Our family got another chance to vacation in Cuba this past week. My husband "hosts" a tour for his radio station, its a cross promotion thing and a lovely little perk for us. We've now visited Cuba twice and I much preferred this trip to the last, in spite of a few bumps along the way.
Day 1: Leaving Edmonton at O'dark thirty. UGH. Flying Air Transat means the seats are squished together so tightly I could feel my neighbours tummy rumble before breakfast. 5 hours, 2 movies and a very odd meal later we were in Varadero. Getting off the plane and into that beautiful gentle tropical air was a blessing...AHHH! 30 minutes on the bus to the resort and then a minor reshuffling of rooms (they had our daughters in a separate building!) and we were off to the buffet. We shoveled in some food and then found some beach chairs to hang out in to wait for our rooms to be made up. Fortunately for us it was a cooler day and we didn't sizzle ourselves as we all fell asleep for a while. Into our rooms at about 2pm and then after a nap and a shower we were off to dinner in the Italian a la carte. WOW! That was an amazing meal! The food is often pretty boring in Cuba as they don't import much and just have to make do with whats there. This resort had a talented crew in the kitchen and everything was not only palatable but downright appealing!
Day 2: The beach. AHHHHH! Azure water, white sand and a shady palapa with a pina colada by my side. Nuff said.
Day 3: Hopped on the bus to Varadero to do some shopping. The girls took about 80 zillion photos. (Mostly of dogs, but some other oddities cropped up too) We got most of our shopping done, there just isn't a ton to buy in Cuba. They do a lot of crochet work, and other weaving things (bought a hammock!), they do leather, some jewelry (nice silver earrings), and some typical Cuban stuff. They make things out of pop cans. Cars, cameras, airplanes and other things are all made out of Coke and Fanta cans. Kind of cool.
Day 4: First of a few bug bites. ITCHY! I am terribly prone to mozzie bites. For some reason they just adore me. So...brilliant person that I am what do I do? I take some Benadryl to combat the itch - SMART. Then we go to lunch and I have a couple of glasses of wine with our lunch - not so smart. Finally, we go back to the beach and I fall asleep on my chair before reapplying any sunscreen - REALLY NOT SMART! Owie. Fortunately for me, I am not prone to burning and my burn was only bad in a couple of places. Sigh.
Day 5: Beach was pretty crowded so after lunch we moved over to the pool. Kate had been a bit cranky as she was hot and burnt too. My girls like to play in the surf, but won't actually SWIM in the ocean. I think they got a bit weirded out seeing actual FISH in there.
So, the pool it was. They cooled off and were MUCH happier. Maddie and I played some beach volleyball in the AM, it was great fun, but WAY too hot to play for long.
Day 6: Kate, Ken and I all had a bit of an upset overnight with our tummies. We all felt OK in the morning and thought we would be OK to go on the tour we'd booked. (Riverboat run, then into Matanzas, a tour of a local farm, and then finally a cave tour) Sadly, Kate's tummy started acting up on the boat and she and I arranged to get a cab back to Varadero and the resort. I was a bit nervous about this as it was about a 45 minute drive back. 2 women alone in a strange country...you can imagine my worry. Ken was going to ditch the tour and come with us, but as soon as we met our cab driver I felt immediately at ease and told him to take Madeleine and continue on. I know it sounds nuts but I don't think there is much crime in Cuba. I have yet to meet anyone who was not completely helpful and friendly. Don't get me wrong, there are the pushy vendors etc, but overall the folks are gentle and kind. Back we went to the resort and we slept til supper. Ken and Madeleine regaled us with tales of the trip and we spent a lovely evening playing checkers and DS.
Day 7: Last day. WAAAA! Decided to hang out at the pool more as my bug bites were BUGGING ME! Stupid tasty blood. Played some pool volleyball and just generally enjoyed the family time. Dinner at the "international" restaurant to wind up the "tour" was lovely.
Day 8: Up most of the night as we needed to check out at 430am. Oh, and a little more tummy trouble to boot. (Ken and I only this time) I think that had to be the most miserable day of poor Ken's life. I didn't think it was possible for someone that tanned to look that white. We finally arrived home after nearly 12 hours of waiting and travelling. He went off to bed, and I started the laundry.
I put up a few pictures on my profile. Cuba is really very beautiful but I think the best thing of all was that we were cut off from all the "stuff" at home. No cell phones, no internet, no work, no school, no worries about Mom's or bills or anything. Just us. I know that my friends in the US won't get to visit there for a while, hopefully someday you will though. Its worth a look.
Day 1: Leaving Edmonton at O'dark thirty. UGH. Flying Air Transat means the seats are squished together so tightly I could feel my neighbours tummy rumble before breakfast. 5 hours, 2 movies and a very odd meal later we were in Varadero. Getting off the plane and into that beautiful gentle tropical air was a blessing...AHHH! 30 minutes on the bus to the resort and then a minor reshuffling of rooms (they had our daughters in a separate building!) and we were off to the buffet. We shoveled in some food and then found some beach chairs to hang out in to wait for our rooms to be made up. Fortunately for us it was a cooler day and we didn't sizzle ourselves as we all fell asleep for a while. Into our rooms at about 2pm and then after a nap and a shower we were off to dinner in the Italian a la carte. WOW! That was an amazing meal! The food is often pretty boring in Cuba as they don't import much and just have to make do with whats there. This resort had a talented crew in the kitchen and everything was not only palatable but downright appealing!
Day 2: The beach. AHHHHH! Azure water, white sand and a shady palapa with a pina colada by my side. Nuff said.
Day 3: Hopped on the bus to Varadero to do some shopping. The girls took about 80 zillion photos. (Mostly of dogs, but some other oddities cropped up too) We got most of our shopping done, there just isn't a ton to buy in Cuba. They do a lot of crochet work, and other weaving things (bought a hammock!), they do leather, some jewelry (nice silver earrings), and some typical Cuban stuff. They make things out of pop cans. Cars, cameras, airplanes and other things are all made out of Coke and Fanta cans. Kind of cool.
Day 4: First of a few bug bites. ITCHY! I am terribly prone to mozzie bites. For some reason they just adore me. So...brilliant person that I am what do I do? I take some Benadryl to combat the itch - SMART. Then we go to lunch and I have a couple of glasses of wine with our lunch - not so smart. Finally, we go back to the beach and I fall asleep on my chair before reapplying any sunscreen - REALLY NOT SMART! Owie. Fortunately for me, I am not prone to burning and my burn was only bad in a couple of places. Sigh.
Day 5: Beach was pretty crowded so after lunch we moved over to the pool. Kate had been a bit cranky as she was hot and burnt too. My girls like to play in the surf, but won't actually SWIM in the ocean. I think they got a bit weirded out seeing actual FISH in there.
So, the pool it was. They cooled off and were MUCH happier. Maddie and I played some beach volleyball in the AM, it was great fun, but WAY too hot to play for long. Day 6: Kate, Ken and I all had a bit of an upset overnight with our tummies. We all felt OK in the morning and thought we would be OK to go on the tour we'd booked. (Riverboat run, then into Matanzas, a tour of a local farm, and then finally a cave tour) Sadly, Kate's tummy started acting up on the boat and she and I arranged to get a cab back to Varadero and the resort. I was a bit nervous about this as it was about a 45 minute drive back. 2 women alone in a strange country...you can imagine my worry. Ken was going to ditch the tour and come with us, but as soon as we met our cab driver I felt immediately at ease and told him to take Madeleine and continue on. I know it sounds nuts but I don't think there is much crime in Cuba. I have yet to meet anyone who was not completely helpful and friendly. Don't get me wrong, there are the pushy vendors etc, but overall the folks are gentle and kind. Back we went to the resort and we slept til supper. Ken and Madeleine regaled us with tales of the trip and we spent a lovely evening playing checkers and DS.
Day 7: Last day. WAAAA! Decided to hang out at the pool more as my bug bites were BUGGING ME! Stupid tasty blood. Played some pool volleyball and just generally enjoyed the family time. Dinner at the "international" restaurant to wind up the "tour" was lovely.
Day 8: Up most of the night as we needed to check out at 430am. Oh, and a little more tummy trouble to boot. (Ken and I only this time) I think that had to be the most miserable day of poor Ken's life. I didn't think it was possible for someone that tanned to look that white. We finally arrived home after nearly 12 hours of waiting and travelling. He went off to bed, and I started the laundry.
I put up a few pictures on my profile. Cuba is really very beautiful but I think the best thing of all was that we were cut off from all the "stuff" at home. No cell phones, no internet, no work, no school, no worries about Mom's or bills or anything. Just us. I know that my friends in the US won't get to visit there for a while, hopefully someday you will though. Its worth a look.
