Children enjoying a ride around Parque Cespedes in a cart pulled by a goat.

Our hotel in Bayamo was facing Parque Cespedes. The care and attention given to this park was amazing. Night and day there are women cleaning the park which included sweeping and washing the polished marble walkways. Have a look at the shine.

Bayamo's most engaging nightime attraction is its weekly Fiesta de la Cubania on Saturday night. The long-standing street party is like nothing else in Cuba. The night we arrived we were entertained by a 25-piece orchestra that set up in the park and played beautiful, lively music, drawing an appreciative crowd. The musicians' average age was about 25-30. In typical Cuban style, the lights on the orchestra/park dimmed and flickered on and off, however the orchestra kept playing and maintained a cheerful, captive audience. Electrical problems in Cuba are common.

A side street, Calle Saco, near Cespedes Square, was set up with plastic picnic tables, set beautifully for dinner, and groups of people cooked on the side of the street on portable gas burners. The tables filled up quickly by mostly Cubans. Ambient street lighting, from the dimly lit street lights, created an atmosphere of an elegant dining room only this was a paved street. One table had a whole roasted pig. Bill kept saying this feels so surreal. Unfortunately we had run out of Cuban currency and the vendors would only accept Cuban pesos. Cuba has two currencies: one for Cubans and convertibles, CUC, for tourists. The hotel dining room was closed so we had a granola bar and bottle of water for dinner.

Cespedes's home is now a museum. Dinner will be ready shortly. Please have a seat.

About 1 � hours by bus from Santiago, is Cespedes's hometown, Bayamo. Our hotel was located right on Parque Cespedes which is beautifully maintained and contains the first home of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, hero of the First War of Independence. He spent the first 12 years of his life here. This was the famous El Grito de Yara declaration he made in 1868. You can probably get the gist of it even without command of the Spanish language. The declaration included political and economic independence, equality for all men and freedom from slavery for Africans. His lasting popularity is well deserved.

We found this in a residential neighbourhood on our hike from town to the bus depot located on the outskirts of town. These are sculpted from metal and are absolutely incredible. Take a close look at the facial expression.

In every city we saw a Parque Cespedes where the cathedral or church was well maintained. This is the first one that remains neglected with no indication why.

The church bell tower gives the appearance of a piggy face when the imagination is stretched.

They seem to bury their dead above the ground in concrete casements. Some of these graves date back to the 1800's as far as we saw, though we suspect even older would be found if we had taken the time to search.

This was the first place marching drill team.

These are young girls who have been competing as a marching drill team. Many of the uniforms are military in style. Awards were being presented this morning to the top three winning teams. Joyous laughter and cries of glee filled the air.

Bicitaxi is the official name for this convenient means of transportation and very common in Cuba. Other taxis are horse drawn. Many citizens use bicycles as automobiles are not a personal luxury in Cuba.

These commercial vegetable gardens are lush, well maintained and the best we've seen so far in the Caribbean.

In many areas the domestic water supply is by cistern or water collection from rain. In this case water is delivered to the house in 5-gallon pails from this well by way of bicycle, donkey and/or horse-drawn cart.

Bill & I went on a 3-day bus trip so we could see some of the countryside. We traveled almost to the north coast and stayed one night in a place called Holguin and another night in Bayamo. It worked out well and we went from mountains to prairie (lots of sugar cane fields, banana plantations, orange groves, and pasture for Fidel's cows) for miles and miles. The country was well utilized as far as development. The towns were more relaxed than Santiago.

This is a memorial wall to the revolution. Holguin is the home city for Fidel Castro and around the city there are signs saying in Spanish something to the effect of "we will support you Fidel, even to death".

It is amazing how well we can communicate despite the language barrier. Amelio has a limited grasp of English and we have much less Spanish, but we spent many hours exchanging stories and information.

We will always have a special place in our heart for this beautiful family.

Amelio and Maria invited us to their house for lunch one day. Amelio was the diver who repaired our propeller. We spent most of the day enjoying their wonderful company as the meal was prepared. Several fresh fish were hanging on a nail outside the back door and Amelio and Maria set in by cutting them into steaks. The meal was delicious, with tomatoes, shredded lettuce, salsa for the fish, limes, rice with black eyed peas and deep fried plantain. We felt a little awkward as we were served first with the children while Amelio, Maria and a relative waited for us to finish. It could be their custom but we also discovered they did not have enough plates to go around.

The public ferry was not running that day due to a mechanical failure so a public skiff came to the marina to pick us up. It was a cooler day with clouds and a few drops of rain but very comfortable.

First we went to Amelio's mother's house for Cuban coffee. It is served in a demitasse and is very strong, expresso coffee (usually sweetened before serving). The house was immaculate and shared by his sister and niece. Then another skiff took us across to Amelio's house where Maria, Pedro and Luisa were waiting. They have one dog and two cats and the neighbour's chickens spend a lot of time at their house looking for food scraps. The chickens were shoed out of the kitchen but one found its way to the kitchen countertop.

Amelio's son's birthday party was a huge success with about thirty family and friends joining in the celebration. This pig was maintained all day over the fire by a hand-powered rotisserie constructed from logs and boards.

There was lively Spanish music from a stereo being played, a table set up for dominoes, children running around and adults sitting and visiting. The atmosphere was very festive and lively but also relaxed. As the day wore on plates of food appeared that included liver cubes in a gravy and chorizo sausage with bread. Beer, rum and pop were in abundant supply.

As the day wore on, the cooks kept touching the pig's nose and declaring "just another 10 minutes". Apparently the temperature of the pig's nose is an indicator of its doneness. This occurred 3 or 4 times until it was ready to be brought over and set on a bed of banana leaves and carved. The pig was moist and tender and cooked just right. Trays of tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, rice and a bowl of yucca were set out with buns to accompany the meal. Everyone ate until they were full and content. It was a wonderful day and a unique experience for us being part of an authentic Cuban family celebration.

The Marina Director invited us to his house one afternoon to celebrate his son's 6th birthday. A 1949 5-ton truck with a row of seats on each side, a metal roof and smooth, slippery floor, transported us as we bounced along and hung on tight for about one hour. Several stops were made at homes along the way in search of charcoal and straw for the fire and for two beautifully decorated cakes. Amelio and his daughter, Luisa, are protecting one of the cakes.

This is one type of Cuban bus.
Question: How many Cubans can you fit in a bus? Answer: As many as possible.

We attended this church of joyful and committed believers one Sunday evening with our friend from the marina, Areal, and an interpreter, George, also from the marina. This garage was donated by one of the members of the congregation and was simply but tastefully decorated. The inside of the church filled up quickly and spilled out the back and across the street. 120 people currently worship here but it is growing rapidly. Services are held throughout the week to accommodate everyone. The musical instruments consisted of a guitar, moroccos and tambourines. The congregation sang praise and worship songs with a ghetto blaster and amplifier providing background music. The church is located in one of the poorer communities of Santiago and tithes and offerings consisted not only of money but gifts of food. We understand the average monthly salary of a Cuban pastor is $7 to $12 U.S. During our visit they sang "El Shaddai" bringing tears of joy, as the Lord, through our boat "El Shaddai", has opened doors of opportunity we never imagined. Our hearts were moved to bless this church so with our gift they purchased a keyboard, amplifier and microphone. It takes very little to make a difference in Cuba. We are praying for others to come alongside and help them in the future. With volunteer Cuban labour they could build a church for less than $10,000. Together we could make a difference.

The propeller was bent during our travels when it tangled in the dinghy rope and was repaired by the divers. They used simple tools and heat resulting in a perfectly repaired propeller.

The man kneeling, Amelio, invited us to his home for lunch one day where we enjoyed true Cuban hospitality and experienced Cuban living. Delicious fresh caught fish was served.

There is no surf so this board is used as a paddle board. This photo was taken just before they flipped over, only to scramble back on and continue paddling amongst shouts of laughter.

The ingenuity of the Cubans is in some cases amazing. Here is corrugated roofing panel bent to form a small boat for a boy. The boy paddles the boat with small wooden blocks strapped against his palms. Many other children were seen swimming and jumping into the water off the back of their shanty-type, stilt built homes over the water.

Within the community there are small fields where cows and goats graze. In Cuba, beef is rationed for the elderly and children. The only exception is apparently dignitaries and tourists who may purchase beef in a government restaurant. The penalty for killing a cow in Cuba is severe (years in prison).

This boat apparently picks up the fish from the fishermen and after processing the fish make their way to the Cuban ration system.

Every day five fishermen sitting in a lead motorized boat, towed two boats loaded with nets and two empty rowboats used to spread the nets. The fishermen have a quota to meet for supply to the government and apparently can sell on the market any excess. The fishermen's return is marked in the sky by a flock of birds following the boats.

The market sells limited fresh vegetables, mostly root crops and tomatoes. The only exception is a few herbs and cabbage. Bill stood in line for one hour waiting to buy two cabbages. Finding fresh eggs and potatoes were virtually unavailable. A marina employee managed to find some and deliver then to the boat.

This is the entry to the farmers' market. This is where food, outside of rations, is bought. Rations need to be supplemented to maintain a healthy diet.

These huge, squealing and fighting pigs were unloaded, weighed and transported to a butchering facility. (We found the pigs fight for life unsettling.) As there is no refrigeration the meat is processed and sold within hours.

Where the buildings are painted they are very colorful as seen in this unusually deserted street scene. Everyone must be at work.

In the northwest corner of Parque Cespedes lies the Casa de Diego Velazquez. Dating from 1522, this is the oldest house still standing in Cuba. The upstairs was the personal residence of Velazquez himself. It is now a museum. Today rooms display period furnishings and decoration from the 16th to 19th centuries.

This is the magnificent five nave Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion on the south side of Parque Cespedes. The interior has painted ceilings much like the Vatican. A series of churches stood on this spot but were ravaged by pirates and earthquakes. This cathedral is usually closed, except during mass hours, but we fortunately had a chance to view it one Sunday night on our way home from Bayamo.

Santiago de Cuba Marina is where we stayed for three weeks under continuous watchful eyes of guards. It made us feel very secure but from all observances was completely unnecessary as Cuba is one of the safest countries in the world from crime. Our experience showed the officialdom consumed about 1 � hours and consisted of at least 11 officials examining our boat, along with a dog sniffing. All documents were thoroughly examined including boat registration. This even included an insect inspector who carried a flashlight and a spray bomb ensuring no malicious bugs entered Cuba.

The discouraging part of Cuba is the severe supervision of Cubans where even to accept a simple gift, like a soft drink, has to be done in secrecy.

This is the entrance to the Santiago de Cuba harbour where supertankers squeeze their way into the refinery and sailboats ease their way into the marina.

This is the light that guided us to the harbour entrance as we traveled through the night.

This was our first view of Cuba. The hills around Baracoa are lush and tropical and refreshing after hurricane swept Bahamian islands. The buildings were quaint and somewhat run down along the shore while the air was filled with music and the sounds of laughing children.

We reached harbour in heavy seas and were looking forward to a rest and some firm ground but were somewhat defeated by the friendly Cuban officials who came aboard advising we could not check in to Cuba there. We were confined to our boat and anchored behind a sunken freighter which acted as a breakwater in the harbour. We ended up staying two nights due to weather and all the time were monitored by a guard watching from the dock. When we left the wind had dropped but the seas were still steep and our course took us directly into the wind and waves. The first 26 miles were beating hard.

We passed Guantanamo at 6 miles and could see the lights of the U.S. prison. We had been told we would likely be challenged when passing; however, this did not happen as we passed at midnight on New Year's Eve and seemed to have been missed.