Aquatabs, Spade Anchors, SeaTech & Fun, Plastimo, Furuno France, Pejout Marine Services, Lyvio, Storm Bird, Aethic, Corsica Yacht Services, Astrolabe Expeditions, AGL Marine, and Sail-Worldcruising.com
Mission Ocean is Laura Beard and Henrique Agostinho. Their three year plus mission is to share their love and respect for the ocean with others, through education and scientific research. Neither is a stranger to the water, so they have combined all their skills and passions in this bold, courageous and inspiring project. Sail-Worldcruising.com is delighted to be with them for the journey of their lifetime. You can also find out more on their Facebook page and Instagram account @missionocean06