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"Quiet down there!", Lyon whispered to the girls from the upper level of the hull of the Bonitas. Just as they had expected, the ship got delayed and left Miami at 10:00am and reached Havana port in Cuba at 12:27pm.
All four of them were sneaking up the hull, their bags firmly held in their hands. They tiptoes to the door through which they had come to the staircase. Lyon pressed his left ear to it and listened.
He then straightened up and whispered, "There are people on the other side." "How do we get rid of them?", Tessa asked. Suddenly, a loud horn blared in the distance. Footsteps were heard going away. Lyon slowly twisted the handle and peeked in.
"No one's here. Come on."
They slowly tiptoed out onto the deck. "We'll need to be invisible.", Elsa said. Diana quickly whipped up an invisibility potion which Lyon, herself and Tessa drank. Elsa was having difficulty turning to mist. Its was mid afternoon. It was extremely hot in Havana. But eventually, she got it, although she was wasting lots of magic in maintaining it.
"Guys! Hurry!", Elsa urged, sweating profusely because of the amount of magic she was using up. She felt three solid figures moving in front of her and tried to keep up.
The Havana Harbour was the major port in Cuba. The four carefully walked among the harbour workers, trying their best not to bang into anyone. It wouldn't exactly be normal if something or someone you can't see collides into you.
All four of them had got separated in the crowd. Once they were out of it, they turned visible to spot each other. "That was easy.", Diana said, as they regrouped. Lyon snorted and replied, "Yeah, right." "We have to get changed.", Tessa suggested, swinging her bag across her shoulder.
After Elsa's water stunt in Miami, they were soaked to their socks and two hours in the hull of a ship wasn't enough to dry them off.
They headed to a pay-and-use bathrooms just outside the harbour. While doing so, all four's minds were already whirring. How do they get to Pinar del Rio?
Havana was beautiful place. It looked like a mix of Venice and Marco Polo's Portugal with its vintage looking buildings and beautiful cars on the streets. Almost every roundabout had a small fountain in the centre. Even in the hot afternoon, the streets were bustling. Spanish flew from mouths and the people seemed quite jovial and friendly.
"Its a beautiful place!", Elsa said, drinking in every view. "You said it!", Tessa replied.
"Umm, guys?"
Diana called to the others, in her hand, a brochure which she had found in the harbour. "Apparently, the distance between Havana and Pinar del Rio is approximately 180 kilometres. That's like, two hours travel by car."
"The only option we have is to find a taxi who is ready for a two hour drive all the way to the province.", Lyon stated, examining the map.
All four of them stood on the street, trying to find an empty taxi. They looked like young vagabonds, wearing American clothes and lugging a bag each. They soon found an empty taxi and hailed for it. The driver rolled down the window and rambled, " Buenas tardes. Donde fuera?"
"Uhh...."
"Va a llevarnos a Pinar del Rio?"
The girls stared in surprise at Lyon who spoke Spanish fluently. "How-", Diana began. "We have Spanish as a second language in France.", he answered.
"France?"
"Long story. I'll tell you later."
All this time, the driver was thinking. "Todo el camino a la provincial?" "Si.", Lyon answered. The driver then shrugged and said, "Dos horas y media en coche . Siete pesos para cada uno. Entra." Lyon grinned and saying, "Muchas gracias.", he flung open the door.
"Well, what are you waiting for? We've got a book to find."
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"So, tell us about your France thing.", Diana told Lyon who was sitting in the front with the driver. Lyon smiled at them through the rearview mirror and said, "My mum is French. My dad was a lecturer. He met her during one of his trips to France."
"Not surprised there.", Elsa said. "Amylia is a short form for the French name Amyleah. Also, Lyon is a popular French city." Lyon grinned and said, "They named me that because my dad proposed to mum in Lyon. I did my primary schooling in a French school were our second languages were English and Spanish. We moved to US only when I was eleven."
"Where does your dad work now?", Tessa asked. Elsa and Diana knew about Lyon's father's death and looked anxiously at the boy. His eyes dropped but quickly regained its small sparkle. "Dad died because of an accident when I was seven. We moved to US to his parents house. We couldn't stay in Lyon because it was filled with his memories and mum couldn't keep it together."
"I..I am sorry.", Tessa said, a guilty expression on her face. "Dont mind it.", Lyon said, smiling at her. Diana cleared her throat, easing the tension in the taxi. "Since we've got a long trip ahead of us, we'll discuss about how EXACTLY we plan on getting to the UNDERWATER city."
The others' mouth formed an 'o' shape as they fell into deep thought.
"I have an idea. But I'm not quite sure about it.", Tessa said, "Lyon, ask him whether they allow scuba diving." He glanced at her for a second and then spoke rapid Spanish to the driver. He thought for a while, slowing down but quickly regained speed by the flurry of horns from the cars behind. He replied to Lyon who nodded and turned to the girls.
"He says there is lots of scuba diving centres. But you need a license."
" Forget about the license. Where is it?", Diana pestered. "The most trusted and famous one is the Maria La Gorda which allows diving and snorkeling in the Guanahacabibes Peninsula."
Diana paused for a while, her index finger on her chin. "Guana..... Guanahacabibes.......OH MY GOD!!", she squealed. "The underwater city is just off the coast of that peninsula! Oh my bubblegum!!"
"Woah! Woah! How deep are we talking?", Elsa asked.
"Oh, just around 650 metres below surface."
Everyone's mouth dropped open at Diana's comment. She just sat there, wondering what she had said wrong. "Diana, the world record for scuba diving is 328 metres and you are talking about 650??!", Lyon explained, who just and his mind blown sky high after her words.
"And what about our licenses?", Tessa asked. "We could always steal.", Lyon replied with a cool shrug. Elsa looked at him pointedly and said, "First decide how to use scuba diving to an advantage."
"How about we do the classic Moses thing, only underwater?"
Three pairs of eyes fell on Diana. "Of course.", Elsa exclaimed, "Using my powers, I could separate the water. UNDERWATER! It would create a sort of....a sort of..."
"Tube?", Tessa suggested.
"Exactly."
"Not bad but let's get to Pinar del Rio first. All this thinking is hurting my poor brain.", Lyon said and turned forward. He eased his back onto the seat and shut his green eyes.
The girls rolled their eyes and too, drifted off to sleep.
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"Vientiocho peso, señor."
"P.....peso?", Lyon stuttered. He had completely forgotten that Cuban currency was Cuban pesos. He guilty turned to the girls and said, "He takes only pesos. We don't have pesos."
Diana smirked while the others looked shocked. "I always knew you were dumb, Lyon." She said as she pulled out her wallet. Her friends looked at her curiously as she pulled out PESO notes and handed it to the driver. "Tell him to keep the change, Lyon.", she told.
"Q..quédese con el c.....cambio.", he stuttered, still surprised.
Once the taxi left, Elsa asked Diana, "From where did you get those notes." "While you all were changing, I came out earlier and changed notes at Havana harbour ticket counter. I knew we will need them.", she explained with a triumphant smile.
"Now come on! Let's get to good old Maria La Gorda scuba diving centre."
