They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say that the pictures do not do Cuba justice; both for the positives of the country and for the negatives.
I have posted the link to our pictures taken from our recent adventure. We actually took over three hundred shots; we could easily have taken loads more but we had short funds and only ventured out to Havana and up and down the Varadero peninsula. What you see is what DW helped pare down. Feel free to skip through, run a quick slideshow or whatever.
When going to any foreign land, there is a certain amount of anticipation and apprehension. It is heightened when you are entering a communist country from a so-called free and democratic one; even if the two have been long time "friends". So, when we read that we could not take DVD players in (we had one) and then they checked and electronically logged (I think they scan the whole page in) our passport, and then asked to physically check our bags after they went through the scanner, we were a little on edge. No worries though and we were quickly sent on our way. We changed some funds as we needed to pay the bus driver to drop us to our hotel (remember, we went down on an alternate flight and therefore was not entitled to a hotel transfer). This cost us $10 (pesos) each, which considering the distance was actually a bargain. It would be much more than that in Toronto. I also was introduced to the local cervesa (beer): Cristal. There was an enterprising gentleman selling cold ones as we exited the airport. I was so thirsty that I drank one as we got our bags loaded and then another during our ride; DW sipped some of mine as she is not a big beer drinker.
We had to drop off a number of other people at various hotels along the way so we got to see a bit of the place before we hit our hotel, the Villa Cuba. I must say that even with the pictures online, I expected less than the hotel is. Unlike a lot of people we see bitching online, we went in understanding a certain level from the hotels in this country. We were not expecting nor paying for King Edward comfort. If we got clean, comfortable, basics with a decent beach and friendly, helpful staff, we would be satisfied; we were satisfied.
As most online reviews point out, unless you are willing to shell out big bucks to stay in the fancy hotels, do not expect a lot of the food in Cuba. It is not to say that the food was horrible or inedible, it just does tend to get repetitive and sometimes a bit on the bland side. I don't understand why they cannot get someone in to properly train the cooking staff to make use of the materials they have available. They get decent pork and fish and chicken and beef, lots of vegetables, rice and pasta. The cooks are simply incapable of doing better with those items. Okay, so saying that, we also say that if you are creative (i.e. carry cheese from he cold cuts section to be placed in your omelets at breakfast), you can eat very well for the week without getting too bored. Now, they do have two a la carte restaurants which are okay as a diversion from eating in the buffet. However, if you look at the menus in the pictures, I think you will see an item listed to the effect, "Naranja au natural" or something to that effect. When DW ordered that as her appetizer, she was presented with a very nicely decorated plate of a slice orange. Yep, just an orange.
The bars are in enough places that it is not too much of a walk to get to any of them. You can of course drink wine, beer, water, juices, coffee, tea, cocoa and soft drinks when dining. At the walk up bars, you get all the "fancy" drinks like the Cuban Libre (rum and coke), Sangria (DW's fave), Cuban Zombie, Margarita, Rum Punch and others. There is a bar just down a few steps from the lobby, the one at the pool, one at the beach and, we were told, one in the disco and in the 9th level tower (but we did not make either of those). You can basically drink from 7AM to 3AM as you bounce from bar to bar. You can eat 24/7, as we found out when we hit the cafe for a snack at 2AM the first night we were there.
The pool is nice and inviting to everyone. The main ring, right in front of the bar, is very shallow at one side and only knee deep before you walk up the stairs into the bar itself. Not quite a swim up bar but good enough. We saw enough stupid people and their filthy habit (smoking) infecting the pool with their ashes; really is sad if you cannot take a swim without smoking. Another ring has the shallow kiddies pool sharing space with the water activities section. The final ring is a deeper pool, about six feet.
The beach is quite amazing and it is easy to see why so many people flock to Cuba to enjoy it. While we did find chicken bones and and a piece of broken glass one day, we have to say that the beach was basically well kept and clean; no accounting for idiot tourists and what they throw where. Free to use are the paddle boats, windsurfers, kayaks and small catamarans (though the latter has someone go out with you and though you don't have to, carry a pesos or two). There are plastic, reclining loungers to use freely and permanent umbrellas made from local materials. The water is typically warm and was fairly calm except for one day that got a yellow caution due to the higher waves, wind and huge undertow. The depth changes quickly and often but we got out a fair bit before the water hit under my chin.
The pictures tell the tale of what Varadero and Havana look like. I will try to give a little of our experience in Havana. In a word, eye-opening. When we were told by LB and read a few reviews about the level of living in Cuba, it still did not stand out in our minds. When you are walking through old Havana, and you get accosted by those asking for items, and the items start with pesos but then runs the gamut through pens and pencils, to soap to clothes to gum to the hat on one's head (mine was a newly bought Snowbirds hat and was not leaving my head), you get a better understanding that while the people may have a lot more than a lot of folks in the world, they also have a lot less. We took about $100CDN worth of items I had purchased in the dollar store (an assortment of toiletries, school supplies and toys) to give out at the hotel to the staff that helped us enjoy our holiday. We never understood or imagined that on the street, at the cafe, in the park, hell, in the third largest cemetery in the world, that we would be asked for any of those things. And the most requested item? Candy. So, the next time we go down, we will devote a large portion to gum and candy.
Next time, I would like to stay at a hotel in Havana itself so that we can walk around a bit more and get in amongst the Cuban people themselves. When we were in St. Martin, we had a car to drive around in and being able to eat where we wanted to and speak to the local people made a huge difference to our holiday. It is also part of what convinced DW that we must retire there and open a bagel shop in St. Phillipsburg, but that is for another day and another story. If you find yourself in need of a vacation but low on funds, give Cuba a look. I think you would actually enjoy it more than Mexico and it is a heck of a lot safer too.
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