Havana good time!

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Two weeks off in Cuba was a great break from the Canadian winter.

We got away from the snow, the cold, the short days and for some reason, the Internet.  Our hotel did have a couple of desktop computers set up for some pitifully slow Internet access for a charge of only 5 dollars per 1/2 hour, but after the first few days the equipment was out of order for the duration of our stay.  May have been a blessing in disguise.

From what we observed, Cuba has changed a lot since we were here about 15 years ago.  There are a lot more resorts of course, but more evident is a shift toward private enterprise.  New restaurants are popping up throughout Varadero and in Havana as well.  Every one of those old American cars are now taxis for hire.  Side trips for things like diving or snorkeling or just site-seeing are much cheaper due to some actual competition.  Overall we think there is a lot of potential for the future.  A lot hinges on what happens as the old guard of leaders dies off - could go either way.

We had very little to complain about.  The resort we stayed at was in a terrific location, at one end of the town of Varadero.  The food, while pretty basic, was adequate.  The weather was good for the most part, only a couple of cloudy, windy days that  made the beach a bit cool   We spent a great deal of time on the beach and swimming in the ocean.  We did the usual touristy day-trip to Havana, a "jeep" safari through some of the local towns and countryside and spent a day on the south side of the island in the Bay of Pigs for some excellent diving and snorkeling.  Of course, we did our usual marathon walks from one end of the town to the other or just up and down the miles of beach.

The flights to and from Varadero were as pleasant as could be expected in a cattle-car charter and were mercifully short.  Having to fly in and out of Calgary and staying overnight at both ends was a bit of nuisance but when you don't have a job to go back to, it really just extends the holiday.  I'm not sure our friends who accompanied us would agree as they had to do all the driving and are both still gainfully employed.

Here is a small sampling of the Cuba we saw...

A quick note about the status of the boat.  Basically we do not know what the status of the boat is.  When we got back to Edmonton an email was awaiting us from one of the workers in San Carlos, wanting to know what color we wanted the boat to be painted.  Does this mean it is almost done?  So far, my emails have gone unanswered or the replies are just plain unintelligible (English is not their first language).  So for the time being, we continue to wait for more information.

 

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