Sunday September 9, 2007

I booked two weeks at the Villa Covarrubias in the province of Holguin, Cuba. As usual, I used Sell-off Vacations which went smooth as silk from their end, at a grand total, all-inclusive price of $888.00. The tour group this time was SunWing.

Sunday morning, I drove to the Belaire Park and Fly Hotel where I received two weeks of free parking plus a hotel room (for when I returned) for $101.46. Left home at 7:30 a.m and arrived there at 10:15 following my MapQuest directions. The Belaire Hotel staff were quite efficient and by 10:45 I had arrived at the Toronto Pearson Airport via their free shuttle service. I had some time to kill before my 3:30 flight, most of which I spent with my waiting buddies, Cheryl and Larry from Cambridge.

On boarding, my toothpaste and shaving cream were confiscated by Canada Customs (?). I was extremely disappointed, as I had planned to give the pilot the shave of his life and then brushed his teeth until they shone like a beacon. I managed to buy another tube of toothpaste at the airport (it looked suspiciously a lot like the one they took away) but not shaving cream.

The Sunwing 601 flight was excellent. Very good meal and the movie was Shrek II which I hadn't seen. I had a window seat with my two pals, Elmo and Pete from Toronto. We had a brief stop in Cayo Coco and had to disembark while they cleaned the plane. Then it was a short half hour hop to Holguin Airport. There were 4 of us altogether going to Playa Covarrubias. Kathy, Dave and Steve all from Toronto. We went by minivan. It was a 3-hour pot-holed route. We had to pull over twice on the way - once for Dave's bathroom stop and once for Steve to be sick. I had a hard time suppressing the urge to sing out loud, "The people on the minibus go up and down…". Finally arrived at 11:00 at night. Unlike other resorts, we were all ushered to our rooms within minutes. We each received a free bottle of rum in our room. It didn't really make up for the ride…but it helped dull the pain. I didn't spend much time exploring but went straight to bed.

Monday September 10, 2007

I was up at 7:00 to find there was no water for a shower. This turned out to be an ongoing problem and one of the perks of this resort. However, to be honest, it was more of an annoyance than anything else as I spent most of my days swimming anyway. I had a cheese omelette for breakfast then headed down to the beach. The beach is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It's a kilometre long and in the shape of an elongated horseshoe. Had someone asked me if the water was too hot or too cold, I could not have decided as the water temperature was right on perfect.

At 11:00, our group of 4 met with Omar, the SunWing tour rep. I thought he did an excellent job of explaining all the intracacies of the resort, which would be my life for the next fourteen days. I left and headed back to the beach. I set off to the left side and began walking along the shore. I had left my sandals behind. Not too far along, the sand changed to coral and was very slow going on bare feet. I ended up walking inland to a sand road, which I took for about an hour and a half. It was a little tricky as I kept encountering sand spurs. These are little burr shaped barbs that are quite sharp. I eventually gave up and returned after a 3-hour walk. I participated in one of the daily "crazy games" the staff organized. This one involved a time limited looped race where you had to dive into the pool with a towel, swim to the other side then run up the steps and wring as much water out of the towel as you could into a bucket. The winner won a bottle of rum. Apparently I was not a good wringer. Tonight's buffet dinner was very good.

Tuesday September 11, 2007

Today after my cheese omelette I floated around in the ocean then later I took one of the plastic sit-on-top kayaks and explored the creek that goes inland at the right side of the beach. This was harder than it sounds as the kayak did not glide particularly well and it was hard going against the fairly strong current of the creek. The creek was not very deep and was surrounded by impregnable mangroves. The farther I went, the narrower it got until I was basically in a tunnel. Not knowing the area, I didn't know if they had crocodiles but it would be an excellent habitat for them. I was told later that there were none in the area although they had a stuffed one at the museum in nearby Puerto Padre. When I returned I had to paddle out into the ocean and it was quite wavy. It brought back some memories but I refrained from burning down the resort when I got back.

I spent the rest of the day swimming and at the bar with my Canadian friends. Later I joined Dave for the nightly entertainment. Tonight it was a fashion show put on by the staff. It was well done and you could tell they enjoyed themselves as well. After that Dave and I went to the disco. It is situated on the beach but across the creek. There is an access bridge leading to it. It was a fairly impressive round building with the latest disco lights and good Cuban music. Eventually I went back "home" to room #6327. My room was on the second floor and overlooks the beach. Maid service was daily and they did an excellent job as the room was always clean. I usually left a small gift for the maids on my pillow. Whenever I did this, they would make my bedspread into a special work of art like an elephant or a swan.

Wednesday September 12, 2007

Funny how after a few days anywhere, you get into a routine. I'm getting used to shaving with my bar of Cuban hotel soap. Part of my routine also involves the daily mashing of my elbow on the post leading up to my room. After my usual cheese omelette for breakfast I filled up my water bottle with a slushy drink from the bar and set off on the beach to the right. First I had to wade across the creek then I went about 3 miles along the pristine beaches. Saw no one else the whole time. There was an old freighter that ran aground. I thought about swimming out to it and exploring it but I decided to pass today and headed back, swimming as I got hot. Later, I learned that the military uses the ship for target practise so I was probably wise to forego my exploration.

Later, I read by the pool and then went to the bar. Have you ever noticed how the local characters have great nicknames at the bar...Pappa Hemingway, El Capitan, Norm! I go up to the bar and the bartender says in Spanish, "What will it be, Popo Gigo?"

I get three English movie stations on the satellite tv so I watched a movie tonight. I can't remember what it was, but at one point, one of the characters swore and called the hero everything you could possibly think of. It was subtitled in Spanish and translated as "to the devil with you!" That doubled me over with laughter.

Thursday September 13, 2007

It's payday back home in the real world. Nice to know that money is trickling in to my bank account while I bask in the sun. After breakfast I joined some Cubans for a game of pool. Pool was a little more challenging here than other places I've played. They only had one cue. It was bent and the end was broken off - which didn't matter as there was no chalk anyway. The humidity made it stick in your hands and as a bonus, the #7 ball was missing. To make it slightly more challenging since I was winning every game, I started using the secondary cue which was a sugar cane stick. As the knobs passed through your fingers it would throw your aim off. Before they realized I could speak Spanish, they were calling me "The Maestro" behind my back (the teacher). Well, it was a step up from Popo Gigo. My partners today were Ivan and Sandro.

I booked a reservation at the A la carte restaurant tonight. It's held at the Ranchon - a large hut right on the beach. The food there was excellent. Ottawa Gerry joined me for supper. There were five stray cats that hung around for scraps. They ate quite well from my table. Gerry gave me a good tip telling me that you can replace the electronic card in your room with anything else (i.e. a business card or a comb). This was very handy for me. When you first enter your room, you have to slip the key card into a slot. This turns on the air conditioner and the lights. The same card is used to open the safe. Until I got Gerry's tip, I was having to pull out the card (which doused the lights) and then try and fumble around in the dark to slip the card into the slot to open the safe.

Friday September 14, 2007

It was actually raining this morning when I got up. My first day of rain. It didn't last long though. Despite the forecast of hurricanes and rainy weather, it has been hot and sunny every day. After mashing my elbow on the post, I spent a large part of the day chatting with Dave down at the beach bar. Apparently the day before he had left his balcony door open. When he returned for the night, he found one of the cats snuggled up and asleep in his bed. He had flea bites all night. That was one of my favourite stories at this resort.

The resort is actually in the middle of nowhere. There are no other resorts around and the nearest town is 50 minutes away as the pothole flies (it's almost like living at home). The resort was at about 1/3 capacity and about 70% of the tourists were Cuban. Apparently the best workers are given a free one-week holiday from their jobs and allowed to pick the resort of their choice. They can bring their family for 4 pesos a day per person which would still be quite expensive for them as they only make 22 pesos per month (a fixed rate whether they are janitors or doctors). I figured out the code early on. Cubans had a yellow resort bracelet. Those of us from Toronto/Kingston had a white bracelet and Quebec had a blue bracelet.

Saturday September 15, 2007

After my usual breakfast and elbow mashing on the post, I took up my sugar cane cue for some more games. Today's partner most of the time was a young guy named Sylvan. Very nice guy but completely useless at pool. I don't think he ever sunk a ball in the two hours we played today. I would set the shots up for him and he would proceed to ruin them. We still had a good time. The other team was pretty good…but not good enough - ha, ha, ha! I did lose one game though, as I couldn't get enough sugar cane on the cue ball. I had to leave as I had a gig on the beach with Captain Jack Santiago. He was from Montreal and was playing an accordion down at the beach. I joined in with my harmonica and pretty soon we had a little following of groupies. People were sitting around listening and clapping. No autographs were requested but our CD should be out next spring.

Later after a thousand dips in the ocean and a workout in the gym, I chatted with Dave and Steve at one of the bars. Tonight I signed up for the A la carte restaurant again since it was so good last night. That was a mistake. Tonight there was no wind whatsoever. The mosquitoes took advantage of that fact and ate me alive. Generally mosquitoes tend to leave me alone and go after everyone else. That was not the case tonight and it made for a very unpleasant meal. I had shrimp tonight. The heads were left on so it was a little unnerving with all their little eyes and tentacles watching me. The cats made out very well tonight. Helen is a bit of a fussy eater and I always tried to give a little extra to "Winky", the kitten with the infected eye.

Sunday September 16, 2007

After Cookie made me my cheese omelette, I played a few dozen games of pool with Sylvan. Sandro and I had a ping pong tournament. We played 11 games. They were pretty close but I won 6-5. That is one game that can really heat you up when it's around 85 degrees. To cool off, I went swimming in the ocean and had french fries at the beach restaurant which I shared with my growing herd of cats. The fries were really good. I went back three times for more. My three Canadian friends left today.

In the afternoon I played three hours worth of volleyball in the pool. I think it's called water polo. Suddenly it clouded over and high winds came up along with a torrent of rain but it didn't last long. I had to get my electronic key reset as management thought I had left along with my fellow Canadians.

I think tonight was a turkey buffet, which was really good. I was relaxing with a coffee. I went to pour some sugar in from the container. The lid fell off in my cup and half filled it with sugar. My first thought was that some mean little kid had taken the top off. Then I realized that the mean little kid had picked the wrong person as that was about the amount of sugar I would have put in anyway. Then I realized that…I was the mean little kid as I had loosened my own sugar top thinking you had to twist the top for the sugar to come out.

Monday September 17, 2007

After breakfast I played my requisite number of pool games and won them all. Part of my package gave me one hour of internet use so I used 45 minutes of it to send an e-mail home to all my friends and family. It had been a whole week without touching a computer! I had been having withdrawal symptoms.

Today was the first day that they actually had a beach volleyball game. It was supposed to be every day at 11:00. I played for two hours and it was very hot but a lot of fun. There were some challenges to overcome besides the heat. I discovered that one thing you don't do, is to dive off the court for the ball. I did that and dove into a patch of sand spurs. They were all over me and quite painful. Team Cuba had a good laugh at my expense. Whenever the ball went off the court, someone would have to put sandals on to retrieve the ball. Then you had to make sure you picked the sand spurs off the ball before you served it. One guy neglected to do that and got pricked pretty good. Actually he had a temper tantrum and threw the ball back in the sand spur patch. We all had a good laugh at that as well. At one point it was my turn to retrieve the ball. I put on the sandals. There was already a sandspur in the sandal waiting for me. "Gracias" I said to the sandal's owner as I removed the spur from my foot. Everyone cracked up at that.

Worked out at the gym again then I taught the locals a variation of a pool game which they enjoyed where you can play with three people using 1-5, 6-10 and 11-15.

After supper I chatted with my Cuban friend, Julian the bartender over a few brown cows. He guessed my age at 35. I think he was being overly diplomatic. He showed me his scuffed shoes and told me how expensive it was for new ones. I showed him how the sole of my sandals had come apart. He ended up feeling sorry for me. Bobby and Ali from Toronto joined me at my table and later the three of us watched the entertainment show. Tonight it was audience participation night. They had three couples doing a dance contest which was pretty hilarious. My friend Sandro won the contest.

Later I went to the disco and sat with my Cuban pal Joel and pharmacist Ali and had a few drinks.

Tuesday September 18, 2007

I finally changed some money today for the first time. I converted $100 Canadian and received $86 Convertible Cuban pesos which is the monetary unit for the tourists. Cubans actually use Cuban pesos.

Today the new crowd came in. I met Cara from London. She seemed quite nice. I borrowed a mask, snorkel and flippers (although I brought my own) and snorkelled around the beach but quite a ways out. Saw a lot of large crabs. Later, I won 10/11 games of pool. Played with Elena from Cuba. She was very nice. I could hear mortar fire all day today. Apparently the army was practising. I heard that a few weeks ago they had miscalculated and sent a missile over the resort and had everyone scurrying for cover. Went for another beach walk and later layed out with Cara and talked to her for an hour or so.

Later as I was floating in the ocean I ran into a large blonde woman. We were talking about places we'd been and she said she really enjoyed Jamaica.

"The men there tend to love fat, blonde women" she said. Before I could think, I put my foot in my mouth and replied, "Why that's perfect for you!" I've never been known for being politically correct.

Had soup and rice and turkey for supper and a few brown cows at the bar later then went to bed after watching a movie. All the Cuban hotel staff are excellent…very helpful and friendly.

Wednesday September 19, 2007

Yipee! There was water this morning so I was able to take a shower after my Cuban soap shave. At 9:00 I took a tour to Puerto Padre. The cost was $12 cc and 8 of us went via two taxis. It's a 50 minute drive there from pothole to pothole. Our guide walked us through the very clean town where we had a tour of the cigar factory. We were told that because of security, we were not allowed to take pictures inside. I don't know why, as everything was done by hand. I guess they didn't want the competition to see the size of their tobacco leaves or something. I was given a cigar by one of the workers. I thanked him and stuck it in my pocket. Later, I realized I was probably supposed to pass it around to my group, as I was the only one that received one. We also toured the Cultural museum, which was interesting.

I ran into Julian, my bartender. He was out escorting his mother on a walk. Later we stopped at a restaurant for a drink ($0.55 cc). Yesterday's large blonde woman went around the corner to the bathroom. I thought this would be beneficial to me as well so I followed suit a few minutes later. No one had told me that the women's washroom was out of order. I whipped open the men's room door and there she was sitting down screaming. I make friends wherever I go.We purchased a few trinkets then I set out on my own and toured the streets taking photos of old cars etc. Then it was a bumpy 50-minute ride back to the resort. Went back to the ocean and swam with some topless women. I didn't mind as I was topless as well. Later I played bingo and then participated in another one of the resort's "crazy games". In this one they had two ropes tied to a palm tree with a bucket about 8 feet away. You had to hold the two ropes far enough apart to rest a volleyball on them and try to manouevre the ball into the bucket. As per the last game…I lost.

Later that evening, I received a phone call.

"It's Dave", said someone.

"Yes," I replied, "It's Dave".

"It's Dave", said someone again.

This went on for a while until Dave (a guest I met last week) was able to explain that he was calling from Toronto on his computer so there was a 5 second delay. Anyway, he had forgotten his guitar and some paintings and wondered if I could bring them to Toronto for him. I agreed.

I went to the lobby and picked up his guitar stopping off at the bar for a drink with Cara. Tonight was bomb the mosquito night. A Cuban with a backpack wandered around spraying a black cloud of diesel smoke everywhere. This supposedly killed the mosquitoes. I wondered what it would do to us humans. Bobby, Ali, Sandro, Joel and Elena also joined us. Everyone was asking if I played the guitar. I put on a puzzled expression and said, "No…why do you ask?" Elena came over and serenaded us for a while. Pretty soon everyone was trying Dave's guitar. I ended up having more than a few brown cows and wine with Cara. Around 1:30 a.m. I told her I would walk her "home". Neither of us could walk very well by then. She invited me in for a beer which we had on her balcony. Very nice night out. Later, she said she would walk me "home". Since she could barely walk, I told her that I could make it on my own. Anyway, she insisted, so we walked back to my bungalow…then I had to walk her back home. I lost track of the amount of times we did this.

Thursday September 20, 2007

After my usual breakfast I was supposed to go snorkelling on the reef with Cara, Bobby, Ali and Marissa. We were told that the Captain of the snorkeling boat had left home on his bicycle but had not shown up yet and to "try again at 3:30". We tried off and on all day and finally gave up.

I had lunch with Cara. She went back to her room as for some strange reason she wasn't feeling well. I went off snorkeling by myself. Later she turned up and we went snorkeling together. She pointed out a skate to me…a flat fish that skims along the bottom. She returned to her room and I went for another 3km beach walk to the right.

Saw Cara after supper but she still wasn't feeling well and went back to her room. I wandered around the hotel grounds then watched a movie and went to bed.

Friday September 21, 2007

After breakfast I relaxed on the beach. The snorkeling guide came over and asked if I wanted to sign up for a tour today. I agreed and paid $12.00 cc. When I got to the beach booth, Cara was just coming in on a boat from scuba diving. I would rather do that so I asked if I could change it. The divemaster said he'd just been and wouldn't go again today but to "try around 3:30 tomorrow". I didn't want to be involved in that loop again so I decided to just do the snorkeling tour. It was pretty good. We were motored out to a reef about 2 miles to the right. Marissa from Poland joined us. I followed the guide around figuring he would know the hot spots. At one point I was distracted by some coral and lost him. I ended up swimming over top of some coral that was near the surface. I nearly got scraped as the waves went up and down. It was very picturesque and there were lots of multicoloured fish we could feed. After an hour we headed back. I swam and tanned with Cara for about 3 or 4 hours. We took turns "buying" each other drinks. Marissa joined us later.

After supper I joined Cara and Marissa at the bar. Marissa retired early. I had a few drinks and walked Cara "home" again.

Saturday September 22, 2007

Today I went to the little hotel gift shop. They have a local artist there, Saul Pablo who is very good with watercolours and wood carvings. I was looking at one when he came over and said that he loved my sandals and would I trade them for the really nice carving he was holding in his hands. I showed him how it would not be a good deal as my sandals were shot and pointed out all their flaws. He said they were still exactly what he wanted and insisted so I ended up running around barefoot for the next two days but with a nice carving. Later I brought him some trinkets and a t-shirt, bought some of his other work and got him to sign it for me. He signed it "To my amigo, David" and also gave me a postcard of one of his paintings. Since I was leaving tomorrow, I gave him all my leftover pesos since they can't be exchanged. Hopefully I won't need a drink or something tomorrow.

I tanned some more with Cara then I went on a 40 minute catamaran ride provided by the hotel. After supper I used up my remaining 15 minutes of internet service. Later I watched a movie until the power went out which ended that.

Sunday September 23, 2007

After my last cheese omelette breakfast, I said goodbye to Cara who was leaving on an earlier flight. I hit the beach and swam all morning until 12:30. Had my last Cuban lunch then on the way back to my room, one of my Cuban buddies (Jorge the snorkeling guide) gave me a going away seashell gift. In return I gave him a small gift and beat him in a game of pool. I went for a last swim and then changed for my 3 hour pot-hole ride back to Holguin airport. I paid my $25 cc departure tax and went through customs no problem. This trip had no drug-sniffing spaniels on the way down or on the way back. My flight left at 8:00 - an hour and a half early. No one complained. I had an aisle seat this time. My headphones and those of my seatmate wouldn't stay in the microphone holes. Luckily I had brought elastics, which saved the day. I thought about seeing if I could ping the Captain from where I was sitting as I was quite close to the front. We had a very good meal but the movie was cancelled as the CD was damaged. They even gave us each a hot towel "Seinfeld" style. It was quite hot. Arrived in Toronto at 12:30 (an hour early) but the bags didn't arrive for quite a while. I was the very last person through customs for the night. I got a young guy who made me open my bags but just did a cursory check as he told me he wanted to get home. Guitar Dave was there to greet me. It's always nice to have someone meet you. We exchanged guitars and stories then he left. I called for my free shuttle to be informed that it was closed for the evening. I ended up taking a taxi for $17.00 which the Belaire Hotel eventually refunded me. My room there was very nice with a king-size bed and queen-sized pull-out sofa. Got to bed by 2:30 am.

Monday September 24, 2007

Got up at 7:30 and was on the road by 9:00 and home by 12:00 after having stopped off near Sydenham to herd some wayward sheep that escaped under a fence.

I enjoyed the Villa Covarrubias and would recommend it to those who are not overly fussy. The staff were excellent and the beach one of the best I've seen. The food was good and adequate - certainly I ate better there than at home. The only down side was the nightly mosquitoes, the sporatic lack of water and the distance from the airport. In summary, I had great weather, and a good relaxing vacation.

Click Here For A Slide Show Of My Trip