| | | Sunday, December 24, 2006 | -Edit- I decided to add the handstand picture after the comment I received. So here it is! And also more photos added!
Wow, I'm sure overdue for an update. I've got two coming up: this one as well as a birthday post (my birthday was on Dec 19th). I can't believe that I am heading back to school so soon (beginning of January) but I am sooo ready to be a student again. I love being a student! ha ha ha. Recently I've been in Cuba. I love it there, it was too bad that we had really poor weather w/ only one day with nice skies but it was still a fun and unforgettable trip!
Please note that the descriptions are not to explain the photos. I just interspersed the photos between my daily break down to make it a funner read! Here's how our days went:
Day 1: This day was left to be a beach day but there was no sun and it was a bit chilly. I can't believe how much weather affects the beach. Without the sun, the white sands looked brown and the water was turbulent which caused it to be a dark brown-blue colour. Spent the day sitting around and playing tennis.
Day 2: Havana tour, we had an amazing tour guide (Orlando), I was also super hung over this day - super disgusting. We went to see Tropicana (the Vegas style show) and spent the day sight seeing. Also had some time to wander around old Havana on our own. Strange thing is that I found myself feeling safer in old Havana at night than I did in daylight in actual Cancun (away from the tourist area). One thing that bothered me in Havana was the amount of people who outright asked for money. I was blown away when at a museum, a government worker kept saying "money" for a donation. She was in charge of one of the rooms that had articles on display. Just strange.
Day 3: We were still in Havana on the over night tour, spend the day doing more sightseeing as well as shopped at the flea markets. This was also the day that I learned exactly who Che (the guy you see on Cuban merchandise very often) was and why he was so idolised in Cuba. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and unlike the Mexican tour that I took, I truly believed everything that Orlando said. Just to explain this last sentence, when I took the Chitzen Itza tour in Mexico, I felt like our tour guide was making things up but on this Havana tour I believe that Orlando knew what he was talking about. Funny thing is that many of the tour guides possess university degrees.
Day 4: Jeep tour day - we visited the countryside, went snorkling, went swimming in a freshwater underground cave, went horseback riding, and went for a boat ride down a river. Since I'm allergic to horses, I took some benadryl but didnt remember to buy the non-drowsy one, so I passed out after horseback riding. A super eventful day and fun to drive around in Jeeps in Cuba. Each one of us took turns at the wheel driving around the back country in Cuba.
Day 5: Catamaran. My favourite day, went on a catamaran ride, went snorkling, swam with dolphins, played on a beach. We had amazing weather during the day but unfortunately we were heavily rained on when we were coming back. This day made me super happy because I finally got my white sand/blue water day that I had wanted so bad and ooo I have to say that Cuba's beaches easily rival those of the Mayan Riviera!
Day 6: This was another beach day but we didnt have sun again. Decided to visit the actual town of Varadero on a horse pulled tour. Visited more flea markets. The markets in Cuba are much cheaper than the ones in Mexico and it was so much more relaxed. The whole atmosphere was really laid back and casual and I didnt feel pressure to buy things.
Hmmm... a couple of comments on the resort itself since I guess I haven't written anything about it. I heard that the food was absolutely terrible in Cuba but I found the food to be great and was as good as the food in Mexico. Food was flavourful! Other vacationers that we met didn't like their food... so I believe that it was just because of the resort we were at (Iberostar Varadero). The pool is spectacular there, you can see it in some of the photos. And even though it is rated the best hotel in Cuba, I was still pretty skeptical about the claim until I went there... I was pleasantly assured that what I read was correct.
It was a super fun and an amazing trip. I made a scrapbook of it as soon as I came home and worked tirelessly to get it finished before my birthday dinner! I can't wait to go back! I love tropical vacations so much!
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| | Posted 12/24/2006 6:18 PM - 54 Views - 8 eProps - 4 comments
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