Hitting the beach in Havana province

On Friday, the 27th of July, AL and I had our daily dance class. After that we decided to go to the beach. But we didn't want to go to the tourist beach we wanted to go to where the locals were. We were told by our family we were staying with that we should go to Playa Del Este. We walked over to the Plaza Hotel where we thought there would be a bus and found out that we had to book a day in advance. Here's a tip: the buses in Cuba are actually pretty good and it's not a bad idea to take a bus to get to places. Buses with private companies are comparably priced and make less stops. So AL and I looked up the cost of a bus with Havanatur to Vinales and found it was roughly the same as our reservation but we didn't have to take a taxi to the inconveniently located public bus terminal. Also we didn't have to leave at 9:00 in the morning and would make less stops.

Since we had planned to go to the beach and couldn't get a bus we decided to take a taxi. It cost us 15 CUCs to get there and was well worth it. This is another important thing we learned. Traveling sucks. Sometimes it's better to just spend a few bucks more on traveling to get there in relative comfort. But ultimately you have to pick and choose. In my opinion, if the place is relatively close then save your money. But if the place takes time to get there, pay for comfort. In most places you probably won't end up spending that much more money.

The drive out of Havana was beautiful. Cuba has a lush landscape and you see that as you leave the main city area. Our driver was a Chino-Latino and he showed us an ID card that said his name was Jesus Chiu Alvarez. Fucking hilarious! I love it. It was Friday, so when we got to the beach it was packed. Also, everyone had pool reclining chairs and an umbrella that they rented. Of course, they paid in Moneda Nacional while we paid in CUCs. But it really didn't cost that much. I think 6 CUCs all together. The Cuban sun is really hot so I was glad to get there after 2:00. That's something I learned in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Stay out of the sun from 11-2 which is the hottest part of the day. Though later, a Cuban said to me that 1-3 was the hottest part of the day in Cuba. My farmer tan and white bodied self needed some color, but even after 2 I knew I shouldn't stay out too long. There is nothing like chilling out on a beach on a tropical island to make you really feel like you are on vacation.

Sitting in front of us were 2 Spanish couples. One of them came up to me and said in English that I should be careful because he had his cell phone right next to him, closed his eyes for a second and it was gone. People target tourists. And it is always easy to spot them.

Anyways, one of the things that I immediately noticed was the huge amounts of alcohol at the beach and how dirty it was. People would bring entire bottles of rum into the ocean and just chug them down in the water. I saw one old lady smoking a cigarette in one hand and finishing a bottle of rum with the other. After she finished the bottle, she just threw it deeper into the ocean. But the worst thing I saw was as I was walking out of the water back to AL. It was a fucking piece of shit floating in the water. From that point on, I noticed mothers taking their bare assed babies out to the water then bringing them back in a time period longer than it takes to have a piss. Ok... it's one thing to piss in the ocean. But to shit in the ocean when the beach is packed with people. That just ain't right. I noticed people littering everywhere like it wasn't a big deal. Beer can left for people to scavenge. Cigarette butts everywhere. Empty boxes of rice, beans, and chicken legs just left on the beach. Chicken bones were everywhere. It was really quite disgusting. And this was the straight local beach. Even though I spent no more than 10 minutes at a time in the water and out in the sun for a total of probably 30 minutes, I still got a lil sunburn.

Ok... if you know me then you expect to hear it from me. There were some nice asses out there. Not as beautiful as Brasil, but nice nonetheless. Perhaps, it is because there are less G-strings in Cuba and Brasilian women, in my opinion, are more beautiful. It was nice though to chill out at the beach and check out the "local scenery". As with everywhere we go there were police with guns patrolling the beach. What a trip that is. But the worst job had to be the military guys that were dressed in long sleeve shirts, long pants, and Fidel hats that just had to stand and look out into the ocean. I presume that they are looking for people trying to escape to Florida. Not a fun job in the scorching Cuban sun. And like everywhere in Cuba there were stray dogs hanging out on the beach as well. I was astounded by how mellow the strays are in Cuba. People leave them alone and they leave people alone. However, it's a humane society nightmare there as there are a ton of strays and none of them seem to be spayed or neutered.

When we finally decided to leave, a guy asked us if we wanted a taxi. I asked him how much and he said 10 CUCs. This was 5 CUCs cheaper than getting there and we had been told it was 20 CUCs both ways in the book. However, I soon found out why it was so cheap. Can you say hoopty mobile. A different guy pulled up in a beat up, leaning to one side, cracked windshield piece of crap. Against my better judgment we got in. Here's another tip: Follow your instincts when traveling. Don't be afraid to say no and be rude if need be. Luckily, we got back to the Plaza Hotel no problem. I would only pull that shit in Cuba because it was so safe with cops every 5 km or so and pulling over everyone that they wanted to. No way would I do that in Brasil. The guy's car windows in the back wouldn't go down and the guy couldn't put his car into 2nd gear. Also, his alignment was totally off and his odometer was completely broken. At one point, going up a hill I felt like the little engine that could. It also smelled of gasoline in the car. But we did get back safe and sound and saved money as well.

Siempre una aventura en Cuba.