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Baracoa, Cuba’s First City
Getting There
Baracoa, CUB
Updated Friday, July 30, 2010 8:00 AM
Partly Cloudy | 83°F | High: 90°F
Low: 76°F
Wind: 7 mph
Humidity: 87%
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Saturday
88° / 77° |
Sunday
91° / 76° | 
Monday
91° / 78° |
Tuesday
90° / 76° |
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As my group of ten stood in line at Havana’s José Marti International Airport to board the small plane to Baracoa, Cuba, the slow moving queue came to a standstill. While we watched, several crew members knelt down on the tarmac and began whispering to each other and pointing as they inspected the belly of plane. After a quick group conference, one of them spoke quietly with flight personnel overseeing the boarding process. One of the attendants then turned and beckoned to our group leader
for us to move forward to the front
of the line.
I later learned that during the boarding process the rear of the plane was beginning to tilt from the weight of luggage and passengers already on board. Since our group of ten empty seats was near the front of the cabin, there was insufficient weight to balance the plane. To provide the necessary balance, our group was hustled to the front of the line for immediate boarding.
Thankfully the rest of the flight was uneventful. So as the plane approached the Baracoa airport, I adjusted my seatbelt to fit snuggly across my lap as instructed by the flight attendant. The airplane descended low over the water enabling me to clearly see details on the boats in the Baracoa Bay. So I tensed a bit when I didn’t see a runway. Then the wheels suddenly touched down and I breathed a sigh of relief. I’m not a scaredy cat flyer. Nevertheless, I was relieved to deplane and see the “Bienvenidos A Baracoa” sign outside the tiny airport building.
History of Baracoa and how it was founded.
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