Drive to Cuba by sea
The more than 100-year-old motor sailor fights against high waves and strong northeast winds for more than three days and nights. The steel rat of the Berlin “Association for the Promotion of Sailing Shipping” has cast off in the marina of Isla Mujeres off the Cancun peninsula in Mexico.
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All fellow travelers have already ridden on the “steel rat” in recent years, as a crew or as paying guests. It should be a farewell trip. Because the ship could not call at any ports in the Caribbean for a year due to Corona, there is now no money for necessary repairs. It is being sold and will soon be going back to Europe.
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I have already visited the island several times as a journalist, reported on the situation of the churches, the Jewish communities of Havana and Santiago, and also on the political developments after the death of Fidel Castro. Now I would like to know how the country is coping with the corona pandemic – also in contrast to Germany. Probably a rare opportunity in these times.
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Five days of quarantine on board the “steel rat”
In the morning the ship docks in Cienfuegos on the south bank of Cuba: “Marina Merlin”. Dressed in green, with masks and visors, two doctors from the international clinic climb aboard. They measure a fever, test it. The PCR test costs $ 30. The result comes after 20 hours. The crew is not allowed to leave the ship for five days. After a new test, everyone is free and can move around the entire island. The Cubans, on the other hand, are forbidden to cross the provincial borders.
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The bar in the marina is closed. The little shop is only open by the hour. There is only alcohol and water there anyway.
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The Malecón, where hundreds of young Cubans stroll, is almost deserted. The shops around the plaza are almost all closed, as are the restaurants where we used to hear live music at Mojito. What else makes Cuba culturally, theater, street music, cinema, ballet, everything stands still, says a German entrepreneur who lives in Havana.
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Cuba relies on corona security
With a population of over eleven million, Cuba has come through the pandemic relatively well so far. Around 93,000 people have been infected with the corona virus since March 2020. The number of deaths is 532 (as of April 21). Above all, the older population is protected. At around 80 years, their life expectancy is higher than that in the USA. These figures are reported and updated daily to the WHO. Cuba has no reason to make it beautiful. On the contrary: the lockdown is controlled centrally and is accordingly thorough. People adhere to the mask requirement and also to the curfew – from 5 p.m.
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But aren’t the prices too high for locals? I keep asking myself that when I look at the long lines in front of the grocery stores. Because the Cubans still get goods on allocation, nobody starves to death: they can get rice, oil and baked goods for a few pesos. They have to buy other things in foreign exchange shops. On January 1st, the CUC, the convertible peso, was abolished. The official rate to the euro is 1:25. But one to forty or fifty is exchanged. Again and again I feel reminded of GDR times.
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Men in distress
Out in the open sea we hadn’t noticed the precarious supply situation – not even when we anchored in one of the lagoons south of Trinidad. Only when we hear cries for help at night do we become aware of the dramatic situation in the island state. A few men are floating in a self-built sailing boat, unable to maneuver in the high waves. It would have been 70 nautical miles to the British Cayman Islands. Without help, they would have drowned.
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The price for the corona restrictions that have been in place in Cuba for a year is high. The economy is down. The country hardly takes any foreign currency anymore, which is why food and other goods cannot be imported. For example, there is a lack of tinplate for beer cans. So there is no beer. The catastrophic supply situation is made worse by the tightened embargo under Trump.
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Cayo Largo is said to be a corona-free zone
I would have loved to go to Thälmann Island, in the belt of the cayos and reefs in front of the Bay of Pigs. But the “steel rat” has too great a draft for that. We anchor off Cayo Largo, hike on the white beach, take the dinghy to the small iguana island, on the edge of the mangroves. Perfect nature, with almost no plastic waste. Before entering the bar in the marina, a fever is measured again. The port captain and the bartender greet us happily. “Cayo Largo, the only island without corona,” they say. We are welcome. “Bienvenidos cuba socialista”. It stood on a wall in the port entrance of Cienfuegos until a hurricane swept away the “welcome”.
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Sailors bring in money. They even get imported beer from Spain if they want. Fish and chips are on the menu. And there is mojito. But there is no party mood. Not even with the workers who have been repairing the jetties for days. You sit at the next table, drink beer and rum for the same price.
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In the only open souvenir shop you can buy Cuban shirts, diving goggles, fins and cigars. The diving school is referenced. During my last visit, dozens of tourists from all over the world prepared for reef tours there. In the only grocery store we ask for tomatoes, pineapples and limes. We get eggs and ice cream – fresa y chocolate, strawberry and chocolate. A reminder of the famous 1993 Cuban film by director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.
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More freedom of religion through Corona
The doors of the Cathedral of Cienfuegos in Plaza José Marti were always closed. I was allowed to enter for the first time after disinfecting my shoes and hands. Church services are only held on a small scale. But people have a place for prayer. It is aimed at the national saint “Virjen de la Caridad del Cobre”.
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The Easter mass was already broadcast on state television. Since then, Cubans have also been able to take part in Sunday masses in this way. Traditional Santeria ceremonies or extravagant services by the free churches, on the other hand, are forbidden, as they have repeatedly been the source of Corona hotspots in Cuba.
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Cuba lets foreign sailors come in
Cuba is one of the few islands in the Caribbean that allows foreign sailors to come in. Those who accept restrictions can still vacation in resorts such as Varadero or Cayo Coco. Compared to Cuba, we in Germany complain at a very high level about the loss of freedoms. The people there are eagerly waiting for the pandemic to end.
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They rely on their good health system and the upcoming vaccinations. The country even developed its own vaccines such as Soberana 02. After the successful third test phase, all Cubans are now to be vaccinated. They endure the crisis with patience and stoic composure. We could also learn that from the island if we compare it with the numbers in Germany, the USA or Brazil. After all: travel agencies are again offering trips for the summer.
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For me, the trip with the “steel rat” is a farewell to a ship, but not to Cuba.
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