Our 2014 expedition to Cuba was very rewarding. Not only did we enjoy the company of more cruisers, better food, access to day-to-day items that we couldn’t buy in other years but we also completed research for Volume 2 of the Cruising Guide to Cuba series. To do this, we covered a lot of ground including car trips into the interior in order to visit as many unique, out-of-the-way places as we could.
What stood out the most was the number of tourists that we encountered. There were buses loaded with visitors in colonial towns and villages and even cruise ships in remote ports that, until now, rarely saw foreigners. An upside to all this appears to be more restoration of Cuba’s beautiful historic buildings in places you wouldn’t expect. Helping this along is the fact that Cubans now own the home they live in. As a result of ownership there is more pride and – paint. Many of the ordinary stuccoed cinder block buildings have been brightened up in beautiful Caribbean pastels and surprisingly, many for sale signs.
The farther east we travelled the better the food became. Now that farmers are allowed to retain more cash received from the sale of their produce there is a huge incentive to grow more produce and more varieties. This year was the first time in our many visits to Cuba that we ate lamb (ovejo). It was mouth-watering when cooked in yerba buena (mint) sauce. We were delighted to find that, like the south coast, shrimp grow large and plentiful along Cuba’s northeast coast—look out Aussies, the Cubans are throwing shrimps on the barbie and they are positively delicious. At times, pork and chicken were the only meats offered. This is odd considering that cattle are grass-grazed by the thousands in Oriente (the eastern half of Cuba) but beef never makes it onto the table. It is still illegal for Cubans to eat beef and what little might be slaughtered makes it no further than a few hotels. And yet, some all-inclusive hotels apparently serve nothing but hot dogs. “Where’s the beef?” is another Cuban mystery yet to be solved.
The price for a good restaurant meal in a (paladar) was cheaper this year than in other years. Meals ranged from $1 to $10 Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) though you could pay much more for the same thing if you didn’t shop around. For $1 or $2 you can get fried pork, chicken or fish with seasonal salad, rice and plantain or malanga. For $10 it is possible to have a lobster supper with a mojito included. For about $20 per week a live aboard couple can eat very well provided they stick with fresh pork, organic produce, herbs and spices, eggs, bread and other food staples that are available from farm markets, street vendors and bodegas (ration stores where rationed items such as sugar, rice, beans are sold when available).
Diesel had increased to $1.40 per litre but it could be had on the black market for $0.90. Dockage rates remain unbeatable with an average price of 0.40/ft/day for a boat less than 45 feet. The customs fee to enter a boat into Cuba increased in early January 2014 to $55 (up from $20). This, however, includes the exit fee and the cruising permit which were sold separately—still a bargain compared to the Bahamas and many other Caribbean islands. And compared to Mexico, the check-in procedure is a breeze.
The above-noted prices are in Cuban Convertible Pesos. In 2014, the average exchange rate for the Canadian dollars was 1.14. After the 10% discount on the USD the exchange on that was also about 1.14. National Pesos (MN) (used for all local purchases including some restaurants) were exchanged at a rate of 1 Convertible for 24 Nationals. Cuba is planning on reverting back to the Peso National as its single currency. This may occur as early as summer 2014. Credit cards are still not widely accepted but there are more ATM machines in the large tourist centres. Since cash remains king in Cuba, banks are open 7 days a week.
There has been no change to the cruising restrictions on foreign vessels. Entering into pocket bays, anchoring off villages and going ashore is still not possible. Fortunately, the coastline is so extensive and sparsely populated that there remain plenty of cruising options and places to go where these limitations have little affect—this is particularly true on the south coast.