Cuba 2016

Back to Cuba again for some R&R.  We decided to take our domestic bliss on the road (well, to the air, actually) and return to Cuba. This time we didn't go on any excursions; we just wanted to chill.

This is mostly pix.

Wildlife

I love these birds.  They puff up like they are going to crow like a rooster and then...peep!

  


It's kind of hard to see, but what look like clumps of hair gel in the water are actually jellyfish.  Fortunately I saw them before we stepped on them.


Mangrove roots

The Resort: Privilege Blau Cayo Libertad

This is a 5-star resort in decline.  Okay, I know, it's Cuba, certain things are in short supply, and I don't know what restrictions there are on the resort's parent company importing goods to repair their resort.  I'll break it down for you and you can be the judge of whether you would want to visit.

The Good

1. It's quiet.  If you are an introvert, on the autism spectrum or you just need some peace and quiet, this is the place.  No shows, no blaring music, the resort is small and uncrowded.






2. Swim up bar.



3. The food ranged form good to mediocre, but we never had anything bad. People say you don't go to Cuba for the food, but I have only once had any food I was meh about.

4. The clientele are upscale. This is not a bubba mug sort of place.  Also, they are all looking for quietude as well.

5. All your drinks are free - at the restaurant, bars, buffet and cigar bar.

6. The cigar bar is cool, although no one was smoking in it when we were there.



7. There are two beaches, and a strip of ungroomed beach (where we collected seashells)



8. The resort is small but you have access to everything at Blau Marina Varadero a short walk across a causeway, including pools, shows, a la carte restaurants and buffet, spa and workout room.

9. The resort is lovely



The Bad

1. Ground floor rooms have no view.


2. One room had no water pressure and the taps were loose.

3. Water is heated by solar, which is kind of cool, but there is no hot water in the morning.



4. The restaurant menu was largely fiction. Only half the items were ever available, descriptions were inaccurate or missing, and the same dish on two different days could be completely different.

5. Staff were never unfriendly, but they seemed too laissez faire, even for Cuba.  No one knows anything about times and such at resort facilities. Our sink, tub & toilet were cleaned, but the floor made our feet black.

6. We got bitten to pieces from the knee down sitting outside in the evening.

Miscellaneous

View from the second storey room.

Catamarans at Blau Marina Varadero.  You can have a 20 minute ride around the bay for free or pay for a 1 or 2 hour snorkeling expedition at a reef.  We weren't able to go because it got (and stayed) too windy.

A niche in the ungroomed beach where someone dragged some chairs for a little private beach.

Sail surfing on a very windy day.  As they approached the near shore they would rise 20 or 30 feet in the air and turn to tack back in the other direction

Sun setting below clouds (from the plane window)