Pilote's travel blog no. 1 - Cuba, Varadero

Pilote’s Travel Blog no. 1 - Varadero, Cuba


Left a snowy Montreal at 3:30 a.m.  Arrival at the airport was uneventful, not a lot of traffic at that time of the night although I was surprised to see city buses already running at that time, that’s dedication for the late night workers who don’t have access to a car or choose to go green.  The line up at the ticket counter was impressive and we thought we were early!  We were unable to secure side by side seats but there’s never much talking going on when we’re flying therefore not much of a difference in that respect.  The flight took a little longer than advertised more like 4 and a half hours than the 3 hours we expected.
The airport was quiet and orderly, a big change from the usual chaotic mess of Mexico.  You go through the customs area one at a time, you also get your picture taken and then you walk through the “magical” door to the other side, welcome to Cuba.  A parade of buses await the new arrivals.  We found our bus easily onward to our “resort” Club Carey.  Club Carey is given 3 stars in the brochure I think it’s more on the 2 star range.  The bus was full and we were the only two passengers to get off at that destination. Haha.  The hotel itself is quite spread out, some buildings are too old and will be “shortly” replaced with new ones, for the moment they sit forlorn and empty.  No high-rises here, the buildings are all squat and rectangular with no distinctive features. We registered at the front desk which has the nicest building around and the one which was featured in the brochure, you can never trust those pictures.  We were able to change 40$ at the reception but didn’t get a very good rate.  First major disappointment, no internet connection and none available nearby.  I’m typing this blog into works and will transfer it time permitting which is a real drag because I like to make it available in real time.  Our room is big and faces the ocean which is really nice, you can hear the constant roar of the waves through the closed windows. The windows must remain closed, there are mosquitoes around, they’re tiny but they still sting.  There are two beds, both comfortable and the pillows are rock hard like in so many hotels in Mexico.  For our first ever all inclusive it’s a little disappointing I thought it would be more luxurious with more bells and whistles.  Nevertheless, in the end, this suits us better.  We can’t complain about the food, it’s very plentiful and the booze is also free.  Most people we talked to seem to just hang around the complex and not venture out too much. It’s not that easy to get around. Varadero, the town, is further away than we thought, we’ll explore tomorrow.  We were very tired today, took some time to rest and when we woke up again discovered there was no water. Luckily we had taken showers earlier but the situation needed fixing.  The staff was very amenable but everything was poco a poco and it took a little while before water gurgled through the pipes again.  The weather is humid and it won’t be that great for the next three days, Sunday should even be quite chilly but the following weeks should be hot and sunny. I’m too tired to make a lot of pithy observations right now. First impression, a little rugged, friendly staff, their Spanish has a lot of rough edges. We still plan on going to Havana but without internet connections we will have to rely on a tour since I won’t be able to do a lot of research to find a B&B etc…Oh well it’s our first time, a voyage of exploration and discovery. Hasta luego.