TRIP RECAP - CAYO CRUZ, CUBA

Thank you for joining me for another trip recap! I am excited to share with you what I saw and caught in the Caribbean. First, a fair warning; I know (from speaking with other fly fishermen) that my experience in Cuba doesn't align with other's, most of which seem to be overwhelmingly positive. I am grateful to have this platform (as small as it might be) to share my honest thoughts to give you information to make an informed decision about whether or not this trip is for you.
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If this is as far as you are going to read, the cliff notes are that:
Cuba and its people are beautiful but socialism sucks. 

Booking: The trip was solicited by Jon Covich through Avalon Fishing Center. I was under the impression that Jon would be joining me on the trip but I found out a few weeks before departure that he would not be attending. Not necessarily a deal breaker but I had been under the impression that he was hosting the trip so I found it odd that he wouldn't be there. He was a great host in Colombia and I enjoyed our time in the jungle. Nonetheless, Jon handled all of the booking/invoicing and assisted with the documents needed to enter Cuba. He provided a thorough itinerary/planner so I had a good idea of what to pack and what to expect. 

Cost: The cost of the trip was $4,790.00 + $300.00 mandatory conservation fee for a total of $5,090.00. That included round trip transportation to the resort from Camagüey, all food, drink and lodgings at resort, conservation fee, fishing license and six full days of fishing. It did NOT include airfare ($1200), Cuban Tourist Card ($85), staff and guide gratuities ($400), spending cash ($1200) or fishing tackle. All in, without considering gear yet, the trip cost about $8k USD. 

The Travel: I flew American for this trip. Leaving from Redmond, OR (RDM), I had a 2.5hr flight to Phoenix, followed by a 4hr flight to Miami and finally a 1.5hr flight into Camagüey. I left March 27 at 2:21pm and with layovers and time changes, I arrived in Camagüey on March 28 at 1:37pm. Almost a full 24 hours of travel! I have a terrible time sleeping on planes so that red eye from PHX-MIA kicked my ass. I bought a day pass to the American Admirals Club Lounge in MIA so I could shower and have some breakfast. 

​Camagüey: SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU'RE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE FISHING REPORT.

I arrived in Camagüey and had 2 full days here before I was scheduled to be picked up and driven to Cayo Cruz. I am very glad to have stayed a few days in Camagüey but wished that I did it on the backend of fishing because the experience there cast a dark shadow over the rest of the trip. That being said, I felt that like my time there was a legitimate look at the "real" Cuba. Unlike the glamorous tourist locations like Havana or Cayo Cruz, it felt as though the Cuban Government didn't bother to give this area a "facelift" because it's infrequently visited by tourists. ​

Upon arrival at the airport, I went through Cuban "customs". I presented my US passport and my Cuban Tourist Card and was admitted entry. They did not stamp my passport which I was concerned about but turns out they simply don't do that. No need to be alarmed. Turns out, they just take your Tourist Card upon exiting the country. I found my checked bag after about an hour of waiting and then grabbed a taxi. The driver claimed to know where my hostel was and we were on our way. The airport is about 15 minutes out of town. Driving in, we passed many horse drawn buggies and tons of motorcycles and mopeds. We left the rural countryside and entered the dense city of Camagüey. After the driver stopped a few times for directions, we reached our destination. 

​I stayed at the Hostal El Paso. Staff was very friendly and took me to my room. They have a small bar there and a restaurant across the street. Weather was beautiful - clear, sunny and about 85-90 degrees. I got to my room to find an air conditioner and fan and was excited to turn them on, only to find out that we did not have power. The Cuban Government shuts the power off during the day so we did not have power from 7am to about 8-9pm. Not a huge deal - I was just excited to be able to use the A/C while I slept. There is no cell service or Wifi here so be prepared for that. I have Verizon and was assured before I left that I would have service. Again, not a big deal. I prefer not being connected but I was unable to contact my wife to let her know that I had arrived and I know that stressed her out. 

I had dinner at the restaurante El Paso across the street from the hostel. I had tequila and steak fajitas. Towards the end of my meal, one of the bartenders, Andy, approached and in good English, he asked if I had plans for tomorrow. He offered a full day walking tour of the city for $10 USD which I graciously accepted. We agreed to meet at the hostel bright and early the next day. 

Meeting Andy was one of the highlights of my trip! We toured the city and I learned a lot about Cuban history. Shockingly, Andy was a government trained medical doctor/surgeon who left the profession because he could make more money working the bar at the El Paso. As a barman, he makes 5000 cuban pesos per month (equivalent to $50 USD). With that, he supports his wife and his elderly parents. I ended up spending both of my free days with him and encourage anyone who finds themselves in Camagüey to contact him for a tour. He can be reached on Whatsapp - +53 5 1829705. 

​Andy took me to many beautiful catholic churches, art shops, government bodegas, a couple town squares, the Camagüey Zoo and to a local cemetery. On Good Friday, we marched with a procession from the Plaza de la Merced, in front of the Iglesia de la Merced, to the Iglesia de la Soledad. Thousands of people marched through the streets. It was an incredible and surreal experience.​​

Again, Andy's tour is where I felt that I got to see the "real" Cuba. The beauty of the churches, the art and the people were quickly eclipsed by grocery stores with no food and cemeteries with ransacked graves. I still don't really grasp all of the politics there but the government basically owns everything. It seemed like there was some private enterprise but nobody is able to get ahead enough to start their own businesses without having family in the US that sends money. I learned that the money sent into Cuba from the US is heavily taxed. 

Government owned Bodega (grocery store) only stocked with cigarrettes and rum.

We visited the Cementerio General de Camagüey​. The cemetery had beautiful marble tombs near the entrance but quickly devolved to locker style graves that were stacked 5-6 high. We saw many graves had been raided. One of the graves we saw had recently been broken into and we saw the remains of a woman who must've been buried in the month or two prior. The air in the cemetery reeked with the smell of rotting human flesh of the recently deceased. Cuban people often bury their departed with personal belongings which in this case, is the reason that most of the tombs had been opened. ​

I gave Andy $50 for his 2 days of guiding and he was immensely appreciative. We keep in touch to this day. He helped me get to the location that Avalon was going to pick me up at and we said our goodbyes. A taxi showed up a few hours after the agreed meeting time and we started the drive north to Cayo Cruz. 
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Cayo Cruz and The Hotel La Marina & Spa: Cayo Cruz is operated by a Cuban company called Avalon Fishing Center. They have a couple operations on Cuba's north shore. Located about 2 hours north of Camagüey by car, Cayo Cruz is an island in the Jardines del Ray archipelago (Gardens of the King). The island is connected to the mainland by long roads that were constructed through the flats, often called "causeways". Upon arriving at Hotel La Marina, we were greeted with drinks and taken to our room. The hotel, and the area as a whole, is much different than Camagüey in every way. Very luxurious​ with modern amenities, a spa and nice pools. The hotel is within 100 yards of the marina where we left for the fishing grounds every day. 

Pro tip: At night, tarpon cruise the channel at the marina. We casted to them a bunch but couldn't get them to take a fly. Still, very cool to see them so active. 

A Typical Day: 
7:00am: Breakfast at the restaurant buffet. 
Breakfast was generally awful. The highlight was the omelette bar where you could have one made to order with spam, veggies and un-meltable cheese but after the second day, we had to start rationing eggs. A 1 egg, spam and cheese chunk omelette before a long day of fishing was a little depressing. We were given styrofoam to-go containers in which we packed our lunch from the same buffet. 

8:00am: Board skiffs for fishing. Lunch on the fishing skiff. 
A short walk to the marina to get loaded up. Rods and reels were washed and then stored in a locked shipping container every night. I took my backpack back to my room every night. I usually skipped lunch because the food was so bad. I had some protein bars which made for a decent lunch. We would generally fish 4-5 different spots during the day. I had asked to do some wading but my guide preferred for us to stay on the boat for some reason. Don't expect to wade much, even if you ask. 

5:00pm: Return to resort
Haul gear back to the hotel room. I'd clean up gear (if necessary), prep for the next day, shower, change clothes and mentally prepare myself for a dinner of hard liquor and tobacco. 

5:30pm-Bed: Social time around the resort, drinks at the bar, dinner in the resort restaurants
The hotel lobby had a nice, open bar where I would usually drink tequila and enjoy a cigar with the other guests. Dinner was usually awful as well. They have a couple restaurants on site that they'd send our whole party to but we were just served the same buffet food at a different location. I ate the spaghetti and beef on the first night and was sick the following 2 days. I didn't eat much for the rest of the trip. I came home a few pounds lighter which I wasn't upset about. 

​The Flats: Beautiful. What bonefish dream of. What fly fishermen dream of. What housewives in need of a tropical vacation dream of. Majestic flats that stretched for miles, boasting knee deep baby blue water and white sand bottoms. We saw lots of wildlife including: stingrays, conch, osprey, flamingos, lemon sharks, box fish and jelly fish.

The Gear: I took 3 rods and a backup. A Sage Maverick 890 for bones, a Sage Igniter 1090 for permit and a Sage Salt R8 1190 in case we saw any tarpon. My backup was a Sage Payload 1090 which I thought could handle any of the fish mentioned above. For 95% of my time on the water, I was on my 8wt bonefish rod. For reels, I had a nautilus CCF-X2 for the 8wt, a Tibor Riptide for the 10wt and a Sage Thermo on the 11wt all with appropriately weighted Rio Saltwater fly lines. I took an assortment of tapered 9' saltwater fluorocarbon leaders in weights from 10-20 lbs. Typical assortment of bonefish flies. For flies, we mainly used shrimp, spawning shrimp and small tan crab patterns. 

I never had a leader break on me and my guide only liked about a half dozen of the flies that I brought. And we didn't lose any of them. So, I way overpacked. 
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The Fish: The flats had bonefish and barracuda aplenty. Big bonefish too. The highlight of the trip in terms of fishing was finding the largest school of bonefish that I have ever seen. My boatmate and I fished the school for a few hours one day and caught 100+ fish. If my memory serves me, we doubled up at least 40 times. It was a neat experience but didn't feel very sporting. Sounds like it was a known school to the guides as most of the other guests had stories about "working" the school. When fishing was slow, we trolled for barracuda. Again, fun but not what I was there to do. 

Fishing, with the exceptions stated above, was fair/poor. I averaged a couple decent bones per day and a couple non-bonefish (barracuda, snapper, boxfish, etc.). Other guests confirmed that fishing was slow for them as well. I am not one to have expectations going into a trip... But, I expected better fishing. 

Giant school of bonefish or "Macabi".

The Permit (Or lack thereof): I saw one Permit the whole trip. He never took my fly but casting to him was the highlight of my entire time fishing in Cuba. Other guests said to look for large sting rays because there will likely be a permit following, eating the food that gets kicked up but missed by the ray. And that's exactly what I saw. We spotted a large ray cruising a flat about 150 yards away. We began our stalk and saw that he had a lone 17-20 pound Palometa swimming with him! I had my Permit rod in hand and started casting. I was in the zone. Five perfect casts, right onto the ray's back. Small strips resulted in two great follows but no commit. He spooked on the sixth cast and I had to sit down because the adrenaline had jelly'd my legs. I would've traded every fish that I caught on that trip just to feel him on my line. What a rush. 

​Conclusion: Without question, the most important takeaway of my trip (and all of my trips) was the reminder of how thankful I am to be an American. We live in the best country in the world with freedom and unlimited opportunity. It is always humbling to see how others live. I am reminded to not take our liberties nor the men and women who protect them for granted. 

Final thoughts to leave you with:

• Cayo Cruz, Camagüey, the Cuban countryside were beautiful. 
• The Cuban people were so friendly, accommodating and I never felt unsafe. 
• Fishing was fair/poor. To reiterate, this doesn't sound like the norm but that was my experience. 
• Hotel was nice but food was very bad.
• The effects of socialism are sad to see in person. 

This is not a trip that I would pay for again although I would like to spend more time on island learning Cuban history and culture. This was my least favorite trip so far but it still offered so many positives and reminders to appreciate life.

​That's it. That's all I have to say. Done.