Havana - While most Cubans breathed a sigh of relief following the exit of the latest tropical storm to hit the island, a small group of youths was anxiously waiting the arrival of the next such phenomenon.

There are not many surfers in Cuba yet, but they strive to promote a sport that remains underdeveloped in a country where physical exercise is generally highly valued.

Cuba is hardly known as a surfing paradise, and it is true that it does not get big waves all the time. However, in Havana itself, and even more so in the southern towns of Guardalavaca and Baracoa, surfing and bodyboarding are catching on.

The best time of the year for surfers in the region coincides with the tropical storm season from June to November, and particularly November, December and January, as cold fronts arrive on the largest island in the Caribbean.

"They come in from the United States, from Canada, and they bring good waves, with great force. It is not like in other countries, where you get good waves every day. But foreigners who have come here have really liked the cold front," says Guillermo.

The young man, 23, is a native of Havana. He loves body-boarding and has been doing it for over half his life, and that is not easy.

In Cuba there are no specialized stores devoted to this sport that is so popular in other countries. So, as in so many other areas of life in the communist nation, surfers have to be creative.

"There has been surfing in Cuba for years, but earlier the boards ... were made out of resin. They were rubbish, they were no good for anything. You jumped in and you sank because they were heavier than you," recalls Lorena.

Modern surfboards are made of hydrodynamic foam.

This physical education student, 18, is one of the few girls who surf among some 50 youths practicing the sport in Havana.

Although surfing has become more popular in the past 10 years or so, the problems start even as one tries to purchase the necessary gear.

"It's terribly difficult, it's practically impossible to find anything. You have to wait until there is a donation or until some foreigner comes over who has boards and wants to leave them behind, or to sell them," Guillermo explains.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that - given the many pebble beaches - boards break easily. A good imagination is then crucial.

"We look for materials to fix them. We use rubber, a lot of silicon or glue. There is nothing else to fix them with," Guillermo says. "You have to struggle all the time not to break (the board), because that is all there is."

A friend brought Lorena a board from the US. In Guillermo's case, a friend's father, who is in the merchant navy, bought it for him during a trip to the Canary Islands.

"When there are donations, we meet and however little there is we share amongst ourselves the T-shirts, the sweaters," Guillermo explains. "But it is support that we are lacking."

Like Lorena, he regrets the lack of interest of Cuban sports officials.

"When people see me, sometimes they say, 'Are you going fishing?' No, I am going surfing," Guillermo notes.

"Many people do not come to Cuba because they do not know that they can surf here," he stresses.

Guillermo thinks that "there is a lack of understanding."

"In Cuba, there is a great interest in Olympic sports, extreme sports are not very well regarded," he complains.

Still, young Cuban surfers have not given up hope of getting some official recognition one day.

"In Cuba there are good surfers, we have the right stuff: we are not afraid, when the hurricane comes we are in the water, we spend it in the water. We are not afraid of the waves," Guillermo says proudly.

In this context, he complains that many people think surfers are "crazy" and that their sport is just "silly."

Police in the communist island are one of the obstacles.

"Police fear that if one of us dies, they will get into big trouble," says Lorena.

Moreover, just being in the water may at times be suspicious, in a country which thousands of people try to leave every year by sea by clinging for dear life to anything that floats in the hope of reaching the nearby coast of the US state of Florida.

"Once we were surfing on the Malecon and they made us get out because a boat had gone in to find people (who were trying to leave illegally) and they took us to the police station. They kept us in till night time," Guillermo said with a laugh. (dpa)