Cuba Day 3 – 3/7
Beach excursion
Cuba Day 3 is an exciting day for us. We have heard so much about how beautiful the Cuban beaches are. Today is the day we get to find out and experience it for ourselves. The day began with a 4:45 AM wake up to prepare for Beach excursion. We needed to be at the Hotel Cuba Libre at 6:00 AM for pick up. We arrive at Hotel pickup at 5:40 AM.
Take it from me an experienced Traveler it is always best to be 15-20 minutes early because the buses usually come early and they do not wait. If the bus comes and you are not there they wait 5 minutes and leave. You usually lose your money. Tour pick up comes at 5:45 AM. 15 minutes early. We get on the bus and leave at 5:50 AM. There is another party that is supposed to get picked up at our location but we leave without them. SMH because we left 10 ahead of the time we are supposed to leave!
Bridge traveling to Varadero.
We pick up the other Guests and head to Veredado. Which is 185KM away from Havana. The trip takes 2.5 hours by bus. We pass through several towns. The Tour guide gives us some background and history. Each settlement basically has a different theme. We passed settlements where the main industries were oil and gas, paper, agriculture, sugarcane, electric power, and others. If you did not work in that industry chance are that you worked in support of that industry. The towns were built in the 1980s and 1990s. They look like what we call “Projects” in the US. Tall concrete apartment buildings, run down and not well kept. I guess poor is poor. We did see lots of children going to school. The schools are provided up to high school just as in the US.
Arriving at the Beach in Cuba
After 1 stop we made it to Brisas del Caribe resort. It is here where we will spend the day enjoying all the comforts of the resort. We checked in and grabbed our spot by the pool. We selected one of the canopy beds for us to relax and spend the day in. The bed was not real plush but never-the-less more comfortable than the chaise loungers. Now it was time to investigate the resort.
We wanted to check out the pool. Find the hot tub and know where the bars and shop are located. We also wanted to see the beach and snap a couple of shots before breakfast. The beach was breathtaking. It was everything we had been told. The beach was gorgeous. Our next stop was the Breakfast Buffett. I headed straight to the omelet station. I ordered both of our omelets while Nikki got the rest of our breakfast. We ate breakfast and decided to try and get onto the internet.
WiFi was a waste of time
Cuban WiFi Card – back
Cuban WiFi card – front
I already knew WiFi was going to be an adventure. We knew it was not going to be like WiFi at home. We expected slow speeds and connection and compatibility issues. So we were not disappointed when the WiFi ultimately did not work. 2 different devices were tried. An LG Android Phone and an Apple iPad. We were able to access the system but not able to get to US Websites. I was able to get to my website briefly before the system when out or I was blocked I am not sure which happened.
One of the problems is that many US sites are https which are secure sites. The Cuban system is unable to access sites that are secure. I was not even able to access ESPN. We were able to get on to Instagram but not able to post anything. To post, you must go to the secure site. We could not even access Facebook because of Facebook’s security. Apple would not allow me to access any mail. Other apps either did not work or the speed of the Internet was too slow for them to work properly. I gave up after 28 minutes and decided to enjoy my day at the beach.
The Beach
The Beach at Varadero
I headed back downstairs and out to our canopy bed by the pool. By this time the pool bar had opened and well it was all-inclusive so we had Pina Coladas. I walked around and took pictures. The pictures are to both remember how nice the place looked and I wanted to be able to share some nice pictures with you. I wanted to get in the hot tub, but it was not hot, it was not even warm. It was a cold tub.
So instead of relaxing in the hot tub I took a nap. I was a bit tired from the 4:45 AM and did not sleep as well as I wanted to the night before. I woke up and went for lunch. Lunch featured grilled whole Snapper and grilled pork chops. I have both! After lunch, I visited the many souvenir shops they had at the resort. I bought a couple of things for my friends. Then it was off to enjoy that gorgeous beach.
Panoramic view of the beach at Varadero.
The beach was very nice. It was spacious, clean and the water was clear. It was that perfect aqua blue that you see only in parts of the Caribbean. The water was warm around 80 degrees and the wind was blowing steadily. If anything it was too windy but that was not going to stop me from experiencing and enjoying the beach. One of the reasons I came to Cuba was to see the beach. How could I ever have forgiven myself if I had waited all my life to come to a Country known for its beaches and not swam in the ocean? I swam, I played and I splashed around in the beach in Cuba. I even videotaped it for evidence! When I finally did finish; I shot some video for the Blog and made some key notes, while listening to the DJ play salsa and rumba.
Cuban Merchants walking on the beach.
Beach Party in Cuba
Just as I finished the DJ did as well. He gave way to live performances from some local musicians. They were more of the Reggaeton and Hip-hop with a Cuban flair. They were certainly entertaining and the ladies were giving them all of their attention. The young people really began to enjoy and express themselves. The 2 young men who sang lead really got the crowd into their show. I captured some of it on video so be sure to check it out to see more of their performance. As the group finished their show it was time for us to leave the resort. We headed back for out 2.5-hour road trip and began as the sun started to set. It was dark when we arrived back in Havana around 6:45 PM.
Enjoy our 1-minute videos on our YouTube Channel “Blacks who Travel”. Base your feelings on your findings
Follow us on Instagram @ Blacks Who Travel
Blacks Who Travel‘s YouTube Channel
Bill Collins
Latest posts by Bill Collins (see all)
- Snow tubing in Florida? - January 12, 2021
- Traveling during COVID19 - May 14, 2020
- Black Violin: Black on Black Violins! - February 10, 2020