The Cuban Team

Our next day started early and we all went down to the "buffet" at our accommodations. The food takes some getting used to and by the end of the week we were all "used" to it in some way or another. The fresh fruit was great, but other items in the buffet were just not what we normally ate back at home. Boiled eggs were the safe thing to eat because sometimes when they made you an omelet it was very "runny" in the middle - gross!!

After breakfast it was time to load up on the bus again and head for the gym for a training session with the Cuban team. This is what greeted us as we walked in - not at all like the gymnasiums we have - it was sure an eye-opener for our girls.

The team that was at this end of the court trying to score had a real hard time seeing because of the glare from the blaring sun - you would've thought that it would be hot inside this gym because it was outside, but surprisingly it stayed cool no matter what time of day we were in it.

The gym was also a "storage" space for the hotel that was next door -see the extra mattresses, chairs and tables?

Above us the gym rafters...there were birds chirping around and yes, the occasional shoulder was the landing point for the relief of the birds...

And of course there was a mural of Che Guevara...

Our girls getting ready...

Our girls teaching the Cuban girls their warm-ups...

A view of the gym floor - there were many ruts in the court...

Another view of the gym from the neighboring hotel pool area...

The two teams together with their coaches...

My daughter's Cuban "mate" that she was paired up with - her name was Cardelia...

Being silly on the bus...

Our girls had a good time with the Cuban team and had three days of training and games with them. On their last day together the Cuban team joined our girls for a bus ride into Havana for lunch and to spend the day by the pool. Communication was hard, but by sharing a meal and having fun in the pool there wasn't much time for words - only smiles and laughter.

The Cuban team was very skilled and many of them were tall with wide arm spans. Their passing was quicker than ours and we were outplayed on all the games we had with them. The girls on this team are selected from the different provinces in Cuba so they are the best of the best. They train together and a few of them will be selected for the Cuban National team. So, we were not surprised at how skilled they were.

Next up - sights from the city of Havana...