Cuba 2009

Arrived home from Cuba last night (Friday 30th) Was an enjoyable trip.
Food was good. Iberostar Playa Alameda Resort was beautiful. Little out of the mainstream but very good.

Friday January 23/09
Up at 2am. In the airport by 3;15am. Arrived in Cuba at noon. Nice warm day.
Spent a couple hours relaxing by the pool and then a quiet evening. We were kind of tired from the early hour.

Saturday January 24/09
Not a nice day weather wise. Windy, overcast and cool. Decided to take an open air
double decker bus to the town of Varadero. Shopped around at the flea market, went to the Plaza Americana and then back to the hotel resort to rest and relax.

Sunday January 25/09
Louise woke up feeling really sick today. We had booked a Jeep safari tour so I went ahead and it was a good thing she didn't go. Rough, dusty off roads and a very long day. Didn't get back to the resort till 7pm.
Beautiful day. Very warm. Saw lots of the country, stopped at a farm and saw their sugar cane fields, sweet potatos, papya and pineapple growing. Got to go into the farm house and see how they lived. Very poor sparse conditions.
Saw a lot of children along the tour. Some of the people had brought gifts for the children. It was interesting the way the gifts were received. The children almost had a sense of entitlement. They made it clear they expected something. If they got it they were very gracious, if not, well their faces told the story.
In Cuba everyone makes the same wage, no matter doctor, worker or farmer. The most sought after jobs are in the hospitality industry because of the tipping.
Did some snorkelling on the tour, went into an underwater cave and ended the day
with a boat ride and a tour of the city of Matanzas. Long day but interesting.

Monday January 26/09
The highlight of the trip. A private tour of Havana. We lucked out on this one.
A group of six (three couples) from Regina were short two people for a private tour.
We were invited to join them. It was great. Only eight of us and the guide.
That allowed us to talk freely with the guide and learn a lot about life in Cuba.
Missed out on all those annoying hotel stops as well.
It is difficult to get acurate information in Cuba but the guide did tell us life is
very hard in his country and there really is no incentive to improve your life.
Your housing is looked after. Apparently you are given some sort of food stamps etc.
In other words you are looked after for your basic needs and nothing more.
Our guide made the same as his wife, a nurse, and was away from home two months at a time. He had no car and to visit her every two months he had to ride the bus for 16 hours. Cuba is caught up mildly in Obama mania hopefully the new American President will lift the sanctions. There is deep dislike of the Americans and it didn't take them long to tell us that. We saw all the highlights of Havana including a great lunch at a quaint little cafe. Hopefully pictures will follow later.

Tuesday January 27/09
Woke up to glorious sunshine and beautiful blue skies. Spent the day on the beach and it was great.
In the evening we bused to the Club Tropicana and took in Cuban music, dancing and
costumes. Fabulous.

Wednesday January 28 and Thursday January 29/09
Two more glorious beach days. Hot and fantastic. Beautiful while sand
and lots of sunshine.

Friday January 30/09
Time to go home. Was ready. Caught a 2:50pm flight home.
Very good trip with six out of seven days hot and sunshine.

Thoughts on Cuba
Our food was good. We ate at the buffet a lot. Only did the restaurants once.
Were not overwhelmed by the restaurant but enjoyed the buffet.
Our resort was good, very clean but a little isolated. I would have liked to have been closer to the town of Varadero.
Cuba is not inexpensive. The constant tipping was tiring.
The people are fantastic. Very friendly and easy going.
Would love to see the USA lift the restrictions because the people suffering are the innocent.
Enjoyed Cuba but would not be in a big rush to go back. Lots of other places to go
but I was really glad we did go there.

More airplanes

In the air today heading for Calgary and the dreaded budget meetings for 2009.
Well at least the weather is good. Plus five here today and apparently going to be something like
plus fourteen in Calgary.
Budget planning has been fun this year. With the economic situation its difficult to get a firm commitment out
of businesses, especially car dealers who make up a large part of my customers.

The Bus

The bus is travelling to the left because you can't see the doors.
Reluctantly, perhaps, maybe, I may not be smarter than a pre schooler.
I had to be told the answer

Miracle on the Hudson

Just watching video coverage of the airplane that landed on the Hudson River in New York.
What an incredible job by the pilots of that plane. What an absolute miracle that they could land like that
and no one was killed. I think the only injury was a broken leg. Now that is truly a miracle

Another snowy day

Another snowy, wintery day today. Seems like we are getting lots of snow this year.
I think I have used my snowblower more this year than any other year that I can remember. I think its time to move to British Columbia where it is paradise all the time.

How Great is Our God Part Two

Quiet household

We are back to being empty nesters again as Jennifer has returned to Ottawa and her law studies. It was great to have her home, watch some favourite TV shows get together with Tim and Sarah, and other activities.
It was a nightmare getting her home. The little airline that is supposed to be better than the big one cancelled her flight three times so Louise and I finally drove her to Calgary where she was able to get an all night flight back to ottawa and make it to a can't miss exam that she could not cancel.
Weather was great in Calgary - 6 and sunny, cold in Saskatoon so I am still trying to figure out what the cancellations were all about.
We left at 3pm - Got home at 5:30am. Fun Times

The sunset on the drive to Calgary

Finally Home

Jennifer finally arrived home after numerous more delays
7am Monday instead of 1:30pm on sunday.
Air travel in this country is ridiculous

More airport nightmares

Took Jennifer to the Saskatoon airport this morning at 5:30am but she was unable to take off because it was too cold for WestJet to de ice the plane. Don't really understand that as Air Canada was still taking off but who knows. Plus a friend was leaving for Phoenix on another airline and left without a problem
Anyway she is back home sleeping for a bit rescheduled for noon with a long delay in Calgary and then supposed to arrive in Ottawa around midnight. So much for the flight we booked that was supposed to get her into Ottawa at 1:20pm
Just got another notice from WestJet that now this flight is delayed until 2pm.
Reminds me of the joke about the blonde who said after the third of four engines had quit on an airplane and another delay. Great if that last engine quits, we'll be up
here all day

New Years Eve

Make a Smilebox postcard

356 Days

Only 356 days left until Christmas