Marina El Morro is located literally at the end of the road at the western end of Cuba. I'm not sure where the officials traveled from but it had to be a fair distance, and on a Saturday morning.
The check-in process was conducted entirely on-board and involved five governmental agencies. The first visit is from the doctor who asked questions about our recent travels, our health, took our temperatures and examined the bedroom and bathroom for signs of illness. When he was satisfied we posed no health risk to others, the next two boarded; Guardafontaras, the Captain to complete the cruising permit & passport paperwork and another with a drug dog. A sweet-faced, older, slightly overweight, butterscotch-colored spaniel, probably someone's pet pressed into service as a drug sniffer. She sniffs around where her handler points (Jerry opens bilge covers, etc. as asked) but only half-heartedly. Mostly she was looking for her treat. Next two to inspect for pests and fruits, meats, eggs.... They are very though, inspecting the bedroom & bathroom again then the contents of the fridge and freezer and garbage bin, and are explicit with their instructions that all fruit & vegetable peels, pits, seeds; all meat bones, skin; egg shells must be kept in a separate plastic bag and placed in special bins for incineration. They must never be thrown overboard in Cuban waters. They go on to ask about flour, cereals, crackers, etc. wanting assurance all is pest free and in sealed containers. I'm happy my garden didn't take this year as they no doubt would have confiscated all plants. They are serious about not letting outsiders introduce pests, plants, or other organic matter into their country. We can appreciate that and will absolutely comply.
Lots of handwritten paperwork is completed. The only ones we are given to take with us are:
Republicia De Cuba Permiso Especial De Navegacion Para Embarcaciones De Recreo Extranjearas (cruising permit & crew list)
Observaciones De Las Autoridades
Movimientos De Las Embaraciones Entre Puertos Cubanos
Republica De Cuba Capitania De Puerto Certificada De Despacho International
Instituto Medieno Veferinoria
Departamento Cuatentena Vegetal Seccion Cuarentena
Reporte De Inspeccion a Transportes Maritimos
Tourist Visas for our passports (passports are not stamped)
Poliza de Seguro (health insurance policy)
Other paperwork documents the make of radio(s) we have onboard, the number of computers, the number and type of cell phones, and they want to see them. Jerry had put away the wifi booster and I'm glad he did; in a country with reported restricted & monitored internet access, virtually no wifi, and authorities worried about foreign communication, a wifi booster is a potentially troublesome piece of equipment.
We gave the Guardafontaras Captain a list of intermediate stops we'd like to make; this did not get added to the official cruising permit but we were given the verbal ok, subject to the permission of the local Guardafontaras, to make those stops. Since there are no authorities at Cayo Buenavista and Cayo Jutias, our first two intended stops, his approval covers them.
Cost: a total of $107 CUCs (1 CUC = .87 USD, factoring in the 13% USD exchange cost), about $30 CUCs more than we were told it would cost for the visas. A little extra for the Saturday morning work perhaps? I'm happy we were able to purchase CUCs from other cruisers prior to our arrival and didn't add currency exchange issues into the mix.
By mid-day we're checked-in. We're exhausted from the passage but Jerry works on the dinghy while I wash down Vida Dulce to get rid of layers of salt. We take showers then go to the bar for our first Cuban rhums. Then a lovely afternoon nap...