Hey Capt. Ron – this is NOT Cuba!

 

Puerto Rico

Cuba

Well, they have the SAME colors & the same design!

 

As cruisers traveling through the carribean from country to country, we need to ‘check-in’ in each new country. 

Here’s the procedure:

1.  Take down the flag of the last country and put up a plain Yellow Q (Quarantine) flag which identifies us as a boat that has not gone through customs.

2.  Either the captain brings all the boat documents and passports to customs while I stay on the boat – I’m not allowed off until we have been through customs, or, the customs agent visits our boat – in which case neither of us are allowed off.

3.  We pay the customs and cruising fees (vary by country), take down the Yellow Q flag and raise the flag of that country.

 

In San Juan, the customs agents come to the boat and take pictures of us – so that’s what happened, and Ron took down the Q flag and proudly put up the Puerto Rican flag.  That was in San Juan on a Thursday.

 

Two days later we checked into Marina Del Ray in Fajardo and Capt. Ron was asked by the marina staff WHY he was flying a Cuban flag?

 

OOOOOOOOppppps.