A Different World

Alas! I tried for two days to upload a brief (under 3 min.) video giving a birds-eye tour of the base, and the bandwidth is such here that I just am unable to get the video uploaded. So....here is the next best way to give you an idea of what the base is like.

Above is a map sold here on the base, and I have some markers for various points of interest.

The marker #1 on the left side of the bay - that is Leeward Air Field where Vince works. I've already mentioned that he needs to take either a ferry or u-boat (utility) to get to work -- it's about a 20 minutes ride across the bay.

On the right side, or windward side, is where most of the housing and services are located. At the bottom of the map, the marker #2 shows the beginning of our main street, Sherman Avenue, which goes north for about 6 miles. (The northernmost section of the map is the perimeter fence line - this is the boundary line, so to speak between the base and Cuba. I will have a later blog entry on our visit to the northeast gate.)

Most of our available services are located around marker #3. As far as amenities here, the Navy has really tried to make life as enjoyable as possible for those who can't leave the base (which describes most of us). Here is a short list:

• Movie theater - free, first-run movies every night of the week, in an outdoor setting
• Bowling alley
• Miniature golf
• Golf course - no charge to use
• Library
• Ceramics/pottery/wood shop - very reasonable prices
• Bingo - more on this later!
• Bike and boat rentals - (pontoons rent for $6 an hour)
• Two outdoor swimming pools - free
• Fitness classes - free
• Gyms with exercise equipment - free
• Dog exercise/training area
• Car wash - free
• One gas station (Note - we are still paying $4.50/gal. for gasoline -- the Navy buys fuel in contract periods, and we will continue to pay this price until all the gasoline is used and a new contract is procured.)

As far as restaurants go, not much selection is available -- a couple of sit-down places, some fast-food (McDonald's, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC), and both a Jamaican and a Cuban eatery that are somewhat average. The Jamaican "Jerk House" is a carry-out place with a limited menu -- it has some strong competition from some Jamaicans that operate a small grill at the airport, and their food is excellent. The photo below shows the Jamaican chef at the airport.

The "Cuban Club" reportedly has a Cuban cook, but it seems to me that the food has been somewhat Americanized, and you might want to bring a pillow and blanket when you go there, because it is a VERY long wait for a simple meal (over an hour). The mess hall galleys (three on the base) are the best value for the money, since lunch and dinners, cafeteria-style, are $3.85 and are generally pretty good.




The only place to purchase food, clothes, hardware, electronics., etc., is the Nex, or Navy Exchange, (pictured at right) which is like a very small Super Wal-Mart. The prices are fairly comparable to back home -- no real bargains, except there is no sales tax. The Nex has certainly changed how I view shopping. Back home, I would go to three grocery stores to get everything on my list. Now, my list is comprised of whatever I can get at one store, and it really is a time-saver. You quickly learn to either do without, or just adjust your list.

The marker #4 shows where we live - Granadillo Point. There are 34 housing units just in our small neighborhood, and it's very much like a small town -- everyone knows everyone else's business. And, that is certainly not necessarily a negative. Just something for us to keep in mind!

There are about 20 different "neighborhoods" of housing on the base, and each one contains different types of abodes - single-family dwellings, apartments, duplexes, trailers, and four-plexes.


The feeling one gets here is truly of an American small town -- lots of friendly people, everybody waves at you, folks are willing to help you out. What is not so typical is the prevalence of Humvees loaded with weapons, soldiers and sailors everywhere you look, and lots of rules to follow (what the heck, there are rules no matter where you go). I certainly don't feel like I am in a foreign country -- the only exception is the huge population of folks from Jamaica, Phillipines and Puerto Rico who work here and send their wages back home. Most of them speak English, or a form of it, so there is usually not a language barrier, unless you are speaking on the phone, and then it can be problematic to understand what is being said.

There you have it -- sorry this is lengthy -- in my video that couldn't be uploaded, you would have been able to hear most of this instead of wading your way through a long entry.