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.