Anyway, over Spring Break I went on a trip to Varadero in Cuba. Which, if nothing else, promised to give me some respite from the never-ending Canadian winter. I felt kind of bad initially, as my intention in going to as interesting a country as Cuba was pretty much to lie down on a beach for a week. But, y'know, if you've ever lived in a place in which -20 temperatures for about six months of the year are commonplace I think you'll sympathise with me.
Varadero was as expected: tourist central. It's a town that pretty much exists for Canadian tourists looking to escape for a bit of sunshine, comparable to certain resorts in Spain that offer traditional Spanish cuisine such as fish and chips. The Costa del Cuba if you will. And to any Brits that cringe when they hear news of some slags from Essex punching a waiter in the head in Magaluf, don't worry. The Canucks in Cuba are just as bad, if not worse. You could tell some of them hadn't left the hotel for their entire two week stay, which was crazy. Being in the resort felt like being in Spain, you only got a sense that Varadero was even Cuban by going into the town. The beach was lovely though, although we couldn't go in the sea until midweek because there were too many jellyfish. It was just nice to actually be WARM for the first time since October.
I have two highlights of the trip. The first was going into a club in Varadero, which turned out to be open-air, and dancing under the stars until the early hours. I put my back out trying to keep up with hip-wiggling of the locals (note: do NOT attempt this. Latin Americans will ALWAYS beat you in the dancing stakes, unless you are black or a gay man. Nerdy white girls don't stand a chance.) but had lots of fun in the process. The second was our day trip into Havana. Like I said, Varadero is a perfect relax/get shitface place, but not very Cuban so I was looking forward to be a big loser and going 'OMGHISTORYANDPRETTYBUILDINGS!' in Havana. Which I did. Lots. About 15 of us went and we had our own tour guide, who was really, really good and interesting to talk to. We went to obvious places, like Revolution Square (apparently Fidel used to witter on for six hours at a time when giving his speeches. I hope his medicine cabinet was well stocked with Strepsils.) and the Hotel Ambos Mundos, where Hemingway stayed and got pissed on Mojitos, but just walking around the city was the best bit. The buildings are pretty run-down, some falling to bits, but it didn't look depressing - just even more beautiful. I really wish I could've spent longer there and it's a city I have to go back to. Before long and before it changes. I'm not going to go into the political pros and cons of the relationship between Cuba and the US opening up again under Obama, but I think it's safe to say that Havana, and Cuba as a whole, will not remain as it is if these progresses continue.
Anyway, I got back from Cuba and it was snowing. It's still snowing. FML. Oh well, have a picture. Be jealous.
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| Varadero Beach |
