Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Cuban Life

Well, after a short week in Cuba I am back home and NOT loving the rain we are having - I am glad I was able to experience the warmth of the sun in Cuba and have that memory to hold me for a while. Somehow the furnace air coming up from my household ducts is not the same feeling as the hot sunny sun in Cuba - nothing beats blue skies, the sun shining down on your face, and the beautiful blue caribbean seas that Cuba had to offer. There were some downfalls to the trip though and I will explain about those later. First the good stuff! 

This is me and my daughter happy to arrive at the Vancouver airport for our flight to Havana, Cuba.
Now the bad part...the original pictures we had of the place we were going to stay DID NOT look anything like the place we pulled up to! Talk about ghetto...this was NOT a 5* hotel...this was as low as you could go....and I am not joking! We were all shocked when we arrived but later learned that this sort of accommodation is very "normal" in Cuban life. After a few days the shock wore off and we began to just accept what our fate dealt us. Even the fact that some of the girls' bathrooms did not come with toilet seats - Cubans don't use toilet seats! They sit on the porcelain! Eww!!

Our cabana - #28...
The room......
We arrived at 9:00 am and spent the whole day just "chillin" by the pool because we were so tired from our long flight. There was a beach nearby and some of the girls from the basketball team ventured there. Myself, I opted for the lounge and cool waters of the pool. I was able to get in a very long nap and felt refreshed. Others went for a long walk to the nearest village and found this - this could be labeled the "doll cemetery".....
Where all discarded dolls end up as someone else's altered art!The housing....
We had the bestest tour guide - Iovanni - learned so much from him - the history and life of Cuba - plus the fact that he was a cutie patootie! The girls all loved him and when we said our goodbyes at the airport it was a sad time - tears shed by everyone. 

Here is my daughter with Iovanni...
Tomorrow....our basketball girls meet the Cuban girls basketball team....

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