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.

All Aboard the Pano Rama II...

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.