Cuba January 2013

Hola! We had an awesome time in Cuba. AGAIN. This is the third time we've been in 3 years. Previous to our first trip I was never very interested in vacationing there. But I've been won over. Probably because of the laid back attitude (once you're out of the airport - man, they are serious!) and the gorgeous beaches.

We arrived at the hotel in the early afternoon, which worked out perfectly. There was only a 20 minute wait for our room to be ready, the buffet was still open for lunch, and it was still sunny and hot. We changed our clothes, grabbed a drink, and found a couple of poolside loungers to relax in.

When we got to our room we were shocked to find out that we'd been upgraded to a VIP room. Hammock on the balcony, baby! And a free bottle of rum to take home. All I had mentioned to the girl at reception was that we were return guests and could we have a second floor room - I didn't expect that at all.

Since this was our second trip to the same place we didn't have any plans to go on excursions off the resort. The week was all about relaxing. Usually I over-plan our days so I only get around to reading maybe half a book, but this week I read the two books I brought with me and started re-reading another one that I'd brought specifically to leave behind. We brought about 10 paperbacks with us that we didn't want anymore, to leave on the bookshelf in the lobby. It was hilarious to spot our books later in the week being read by other guests.

We spent our mornings hanging out on the beach, and our afternoons by the pool. We also walked down the beach several times to another hotel to exchange money at the bank. The rate was much better than at hotel reception and we needed the exercise anyway. The buildings at the other hotel were prettier than ours, but their beach wasn't much to speak of, so I'm glad we chose the one we did.

While at the other hotel we wandered through the marketplace and Tom was fixated on buying one of these wooden scorpions.

I think they're disgusting. Lovely workmanship, but the subject? Yuck. He settled on buying a wooden crab instead and plans to hide it in his co-worker's drawer to scare him. Boys!

Part of the fun of vacation is having your room straightened for you each day and trying to guess what towel animal will be waiting for you when you come back from the beach. Our housekeeper favoured swans, but she found a different way to display them every day.

(Side note: on a cruise a few years ago our cabin steward left a towel dog one day and then a towel monkey suspended from a hanger the next. Tom thought it was the dog again and said, "What kind of sick person would hang a dog by its paws?!" It still makes me laugh.)

We managed to go horseback riding twice during the week - once for an hour with a couple who had never ridden before, and then again on our last day for a longer two-hour ride. We rode along the road, down some trails, and then along the beach. I think Tom got the same horse both days because he (the horse) would just suddenly wander off the path and start eating leaves. And each time he would get scolded by the trail guide, but I swear that horse had a smirk afterwards.

On the first ride, after stripping off the leaves, he even carried the branch with him for the rest of the ride - like a proud puppy. And my horse kept walking along leaning his head on Tom's leg - because he would scratch behind the horse's ears. I think we need to get horses!

The nightly entertainment didn't start until 9:45 each evening and we were only able to stay awake a couple of times. Such oldsters. One of the best nights was "Cuban night" when they told the history of Cuban art through dance. The dancers were so good! And the costumes were gorgeous. Tom decided he needs one of those flamenco jackets.

We did get to Playa Pilar, the star of the area, but it was an overcast and windy day so we only stayed for a couple of hours. The highlight was our taxi ride back to the hotel - check out this 1957 Oldsmobile. And the proud owner. He kept petting the dashboard every time he talked about it. Since Tom is a mechanic he really wanted to discuss it more, but alas, our Spanish isn't strong enough (yet).  New Year's Resolution - practice more often!

It was so great to re-unite with staff from last year, and to make new friends - Hi, Maria! - that we can't wait to go back again. Is it bad that I'm already checking out prices?

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Another Pina Colada?

We're in Cuba this week. The temperature is supposed to be in the high twenties (that's around 80 degrees for you farenheit folks). I can hardly wait. Especially since they say it's going to be far below freezing in Ontario all next week.

We're going back to the Sol Cayo Guillermo again - the same resort we stayed at last year. We've never stayed at the same place twice, but this one was pretty nice. Definitely worth a second trip. The resort is laid out in one and two storey buildings with every room facing the ocean, so everyone has a great view.

The plan this time is to just hang out on the beach or by the pool, and to do some horseback riding. The trail leads along a lazy creek and then down past the other hotels in the area. It's such a relaxing and beautiful ride. I've ridden in other places where they're on a tight schedule and make you keep the horses trotting, but not here - this is all about taking your time and letting the horse lead you.

And to top it off we'll be going to the most gorgeous beach in Cuba - Playa Pilar. Miles of sand. And can you believe the colour of the water?

The water is fairly shallow so it's a comfortable swimming area - no big waves - we even did some snorkeling last time. I think I saw a fish but Tom doesn't believe me.

Hope you're having a great time wherever you are, and we'll see you in a week!

Cuba - final installment

It's a dreary, rainy day here today - they're even talking of slushy snow on the radio - so how about a final round of Cuba photos to warm the place up?

We went on an excursion to the local towns of Ciego de Avila & Moron.  On these types of trips I'm always obsessed with taking pictures of the buildings.  I just love the detail, the colours, the smooth walls.  It's so different than anything we have here in Canada.

And yes they are sometimes dingy & in need of repair, but that doesn't take away from the beauty.

I also couldn't stop taking pictures of these trees. I know now that they're called Royal Palm, but I just called them the "fatty trees". (I mean like, "my dog is a fatty", not like "let's go smoke a fatty". What kind of blog do you think this is?)  

Though the sharp teeth were kind of scary (may not be a royal palm here).

And the flowers, oh the flowers!

Don't these look like radishes?

I'll leave you with my little anole friend.  He was showing off by the pool one day.  

Or maybe he was warning me away from his deck chair.

Cuba March 2012

I realized that I'd promised to bore you with my vacation pictures, but that I hadn't done it yet. I started to go through them and just couldn't narrow them down to less than 50, so I'll split this into two posts.  Everyone has seen a pool and a beach so I'm going to try to focus on the other things that we experienced.

We stayed at the Sol Cayo Guillermo on Cayo Guillermo (duh), a tiny island above Cayo Coco.  I chose the hotel because people couldn't stop talking about how beautiful the beach was and the friendliness of the staff.  Many people return there year after year.  And the property was everything advertised.  Gorgeous pool, fantastic room, and there wasn't a staff member unwilling to help you. 

This was our room. Check out that vaulted ceiling. The wood was stained brown and then had a light whitewash over it. Spectacular.

We had to wait about 3 hours for our room to be ready - since the buffet wasn't open, we spent that time in the bar.  Maybe 3 hours was a bit too long because this was taken about 5 minutes after we got into our room.  Such a party animal. 

The bathroom was pretty cool.  The shower had a rustic ladder in the corner to hold our towels.  I want one of those in our bathroom at home.

We became friends with one of the gardeners and he would leave me a handmade gift every day.  Like this coconut and flower.

The coconut had a grasshopper on top.  A grasshopper woven from palm leaves. 

 Apparently he was an angry grasshopper.

The gardener also made a fish for me. It was on a long thin piece of palm leaf that looked like a fishing line.  He stuck it in the door lock and when I opened the door in the morning it swung towards me. Scared the crap out of me. Nevertheless it was a sweet gesture.

He also made a hat for Tom.  

We came back from an excursion and found this gift from the maid.

So we had to try it out ourselves.

I do have to show off the beach a bit - since it's the crowning glory of the area.  I gave you a taste with my previous post but just drink these in.  This is a beach north of our hotel called Playa Pilar.

Yep, I'm hot, I know. ;-)

This is the pier at the hotel next door.  During the day the tide goes out and it's so shallow that people would take their chairs far out into the water. We met some cute Canadian kids fishing at the end of the pier.

Amazing isn't it?  

That's probably enough for now. Next time I'll share with you the towns that we visited and horseback riding along the beach. Plus introduce you to some of the people we had the pleasure to meet.