A quick glance out of the window has me dreaming of wading a bonefish flat with the sun beating down on my back. Mat Mchugh from Fly Odyssey shares words, pictures and some great film from a recent trip he made to Cuba.
Cuba as a country is unique. It is the largest and second most populous island in the Caribbean and despite its lack of wealth Cuba ranks highly in education, healthcare and environmental protection.
One of the great achievements of the Cuban government has been to put in place a large number of marine parks in the waters surrounding Cuba.
Since the mid 1970s the government has set up a large number of protected areas. The Jardines de la Reina marine park is vast, with an area larger than the Florida Keys. The Cayo Largo archipelago, which stretches from Cayo Largo to Isle De Juventud and consists of nine protected reserves in this 500 miles system.
These protected areas allow catch and release but, no commercial fishing or netting is allowed. To put this into perspective at present the UK has three tiny protected 'no-take' areas covering less than 0.01% of the UK's waters.
This has resulted in some of the most pristine fisheries I have encountered. In June this year we spent time on the live-aboard Perola, fishing the waters between the Isle of Youth and Cayo Largo.
It is rare to feel you are in an pristine environment but here you definitely feel that is the case. I highly recommend a week in Cuba. It is an experience that will be long remembered.
If the pictures aren't enough, take a look at Mat's video
Visit the Fly Odyssey website for more details of Cuba and much more.