Our time in Havana over, we bussed about 250km to the southern port city of Cienfuegos to board our floating hotel for the last week or so of our Cuban expedition. On the way, we lunched at a restaurant which featured a little zoo - after we had eaten, we were able to see a variety of lizards and birds including a Cuban crocodile, about a metre long. It's a shame to see these guys in captivity.
The Pano Rama II is a two masted "motocruiser" holding about 40 passengers in 20 cabins plus crew. We knew this yacht was going to be small, but we were a little surprised to see how small it actually was, and the cabins were tiny! After a while we figured out how to live in our upper deck cabin #6.
The Pano Rama II at anchor at Cayo Largo.
Maybe Pan & Orama are two words in Greek?
Pano Rama II flies a Greek flag and is registered in Piraeus. The documentation on board suggests that it normally tours around the Greek Islands, and the Euro was the currency of the ship. We don't know how it came to be in Cuba. The boat is 50m long and is about 400 tonnes. The captain was Konstantinos Chaviaras and the Hote Manager was Spyros Pylarinos, so it is apparent the officers have come from Greece with the ship. The crew, those that we met anyway, were almost all Indonesians - one of them was from the very Jakarta suburb, Bekasi, where Mike worked in 1981.
Relaxing on the foredeck. Ralph, our National Geographic photographer, is in the panama hat, and Cindy, the expedition leader, behind.
Pano Orama II is chartered to Lindblad National Geographic by its owners Variety Cruises who also own its bigger, three masted, sister ship, Pano Rama. We happened to dock beside the sister ship in Cienfuegos, so they are both plying the Cuban tour business, it seems. The Pano Rama II was launched in 2004, had a refit in 2015. Cabin air-conditioning was faulty during our time aboard which was the cause of some passenger complaints although not from us (and we have since been offered compensation).
Flying the Cuban & Lindblad flags, but also the ship's owner, Variety Cruises.
The bridge of Pano Rama II under the eye of the first mate.
The Pano Rama II was a delighful boat to sail in, as we went back and forth along the southern coast of Cuba. The Caribbean Sea can be a bit rough, and some passengers complained about that too, but we thought conditions at sea were just fine. Maybe the boat was a little smaller than some passengers were useed to, and it had no stabilisers either. Sea-sickness medication was made available to all, but we felt it pretty unnecessary.
The Pano Rama II rocked & rolled during some passages of the Caribbean Sea.
The foredeck and bridge of the Pano Rama II just after dawn, before anyone else was up!
When we had a trailing wind, the Pano Rama II hoisted sails (two headsails only, we never saw a main up) which, the mate told us, added an extra knot or two. It was wonderful to be on the foredeck in the sun when the sails were up.
On a long reach, two headsails up to give us a bit more speed. At least one of our co-travellers really enjoyed the wind in her hair!
The hotel crew on board, the Indonesians, were all professional and friendly, and we enjoyed chatting with them. Meals were excellent and varied - we had all breakfasts and dinners on board, and maybe one lunch, other lunches being taken at shore based restaurants, selected by Lindblad for their quality and location.
The upper deck dining room, before we were called to dinner and messed the place up!
The bureaucracy at Cienfuegos port almost every time we disembarked and boarded was a bit wearisome. There were no passport checks (although we had been advised to carry them everywhere) but we did have to scan our luggage and bodies, and even have our temperatures measured by a thermal imaging machine. The actual procedure was different every time!
From Cienfuegos we basically sailed east to Trinidad and west to Isla de la Juventad, the isle of youth. The Pano Rama II moves slowly, and most big traverses were overnight.
Map showing the places we visited and toured from in Cuba.
We quite enjoyed our week on and off the Pano Rama II, but it seems than quite a number of our co-passengers were a lot less comfortable with small ship cruising. It was sad to have to get off for the last time.
We enjoyed some glorious sunsets from the Pano Rama II.
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