Cuba has been on my bucket list for many years and I finally got the opportunity to visit Cuba even if it was only for one week. I was travelling with 3 friends, one of whom flies for one of the Canadian airlines that flies to Varadero throughout the winter months. Varadero, Cuba's largest resort area, is located on the 20km-long Hicacos peninsula that attracts mainly Canadian and European crowds, that stay in the many all-inclusive hotels ranging from older, run-down soviet-style concrete buildings to high-end 5 star resorts at the far end of the peninsula.
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| Varadero Beach |
We spent the first 3 nights in Varadero staying in a 'Casa particular', a little apartment with 2 bedrooms just across the street from the beach for just CUC$35 per night, equivalent to CAD$40 or so. Cuba has two different currencies, the local peso for Cuban's and the convertible peso that replaced the American dollar (also called CUC) for tourists. There are no ATM's that accept foreign bank cards and credit cards are rarely accepted outside of the resorts so we had to bring enough cash to get by. Cuba is still relatively cheap to travel around especially if you stay in a 'Casa particular' and some hosts offer a home-cooked meal for just a few CUC. Meals at restaurants are not expensive either, a main course of fish, shrimp, chicken or pork with rice, beans and a bit of salad will set you back around CUC$6 - $8. However, anything priced in CUC$ is expensive for Cubans given the fact that they earn an average of CUC30 to $40 per month.
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| Santa Marta |
Since my friend has been flying to Varadero for the past 10 years or so, we got a glimpse into the local life by meeting some of her friends who live in Santa Marta, a small town outside of Varadero.
Most of the locals who live in Santa Marta make a living by working in the tourism industry in Varadero. We spent an evening strolling around the streets of Santa Marta soaking up the local life, which takes place outside in the streets. On our last night, Anita's friends went out of their way to cook us a delicious lobster dinner which we had to eat behind closed doors and windows. Lobsters are reserved for tourists and for export, fishermen are no longer allowed to sell them to locals or to keep them for themselves. If caught, they face a big fine as well the risk of loosing their fishing license.
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| Varadero Sunset |
After two days of relaxing and enjoying the beautiful beach and the turquoise coloured water we were ready for a few days in bustling Havanna.
