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First Day in Cuba

When I comes time to travel, getting from point A to point B somewhere else on the globe, there are times when I wish someone would just hurry up and invent the transporter.

Mind you considering how long it USED to take to travel from North America to the Caribbean, I suppose 16 hours from our house to the hotel in Cuba is not so a long time. Really, to fly there takes three and a half hours, maybe less. But when you figure in time to drive to the airport (1.5 hours), time to park the car, wait for and take the shuttle to the airport (45 minutes), time spent waiting to check in for your flight and then sitting around waiting to board the plane, well, there?s another 3 hours. Then the flight, which is not actually direct and has a half-hour stop over in Holguin (where we have to get off the plane so they can clean it), takes 5 hours. Then there?s picking up your bags, going through customs and a 90 minute bus ride from Cienfuegos to the Gran Caribe Hotel Ancon on the Ancon Peninsula, 20 minutes south of Trinidad. By the time you get there, there?s just enough time to grab a quick cerveza and a sandwich before tumbling into bed, because you are very, very tired. When you have left your house at 10 in the morning and arrive past 1:00 the following morning (Cuba is on daylight savings time) it makes for a very long day.

The first thing we found out the following morning was that our room had an awesome view of the beach and the Caribbean from our balcony. Beautiful pale sand beach, lovely little palapas with beach chairs, turquoise waters. Palm trees. Boardwalks.

The Snack Bar we had discovered the previous evening. It, and it?s drinks bar, are open 24 hours, so there?s always something to eat and drink whenever you like. It?s also where the stage is for the evening?s entertainment. The food isn?t bad either. There are several obvious choices, like hamburgers and hot dogs (real beef hamburgers, not the pork fat and breadcrumb versions you get in Varadero) ham and cheese sandwiches on a bun with tomato and cucumber, pizza, French fries and a few entrees which we didn?t sample. This was good news since the buffet didn?t turn out to be so wonderful. Breakfast was a tad frustrating because the tables are very close together, the dining room is closed in (no patio!), the buffet set-up is laid out in no particularly logical order (plates are put out AFTER some of the food items so you have to break into line to get one) and the other tourists seemed rude and pushy and apt to just pull out their chairs right in front of you as you are making your way across the dining room with your plate, or breathe down your neck as you get your coffee from the machine. Europeans to not seem to have the same sense of personal space as North Americans do, I think. However, we got eggs made to order, fresh squeezed juice, various good tasting bready substances and lots of fresh fruit, but I quickly learned that the tournado-looking things were definitely to be avoided, the bacon (though tasty) needs to be re-cooked on the grill with your eggs, and it?s a good idea to avoid spilling orange juice into your coffee. It was not that the food in and of itself was bad, but the staff seemed bored and disinterested and the experience of getting the food to your table was somewhat frustrating. And did I mention the dining room was hot?

After breakfast we walked on the beach. It was very windy and overcast this first day so we were a bit concerned that the weather would not be great for our stay. Basically we were doing a bit of exploring to fill time until the group we arrived with was supposed to meet in the Disco for an orientation session, where we learned about various things offered at the hotel, restaurants, trips, cost of a taxi, etc. We met one fellow traveller, a fellow from Toronto named Marino, who has been to Cuba about 10 times and alternates staying in a resort one year and travelling independently the next. We found out where to change some money, looked into booking some trips, found out about the three a?la carte restaurants where you need to make reservations, and then set out to explore a little more, which includes a walk to the Las Brisas Trinidad Del Mar next door. Now THERE?S a nice property. All the buildings look like colonial houses with tiled walks and the lobby is gorgeous.

Our hotel is a lot bigger than where we are used to staying so I wasn?t sure we were going to like it as much. Although the room seems very nice and clean, plus the beds are quite comfortable (needs bigger pillows though) and the room has nice features such as mini-fridge and a free safe. Our end of the hotel is a three-story building which is more like the places were are used to staying. The rest of the hotel is quite large, with 7 floors. It is, however, right on a wide beach which is a major plus. (The last place we stayed was also on it?s own beach but it was still a bit of a hike from our room.)

For lunch our first day we opt for the snack bar as neither of us want to face the buffet again. The snack bar is between the pool and the beach, which are both pretty deserted owing to the weather. (The swim-up pool bar doesn?t look like it?s been used this year, which due to the hurricane it probably hasn?t.) However, by the time I?ve had my sandwich and fries and sampled a rather deadly-looking local cocktail called a Trinidad Colonial, which is layered in red, orange and BLUE, I figure the beach is a fine idea. And in fact, by the time we finish lunch and change into our bathing suits, the sun has come out, it?s warmed up considerably and the hotel shelters the beach from the wind. We manage to snag (part of) palapa and a couple of beach chairs and settle in. A few swims and several cocktails later, we are both a bit on the reddish side. Funny, we were sitting in the shade! Hmm, lesson learned.

Back to our room for a shower plus a sit on the balcony with a few ice-cold Crystals we snagged from the hotel?s liquor store. Then off to the lobby to brave the buffet. Either I made some very bad choices or the food is just plain awful but I am not impressed. A bit angry, even. By the end of the meal I?m about ready to have a meltdown so we opt to go straight to bed after dinner. Too much sun, too much booze, not enough sleep.

Filed under Cuba 2006, Feb 25, 2006
 

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