In the sun at Cayo Largo...

Towards the end of our stay in Cuba, and possibly recognising that the passengers on board the Pano Rama II may have been exhausted by the people to people learning, we were treated to a relaxing day on Cayo Largo, Long Island, a small limestone sand-spit well east of but administratively part of the Isla de la Juventud. There must be many Cayo Largos in the Spanish speaking world!

It was a tricky arrival an anchoring spot in these shallow waters, and there were two other fine yachts anchored nearby, and a pilot to guide us. We were then picked up by a tender which ferried us to Playa Sirena, a popular beach resort where we had to wait a while for lounge chairs to be allocated.

We nose into the tiny marina at Cayo Largo

Unfortunately, two dolphins were caged in the lagoon for the entertainment of visitors.

Once settled, and with waiters scurrying around offering mohitos and pina coladas, we relaxed under thatched umbrellas and enjoyed the sun, sand and Caribbean blue water. It was a nice day off, topped off by a buffet lunch at the resort.

We had seafood at a beach restaurant, accompanied by a band and dancers.

The beach itself seemed to be organised on a European resort model. Shade and lounges which had to be rented, hobie cats (which came complete with crew) and kayaks to hire, and organised activities, including intriguingly, a darts competition.

Just another idyllic Caribbean beach! Pelicans and catamarans.

Hobie cats could be rented, complete with a helpful skipper.

The leader loudly called the score in this beach darts competition.

The long spit invited walking. Small pleasure craft were anchored offshore, pelicans fished and flaoted lazily, and you didn't have to walk far before swimming costumes became optional.

Walking is good exercise along this spit.

Some of us took the tender out for snorkelling on a nearby reef. Depth was maybe 5m and the bottom was sandy, very little coral formations. But there were some nice fish to see, no stingers to bother you, and the water was warm. Our underwater camera, which had given us a scare at Berrara Beach, seemed to handle the conditions quite well, having been freshly sealed up. A nice relaxing afternoon.

The crew of our snorkelling boat.

Many fish gathered to sample the delicacies attached to the keel of our boat.

Sandy bottom and not much coral, but we saw a good variety of fish.

This stingray slithered along the sandy bottom.

Megan, Mike's dive buddy at the reef.

This barracuda was almost invisible.

But Cindy, a good diver, goes after him with her GoPro.

Literally sailing into the sunset.

The Isle of Youth...

The Isla de la Juventud, the Isle of Youth, was so named by Fidel Castro in 1978 to fulfil a promise to recognise the extraordinary work of young ingabitants of the island. Prior to that, its name was Isle of Pines. The isle, which is larger in its own right that most others in the Caribbean, is Cuba's biggest offshore island.

Dave, and the rest of us, had a temperature check as we disembarked onto the Isle.

National Geographic naturalist Dave Cothran.

We had a morning arrival at the isle after a roughish overnight passage in the Pan Orama II. We were late entering the large north-west facing bay after the Captain went further south than intended to minimise the roll of the vessel. This must have been successful - we thought it was a comfortable night, but again, other passengers were unhappy.

Here, as everywhere, Cubans were happy to be photographed.

A history of pirate activity led to the Isle of Youth being inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island. And, more recently, ownership of the island was disputed with the USA between 1901 and 1925. But we were here to contine our people to people program, which we did by visiting a huge 1926 prison where both Fidel and Raul Castro had been locked up by Baptiste (1953-5), a special maternity clinic, and the main town of the island, Nueva Gerona.

The prison,Presidio Modelo, now derelict (closed in 1967) but kept open as a museum and a national monument, is a huge contruction of revolutionary panoptican design where five circular blocks hold up to 2500 prisoners confined to individual cells which are wide open without doors and kept under continual observation by guards they cannot see.

The hideous Model Prison which housed both Castros and later, when they were in power, many of their enemies.

We were able to wander around inside one of the circular monstrosities, but such is its disrepair that it was rather dangerous to be inside. We also saw the huge circular central dining room of the prison, with a basement kitchen, where prisoners ate at individual benches. The panoptican design was meant to provide humane confinement for its residents, but it looks as though it would have done the opposite!

Tiny open cells, one to a prisoner.

The panoptican design, every cell visible to guards hidden in the central tower.

Scattered masonry and roof tiles made this place pretty dangerous to hang around in.

The huge prison dining room.

Each prisoner would eat at an individual bench.

This massive elevator brought up the food from the kitchen below.

Political prisoners, including the Castros, were kept seperately in more conventional looking jail conditions so they could not contaminate the regular prison population with ideas.

Political prisoners, including Fidel and Raul were kept in a separate wing of the prison. This is their dormitory.

The old administration buildings at the front of the prison now house a school, "to improve the depressing atmosphere" of the place.

The visit to the maternity clinic 8 de Marzo was an eye-opener, intended, again we are sure, so that Cuba could showcase its superior healthcare system to American visitors. The residential clinic is available free of charge to expectant mothers "in difficulty". We heard from the ladies in charge and saw about a dozen or so patients in a couple of dormitory rooms, some watching Korean soap operas which are apparently the current rage on Cuban TV.

Mother-to-be being measured, stoically enduring the indignity of our presence.

Frankly, this visit, interesting as it was, was an invasion of these women's privacy at a sensitive time, and many of us felt quite uncomfortable about it. We suppose that is the price to pay for a totally free socialist healthcare system!

The very pretty campus of a Nueva Gerona school or music.

Rodrigo making his video of this young pianist.

Proficient students at a ballet class.

The capital of the Isle of Youth is a pleasant town called Neuva Gerona. We knew we were well off the beaten track here when we were set loose on the locals. Other than our small group, no other tourists were evident, and we were certainly objects of curiousity.

Painted dancers put on a show for us in the main street.

This mum and daughter were fascinated by the dance show as well as our camera.

Body painting in action.

Some of the crowd.

We wandered freely in the pretty town after a brief tour up the central pedestrian mall where we were encouraged to indulge in body painting of complaint scantily-clad participants, and to dance with them in what was an organised reception for us. It was a lot of fun, but a little unusual.

Church in Neuva Gerona.

Main street named after the father of Cuba's independence.

In Cuba, we saw many home based retail stores running.

Horsehoe map of Cuba.

Residents of Nueva Gerona relaxing in town on a warm afternoon.

School is out for the day.

Sculpture at the very popular Capellia ice-cream shop in town.