Make the world go away

I didn't particularly want to stop the world and get off, but that's what happens when you have No internet or connectivity of any kind on board the Aggressor in Cuban waters. 

Getting away from the constant onslaught of news is a good thing, not being able to take care of business I didn't like. I did send out an email before we left letting everyone know that we would be completely off grid, but who knows how many read it. We're so accustomed to having internet when we're traveling so we can take care of anything we need. It was definitely interesting to be off grid for a week. We both had downloaded kindle books and we actually read! 

I wrote a bunch notes about ideas for a button show on being off grid. The hardest part for me was the fact that I used 2 different phones. Usually, when there is connectivity, anything I do on one phone syncs to the other. This time, I'd pick up my iPhone and want to add to that list, only to realize I started the list on the Android. 

Everyone on board has iPhones so photos were being shared using airdrop. That works so well. Jim and I tried using the qiuckshare on android and couldn't get it to work. 

No emails, no Facebook posts, Google photos experts, no googling for news or answers to questions, no photo albums, no checking on bank account transactions, and a growing dread about how all of these things are getting backed up and I will get a deluge once my devices do get connected. ONe thing that I has become such second nature is Googling things that you can't remember. Like, who was the author of Lonesome Dove? I said, oh that's one of my very favorite authors - his name is ... uh ... uh .... And, I can't look it up!?!? Two days later I look at Jim and say, "Larry McMurtry" 😂 He knew exactly what I was talking about.

I have enjoyed the time off however, because I'm bad about 'doomscrolling.' That's where I read some political garbage news and say "omg, that's horrible! … tell me more"

Here's our YouTube show where we gave tips about being offline:

Cuba es finito

Although we do have a couple more dives tomorrow, today was the last full day of diving. And it was a doozy. First off, I slept in and skipped the first dive, finishing my book "The subtle art of not giving a fuck" it's a self help/philosophy book about finding your priorities - what you do give a fuck about. I rather enjoyed it! 

Then I got ready and joined Jim in the second dive. Very nice. Decent visibility, lots of spirit fish, a lobster or two and a stingray or two. On the ride back to the main boat we came close to shore and spotted a crocodile! That's a first. Then, on the way back from the second dive we saw an eagle Ray jumping out of the water - a couple times. It was such a gorgeous day : sunshine, blues skies, calm seas. It doesn't get better. 

Then my third dive (Jim's fourth) of the day, we saw a huge grouper...a Goliath grouper! 

We ditched the wetsuits about day 3 because the water was 89-92 degrees. Just look at this fashion statement:

Three exceptional sights today: crocodile, jumping eagle Ray, and Goliath grouper. 

Then a traditional Cuban dinner, ropa vieja, piña colada, and a small pasta salad using little tube p pasta with mayonnaise, cheese, ham, and pineapple. I loved it! 

Good night

Last Day = one dive in a canyon. Fantastic!!

After we got home, I gave a speech about it to our Earlybird Toastmasters Club. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/yPOKVwfkt10?t=2960.

Dive day 2

I skipped breakfast and first dive to lay in bed and read my book. Trust by Pete Buttigieg - I finished it. One of those I was sorry to see end. Really good big-picture history and ideas on how to improve American life. 

Then came the next dive. Fantastic! I love the warm water, visibility was good, you first drop to the sand at 20 feet, then go over a wall and see sharks passing by, then big coral heads and canyons. Saw 2 morays and spirit-fish in the sand (yellow headed jaw fish) all is right with the world! 

Being on my third dive trip of the summer, I am so comfortable with my gear. Towards the end of the dive there was a cave, I think they call it octopus cave. No octopus, but a school of silversides and a true overhead environment cavern for a while. Way cool. And a beautiful pillar corral right under the boat. Jim got some good pictures 👍 

Diving day 1

It didn't start the way it was supposed to. When we went to bed the night before we were told the boat would travel overnight to the dive site and the first dive would be at 7:30, but when we woke up and looked out the window, we hadn't moved at all. Don't know why. 

Our bus arrives at the docks at Zucaro

Our room is quite nice - including a window, small but o-so-nice to have

The bathroom is almost as large as the rest of the room!

We had breakfast and then the boat got underway. 5 hours later we were at the site and the first dive was at 2:30. We learned that the skiffs used to take divers to the site are docked out here then just travelled the short distance to the Aggressor. Nice big tenders. All our gear was moved on board the tenders and that's where it will stay for the rest of the week. Cool. An easy back roll into the water and we're off and diving! The water was 89 degrees. As soon as we jumped in I saw a school of fish. Definitely more coral and fish life than anywhere else this summer. 

The skiff that ferried us to and from the dive sites with all our equipment staying on board.

Backroll into the water from the side of the boat. Nice and Easy.

As part of our briefing they put a list of sea life on a whiteboard. We each picked one and it was then our job to count them on every dive. Jim picked lobster. He saw 4 on the first dive and none on the second. I picked green moray and have yet to see one. It is now 8pm and I'd love to have a glass of wine and go to bed, but I decided earlier that I would do the night dive. It's been a long time since I've done a night dive and we rested all morning. I can do this! Night dive is 8:45. 

The list of the critters we expected to see and our counts 

YES! I did the night dive and  I'm so glad. The warm water made it so comfortable. Plenty of people in the water with lights on so I turned mine off several times. Didn't see much of anything remarkable till near the end … then … the reason for night dives - 🐙 octopus! And she put on a show. Jim got some good video. 

Do we need a visa for Cuba? Yes ... No ... Maybe

We got to the airport over 4 hours before flight time to be sure all was copascetic. We made sure to print out all the "Know before you go" info and the required OFAC (US Office of Foreign Assets Control) letter that gave us authorization to travel to Cuba under the Oceans for Youth educational license for the Aggressor Liveaboard dive boat operating out of Jardines de la Reina in Cuba. We also printed out the required form from the website DViaJeros. It was our understanding from conversations with the tour company (Aggressor Adventures) that we would present these documents when we checked in at the American Airlines counter at the airport and they would then provide us with whatever Visa is required. 

We got checked in no problem. They looked at our passport and these documents, printed a boarding pass and sent us on our way. When we asked about a Visa, they said "No, you have everything you need right there." 

Well - OK.

Spending airport time making sure I've read all email, I've downloaded kindle books to read, and whatever else I can think of to do because we will have no connectivity while in Cuba. Yikes!

Plane is starting down the runway and Jim gets an important email about our TM club and the zoom account that is about to expire. Yikes again, quick forward that message to our treasurer before we lose connection. 

File under Live and Learn - Visas

We land in Camaguey, Cuba after a flight of about 1 hr 20 minutes. The line is fairly short when we get to the Cuban immigration counter. After all, they only have to process the one plane. Small airport in Camaguey. Jim hands the agent his passport and the printout from D'viajeros. She said, and your Visa? Jim pointed to the the barcode area on the paper and said "Isn't that it?"

Uh No ... And she asked the next person in line to come up and show what a Visa looked like. Nope, we definitely didn't have one of those. How did she get that? She mailed away for it a month ago! Yikes. They can't let us in without a Visa. 

This is the first we heard of it. We thought the D'viajeros form was it. We had expected to have it scanned and get a Visa card at the ticket counter in Miami, but they looked everything over and said we were good to go. 

We stepped aside for others in line to go through and found chairs while we waited for El Jefe to figure out what to do with us. We were told that, if they couldn't figure out how to use that bar code as our Visa, they did prepare the Visa cards and we would be able to purchase them for $120 each. 

After sweating in the hot airport terminal (not just due to lack of air conditioning) for an hour or so, they got their computer system to recognize the "Visa number" on the D'viajeros form and let us in. 

We worried that the others bound for the Aggressor dive boat had been waiting for us but no, we weren't the last ones, so no one noticed.

Here is what I found on the Wikipedia Visa Requirements for United States Citizens

Cuba:

• Tourist travel is prohibited under U.S. law for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and others subject to U.S. jurisdiction.^[124] Under the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, all persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are not permitted to travel to Cuba unless licensed to engage in travel-related transactions. In addition to specific licenses granted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), there are 12 "general licenses" that people can choose to travel on without being required to notify OFAC,^{[note 1]} and the broad and self-reported nature of these licenses means travel is in practice subject to few restrictions.^[128][129]
• Cuba requires travelers to purchase a tourist card prior to arrival, which can be obtained from the airline or a Cuban diplomatic mission. Tourist cards are valid for one entry and a 30-day stay, which can be extended once by 90 days at a hotel or immigration office in Cuba.^[130][129]
• Cuba requires travelers to have health insurance valid in Cuba, which can be purchased from the airline.^[124]

I also found this website https://visacuba.com/ that you use in order to get the "eVisa" that gives you a number to enter on the DViaJeros form. It costs $40. If I had this website link suggested to me, we would have done this. 

Meanwhile, all's well that ends well. We got into Cuba without buying a separate Visa. 

p.s. They asked for our Visa to leave as well! We told them to put that number/code under the bar code into their computer and we should come up. They did. We did. We left.