Sol Pelicano Cayo Largo 2004

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In The Beginning...

I booked my vacation through http://selloffvacations.com . I was very impressed with their service and everything went very smoothly. My total price for a 7 day all-inclusive, hotel, meals, drinks, activities, return air and taxes was $666.84 Canadian. This seemed like a good deal as previously I had seen the same Cuban resort going for over $1200.00 U.S. I also booked parking in Toronto on-line for 7 days which totaled $45.40. It was two minutes from the airport, and included a free shuttle there and back. I was wary about going to Cuba during the off season but the weather was excellent. It couldn?t have been better. If you are going to Cayo Largo, I would recommend checking out the following site; http://www.cayolargo.net This excellent private site has everything you need to know.

Friday July 16, 2004

Got up at 7:00 am. Finished packing and left at 8:30. Took the wrong road and got lost in Toronto but still managed to arrive at the parking spot at high noon , which was the exact time I had specified I would be there. I was given a receipt with a number to call for a return shuttle once I arrived back from my trip. At the airport, my ticket awaited me at the Sunquest booth exactly as I had been told it would. Since my plane didn't leave until 3:30 pm, I had lunch and somehow hooked up with a private detective turned pig farmer who kept me entertained with his stories. I put my baggage through the x-ray machine. The customs agents had a little huddle and then called me over. I think they liked to make a game of identifying unknown articles. "Is that a harmonica?" one of them asked. I agreed then turned around accidentally poking one of them in the stomach. That's me?the ambassador of good will.

The three hour direct flight (Sky Service) was uneventful and included a good movie and not a bad supper. Arrived at the Cayo Largo airport at 7:00 pm. It was dull and had been raining. I began to wonder if I'd made a mistake in coming during the rainy season. The customs agents set free the professional drug sniffing hounds - a little brown spaniel with a bobbed tail and a happy go lucky golden lab. They wandered among the passengers while we patted them.


VIEW FROM THE TOWER	CLOSE UP OF THE POOL	THE SOL PELICANO HOTEL


HOTEL TENNIS COURTS	OCEAN VIEW FROM THE TOWER	HOTEL THEATRE

I retrieved my suitcase. The airline managed to snap the handle off it so it was a little difficult to lug around. The hotel bus picked us up for the 7 minute ride to the Sol Pelicano resort. The check-in took about 20 minutes and then I went off to find my room. It was very nice with two beds and a wall safe operated by the same swipe card that opened my door. I relaxed and watched satellite tv. There were no shortage of English programs and movies. Later, I wandered down to the buffet restaurant. The food was excellent and plentiful with a large variety. I had a very small amount of everything and by the time I made it through the line, my plate was heaped quite full. The waiters were very attentive and brought me various juices. I returned to my room to watch tv and study my guidebook and maps to make plans for tomorrow.

Saturday July17, 2004

Got up and had breakfast. Not just toast and eggs but there was also chicken and beef and vegetables and yogurts, mango juice, guayavas, pineapples - pretty much anything you could think of. A perfect sunny day. I met our Sunquest travel agent for the 10:00 briefing. She gave us maps of the resort and filled us in on all the activities and gave us many tips. She suggested that we not take the optional flight to Havana as the planes are from 1945 and accidents have happened in the past. She did not elaborate. The same was said about scooter rentals as there have been many accidents and they are not covered by insurance.

Later I walked barefoot about 5 km along the beach to the east as far as the tower. All the hotels are clustered together within about 2 km. Several are abandoned due to past storms. The beaches are superb. I could see for miles in either direction and there was no one there. Most people tend to stay right by the resorts. The beaches are pristine and do not need raking as is the practice of most resorts. I swam, walked and jogged for hours then returned to the resort. Had my buffet lunch at the ranch style restaurant right on the beach. Again, there was a variety of tasty morsels and drinks.


PLAYA MAL TIEMPO	YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT WILL WASH UP	PLAYA MAL TIEMPO AGAIN

There was a daily 3:00 snorkeling tour on the reef which was included. I had just received some demo contacts so I tried unsuccessfully to put them in. I gave up and I met my guide, Julio, at the activity centre after borrowing a set of mask, snorkel and fins (included as well) from the beach activity centre. Julio and I walked about 1/2 a km along the beach to the east where two other guests joined us. We swam about 1/4 of a km out to the reef. Julio is a great guide - he goes where he wants and if you don't follow, you get left behind. I was having a great time until I got my standard Charlie horse in the calf of my leg. I ignored it until the other leg developed one as well. Julio was long gone so I swam back to shore using only my arms. No one missed me. While I am prone to cramps, I think it was probably brought on by my beach walking. It's a whole new set of muscles. I ordered a few pina coladas to take my mind off them, then I did some more swimming. Went back to my room and relaxed.


PLAYA BLANCA	ME, SURROUNDED BY MY FRIENDS	PLAYA BLANCA

I went for supper and was once again impressed. They had one area where you could pick out raw vegetables and meats and have them cooked in front of you. There was rabbit and squid, beef, chicken and everything in between. From there, I went over to the disco bar and played a few games of pool with some of the guests and had a few more pina coladas. At 11:00 I took the bus ($1.00 U.S.) to the Hotel Isla del Sur. I had been told that the hotel staff usually went to the disco there. The bus driver dropped me off and said he would return at 12:30. The disco was quite nice, and even had a bowling alley. Unfortunately there were only a party of 3 people there so it wasn't quite the thrilling night club I expected. Not wanting to dance with myself for an hour and a half I decided to walk the 2 km back. It was pitch black out and I had trouble staying on the road. Crabs and who knows what else were skittering across my feet. Eventually I found my way back, played a few more games of pool and then retired for the evening around 1:00 am. I heard it was 42 degrees today but it didn't seem like it. It just seemed perfect.

Sunday July 18, 2004

Got up at 7:00 and had a good breakfast at 8:00. Another perfect sunny day. At 9:00 I joined Julio for a bike tour. We went about 1/8 of a mile then watched someone feed some chicken parts to a very large crocodile in a swamp. Perhaps I was lucky he wasn?t out foraging for tourists last night when I was walking back from the disco. The bikes only had one gear but they did work well. We biked a further 6 km or so and toured some hotels that were being built and rebuilt due to storms. I returned to my room. After lunch I walked to Playa Paraiso ? about a 2 hour walk which I turned into about 4 hours since I paused a lot for swimming. I only saw 2 people on the way there and back. I stopped at the beachfront activity centre and a Cuban guide took me for a 20 minute sail on the Hobby Cat catamaran. I had a good time. It was quite fast. While I was there, I signed out the snorkeling equipment again and went out to the reef with Julio again. Today there was just the two of us. We swam out to the reef and then over. The other side was much deeper and pretty daunting knowing that we were no longer a protected species. But I didn?t see any sharks or get too badly mauled by saltwater crocodiles, and disappointingly there were no giant squid trying to squeeze me with their tentacles. Julio did find a nice conch but had to leave it behind as they are protected. I had managed to get my contacts in, so for the first time, I actually was able to see underwater. Wow! What a difference. There are fish down there?can you believe it?


HOTEL ISLA DEL SUR (CLOSED)	HOTEL ROOM	IGUANA DANCE, ANYONE?


SWAMP GATOR	SNAPPING JAWS FOR A THROWN CHICKEN	GATOR AID


THE BICYCLE TOUR	CATCHING SOME SUN	JULIO IN THE CENTER

I ran into Beryl from Toronto on the way back so I relaxed with her for ? an hour or so. At 5:30 I met Julio again for my archery lesson. As we were setting up, two workers came out from behind the target where they were painting?luckily for them. All three of them gave me tips until I got several bulls eyes. It was a really nice bow and arrow set but they couldn?t find the finger guard so every shot was quite painful. Relaxed back at my room. The shower is great. It has a pull out knob so once I set the temperature, I never had to move it all week. I also never ran out of hot water and the pressure was always consistent.


THE ARCHERY RANGE	HOTEL ROOM SHOWER	THE ISLAND VILLAGE

I met Beryl for supper. As usual I tried a little of everything but still had a heaping big plate. Tonight I had saved the best for last?I have no idea what it was but it looked good. I was about to dig in when one of the waiters came over and asked if I was done. I replied, ?No?. He misunderstood and ran off with my plate. By the look on my face, the other waiter realized what had happened and got my plate back. We all had a good laugh about that. Later we went for a 2 mile walk along the beach at sunset. One of the nicest sunsets I?ve ever seen ? a lot of pastel blues and oranges. We had a few drinks at the disco and then went to the nightly cabaret. The staff did a very good job and the costumes were well done.

Monday July 19, 2004

Another perfect sunny day. I was told the temperature was around 42 degrees although with the breeze it just felt perfect. The only complaint I had was walking barefoot on the sidewalks which was painfully scalding. As advertised, the white sand was never too hot to walk on. I was up at 7:00 and joined Beryl for breakfast at 8:00. Heeding the travel agent, I rented a scooter for 2 hours ($11.00 U.S. total) and zoomed east on the paved road at the top speed of 62 km/hour. Eventually the road ended and turned into a sandy trail. The scooter did not handle well in the sand. I came to a dump with a sign that said, ?No motorized vehicles beyond this point?. Of course I ignored this and continued on until I came over a rise and hit a sand patch. The next thing I knew, there was a scooter on top of me. I had a few bruises, but nothing that a few months in rehab won?t cure. I headed back then found a semi-trail that went off into the dunes. The scooter did not really want to go there but I coaxed it along until I came to an abandoned beach. I swam and tanned for half an hour or so then remounted my steed. It wouldn?t start. Eventually I got it going by using the choke. This made me ecstatic as I wasn?t relishing walking back 4 miles and then having to explain that the scooter was somewhere in a sand dune. I headed west and explored the small town where the hotel staff live. Then I took the sand trail to Playa Sirena and checked it out. Returned the scooter. Basically you can see pretty well everything in under 2 hours.


PLAYA LOS COCOS	HELL'S ANGEL	PLAYA LOS COCOS


ANOTHER VIEW OF PLAYA LOS COCOS	ROAD TO PLAYA BLANCA	PLAYA LOS COCOS YET AGAIN


COMING	SURF'S UP	GOING


LOOK MA, NO HANDS!	CAMERA SELF TIMERS ARE A PAIN	62 KM PER HOUR


PLAYA PARAISO	PLAYA BLANCA, MY FAVOURITE	THE VACANT PLAYA BLANCA

Back at the resort I talked to Cecile by the pool for half an hour and also went for a swim. The pool is saltwater which is different. Then I went for my standard 2-3 hour swim/walk to the east past Lindamar Beach to the tower. I was late getting back so I missed my snorkeling tour. I relaxed in my room watching tv then I went for the buffet supper. I got my same two waiters. One of them came over and whispered into my ear to be careful as the plate stealing waiter was lurking just around the corner. After my meal I went for a 2 km walk west to Playa Mal Tiempo. As usual, I saw no one. Went swimming several times with another great pastel sunset for a backdrop. One of the guests told me about a nightly tour to see giant sea turtles laying their eggs. He told me it was either free or cost $1.00 U.S. I decided to check it out so I gathered up my $1.00 U.S. and boarded the 10:00 p.m. bus from the lobby. There were about 20 of us. We were driven to Playa Mal Tiempo and marched out onto the beach. It was pitch black. There were three guides. We walked about ? a km then were told to wait while one guide went a turtle searching. We waited. Time passed?Everyone made themselves comfortable on the beach and watched the stars. I was afraid I would fall asleep as I would be left there. I fell asleep. Two hours later the quide returned having found us a turtle. We approached it from the back so as not to scare it. The female turtle (would that be a turtless?) had excavated a pit about 3 feet deep. She was about 4 feet in diameter. Our guide dug down behind her and using a flashlight we could actually watch her depositing some of the 150 eggs she would leave behind. It was quite fascinating and well worth the wait. When she was done, she began using her flippers to cover the pit. She used them quite skillfully just like I would use a spatula to decorate a cake, if I was so inclined?but I?m not ? I prefer to buy my cakes ? that way I can have them and eat them too. By now it was 1:00 a.m. The guide asked if we wanted to stay until she finished, saying it would take about another hour. We all replied ?No? in unison. On the way back we stumbled over another turtle returning to the sea. Back on the bus, the guide said, ?that will be $4.00 each? and he held out his hand expectantly to me. I told him I only had $1.00 and wiped the smile off his face. The young woman next to me took pity on me and paid the difference. Her boyfriend did not seem amused but I did learn a good money saving tip. Got back to my room at 2:00 a.m.


GATHERED AROUND FOR STORYTIME	MA TURTLE PREPARES FOR A LAY-OFF	EGGSACTLY MY KIND OF VACATION


PICTURE THIS!	HMMM! TURTLE EGGS	150 EGGS LATER

Tuesday July 20, 2004

Had breakfast at 8:00 again today. Once again, another perfect sunny day. I decided to send my postcard via internet so I splurged and bought 10 minutes of internet time for $1.00 U.S ($0.10 per minute). The computer had a digital count-down. I was told that when it ran out of time, you would lose your connection. I composed my message and when I had 30 seconds left, I started adding the people I would send to. I just barely got it sent as the timer ran out.

I went for my standard walk to the west to Playa Mal Tiempo and back. Later Beryl joined me for the afternoon snorkeling tour. Julio was supposed to instruct her but he snorkeled off to the reef. I had to play instructor. It turned out Beryl had a faulty snorkel. The tabs you bite down on had been bitten off. She finally gave up and went in. I explored the reef and had a great time. Later I went for another 3 hour walk/swim/tan to Paraiso Beach and back.


PLAYA PARAISO	PLAYA MAL TIEMPO	CORAL FORMATIONS AT PLAYA PARAISO

Guests are allowed to book one reservation at the A La Carte Restaurant. I dressed up and went there on spec and they let me in. It was excellent!! I had a great pasta salad, sumptuous pumpkin soup, filet mignon, 2 glasses of wine and an unending supply of hot buns that the waiters kept bringing. It was probably one of the best meals I?ve ever had. The staff are all very attentive and friendly and it is not a forced friendliness but just their natural way.

THEY CALLED ME MELLOW YELLOW

Wednesday July 21, 2004

And yet another perfect sunny day. Ate my 8:00 breakfast then, as usual, I had the bartender fill up my insulated nalgene bottle with strawberry slush. That usually stayed cold for 3 hours or more when it was placed inside my rubber kayak wet bag. I took it and hopped on the bus to Paraiso Beach. From there I walked a further 15 minutes to Playa Sirena. It?s a different beach in that it is protected in a bay so there are no waves. As usual I swam and tanned and then walked back to my resort arriving around 1:00. The Sunquest agent had told us that it was too far and hot to walk but I found it quite relaxing.


TRAIN TO PLAYA SIRENA	THE CALM & BAY OF PLAYA SIRENA


VERY LITTLE SURF AT PLAYA SIRENA	ACTUAL PEOPLE AT PLAYA SIRENA	MORE PLAYA SIRENA


THICK LUXURIOUS SAND AT PLAYA PARAISO	STEEP BANK SECTION AT PLAYA PARAISO	MAKING TRACKS AT PLAYA PARAISO


PLAYA SIRENA WITH A PARAISO BACKGROUND	PLAYA SIRENA	STINGRAY IN THE CENTER (AT THE MARINA)

I ate lunch by the beach at the Ranchero Restaurant then I talked to the Dive master explaining that I would like to go scuba diving but was a little rusty since I had taken the course 24 years ago but done nothing since. He assured me he would set me up with a scuba diving lesson before venturing out in the ocean so I went with him by bus to the marina in the village and paid my $43.00 U.S. for a 45 minute 30 foot dive. There were about 5 of us on the expedition. We loaded our gear onto the dive boat and were motored about 25 minutes out to the Canal of the Barracudas. The captain looked very captainish smoking a cigar, with his beer belly and dirty white t-shirt. He looked a bit like Bruno Gerussi on ?The Beachcombers.? The dive master helped me put on my gear and showed me the release valves for the flotation device. Then we were told to abandon ship. Everyone jumped off the back of the boat. I went in the standard way by falling backwards off the side. Next thing I knew we were 30 feet down. Apparently that was my lesson. The dive master was very good though, pausing from time to time to make eye contact with each of us and waiting for us to give him the thumbs up sign. Visibility was probably at least 200 feet. I saw one bulky fish that was larger than myself. I don?t know what it was. There were millions of multi-coloured fish. I had a great time. At the end of our tour we popped up on the surface and the dive master blew his whistle for the boat which we could see about a km away. While we were waiting one of the divers pointed out a barracuda. He was about 10 feet away and seemed to be fascinated with me.


PREPARING FOR OUR DIVE	CHECKING THE TANKS	MY GUIDE

JACQUES COUSTEAU LIVES!


VIEW FROM THE DIVE BOAT	ALL MY WORLDLY BELONGINGS	HOTEL GIANT CHESS SET

Back at the marina, I took the bus to the resort and arrived at 5:30. I had just missed my 5:00 tennis. Oh well, I guess I can live with that. Instead I went for another 2.5 hour swim/walk to Punta Mal Tiempo and back. Talked to Beryl on the beach then had a late supper at 8:00. The rest of the evening I relaxed and watched movies on the satellite dish.

Thursday July 22, 2004

Woke up at 5:00. I watched tv and read for a while and thought about today being payday back home in the real world and how while I was relaxing on the beach, money was being deposited in my account. Very relaxing?I fell back to sleep with a smile on my face.

I had a late breakfast at 9:00 then I played volleyball for an hour on the beach. It was very hot but fun. As usual, it was a perfect sunny day. Later I talked to Cecile then swam in the pool and tried out the hot tub. I don?t think a hot tub is really required. I relaxed in my room for a while then I filled up my water bottle with lemon slush and went on my usual trek to the tower and back. I saw no one as usual. Very few people venture off the hotel beaches. There were no complaints from me. I jogged and swam and walked and tanned for hours on end. I got back late and missed my daily reef snorkeling. Instead I continued on and walked to the west to Punta Mal Tiempo. On the way back the sky turned black and I could see lightning striking. Every strike was closer to me. I was the only item on the beach. Not wishing to end my vacation with a bolt to the head, I sat under one of the palapas (semi thatched huts that provide shade) and counted the intervals between strikes. Then I ran from palapa to palapa all the way back to the resort. I had some wine with another great supper and was serenaded by a Cuban trio with guitars and bongo drums. They were very good. Had a few pina coladas at the bar then relaxed in my room with another movie.


THE BUFFET RESTAURANT	MY WAITERS FOR THE WEEK	COOK WHILE YOU WAIT SECTION

Friday July 23, 2004

Got up at 8:00. It was actually raining. I went for breakfast and invited myself to the table of two sisters, Marie and Louise from Toronto. We extended our breakfast and talked for a while. By 10:00 the sky had cleared and it was the beginning of another perfectly clear sunny day. Check out for the hotel was at noon or we had the option of paying $30 U.S. to extend our room stay. Anyone that knows me, would know that that was not much of a dilemma. I packed and checked out early at 11:00 leaving my bags in a secure area. It was actually just an open room in the lobby but I did feel confident in the safety of my belongings. However, I kept all my valuables with me just in case ? money, camera, bathing suit and passport. I wondered if my bags were stolen, if I would be the first person ever, to board a plane wearing only a bathing suit. But I couldn?t dwell on that thought ? I had beaches to explore.


IT'S NOT A VACATION WITHOUT SWEDISH GIRLS!!	AS I SUSPECTED, CAYO LARGO WAS BORING	THEY WERE SAD TO SEE ME GO


A STORM FRONT MOVES IN	SWIMMING AT PLAYA PARAISO

The bus to the airport left at 5:15 from the lobby so I now had 6 hours and fifteen minutes to enjoy Cayo Largo. I did my usual walk/jog/swim to the tower at the east. I tanned and swam and reluctantly headed back arriving back at 2:30. I didn?t have time for lunch. I went to the beach activity centre to sign out the snorkeling gear and?they were out of snorkels. I ran to the secure area and unpacked my bags pulling out my own snorkeling equipment. Then I ran back to the beach in time to join the 3:00 snorkeling tour. Luckily I saw Beryl on the way reading under a palapa. She agreed to keep my dry bag full of valuables for me. The snorkeling was excellent as usual. We were done at 4:30. I raced to the secure room and re-packed my equipment then ran to the snack bar and ordered a sandwich. At 5:00 I was standing at the bar wearing only my bathing suit while my travel mates looked at me in amazement.

?You do you realize our bus leaves in 15 minutes?? said Cecile.

?Right! Do you know where we?re supposed to get changed? I said between mouthfuls of my sandwich.

I ran back and grabbed some clothes out of my bag and followed Cecile?s directions to the change room.

Back in the lobby the rest of the guests standing in line for the bus said, ?Wow?we didn?t think you?d make it?.

?I know?, I said, ?I still have to go and purchase my presents?. I ran off as their jaws dropped.

I ran to the gift shop and purchased the three gifts I had picked out several days before 2 bottles of rum ($7.00 U.S.), 2 toothpick holders ($5.70 U.S.)_and a dinner bell ($2.60 U.S.) I was the last one on the bus. We were dropped at the airport where once again, we were set upon by the drug-sniffing hounds. We waited until 7:30 for our plane to leave. It stopped at Cayo Coco to get rid of the riff raff. We were left to our own devices for an hour so. I wandered around the plane talking to Cecile, Beryl, Marie, Louise and others having a great time.

Saturday July 24, 2004

Watched another movie and arrived in Toronto at 1:00 a.m. Customs was a breeze. Now all I had to do was pull out the car parking receipt and call the toll free number for them to pick me up. I couldn?t find it. I went through my wallet 10 times. Then I realized I didn?t know the name of the place I had left my car. This could be a slight problem. I recalled I had printed out a sheet of several car parks in Toronto so I searched my luggage and dug it out. Fortunately I remembered the price I paid ($45.40 so all I had to do was look up the cost. Unfortunately my print-out had cut off the prices except for the first number. Several of them started with a 4 so I had narrowed it down. I hired a taxi who drove me around but couldn?t find it. By sheer accident I spotted the street it was on and arrived at exactly 2:00 a.m. which was the estimated time I had paid for. Of course the taxi cost me $16.00 but that was my fault. The only glitch in my whole vacation. I set my radio on scan and played along with the harmonica all the way home arriving at 5:00 a.m. on the dot which again, was exactly when I estimated I would arrive. Later, after a few hours of sleep, I found the free shuttle receipt in my wallet, right where I had left it. I had a more than excellent trip and plan to return the first chance I get?even sooner if the same price comes up again.

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