Mojitos and more...

After a delay in Toronto, we arrived in Varadero quite late and to the aftermath of a torrential downpour, so everything was a bit damp, but still very warm. It was still about 25 degrees at 11:00 at night, which worked for me!

Our hotel was located along the Varadero Peninsula, a narrow strip of land with about 50 all-inclusive resorts along the shoreline. Brisas di Caribe, our hotel, was this coral coloured, very festive looking place, with a big bar and seating area at the entrance, 4 large pools and a great beach. I forgot that we were actually on the north side of Cuba though, so rather than facing the Caribbean Sea, we were on the Atlantic, so the water was quite a bit cooler than it would have been were we on the south side of the country. It's all relative though - compared to the Atlantic or the Pacific in Canada, it was still like bathtub water! Because of the time of year though, the nor'westers blow in from the sea, so it was quite windy the entire trip, which is apparently common at this during the winter months.

The whole Cuba experience is a very interesting one. It's sort of a catch-22, because it's very sad and a bit depressing to see how the Cubans live under their 46th year of the embargo - (they call it the Triumph of the Revolution, but you really don't see much to be triumphant about), but on the flip side, the embargo is also what makes the country quite interesting. When we landed, the pilot reminded everyone to set their watches back 50 years, and that's exactly what it was like. Although tourists are definitely insulated a bit from the experience, the minute you step outside your resort, you see the injustice everywhere. The Cubans themselves live in crumbling stone or cinder-block homes that are desperate for a coat of paint, and very few individuals have cars it seems, particularly outside of Havana.

One of the first things you notice, of course, are the cars - lost of vintage Fords and Chevs from the 50s - I generally saw most of the them with their hoods up or burning oil, but everywhere you look there are lots of old vehicles. I guess it's quite the feat trying to keep them running, with no access to AMerican parts - lots of creative auto maintenance going on I think.

We spent a day in Havana (or Habana as they spell it) and it was amazing.. the city really must have been something in its heydey because it has this elegant undercurrent, in spite of the decaying buildings and abandoned streets. The government has been making a big effort to rejuvenate the touristy areas, in order to keep attracting visitors, so there are a few parts of the city that are quite spectacular - sort of a cross between Spain and Morocco - very old-world looking, with old cathedrals and narrow cobblestone alleys. We visited the hotel and the pub where Ernest Hemingway spent the better part of 20 years drinking mojitos and writing "The Old Man & the Sea". ON the other end of the spectrum, we also visited Revolution Square, a huge open space where Castro gathers the people when he wants to communicate with them. There are several monuments dedicated to the revolution, plus a huge 10 story picture of Che Guevera - in fact, there are pictures of Che everywhere you look in Havana.

More later