April 12, 2010
April 12 - Toronto to Varadero to Playa Jibacoa: Cuba at Last
MY EYES popped open around 2:30 am which was about a half hour before we had set the alarms. There was no way I wanted to fall back asleep - I was so excited to be finally fulfilling my dream of a full-fledged cycle tour to Pinar del Rio province in Cuba!
I was showered and then I re-packed in about ten minutes and then waited... and waited... and waited... for MA to be ready. I reminded her that the bus to the airport left the hotel at 4 am so we had better be ready and down there 10-15 minutes prior since I also had to bring over the van with the bikes, and then re-park the van in the hotel lot and walk back to the hotel. I did not think the bus would wait if we fiddled around too much... or at all. And that is when it donned on me... I hope the bikes are still in the van and not 'missing' like my Diamond Back was in 2000. I wasn't sure what I would do at this point if that happened - go anyway since we have the tickets, or stay behind to put in the police report.
Anyway, the van was there and the bikes were there; I offloaded everything at the hotel door - two bikes, BOB trailer, duffle bag, suitcase of meds, and two panniers as carry-ons. When the bus came there were about 15 or 20 people also getting on and they all had large suitcases, so let's just say that when we loaded our seven pieces and ourselves onboard... things were somewhat tight.
I felt like a bulldozer in the airport with my wide cart which was loaded to the sky - it was surprisingly easy to get through the line to the check-in desk. Someone laughed and said they already provide beds in the resorts! The check-in was fine - our luggage was within the limits (of course I had weighed, adjusted and re-weighed everything at home) so all we paid was the $30 per bike for the return trip. They took the big stuff off of our hands, then told us the plane was an hour late. Oh oh. I had already read about Sunwing making a group wait more than 24 hours for their flight and not being terribly helpful or understanding. I'm a bit nervous - timing is so important for this whole trip.
CATSA security had a funny look on their faces when they saw my carry-on with dozens of pens! I told them they were for donation to schools and hospitals and all was fine. It's a good thing I had juggled things around to make sure the weight was exact for every bag, and had called CATSA before leaving home to make sure I would be able to carry all of those pens as carry-on luggage.
Of course, now there would be a fairly lengthy wait, so the 30 or 40 people in line for Tim's was not really a problem - kind of funny, too, when they were out of everything - I think I might have snacked on a few serviettes and a fork which was all that was left. Do they not expect people might be coming by at breakfast time to order breakfasty items... like EVERY OTHER TIM'S IN CANADA!!!
A short time after the new boarding call time we were onboard. Oddly, as we stood in line, a couple from Iroquois Falls came up to us - ha had bought MA's car a few years ago for his daughter! Then beside us on the plane, MA met a couple who were on their way to Breezes Jibacoa for their umpteenth time... What a small world it is!!
The plane ride went by fairly quickly - from our departure at 8:24 am to our arrival into Varadero at just past 11 am. It felt longer waiting for the luggage than the flight. Since all of our luggage had gone without a hitch, now I had to worry about things arriving safely - I asked one of the young guys in the airport and he helped get our luggage from the back and onto a cart. Going through customs they only asked about the BOB box since the shape was so odd. While MA met our taxi and loaded the boxes, I changed C$500 to CUC$442, gave the helper CUC$5 and then our taxi was away... packed full of bags and boxes, but on the way nonetheless. En route to the resort the heavens dumped out of the most purple skies ever. Oh no. Let this not be a foreshadowing of weather to come over the next two weeks. At least to this point, the boxes had not gotten wet which would have destroyed their usefulness for the return flight.
Our driver got to Breezes Jibacoa in about 30 or 40 minutes. From the CC we came down the newly-paved road and to my favourite resort. Of course they remembered us and welcomed us 'home' again. I tipped our driver after he helped drag our seven boxes into the safety of the lobby.
At the desk I asked if we could have a pool view upgrade so we were moved to room 1214 where we had never been before. While waiting we went for lunch in the buffet - and it was as good as always if not better. The room was finally ready so I used the cart to bring everything over then settled into the room. Adrian was off today but we saw Ailec, Mike and Erling - it was so nice to see them.
During the day it rained on and off but eventually improved to a clear sky. We sat by the pool bar where we'd met a Canadian with 'tt-mania'... and his Cuban girlfriend. He was kind of rude with Ailec and us really, but we still chose to have supper with him. Not again! It was Mexican night and I had the soup, fish and some light desserts before moving to the pool for the show - mexican - with Octavio singing. Oddly, the crowd is much older, so even though many were out, not many participated!
After the show it was really cold out so we returned to the room where I worked on assembling the bikes and getting them properly packed, as I caught up with the BBC news and then, after a really long day, fell asleep ... in Cuba!
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