DEPARTURE FOR CUBA
DAY 1 (May 25)
Departure from the airport is always the most hectic part of the journey. Cuba presents additional
complications when we travel under a religious visa. The religious visa allows us to work on behalf of the
church but it requires additional processing and verification. When we checked in at Miami airport we had to
first print our own boarding passes and luggage tags. Then we went to the check-in counter where they needed to first contact a
person in Cuba, via phone call, to verify our visas. It took a few calls but we were able to get it done. Every
minute seemed like an hour as we stood in line waiting. That is why we arrive early - just in case. We finally got in touch with the right person in Matanzas
and we made it to our gate with a little time to spare - but not much. Susan had to go back to the check-in counter to check her carry-on, because it was a
tiny bit too big. Then when we finally started to board and thought all the confusion was behind us, some of us had to check-in our carry-on because the
overhead compartments were full. I imagine you don't want to read too much about the plane ride but I want to set the stage for you so you can appreciate
how important it is to be flexible and ready to adapt when you travel to a developing country - with a group. it's a little more complicated than your usual
vacation travel.
The flight from Miami to Cuba is only 45 minutes, maybe a few more minutes to other airports beyond Havana. Cuba is about 780 miles long and about 100
miles wide. We arrived at the Varadero airpoirt(VRA), about 2 hours east of Havana. Varadero is a smaller and less crowded airport than Havana and it was
close to our first project in Limonar. Our contracted bus picked us up and took us directly to our hotel, the Hotel Velasco, at the center of Matanzas. We
checked into our rooms, dropped off some of our bags and ate lunch in the hotel. Velasco is a very nice hotel. Each room has a private bath and A/C. The
onsite restaurant accommodated our schedule and they served us dinner at 9:30PM.
After lunch our bus arrived to take us to our first project in Limonar. The ride only took 25 minutes, we arrived at 3:30PM and we hit the ground running. A
medical clinic is attached to the senior living facility. We negotiated with the director of the home and the nursing staff to select the best location to install
the water filter system. We moved cabinets and considered options for connecting to the existing water pipe. We had to ensure the sink would still work so
the nurses could wash their hands and we wanted to provide clean drinking water access to the rest of community. With all our planning and bags of extra
parts we we still had to adapt our plans and consider options for installing the system. Pre-gluing some of the pipe and valves proved to be a mistake as we
had to install the system from right to left rather than left to right and that made a difference due to the direction of the valves, joints and gauges. After
careful consideration we cut a few pieces of pipe and then we started drilling holes. As Terry told us, sometimes pans are useless, but planning is essential.
We worked until dark and then had to accept we would not get to install both systems in one day as we had hoped. Some of the team went to the second
site to assess the install location. It also proved to be different from what we had imagined. The second install was going to be inside a closet with a few
more 90 degree turns and we had to cut into an existing electric line, as there was no 110v outlet near the location. Luckily we met a local handy man who
was able to machine a valve the would help us connect our 3/4 PVC system to the 1/2 inch copper supply pipe in the closet. The team returned to site
number one and reported the news. As the team finished the install at site one the excitement grew. The pipe ran along one wall from the corner sink to the
exterior wall and we installed a faucet outside. We turned the water on and pressure tested for leaks. There were a few joints that needed to be tightened
and then we slowly built pressure. We flushed the system and after a few minutes we took the first drink. We showed the community we stood behind our
work. Everyone enjoyed a drink of clean Limonar water and celebrated with high-fives all around. There were a few tears of joy as the staff filled bottles with
water to take back to their homes. Being flexible and being ready to adapt our plans is a very important lesson to take away from site one. We all agreed it
was an exhausting day but very rewarding. We returned to our hotel at 9PM where dinner was waiting for us. We ate, shared a few stories from the day,
talked about tomorrow and then we all went to our rooms for a well deserved rest.