LOOK!

While I’m in Austin, TX, let me blog about Cuba, because that sounds about right. 

I’ve heard the anticipation of a vacation is sometimes better than the vacation itself. And although I don’t quite agree, every day leading up to Cuba I would imagine sitting in the shade on the beach, reading a book, and hearing the waves crash. I had high expectations for this little island, and let me tell you, Cuba nailed it. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to go to Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Aruba, and the Bahamas, but none of those islands beaches came close to Cuba’s INCREDIBLE beaches.  Cuba (Varadero to be exact) was spectacular. It was like stepping into a postcard. 

Here my favourite (beach) photos from the trip (unedited, because who has time for that?!)

(Has anyone ever seen one of these sun rings? It was so weird/cool! (It’s not from the camera, it looked like that in the sky!) 

The Resort:

Name: Hotel Bella Costa

Total Cost CND$975 (US$752) That’s all-in (flights/food/everything)

Beach: AMAZING

Hotel Grounds: Well kept, but nothing fancy

Rooms: Meh.  We stayed in the old area of the hotel, and the room wasn’t great at all. No TV (#communisim), dirt in the corners, we’d get one towel a day. It wasn’t great Bob. 

Communism is terrible. Let me start by saying that. 

I was actually torn on whether to visit this country again (I went nine years ago) as I strongly feel that at the end of the day, when it comes to Cuba, tourism supports the Cuban Regime. In the end my desire to see Havanna and the cheap prices got me there.

It’s fascinating. And sad. And while there I couldn’t stop researching everything; education, healthcare, careers, home ownership, etc.  If you’re up for a rabbit hole, I strongly suggest reading about Cuba.

Havanna is a beautiful city of ruins, mixed with gorgeous buildings, and people hustling and bustin’ on their way to and from places.  There are two very distinct areas of the city, the tourist area, and real Havanna, and if you ever go before to see the real one.  We walked up and down the streets where you could see into window-less homes, with an entire family living in a room with a mattress.  

The people have limited government-controlled Internet. and I was told some people don’t know better, whereas others have caught on that there’s another better potential life out there.   We met two women (we asked them for a lunch recco, and they ended up joining us) who answered a lot of our questions.

At the end of the lunch I said, “you seem so happy,” to one of the women, and she replied with something I’ll never forget, “the Cuban people smile on the outside, but cry on the inside.”   Her dream was to see snow one day, but it’s almost impossible for Cubans to get approved to leave travel, and you need a huge amount of money to do so.

I hope the Cuban Regime falls in our lifetime, as it’s a beautiful country, with wonderful people, a horrendous government, and a country that feels like going back in time.