Helping Jade at the airport in Varadero

I admit, I'm proud of my Spanish skills. I still have a lot to learn.  But mostly, I can communicate what I need to. Today, my Spanish was especially useful, it enabled me to help a young woman at the Varadero airport. 

I was about to pass through immigration at the Varadero airport, to catch my flight home.  Just in front of the immigration booths, there was a young woman, slightly hippy looking, standing alone, and looking pretty sad.  I asked if she was OK.  She wasn't.  Her name is Jade.  She's from Edmonton.

The immigration officer didn't think Jade's face matched the photo in her passport.  The officer had taken her passport and boarding pass away, and told her to wait there. Scary!

I told Jade I spoke some Spanish and offered to help, if I could.  When the immigration officer came back, I explained who I was, and translated a few things for them. The officer went away again, with Jade's precious documents.  She and I waited and chatted.

After about 30 minutes, which seemed very very long, the immigration officer asked her to approach the processing booth.  After another 10 minutes, Jade was finally allowed  through.

I was really glad to be able to help her.  Turns out Jade wasn't really alone.  She was travelling with a friend.  But her friend had already gone through immigration and didn't know what was happening.  I imagine she was pretty scared and confused too

Pictures:
#1 - a painting I bought in an art market and the artist who painted it.  I love it!!
#2 - the art market where i bought the painting
#3-one of the many pretty and handsome cafes in old Havana
#4- a government building with Che Guevera's image
#5 - A pretty doorway in old Havana.  I think it's one of the "Casa particulars" that are allowed to operate privately.  Basically, it's like a bed and breakfast
#6 - a pharmacy in old Havana.  I think it's part museum and part real life pharmacy

 

Drama at the resort

There was drama yesterday at our resort swimming pool. Very luckily, it turned out very well.  But it could have been different, if two paramedics from Halifax weren't there.

There were about 300 guests at the Sanctuary /Adults Only part of our resort.  Six of them were a family from Windsor.  A husband (Ron) and wife (mom), celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, their two sons, their daughter and her husband.  At about 2pm yesterday, the mom said "where's Ron?".  I guess she hadn't seen him in a while.  Someone then noticed that Ron was laying face down in the swimming pool!

A resort guest jumped in the pool and fished Ron out.  Once he had Ron out of the water, his face said "I don't know what to do next...."  Luckily, the paramedics from Halifax jumped up from their lounge chairs, ran "like Baywatch" across the pool deck, and took over.  They did CPR for about 20 minutes.  When Ron came out of the water, he was blue, wasn't breathing, and had no pulse.  Not good at all.  By the time the ambulance arrived, he was talking and aware.  Today, Ron's family told the paramedics that he was OK and the prognosis seemed good.  Amazing!!! 

I wasn't there to see it all happen.  Maybe that's a good thing.  But my sister, Lorraine, was there.  She's a nurse and helped the paramedics do their thing.  The two paramedics, Lorraine, and I had breakfast together this morning.  It was really neat to hear them all talk about their experience and the very fortunate outcome.

Photos:
#1 - the pool at our resort, where the drama occured
#2 - me at the beach on a cool windy morning
#3 - some fishermen doing their thing close to our beach in the morning.  Pelicans were also fishing
#4 - a little motorcycle type taxi in Havana.  Adorable!

Canada Day at Grand Memories

Most of the guests at this resort are Canadian.  So every Monday is Canada Day here.  I imagine that might change in the next few years, as Cuba and the USA reconcile.  And more Americans are at the resorts.

Every day here at the resort, the staff offer activities.  Today, the theme was “Canada”.  The staff wore “I love Canada” t-shits or red cowboy hats. They decorated the pool area with red banners and even a large Canada flag.  It was fun.

 

But things got a little awkward, during the trivia event.  Initially, the questions were about Canada.  What are the three territories?  Easy!  But things got dicey when they asked the year of the first “cup” hockey game in Canada.  I think they said the answer was 1976.  Really???  I think something got lost in translation.  Then.  Which is the most bilingual province in Canada?  I thought New Brunswick.  They said Quebec.  More debate.  So they switched to questions about Cuba.  Funny!  How many professional baseball teams in Cuba?  Seventeen.  One for each province.  I think.  But no one debated the answer.  All was good.

Towards the end of the afternoon, they even served a big Canada flag cake!

Pictures: #1 - The Canada Day decorations at the swimming pool
 #2 - Musicians playing for a special poolside dinner.  Can you imagine their contract?  Must be willing to play barefoot in cold water!
 #3 - Our beach on a very busy day!

#4 - A full moon tonight.

Tiburon on the beach in Varadero

Our resort in Varadero is very nice.  And peaceful. But today, there was excitement on the beach!!

Our resort is called Grand Memories.  We’re staying in a special subsection of the hotel called Sanctuary.  It’s an “adults only” section that has it’s own swimming pool, bar, restaurant, social activities, and beach area.  Although I wasn’t fully aware that this is what we reserved, I’m glad to have it.  The “general admission” area of the hotel can get a little hectic.

During this last part of my adventure, I’m lounging more than I have so far.  But in my first three days here, I’ve already participated in the Zumba, aquafit, and Spanish classes; done my usual stretching, swam a decent distance in the pool, and I’ve been reading a book called “A brief history of Cuba”.

But this morning was extra full of activity. I got up early to walk on the beach before it got busy.  When I got there, I saw people gathered around something on the shore.  A shark!!!!!  A real one!  Sadly, it was dead.  The hotel staff said it was a sting ray stinger that went into it’s nose area and though it’s mouth.  Can a sting ray do that? 

The shark washed up on shore overnight.  Within a short time, a bunch of Cubans loaded it onto a trailer and carted it off.  The lifeguard seemed to be saying that the “authorities” would come get it to examine and analyse it.  I got the impression that it’s destiny was dinner.  It was fresh after all! 

I touched it.  It had no smell.  When I touched its skin from head to tail it felt really smooth.  In the other direction, it felt like a fine emery board.  Very sad, but cool!!

Pictures:

#1 - Shark on the beach with me.  The lifeguard said it was a young adult blue shark.  He said it was about 2.5 meters long and would have grown another 1.5 meters.

#2 - Our beach early in the morning

#3 - Some locals loading the shark on a cart.  There were Cubans in all sorts of hotel uniforms.  I wasn't sure if the chef was there as just an observer?  Or was he planning his new menu??

#4 - The path to the beach from our hotel Shark being carted off, with the potential chef planning his menu??

#5 - A more close-up of the poor shark

Museum of the Revolution and Driving to Varadero

On my last day touring Havana, I had many really interesting experiences! That day, I also took a taxi from Havana to Varadero.  It was an expensive ride, but worth the experience!

I started my last day in Havana with a visit to the Museum of the Revolution.  The Revolution, of course, is the overthrow of the dictator Batista who was very friendly with the USA and not so friendly to Cubans.  The main players in the Revolution were Ernesto (Che) Guevera, and the Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul.  At home, we’ve heard a fair bit of negative stuff about Fidel Castro.  But here, the opinion seems to be generally positive.  Of course, some of that is government self promotion.  But I’ve had several private conversations with regular Cubans.  And on the whole, they seem to support their government.

The most memorable thing I saw at the Museum, were bullet holes in the wall.  The Museum is the old Presidential Palace.  The holes are from an attempt that members of the Revolution made to assassinate Batista in 1953.  The Museum also had a missile, plane crash debris, and other items from the Bay of Pigs standoff, and the boat named the Granma, that Fidel and Che used at an important point in the Revolution.

Lazaro, a very kind taxi driver drove me in his Lada from Havana to Varadero. A 2.5 hour drive, mostly along a beautiful coastline!  There were many interesting things along the way.  Trees with leaves that had turned to a creamy colour, working oil wells, and an oil refinery with a Canadian flag flying.  It seems that we have some involvement here.  One of the most fun things though was a brief stop on the road to buy local honey!

Photos:

#1 - The courtyard of the old Presidential Palace with the Cuban flag
#2 - A mural of "idiots" according to the Museum of the Revolution - try to read the photo on the right, it's about George Bush
#3 - Pretty cream coloured leaves on trees on the road between Havana and Varadero
#4 - An oil well on the coastline and beside the road between Havana and Varadero
#5 -Lazaro and his Lada

Tour of the most beautiful parts of Havana

I am so glad I took the walking and driving tour of Havana!  Until today, I had mostly only seen the most neglected parts of the old city.  Today, I learned there’s some very beautiful parts.  And more about the country as a whole.

My tour guide was really knowledgeable and bilingual.  I was the only client on the tour, so I got to ask a million questions!  While driving around, she showed me some of the different neighbourhoods in Havana.  Including one that was called, in Spanish, “forbidden” because it used to be a forested area where it was forbidden to build.  But they eventually did build some very beautiful houses there, where the rich lived before the revolution in 1959. The rich also lived in an area called Miramar “Sea View”.  The big beautiful houses in these areas were used for embassies and government offices after 1959.

During the drive, we also saw a big lovely park with a small river running through it.  The government is trying to clean the river, which has been polluted, mostly by the same types of sources we have at home.  But there is one very different source of pollution that Cuba has and will be difficult to stop.  The dumping of dead animals into the river by shaman, during rituals.  While there, two people were performing a ceremony.  There were three dead chickens on the shore waiting to be sacrificed….

While walking, the guide told me about Cuba’s building and infrastructure efforts.  The restored buildings are amazing!  And show a lot of vision.  In one plaza, the government destroyed an underground parking lot and streets that were built when the USA was mostly in control, to restore it to it to a grand walking plaza!

I learned that everyone must go to school until grade 9, but most continue to grade 12 because that’s almost necessary to get a job.  University is free for everyone and lasts 4 to 6 years.  Students can choose their program, based on their grades and aptitudes and availability.  All graduates are guaranteed a job.  Men must stay in that job for 2 years and do one year of military service.  Girls must stay in their “graduation” jobs for 3 years.  After that, you can change jobs, based on your skills and job availability.  Everyone makes almost the same salary, regardless of job.  Except for doctors who had their salaries doubled recently and service providers who might make tips.  Cubans are now allowed to have small private businesses.  But I still don’t know exactly what that implies.

Photos

#1 - A horse and buggy for tourists in one of the renovated parts of old Havana

#2 - A choir practicing inside a beautiful church

#3 - Antonio, a really nice 75 year old security guard at my hotel, in front of the main entrance doorway
#4 - A shaman performing a ceremony, and ready to sacrifice 3 chickens into the river
#5 - A Cuban man with a Tim Horton's T-shirt.  He had no idea that it's kinda symbolic!

:

Las Vinales

Today, I took a bus tour to Vinales.  I’m glad I did it because I would have wondered what I’d missed, and I learned several new things. But I also learned I really don’t like bus tours.  I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle, and I was being processed.

We drove on the bus for about 3 hours, to an area called Valle de los Pinos.  It’s called this because it’s a mountain and valley area with lots of pine trees.  It’s an important tabacco growing area, and an area where guayabe fruit is grown and used to make a special brand of rum.  Our bus, and about 4 other buses visited the tiny rum factory at the same time.  We quickly walked through the tiny distilling and bottling areas, and stayed in the sales shop long enough to taste the rum they made. I bought a 1 litre bottle for about $5 Canadian.  A good deal for sure!

At a tobacco farm, we learned about the plant growing, leaf selection and drying, and cigar rolling processes. The farmer seemed to take great pride in his product and expertise. After a nice lunch at the base of a picturesque escarpment, we walked through a large limestone cave and got shuttled out via small boats on an underground river.  Which was the highlight for me.  I think it would have been really neat to kayak and explore that river. 

I was really tired that evening.  So I mostly stayed at my hotel.  There was a Cuban band playing.  During their break, I chatted with the musicians and even helped the lead singer with the pronunciation of words in a French song they played. 

Photos:

#1 - The underground cave

#2 - Most farmers in Cuba still use bulls to plow their fields.  The tractors i did see, were mostly very very old looking.

#3 - The kids who live in the apartment right across from my hotel window.  We yelled a fun conversation over the street one night.

#4 - The courtyard for my hotel in old Havana, the Palacio O'Farril. The window on the right of the photo and second floor of the courtyard was my room!
#5 -  The rum bottling room in the factory we toured.  Notice the photo of Che Guevera in the background

Havana's ruins

Wow!  I’ve never seen anything like old Havana.  At least the parts I saw today.

Old Havana is a little like the walled part of Quebec City.  It has narrow sidewalks and streets, just wide enough for one person and one car. Really old colonial style buildings, most 2-3 floors high, beside each other like townhouses.  When you look into the doorways from the street, you can see narrow stairways, small courtyards and mini balconies, all mostly in ruins.  But lots of people seem to live there and operate tiny businesses.

In these old buildings and streets, I saw a woman selling coffee in tiny cups, through an iron gate, to people on the street.  I bought a small pizza from a man whose work space was under a stairwell, in a space about 4 feet wide.  There were a few fruit carts, a man using a stationary bicycle to sharpen knives, a shop for shaman things, and many bicycle taxis. 

While walking along the waterfront and shopping in a large art/souvenir stuff warehouse, I spoke to a man who used to be a coach for Cuba’s sprint kayak and canoe team and who’s travelled to many cities in Canada. And Rilke, a driver of a vintage car taxi who explained that Cubans were always allowed to sell the cars they owned before the Revolution in 1959.  But, only recently have they been allowed to sell new cars they acquired after that.  This is because the only new cars people could get after the 1959 Revolution were gifts from the government for being long term exemplary workers.

It appears that Raul Castro, who became president after his brother Fidel became ill, is more moderate and has been slowly changing some government policies.  Very complex and interesting!

Photos:
#1-A street vendor in the "ruined" part of old Havana

#2 - One of the 1000 or so vintage cars in Havana

#3 - a view into one of the doorways in the "ruined" parts of old Havana

#4 - A shaman shop in old Havana
#5 - A bicycle taxi in old Havana - there are lots of them!!!

Last day in Cozumel 2016

This is it. 
My last day in Cozumel 2016.  But it isn't the last day of this year's winter adventure for me.  Before, I go home, I'm going to Cuba for 10 days! 

So, I'm sad to leave Cozumel and my wonderful friends here.  But I am excited about this next part of the adventure.  This January, I turned 50 years old.  It felt like a pretty big deal to me.  So I decided to make this year's winter adventure extra special.

I've never visited Cuba.  And I want to see it before it changes, because the USA and Cuba are  beginning to reconcile.  This may change Cuba for the better, or not.  Regardless, I wanted to see it the way it is.  Now.

So tomorrow, I'll be on a bit of a journey.  I'll take a taxi to the ferry terminal here in Cozumel, and cross to Playa Del Carmen.  Then, I'll take a bus to the airport in Cancun.  From which I'll fly to Havana, where I'll stay for four nights and three days.  Discovering a new place for me.  And using my Spanish, which has really improved in the last 5 weeks.  Yay!

After Havana, I'll travel to Varadero,  where I'll meet my sister and stay for seven days.

I don't know what the Internet access will be like in Cuba.  I'll try to continue to blog.  But, if you don't hear from me, don't worry.  I will not take stupid chances.  I like adventure.  But I also like to feel and be safe.  If you don't hear from me after February 25, which is when I fly from, hmmmmm.......

Photos:
#1 to 3 - the wonderful people at my farewell dinner
#4 - a fun sign in the park.  there are lots of dogs here!
#5 - Kaily - my newest grand daughter with the most fun and silly smile ever!

Last visit to the humane society

Today, I went to the humane society to visit Mary, a student in my English class who works there.  While at the humane society, I saw something totally unexpected! 

The humane society here in Cozumel has one central building.  The main entrance to this building leads into a small room with lots happening in it.  When I entered the small room to ask for Mary, I saw five small cats lying on a table.  Not moving, except for their breathing.  Some had freshly shaved bellies.  Yep!  They were still sedated from their spay/neuter operations.  It was really weird!  Most had their eyes partially open.  But they were definitely still VERY sleepy!  I was allowed to pet them.  Which I did.  But they didn't budge, even a inch!

Then I looked into another small room.  The exam/operating room.  There were two people in operating room clothes and masks, working on a dog who was mostly covered by pink sheets.  Only one part of the dog was really visible.  Her ovaries and fallopian tubes!!!!  That was even weirder than seeing the sleepy cats!  I'd never seen anybody's ovaries or fallopian tubes before.  But there they were!  Pink. And bigger than I would have expected.  She seemed like a medium size dog.  Each of her ovaries was almost as big as a walnut. Each tube was about 1cm wide and 4 inches long, flattened against the pink sheet.

The vet explained to me that they used to remove only the ovaries when they spayed.  But the fallopian tubes were susceptible to infection.  Now they remove them, the ovaries, and the uterus too.

When I saw Mary, she took me upstairs into her office / a little store.  She introduced me to Garfield, a beautiful and very affectionate cat.  She was happy because Garfield will go to his new forever home in a week.  But she was also very sad because she's become attached to Garfield and will miss him very much.

Photos:
#1- me with one of the puppies
#2 - Mary with Garfield
#3 - me with Garfield
#4 - a painting I made for Mary

Last day of class

Yesterday was my last day of class.  It's always so hard for me to say goodbye.

My last evening class was Wednesday night.  Thursday morning, I had my last morning classes, both volunteering in English and learning Spanish.  It's been lots of fun, and very rewarding.  All of the English students are so pleasant, and most work so hard to learn. 
All of them are also real people, with real lives.  It's easy to forget that a little bit sometimes.  But being with them makes it easier to understand that we`re all so similar, despite our differences. 

Some of the students that stood out for me where: Ernesto, a sophisticated TV and radio personality who often jokes about his relationship struggles;  Michelle, a pretty teenager who's planning to study piano in Europe; Gerson, a handsome young man who you might initially think could care less, but who works really hard in class and is very smart; Jesus, the youngest student at 12 years old and wants soooo badly to be taller; Yvan, an adorable young man who worries me a bit because he really struggled to invent a sentence that included the word "proud", and Mary who reminds me of me, and who works at the humane society. 

At the end of last night`s class, Barbara presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and got the students to sing "You are my sunshine".  I was so touched.

Today, I gave away some paintings, that I did while on vacation.  It was fun to paint them.  It felt nice to give them away. 

Photos:
#1 and 2- The beautiful flowers Barbara gave to me on the last night of class.  In my apartment, and on the way home in my bicycle basket.
# 3 to 5 - different versions of a rooster.  My cousin Linda sent me a photo of this rooster last year.  It was an awesome picture!