Holiday in Cuba - La Habana

Just back from spending a week at Varadero, Cuba. I have often looked at the brochures and websites advertising the “all inclusive” holidays. They look like paradise – or as close as my finite mind can imagine paradise to be!

For various reasons we were looking for a stress free, restful vacation and this seemed to be the best option at this time.  So we logged on to Trip Advisor, checked out Hotel reviews, zeroed in on The Iberostar Laguna Azul, booked our tickets and away we went.

And yes it was all it was promised to be and yet so much more. Beautiful beachside, lovely big room excellent service, fabulous seafood cooked fresh (wasn’t that great for Julius who is allergic to sea food). There were dancing lessons around the pool, morning water aerobics, afternoon games of beach soccer and volleyball, live after dinner music followed by theatre.  The resort was big enough to find spots in the shade where you could also be unsociable and just read a book.



Iberostar Laguna Azul

The Iberostar Laguna Azul was fairly packed. I found it very interesting to just watch people. The local Cuban staff are a very gracious gentle people. “Hola” and a gentle smile and almost always the next question “where are you from?” “Canada?”  A few of them get daring enough to ask if you have any old clothes for “mi familia.” 

In contrast the guests at the resort were mostly loud, raucous and often disgustingly intoxicated.  I decided I was going to get to know some Cubans and their culture.

Trip One: A day visit to the city of Havana. The first thing that strikes you about Havana is that it seems to be a city frozen in time. Where else do you see vintage American cars running on Lada engines!  Beautiful palaces next to crumbling tenements and store fronts that are vacant or under renovation. Our tour guide tried very hard to paint a very idyllic picture of communism and how “good” it was. Fidel is her second father and all the decisions he took, according to her were for their good. But the reality before us was very different. Unemployment, alcoholism and poverty were very apparent.

There was an almost haunting sadness to the city. It is so rich in history and yet so bare. Obviously tourists are welcomed and very well treated, but Havana does not put on a show for the world. There is an authentic feel about it that is so heartrending and appealing at the same time. 50 years of socialism has left deep scars and yet the spirit of the Cubans is strong – you can hear the drum beat and the beautiful sound of Cuban tenors.
We came to the end of the trip and started our long drive back to Varadero - suddenly the resort did not seem like paradise any more, definitely not the reality of Cuba...