Cuba 2017 - Part Two

19 Nov 17

     We had fully intended for this to be our first beach day but since we flew in with Westjet we were kind of obligated to meet with the company's Cuban representative. It is this person's task to provide assistance to the Westjet customers in Coo-ba. Every airline or travel agency has a rep that travels to all the resorts on a daily basis. Their biggest task is to inform and sell excursions outside of the resort. Trips to Havana, Trinidad,  Matanzas, day long catamaran rides c/w a lobster lunch, etc. Since we had already been to Cuba and did not relish the follow the herd bus tours my Lobster had booked our excursions with a government sanctioned private company.

     Having to meet the WJ rep delayed our beach time until after lunch which was something that did not make me happy. When we did get to the beach it was fairly packed with an international assortment of tourists. Mostly Serbs, Italians, Germans and French-Canadians.

     Just to be clear the locals pronounce their country as Coo-ba not Qew-ba.

     Varadero had been hit by not one but two hurricanes. The second one was a Cat 5 and although there was some evidence of wind damage in the form of roofs covered in tar paper awaiting shingles. Of course being socialist Coo-ba, if 10,000 packages of shingles were imported no single resort would get tbe lion's share of the shingles. Rather, each resort would get an equal number until none are needed. We had heard that some resorts had lost all of their beach huts and lounge chairs, which was not surprising.

20 Nov 17
Road Trip

     We started our day at 0-Dark 15 by getting ready for our road trip. As I had mentioned, my Better Half had pre-booked two excursions with a government sanctioned private company called Cuba Connections. Our guides were Fernando and Plus 1. Plus 1 was the driver who opened doors, closed doors and most of kept us alive on the Cuban roads. We would be visiting Trinidad - a 503 year old city identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and Cienfuego - a 200 year old city founded by the French.

      Fernando had been an art teacher but now he is a professional photographer who creates elaborate and political art pieces by using photos. We found him to be incredibly knowledgeable and opinionated and truthful. Just the kind of guy you would want to hang in a bar with and solve the world's problems. Nice thought except he doesn't drink. 

     Enroute to Trinidad, Fernando took us to a roadside restaurant. I had the Lobster tail, garlic shrimp and seared fish fillet (type unknown). My Better Half had the pollo (chicken). After the meal I complimented the chef. This diminutive Cuban woman had cooked food that was better than anything we had been gnawing on at the resort. The dessert was a coconut flan, not my fave. The flan was served sitting on a swoosh of mysterious green sauce. Surprise!  It's Creme de Menthe. As I've said before and I'll say it again, the Cuban people try hard to be worldly but they should let the world really discover who they are and they will be better for it.