More Varadero

More Varadero – April and May 2011

Prior to leaving Canada in 2009 we replaced the leaky front windows on Polar Pacer. Shortly afterwards they developed cracks around he bolts that held them in place but there was enough adhesive material sealing them in that they did not leak. Tom had another set fabricated and stashed them under the aft berth mattress to be installed at a later date. We had a bit of down time while in Varadero and took the opportunity to cross that job off the project list.

To our great dismay a mere ten days after the new glass was installed cracks developed at the bolt holes again and this time they did leak!  Liberal applications of silicone were required to keep us dry.

It seems like every major tourist destination has a Hop On – Hop Off tour bus and Varadero is no exception. For about the equivalent of five Canadian dollars you can spend a day travelling the 25 km length of the peninsula where the beach resorts of Varadero are situated, hopping on and off as you like.

One of our stops was at a very modern style shopping mall in the midst of the all-inclusive resort hotels. In addition to several high end apparel and gift shops is a well-stocked grocery store with frozen turkeys from Kentucky. My first question was how much demand there would be for frozen turkeys in an all-inclusive tourist area. My next question was “From Kentucky?”  

Some of these wooden carvings are three feet tall. They conveniently dismantle into suitcase size pieces and can be reassembled when you get home.  Ingenious.

We checked out the “other” marina in Varadero, operated by the Gaviotta Group, at the far end of the tourist strip. Its location did not appeal to us at all.

 

It is also undergoing major re-development and not really open for new transient  business.

May Day is a spring festival celebrated around the world and in many cases has become a venue for labor parades and political demonstrations. In Varadero it is marked by a parade down the main road in honour of the working class and the values of unity, productivity and efficiency.

Some of the placards had political messages too.

The parade ended in a downtown park where food and refreshment vendors were set up to cater to the crowds.  By now we were familiar with Cuba’s dual currency system and were in possession of enough national pesos to enjoy lunch with the locals.

Mini pizzas in the making. No choice of toppings. 

 

A mobile beer truck. Bring your own container. The gentleman with the picture of Fidel made a point of telling us that he prefers the older brother over Raul.

Public facilities are almost non-existent in Cuba as far as we could tell and we quickly learned to always travel with a supply of toilet paper in our pockets or back packs.

 We found this toilet not far from the beach in Varadero and it actually had a supply of telephone book pages.

Around 5 PM each evening cruisers are expected to gather on the dock at The Table of Too Much Knowledge for a beverage and to share the day’s adventures. Most evenings they are also treated to an air show above as the sky divers float down to their landing location on the beach or the air strip across the road.

This gathering also featured live entertainment.

Relevant Reading: Greetings from Cool Breezes by Jeananne Kathol Kirwin

When I try to picture a family of six, plus their golden retriever, Jasper, living full time on a boat just slightly bigger than Polar Pacer, I look around and appreciate my comfortable queen size bed, storage space for more pairs of shoes than I can wear and my Sailrite sewing machine.

This is a well written account of one Canadian prairie family’s year long adventure on board a cruising catamaran as they travelled from the US to Cuba then the Bahamas and back to the US. For anyone contemplating a similar experience it is an accurate portrayal of what to expect from living aboard with a crowd. Memories of beautiful sunsets, perfect sailing conditions and halcyon days are sometime obliterated by broken boat bits, seasickness and frayed emotions.

I read this book during our extended visit to Varadero, Cuba. Kirwin’s recounting of their stay at marina Darsena, where we were also docked, is not dissimilar from our experience. Not much has changed in 10 years. Debbie and Lobita are still greeting the cruisers who arrive and providing much appreciated guidance through Cuban officialdom and familiarization tours of Varadero and nearby Santa Marta.

….. and the palm lined alley still leads the way from Marina Darsena to the local village of Santa Marta.