Likely Story: Cienfuegos

After leaving Alcatracitos we sailed to Cayo Blanco and stayed for the night, not a very nice anchorage but it did the job. The next day we sailed to Cienfuegos stopping along the way at this little oasis of a cove just 10 miles before the harbour entrance. It was amazing, crystal clear turquoise water that was like swimming in an aquarium.

Entering the harbour mouth of Cienfuegos you realize how big it is, a massive beautiful natural harbour. You head up a 7 miles to the marina where it opens right up into a massive deep bay and you can anchor just off the yacht marina and use their facilities and walk into town. We expected much the same as Santiago but it didn't have any of the same craziness. No hassle, beautiful big open city, very clean, people all dressed very well you can tell instantly these people have a lot more money. It's only a 2.5 hour drive to Havana so that might be a reason?? Anyway we go in at night expecting to find loads of rum bars with music but it is very dead with just the teenagers drinking quietly on the waterfront chatting up girls, completely different vibe. The next night the 4 of us went to the disco and it did get a little crazy but it could have been anywhere in the world as it was just a DJ playing reggaeton and other popular music, the young people here seem to be loosing their culture real quick which was rather sad to see, all worried about their clothes and looking too cool I suppose like the rest of the world but when you think of all the great music they have that is just pumped into their blood at birth and then all they want to listen to is the top 40 crap it's rather sad. Not saying we didn't have an awesome time, it was just a lot different than we expected.

The next day we said our sad goodbyes to Layla and Mark, it had been such a fun last month on Sunflower with the guys but they had plans for Mexico and New York.

We finished doing our shopping which mainly consisted on 3 boxes of rum which is super cheap here and will hopefully see us through the rest of the year and got a few other basic items. The "supermarkets" here are something else. You really can only get the very basics and often not even those it's really strange these big shops with very expensive things like random olives and then no eggs, rice or coffee??? But then half the shop is stocked with different rums that are almost as cheap as the juice that you use to mix with it?? Yea if you're coming here definitely stock up well. The vegetable markets are alright though with the basics and you pay in local Pesos which is very cheap but then you have to buy potatoes on the black market for some reason from a lady that's whispering like she's trying to sell us drugs or something?? It's a crazy place for sure.

Now we are in Cayo Largo to extend our visa. It's a very touristy island, beautiful beaches, great anchorage but not a great deal for the cruiser really. Had a great day yesterday, we have been trying to find engine oil for a while now so went to ask at the cargo wharf here. It's a long story but we ended up making some great friends and left 3 hours later after them cooking us fish, sharing rum, Julie lots of political talk and them chatting about the Australian show Skippy they all seem to love! Such happy people the Cubans are.

So now it's off tomorrow west, heading for some more isolated islands where we can fish and do a few

jobs.