Cuba Beach!

Did I ever mention that Cuba is in the Caribbean?  You know what that means...beautiful beaches!

In fact, it's the south side of Cuba that faces the Caribbean.  Havana and Varadero (where the beach resort was) faces the Gulf of Mexico.  

I  wonder if we can see the Florida Keys from the Malecon (that is the sea wall in Havana)...

Anyway, the second half of our vacation was in a beach resort.  This was the entrance.

A sweeping view.

Feeling envious already?  he! he!

We took long walks in the early mornings...

...collected seashells...

...and simply enjoyed the water and salty air.

That was where got our limonadas and piña coladas, by the way... :-)

The pools were pristine.

It was a good idea to bring our waterproof camera.

We had lots of fun with it!

It was a short one week in Cuba.  Before we knew it, we were back in Canada!

(West Jet wing photo credit: the daughter.  All rights reserved.)

Los Habanos - Cuban Cigars

I was in Cuba...I had to try at least once, right?  And so I did...twice! :-)

FIrst night, I had a Guantanamera.  It cost 3.50 CUC.  This was my beginner cigar. :-)

Next night, I had a Cohiba.  Supposedly the best of the best and it was a whopping 8.75 CUC for one.  This cigar used to be FIdel Castro's private brand! (Note: the ones in the picture below are chubbier versions compared to the one I smoked.)

The resort had a cigar room.   You can buy your cigar by the stick and smoke it there.

I told the bartender I was a newbie.  So he did the cutting and lighting for me. 

He also poured me a shot of Santiago de Cuba rum in a snifter.  ¡Excelente!

In his deep baritone voice, he advised me: "Don't swallow the smoke.  Just enjoy in your mouth."  So that's what I did...and it tasted pretty good.

I never smoked cigarettes (and never will).  I actually don't like the smell of cigarette smoke.  But in this room, the cigar smoke was fragrant!

Another local taught me how to hold the cigar "like a man"...wrapped around the forefinger with the middle finger extended.  And you were supposed to wave it around as you chit-chat through the night.  I guess I wasn't holding it 100% correctly...my fingers look a bit obscene!  he! he!

 

Savoured the Cohiba to the last leaf! :-)

So did I pick up a cigar habit?  Nah.  It was good while it lasted but what happens in Cuba, stays in Cuba.  :-)  I'd probably be banished from the house if I started smoking at home!  It wouldn't be the same anyway... but man, in that cigar room, I felt like the "most interesting man in the world."  he! he!

Cuba Shopping

If your vacations are all about looking for bargains on brand items...or even knock-off's...don't go to Cuba.  From the point of view of a decadent capitalist consumer, there's really not much to buy here.

Cuba has a few iconic things going for it.  See how the budding entrepreneurs try to capitalize on them.    

VIntage cars.

Old architecture.

Salsa music.  I did get tired of Guantanamera and Quizas, Quizas, Quizas as it seemed like all the musicians serenading you (while you eat) only had these two song in their repertoires...but I did buy a set of 5 CDs of Cuban music greats for 20 CUC (my biggest purchase!) and the contents went beyond my expectations!

Ernest Hemingway and his rum-drinking habits!   "My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita."  was what he said.  So, if you are a Hemingway fan (or if you like rum!) you have to make a pilgrimage to these two places. 

Somehow, La Bodeguita was the one that got featured in most of the paintings I saw.  This one, bought for 4 CUC.

I didn't go to either place.  I had my mojitos and daiquiris elsewhere.

...like here in Dos Hermanos.

Established 1894.

...and guess who's on the wall.  Ernest and Fidel, buddy-buddy!  I thought the other gentleman might have been Al Capone (because he was reputed to frequent the place as well) but it turned out to be Alejo Carpentier, a famous Cuban writer.  (Google image search works!)

And if you are a Che Guevarra fan, you'll be in heaven.  He's everywhere!  ...although it looks like there's only one photograph ever taken of him.

...his writings too.

...and even on buildings! (In fairness, there is another building with Castro's image on it too.)

He is also on the three-peso bill...not the CUC but the real Cuban money. The person on the one-peso bill is Jose Marti, the national hero.

And last but certainly not least, a trip to Cuba is not complete without los habanos--the Cuban cigar.

(To be continued)

Cuba Expenses: Dining

Let's see... how much bang did I get for my bucks in Cuba... 

We were: 2 regular adults; 2 senior citizens; and 3 kids.  Total 7 pax.  We stayed 3 nights in Havana where breakfast was included with the hotel rooms and 4 nights in Varadero, at an all-inclusive resort...which means we didn't need to pay for anything except the extra shopping and side trips.

We spent a total of $1000 on top of what we had already paid to the travel agency.  Exchange rate was 1 CAD = 0.96 CUC pesos (Cuban Convertible pesos for tourists).  Here's what we paid for.

Re: Meals.  The amount we spent was for a total of 5 meals in Havana only.  Here is our hotel's restaurant...the a la carte menu was good here but the breakfast buffet was mediocre.

We played it safe when it came to food but still some of us (including Yours Truly) got sick.  So we had to take it easy.  I was not eating in full force...which was too bad.  IMPORTANT: Bring anti-diarrhea medication!  No such thing as running out to a corner drugstore to get a packet of Immodium!  For lunch once, I only had chicken soup...different from what I had expected.  It had a lot of vegetables in it.  I found it quite tasty despite my weakened state!

This paella-like dish of chicken and pork was pretty good too!  Er, we got into a feeding frenzy and I only remembered the photo afterwards.  he! he!  The wife and kids loved the leche flan (milk pudding) dessert too!  (Sorry, forgot to take a pic of this!)

There was an abundance of guava, papaya and pineapple at the buffet meals.  I had to hold back on these because of the fragile state of my alimentary canal.  Surprisingly, the children liked fresh guava juice...fresh guava fruit was a bit too seedy for them though.

 

The food at the buffet restaurants at the resort in Varadero was abundant but, in general, lacklustre.

BUT... there would always be one or two dishes that I found excellent!  It was a bit like treasure hunting.  Funny enough, the food I liked tasted very much like Filipino food.  They even had caramelized plantains (my favourite!)  

Grilled fish et al...  

Mussels and shrimp... 

Beef estofado,....

At the resort, the coffee at breakfast was bland and tasteless...but I discovered that if you went to the pool or lobby bar, they had proper coffee!  So not a few times I found myself sipping a double espresso by the pool. :-)

 

All opinions are mine.  I realize how huge buffets need to cater to the tastes of a whole range of people from different backgrounds...and I don't fault the hotel for not being too successful in this humongous task.  However, I have been to some Shangrila and Club Med resorts and I must say that the buffet food there were comparably better.  I generally avoided the pizzas, pastas, burgers & fries, yogurts, etc...and anything else that seem to cater to a Westerner's diet.  My son, on the other hand, was thrilled to find hamburguesa on the menu! :-)

(To be continued)