Mission Ocean: Cruising Cuba, Part 2 - Chirivico to Cabo Cruz
by Mission Océan 24 Jul 2019 10:01 UTC
The poor wreck high and dry in Chirivico © Mission Ocean
"Are you lot from the catamaran ?" growled the border guard, standing over us in his bottle green uniform as we sat in the sand enjoying the sunset. "You can't come ashore here. I'm escorting you back to the boat."
The arrival into Chirivico, a shallow basin of an anchorage well protected behind a high peninsula, had been difficult. Our newly-purchased cruising guide turned out to be over twenty years old, and the "big trees" that it gave as reference points had long since disappeared into the undergrowth, as had the leading lights that were indicated on our charts. We inched slowly between the reefs, me at the helm with my eyes flitting between the sonar and depth sounder, and Henrique scouting on the bow. Before making the 90 degree turn necessary to enter the bay, we crept past the freshly abandoned wreck of a monohull, complete with wind generator and all the cruising comforts. According to the locals, they had arrived in darkness, expecting to follow the leading lights that the charts promised, and had sailed confidently straight onto the reef.
Safely anchored in the thick mud of the bay, we felt that we had earned a drink. Spying a bar with a concrete dock, we dinghied over and joined the fishermen for a beer and a chat, before heading off in search of the village. We walked past immaculate gardens, men on horseback and a beautiful park leading to the beach, where we were treated to a stunning sunset.
As we made to leave, the frowing soldier appeared, having obtained our whereabouts from everyone who had waved to us so cheerfully from their front steps. We were marched back to the dinghy, despite protests from the fishermen, and the guard stood stiffly on the pontoon until he was sure that we were back on board Contigo and had raised the dinghy.
Stinging from our first real encounter with Cuban red tape, we cheered ourselves up with a game of dominoes before dinner, retired early and lifted the anchor at first light, as soon as we could see enough to safely navigate the reefs again.
We have subsequently learned from forums that we could have bradished our tourist visas and arrival papers, and insisted on our right to free movement ashore in Cuba. Had we wished to stay longer in Chirivico, we might have kicked up a fuss and pointed out some of the non-sailing tourists who were exploring the village unchallenged.
As it was, we had always intended to move on to the next anchorage, Pilon, the following morning. This town used to boast one of the largest sugar refineries in southern Cuba, complete with underground tunnels and huge brick chimneys. Some of the wealth has remained in the town, and many of the houses were large and beautifully kept. We greatly enjoyed our few days in this tourist-free town, haggling for fruit and vegetables with the barrow boys in the street, and this time striking up a friendly relationship with the soldiers from the Guarda.
But the highlight of our stay in Pilon was by far our trip to buy fuel. On the advice of our friends from the Guarda, who lent us a couple of hugh jerry cans, we set up in the town's central - and possibly unique - bar, ordered a couple of beers and waited. Around twenty minutes passed before a horse anc cart trotted by, carrying a load of sugar cane under the watchful eye of a young driver. Henrique chased after him and, as instructed by the Guarda, explained that we needed fuel. After a quick trip to deposit the sugar, he returned and we loaded the jerry cans into the cart. A slow trot took us to the fuel station outside of the town, and as the sun set we were heaving the cans along the rickety fishermen's pier and into the dinghy. This adventure took us roughly three hours from start to finish, but we've never had so much fun getting fuel!
Our next stop after Pilon was the southwestern-most point of the island, Cabo Cruz. Unmistakable even from afar owing to its majestic lighthouse, this fishing village is tucked away behind a long reef, sheltering beautifully clear water. The town itself has few amenities but it does have a small state-run restaurant where we celebrated our friend's birthday, and a fantastic cliff walk. Our check in with the Guarda Frontera was once again friendly, and we watched in awe as they rowed their wooden boat out nearly a mile to where we had anchored, to fill in the paperwork and deplete our beer stocks a little. Shrugging off the offer of a tow, they rowed all the way back. (In Pilon, the rather suave, enterprising main guard had commandeered a fished boat with an engine that looked to be straight out of a maritime museum, to put-put his way to us, standing smartly to attention on the bow).
We had motored most of the way along the South coast, and were grateful for the fuel that we had topped up with in Pilon (and for the horse that carried it). Along the way, we were shocked by the amount of plastic waste that we saw in the water, and especially in the islands of sargussum weed that were floating on the surface. Thinking about it, we realized that whilst some of the trash was likely to have come from Cuba, a lot of it had probably been in the water for a long time, transported from afar along the Gulf Stream. Plastic packaging is becoming commonplace in Cuba (although you would be hard-pushed to find fruit or vegetables wrapped up in plastic), but the volume of pollution in the water seemed disproportionate to us.
This aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip along Cuba's southern coast, and especially our visits to Pilon and Cabo Cruz. This part of Cuba is almost untouched by tourism, and few boats stop in the smaller anchorages, preferring to head straight from Santiago to the Jardin de la Reina islands north of Cabo Cruz. We did not meet a single boat on this stretch, with the exception of the unhappy vessel on the reef in Chirivico. For us, these towns were the most "authentic", truly Cuban spots that we visited and they really are worth the detour, especially if you speak Spanish and can strike up a relationship with the barrow boys, the Guarda or the shy young man with his horse and cart.
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