After 8 days in Havana it was time to head home. Most of the boats in our group headed home on Wednesday, June 29. Norman Jean and Magic Ride opted to stay an extra day with us so we could finally enjoy some pool time. We all agreed to leave Thursday morning at 6 am. We wanted enough light to easily see our path through the channel and still make it back to Stock Island at a reasonable time. Continue reading Our Journey Home
Month: July 2016
Las Terrazas
We took a tour to Las Terrazas, a small community in the Sierra Del Rosario mountains. It was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in1984. Continue reading Las Terrazas
Cruising the Malecon
A highlight of our trip to Cuba was the unusual opportunity we were given to cruise the Malecon. The Malecon is the sea wall that stretches for 5 miles along the coast of Havana. Originally built to protect the city from the sea, it has become a gathering spot for locals and for tourists. Keep in mind that as US citizens, we are still not allowed to enter Cuba as tourists. Our official reason for going was a “People to People” exchange. Continue reading Cruising the Malecon
Hemingway’s House
Ernest Hemingway is known to have loved Cuba. We went on a tour of his home, Finca Vigia, which is located in a small suburb of Havana named San Franscisco de Paula, about 9 miles from Havana. He bought the home in 1940. The Cuban government expropriated the house after his death and it has been listed as one of the 11 most-endangered historic sites by the US National Trust for Historic Preservation. We were not allowed into the home. The windows and doors were opened wide so tourists could view inside. In each room a woman watched as we peered inside and many offered to take photos of the room and it’s artifacts. Continue reading Hemingway’s House
Old Havana
The group from TMCA (Texas Mariners Cruising Association) loaded up onto a bus that took us to old Havana for a guided walking walking tour. We walked thru the narrow streets and viewed the Plaza de Armas and Plaza Vieja. Continue reading Old Havana
Stock Island to Cuba
They say a picture tells a thousand words. I can write a dissertation with all the pictures we took while in Cuba. Here’s a few for starters. Continue reading Stock Island to Cuba
Moving on
Please patient and forgive me for not updating the blog. I promise lots of pictures of Cuba and stories about our wonderful visit. Right now we are running hard to get the boat back home in Kemah.
We said good bye to Cuba on Thursday at dawn along with our friends the Zarrows, Majic Ride. There’s a story here that will have to be told later. We arrived Stock Island around 4pm, fueled up, washed 4 loads of laundry, got the salt crust off Serenity and prepped for a quick haul back.
Customs and groceries kept us busy in the morning and then we left the keys about noon on Friday and drove thru the night to get to St. Pete on Saturday mid morning. Currently we are in St. Pete and will be leaving here shortly. Our hope is to make it to Venice, La. It will mean a 48 run across then panhandle of Florida. We will be driving in shifts and sleeping as we can. Phone and Internet service will be spotty once we get away from land.
We just realized our tracker was not working on the trip from the keys to St. Pete. We’ll check it once we get rolling again.