The last time I spoke with Jon Eisberg, he was ashore in Norfolk, saw us heading up the Elizabeth River and hailed us, as he always did. During a nice long talk over the radio (I’m sure going to miss those) I mentioned that we planned to visit Marina Vita this winter. He insisted that I post a report about it on the board. There may be some small risk involved but how could I not honor that request?

We left the Ragged Islands in the evening for the 70 mile passage south to “Abuc” and arrived at Puerto de Vita mid morning. Our first thoughts were “Wow, look at those mountains!” We hadn’t seen anything more than a small hill since leaving Maine.

There is a winding, extremely well marked channel into the pocket bay which is one of several hurricane holes on the northeast coast. The marina at Puerto de Vita posts an English speaking lookout at the top of a tall hill to guide boats in, instruct them on procedures and send out a guide boat if requested. We were told to anchor in the bay just outside the marina until a doctor could check us out.

An hour later Doctor Rolando was ferried out. He spent about two hours with us asking health questions, taking our temperatures by pointing a gizmo at our foreheads, filling out forms, talking baseball and giving us tips about the area. He then said we could take down the Q flag and tie up at the dock.

It’s a very long, fixed, Med-mooring style dock with mooring balls for the bow line and very impressive new cleats for the stern lines. The rest of that day we were visited by a series of exceptionally polite officials all of whom spoke some English. The agriculture guy gave his blessing to our produce. The cute little drug sniffing dog ran through her routine. The customs guy filled out his forms as did the immigration guy and the Guarda Fronterra guys.

For a 40 foot boat the marina charges $30 per day and provides free electricity, free water, free ice, free showers, a book exchange and an occasionally open restaurant. The spacious restrooms are cleaned every day but, oddly, none of the toilets has a seat and you need to bring your own toilet paper. There’s a set of 60 steep steps from the dock up to the office, restrooms and restaurant. The marina will arrange to have your laundry hand cleaned but it’s best to wait for a sunny day - the dryer is a clothes line. Two bags of laundry cost us $13. (BTW: my $ sign means Cuban CUCs which are currently a little less than a Euro and a little more than a US dollar.)

The marina grounds are well maintained with flowering hedges along the driveways and fresh paint on the walls. They’re spread out over an entire quarter mile long peninsula and enclosed by a serious fence. There’s one road in and out through a gate that’s kept locked with a guard on duty 24 hours. My guess is that the main purpose of all the security is to prevent Cubans from entering the marina and hitching a ride on a visiting boat.

We spent a week there and were the only visiting boat. Most of the marina’s business is entertaining tourists from hotels in the area who are bussed back and forth. The marina has three huge sailing catamarans which are basically floating bars, a smaller cat and four sportfish boats. They also have a fleet of 16 small, two seat, outboard power boats, with roll bars, that look a bit like bumper cars and are used like jet skis. The marina has many more boats, of all types, stored on shore.

While we were there we hired a car (1998 Russian Lada which ran like a champ) and driver to take us around the island. We spent a day at Santiago on the spectacular south coast and another day at the nearby city of Holguin, which we liked better than Santiago. We were escorted through the cigar factory in Holguin and were impressed by the delicate precision that the work, all done by hand, requires. Lunch for two near the central plaza (I had a pizza and beer, Sally had spaghetti and espresso) was less than $5.

On the roads there are more horse drawn carts and bicycles than cars. Many of those cars are 1950s US models, some of which are showing their age but some looking like they did in the showroom. They’re not treated like antiques - they’re for everyday use. Abuc must have the world’s most talented auto mechanics who routinely perform miracles.

Some of the roadways have been recently repaved, others are a bit bumpy and some have a few potholes. All along the road sides are small fruit and vegetable stands where you can pull over and, for $5, fill a grocery bag with fresh, local lemons, limes, oranges, mangos, bananas, watermelons, plantains, tomatoes, shallots, cabbages and a few items I’d never seen before.

There is a rumor making the rounds in Abuc (maybe one of you knows if it’s true) that President Obama will come for a visit in March. The locals are excited and hopeful about what that will mean. They imagine that Obama can put an end to the embargo that has caused so much hardship. They don’t understand that only our dysfunctional Congress can do that. But they are hardy, resourceful, proud people who are accustomed to disappointment.

Even after a full week there is still much about Abuc that I don’t fully understand. We got by while not speaking Spanish but there’s a lot we missed. If anyone would like more information, let me know and I’ll do what I can, though it may be a week or more before I have Internet access again. If you want photos, you’ll have to wait. My camera still uses film.

So there it is, Jon. I only wish I could look forward to reading your comments.