The sailing trip that almost didn't happen and then didn't happen

After Cuba I returned to Cancun and took a ferry to Isla Mujeres. The reason was to meet up with Ivo, an Austrian guy that I met through couchsurfing. He has been sailing around the Caribbean for over 2 years and 6 months ago he bought his own boat, 'Imago'. He sailed solo from Miami to Cuba and then onto Mexico. Now he was planning a 2-3 week trip from Mexico to Belize and finishing in Rio Dulce in Guatemala. He was looking for some crew for this trip, well i think more so for some company as he was perfectly capable of doing the trip solo. I randomly met a welsh guy from couchsurfing in Cancun so both of us went to meet Ivo to see if he thought we were suitable candidates for crew. After a few days getting to know each other and Imago we decided we'd make the trip together. The next few days we spent preparing for the trip, getting to know Imago, cooking dinner on board and generally just hanging out.

Dinner on Imago

Sailing 101

There were 3 other boats at the marina planning a similar trip so the plan was to sail south together. Then we encountered a problem, the weather forecast predicted a change in the winds over the next few days. Generally this wouldn't be a problem but we only had a 3 week time slot to make this trip. Ivo was due to fly to Cuba in April where he would sail another boat to Guatemala for its owner. He couldn't risk being stuck at sea and missing this flight so to our disappointment we had to cancel the trip.

Sunset at the Marina

Two days later I was on the ferry to Cancun from where I planned to go north to Holbox when I got an email from Ivo saying that the trip was back on if I was still interested. So back to Isla Mujeres, more preparations, checking maps, checking GPS, checking the weather forecast and buying supplies.

Map Time

On the morning the March 22nd we set sail hoping to reach Cozumel that night. Sailing was smooth even though we were going against the tide and against the wind but the problem was we were going at about 3 knots where we needed to be at 4-5. Otherwise we'd be night sailing to Cozumel. Then disaster struck, our sail ripped. This sounds worse that it was, it wasn't that bad more so the consequences for our trip were bad. There was a part of the sail that had previously been repaired and now it had ripped. The problem for us was that now we couldn't use the full sail so we were now down to 2 knots which meant we'd never make it to Guatemala in time, plus not a great omen for a sailing trip to rip the sail 3 hours into a 3 week trip!


So once again we decided to abandon the trip and make our way back to Isla Mujeres. We cooked some burgers and played the German version of settlers. My sailing career had ended before it started. Yo no soy marinero.

Imago minus her sail

Busses in Cuba

During my 3 weeks in Cuba I traveled around a lot. After a few days adjusting to life Havana I took an overnight bus to Santiago de Cuba and from there took a 6 hour bus to Baracoa. Baracoa is a sleepy village on the far east of the island. After a few nights here I went back to Santiago de Cuba for one night and then another night bus to Trinidad. After a few nights in Trinidad I took a bus to Santa Clara specifically to visit the Che Guevara Museum and Mausoilim but disappointingly it was closed for renovations. After one night in Santa Clara I took a 5 hour taxi to Havana, I'll explain how this came about later. Luckily I made it in time to catch the bus to Vinales. My intention was to go to Maria le gorda but once I arrived in Vinales I decided to spend the remainder of my time and my last night in Havana.

Vinales

There are buses and bus stations specifically for tourists in Cuba. The standard of the tourist buses is significantly better than the buses locals use but the price is significantly higher also. For me the buses were extremely uncomfortable, especially the night buses. The buses are relatively new buses from China. Leg room is very limited and even more so when the seats are reclined. When I tried to buy a bus ticket in Baracoa I was told all tickets were sold. I tried get a ticket for the next day and she said the same. After a few minutes of Spanglish she told me to call back at 8am the next day. I did this and she put my name on a list and told me to come back one hour before the bus was due to leave. I called back, got our tickets and got on a bus that was half full. I never quite figured out why this was but I encountered it throughout the trip. It appeared that they could only sell a limited number of tickets in advance. I've no idea what the reasoning is for this but then it is Cuba so who knows. So when I was in Santa Clara I took a horse and cart taxi from the bus station to my casa particular.

Taxi in Santa Clara

I spoke some Spanish with the driver and he said his friend was driving 2 Italian tourists to Havana the following day. He said they would take me for the same price as the bus. I decided to go with it and it worked out quite well. We left at 9am in an old american car and arrived in Havana in time for me to take a bus to Vinales. The Italians were paying considerably more for the taxi then I was so I was curious as to why they didn't just take the bus. The said they tried to buy a bus ticket but they were told it was sold out.

View from inside the taxi

Accommodation, Money and Food in Cuba

We had no accomodation arranged in Cuba so our first task in Havana was to find somewhere to stay for the night. There are no hostels in Cuba and there are not many hotels. The hotels that do exist are quite expensive. The most popular option is a casa particular, similar to a B&B in Ireland. Well except the government tightly controls who can have a casa particular plus they are only allowed to rent two rooms. Prices range from 15 to 35 CuCs per night depending on the location, quality, facilities, commission and if you are willing to haggle. All official casas display a blue sign in their window or on their door so its always easy to find somewhere to stay. The first place we tried was full but they took us to their "friends" place nearby.

Generally when traveling I withdraw cash from my credit card but that wouldn't work in Cuba. Any credit cards that have a connection with USA will not work so my MBNA card would not work. Another backup when traveling is USD but in Cuba the exchange of USD is subject to a 10% government tax. Luckily we knew all of this in advance so we had Mexican Pesos. Cuba has two currencies, one for locals (CUPs) and one for tourists (CUCs). 1 CUC is worth 25 CUPs. For all tourist related activities you pay in CUCs but if you want to take a local bus or if you want to buy something on the street or eat where locals do then you need CUPs. It can be confusing and it doesn't help that they have 1 CUC coins, 1 CUC notes, 1 CUP coins and 1 CUP notes!


At times finding decent food in Cuba can be a struggle. The options (as far as I could see) are tourist restaurants, government restaurants, street food (restaurants run out of someones kitchen) or meals cooked by the owners of your casa particular. On our first night in Havana we ended up in a tourist restaurant as our casa owners didn't provide the option of food and there was nothing else available. I had fish and seamus had chicken both were frozen, deep fried and not very good.


The next option is government restaurants. We had difficult finding these but I did eat in one of them near the end of my trip. The food was very cheap, I paid 6 pesos for a big plate of rice and pork but it wasn't exactly tasty, fresh or well prepared. Also when it was time to pay the guy tried to charge me 3CuCs which is 75 pesos, I said no 8 pesos, he said OK, I gave him 10 and he gave me my change. At this stage I was used to it, the constant attemps at overcharing and short changing tourists. I suppose you can't blame him for trying after all 1 CUC is 25 pesos.


Next is street food and we ate a lot of street food. Its very cheap and its what the locals eat. Unlike Asia or Mexico the food isn't cooked on the street but I call it street food as that is where you eat it. I'm not sure if these places are legal or not but I assuming they must be as there are so many of them, bascially you'll see a sign outside someones window or door with a menu and prices. They cook the food in their kitchen and hand it out to you through the window or door.

Typical Street Restaurant in Cuba

Generally the choice is bread with something (butter, cheese or mayonaise) or pizza (known as peso pizza) or spagetti or rice with beans. Bread costs 2 pesos, a pizza 5, spagetti 10 and a rice dish around 20. Remember 25 pesos is about 1 euro so its very cheap. Also the people were always friendly, talkative and never attempted to overcharge you or short change you.

Reuse, reduce, recycle. 

Finally you have food from casa particulars. In my experience this is where the best food was. I didn't have a bad meal in any of the casa's in fact most of them were very good. They'd ask you in the morning what you'd like fish, pork, chicken, beef or prawns and at what time. Prices ranged between 5 and 8 CuCs depending on what you wanted to eat.

Dinner for one at a casa particular

You are not on the list. You can't fly to Cuba today.

We almost didn't make it to Cuba. After arriving at Cancun airport we were told our names for not on the list of passengers for the flight. The fact that we had the confirmation email and reservation number didn't appear to make any difference. Their computer said we weren't on the flight so we weren't going to fly. It was all a bit strange, they seemed to think we'd just accept it and leave. After 5 or 10 minutes of Spanglish they got the message that we felt it was their problem and that they needed to sort it out. 20 minutes before the flight was due to leave they said we could fly. We just had to make it through security and get to the boarding gate. This itself was an adventure especially when their machine mistakenly found traces of explosives on Seamus's bag but we made it.

Once we arrived in Havana airport we had some questions as to why we were there and what we were doing, then passport control, then more questions. Then when we were waiting for our luggage another official came over and asked the same questions then he took our passports. He returned 5 minutes later and said once we got our luggage we had to go with him for interviews. He watched us while we watched for our luggage then he returned our passports and told us to enjoy our time in Cuba. No interview required, pity because at this stage we were looking forward to the interview.

The taxi journey from the airport to the center of Havana was surreal. Its difficult to describe but looking out the window it felt like we'd had gone back in time or were on the set of an 1950's movie. I had read lots about Cuba before coming here so I knew what to expect but it still didn't prepare me for this. Its difficult to explain and also difficult to capture on camera.

I think its the mixture of the old american cars from the 1950's, old Russian built Ladas from the 1970's and 1980's, horse drawn carriages, old bicycles, lots of people just hanging around, some playing dominos, some just watching the world go by, old decayed buildings, roads and footpaths all in serious need of repair, propeganda murals combined with the complete lack of advertising, the lack of shops, restaurants and businesses. All of this together gives an erie weird yet calm feeling.

Mayan Ruins, Guns, Drugs and Mexican Police

After a few days relaxing by the pool in our hostel at Merida we hired a car to visit some of the nearby ruins. The first half of the day was pretty much uneventful, everything went as planned. We made it to the ruins at Uxmal and spent a few hours exploring.

Ruins at Uxmal

Nothing around for miles...

At this point we realised that we'd had our fill of Maya ruins so we decided to bypass the rest of the ruins and go to the Loltun caves. The caves were impressive and we were able to walk 2km into the caves although we had to be accompanied by a tour guide. Carbon dating of artifacts found in the caves show that humans used the caves 2,500 years ago. There were also some murals still viewable on the walls. Looks like Banksy maybe of Mayan decent.

Banksy?

Our journey home was when things got more interesting. We started passing lots of pickup trucks with trailers, some with horses crowded into the back, some with people and some with both. We soon came across a fair, well I'm not really sure what to call it. But lots families, horses, bulls, food stalls, drink, music and a big rickety arena in the center. We were the only tourists there so everyone was very curious about us, lots of smiles, lots of holas and lots of questions.

Mexican Bull Ring

I won't go into detail but lets just say it was fairly cruel and the bull didn't have any chance. They dragged the bull out and started preparing for the next one. There was about 20 bulls outside waiting for their 15 minutes of fame. We still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us so we decided it was best to get moving.

Long road home

About 1 hour from Merida we came across a police checkpoint. As I was driving they wanted to see my ID and papers for the car. Everything was in order so I knew we had nothing to worry about, unless the mexican police were looking for a bribe.


After inspecting my drivers license and confirming that the car rental papers were good the police guy spent the next few minutes asking me if I had any drugs or any guns. He seemed surprised and disappointed that I had neither, he even suggested that maybe I'd have a gun with me for protection. Then things started to get a bit strange. A few more police guys came over, some obviously more senior than others. The original guy searched the boot, search the bags, searched under the car seats basically searched everything and questioned everyone else in the car, searching their bags, searching their pockets. He wasn't particularly friendly either.


And while all of this was going on the police guy that appeared to be the most senior was talking to me in a combination of English and Spanish. Me practicing my Spanish and him practicing his English. He was calling his mates over and they were getting involved, interested to practice English, hear about my travels and laugh at my Spanish.
The guy who was doing the questioning and searching didn't appear to happy that his colleagues were laughing and joking with us. Eventually he concludes that everything is good and we are free to go. The other police continue talking, attempting to teach us words in Mayan and laughing at our attempts to speak in Mayan. Finally I ask if its OK for us to go and they say of course, they return my ID and papers for the car and tell us to enjoy our time in Mexico. I was tempted to ask them for a photo but figured it was best not.


We passed a guy sleeping outside a shop as we approached Merida so we doubled back and slowed down for a photo.

Siesta!

San Cristobal, Zapatistas, Bandits and Palenque

After Oaxaca my next stop was San Cristobal de las Casas. San Cristobal is a highland valley in Chiapas and was one of the four places that the Zapatista rebels choose to launch their revolution in 1994.

San Cristobal de las Casas

I spent a few days exploring the old town and also watched two mexican movies in the cultural cinema. The first was a documentary about the Zapatistas which was very interesting as until this time my knowledge of the Zapatistas was limited to that provided by the Mexico Lonelyplanet guide. The other was a mexican science fiction movie, the name of which I can't remember.


I hired a motorbike and visited some of the nearby indigenous mountain villages. Next I took a bus at 3:45pm to Palenque expecting to arrive around 9pm that night. This journey was one of the stranger bus journeys that I've taken on this trip. After a few hours of driving we encountered a military checkpoint, like all police and military I've encountered in Mexico they were heavily armed. Their search of the bus was fairly thorough, even involved checking the air conditioning vents. For some reason they ignored me completely but some of the other passengers had all of their belongings searched.


After about 30 minutes they decided to let us proceed and then we stopped again. This time the driver made an announcement in Spanish, most of which I understood. For our safety we were going to wait for 2 more buses and he would have to turn of the lights in the bus to save the battery. That was it, he didn't feel the need to expand further on this. At this stage it was about 9pm and we were somewhere in the jungle parked at the side of the road with the engine and lights off. After an hour we started driving again, I noticed that we were now 3 buses with a federal police car escorting us and another behind our convoy of buses. We made it to San Cristobal at 12am without any further problems.


The next day I got talking to some locals and asked what this was all about. The increased military presence and checkpoints was due to ongoing issues between the military and the zapitistas. The escort from the federal police was because of bandits robbing tourist busses on the particular stretch of road through the jungle. Thankfully with our police escort we didn't encounter any problems and the Maya temples were worth the trip to Palenque. The Palenque temples are problably my favorite of all the Maya ruins I've seen in Mexico.

Palenque Ruins in Mexico

So far my favorite of the Mayan ruins in Mexico