We both are getting the time to relax
properly here. 3 full days in this
charming town gave us the time to look around, drink lots of mojitos (they are
only $1.50!), salsa with the locals, play the drums in the local band (yes,
really!) laze around on the beach and still have time to read books and watch
movies.
Time doesn’t really have a meaning
here. Everything happens in its’ own
time, buses leave and arrive whenever, waiting staff are never in any rush to
serve you or get you out to free up the table for someone else (even though
there might be a queue), shop assistants work in slow motion, too.
It would get frustrating very quickly
normally, but we keep reminding ourselves that we are on holidays, so time is
of no consequence to us or them.
There is live music on almost every
corner.
Sitting here on the rooftop
terrace of our apartment, we can hear it from 3 different locations. All Cuban / Enrique Iglesias style. Charming.
On our first night, after dinner of some pig-on-a-spit and plenty of rum
with some German travellers, we spent some time in the main square where locals
drank rum on park benches and danced the night away. It was just awesome.
But as with lots of other things, the
positives come with the negatives. No
matter how much we try, we cannot find food of any nutritional value. Everything seems to be deep fried or covered
in sugar. No fresh veggies or fruit
anywhere. I scored a fresh fruit salad
today, but only as an order off a restaurant menu, to go. Jake found some Pringles today, and got very
excited. (I think he can’t wait to open
them for dinner.) How I miss my granola
with natural greek yogurt, berries and pepitas for breakfast!!
But so cheap!! A 750ml bottle of rum = $4. A cone of delicious fresh churros =
50cents. 90min massage = $25.
Mum, walking around the shops, you would be
reminded of the old days in Poland where there are only a few random things
available, none of it particularly enticing or presented well. One shop had some washing powder, rum and
oil. One shop has light globes and some
plumbing supplies, but nothing else. Another (a bakery) 3 or 4 varieties of
cakes and some bread rolls. The next
time you visit, there are different items in these shops. You just never know what you’re going to get
and where to find what you need. The
Cubans don’t care much for the façade.
The shop counters are dirty, half empty, full of flies and half of it
sits in the dark due to broken lights.
So much randomness. The cigar shop sold us a cigar and you could
stock up on your rum there, too, but you could not get a lighter or matches to
light your new purchase with. And no
advice on where you possibly could find this somewhere else. Luckily, we scored one in the shop selling
Pringles near-by.
We took a bus to the beach today (Playa
Ancon).
We actually got really lucky to
even find the bus, because the pick up location, route times and price suddenly
changed overnight, no signage anywhere.
We happened to go into the information office yesterday and asked the
question, otherwise we would have missed it altogether. When we arrived at the given pick up
location, a man approached us and pointed to the bus and mentioned departure
and pick up times and prices.
Seriously…this place could do with some basic signs, marketing etc.
The banks and some shops keep the door
locked and allow only a few people in at a time. So, you could be standing outside waiting,
only to find out that what you were hoping to buy is not available anyway. Maybe tomorrow??
This is the charm of Cuba. Anything goes. Oh, and no seatbelts in the cars, not even
for a 4 hour journey across the island on the highway…
Off to Vinales in the morning. Although the drive in the ‘collectivo’ with
another Spanish couple was quite fine, we decided to pay the extra for our own
private car, seeing it is a long drive and we haven’t been feeling 100% over
the past few days (plus our luggage with all our warm weather gear and extra
purchases at the outlet mall in Vegas is MASSIVE!)
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