Club Tropical Varadero

... and slow affair. The hotel put on a fashion show by the poolside. We came to learn that Los Delfines was quite a gay and flamboyant spot in Varadero. All the better for us we thought, even less chance of harrassment!! I managed to get Nix 'represent' South Africa on stage for a dance off, which included a few Grease moves. Good entertainment value!!<br><br>After the show had finished, we made ourselves comfortable at the bar drinking Cuba Libres and Pina Coladas, and got to know ...

... ous. La qüestió a la que jo vull atacar és: On viuen millor les gallines? Viuen millor a Irak, Gabón, la República Centreafricana, el Txad, Camerun, Vietnam, Santo Domingo, Xile, Togo o el Congo Belga que a Cuba? La resposta és senzilla: Depén dels indicadors de benestar que miris. I en aquest punt és on Cuba resulta un país irressistible... M'explicaré millor. D'entrada al S.XXI es posen en dubte moltes coses del sistema capitalista i de la seva evolució. Però sobretot, es ...

... all eight bowls of ice cream into her bucket before wishing us a safe trip. Although the ice cream was delicious, we were puzzled by her behaviour but were informed it was not that unusual - obviously this place seems to have some pull over Habaneros that we just didn´t get! We left Cuba back on the ricketty old Cubana plane back to Mexico, and after stopping overnight in Cancun (not much to write about there) we flew to Rio for the Carnival.

... that there is a refinery at the far side of the harbour, where Cuba unloads its crude oil from Venezuela and this must be the result of an unloading spillage. Walking along the seafront we can see the refinery and a tall tower with a burn off flame. There is a pier with a restaurant/bar and we enter for a drink. They have an upper open deck where several Cuban groups are drinking and a quite accomplished guitar trio singing Cuban music. We 'turistas' are soon spotted and they ...

... chilling with beer and a burger before entering the cemetary. It was huge! One million people are bureid there and it was like a town the way the streets were all laid out - it streched for over a km! Spent abot 1.5 hours there just wandering around. It was very peaceful (der) and some of the carvings and statuary were very nice. A couple of places had been broken into and man, I saw bones and a skull! Made the mistake of deciding to head back to centro ...

... or even doctors because state wages are so low that they can make 3 or 4 times as much money as tour guides! Or that all the older people learned Russian in school because of the country's links to the Soviets, and its only in the last 10 years that younger generation have learned English! We saw plenty of evidence of this as we travelled around the country. Anyway we had a very good meal of pork and fish and after a couple of drinks (paying off our guide by ...

... they are not hospitable, but in my opinion they are forward and not afraid of showing you how they feel. Of course the downside to that is that you come across many cold faces, specially among the older generation. But sometimes if you try a little harder you can make them warm to you and vice versa. Personally I think I reached the end of my batteries. Their dishonesty, which I have tried really hard not to base my judgment on the nation as a whole on that, but I haven´t ...

... agency to the hotel's HR rep, works for Fidel). Staff average about 60 hours per week, but if they miss any work, even with medical documentation, it's deducted from their pay. The Iberostar company pays all wages in convertibles to the government, where they are converted on a 1:1 rate and turned over to staff as 300 Cuban pesos. Average wage would be about CDN $15 per month. Tipping is a hot topic at the moment, as the government recently made it illegal for staff to keep ...

... ride, so I guess it was alright :) There was a small mall (Las Américas) where Lil found something quite interesting: rum in a tetrapak. The only thing that it was missing was the little bendy-straw in the plastic envelope glued to the side. Man, a litre of rum in a box. Who goes to the grocery store, sees bottle of rum for three to four dollars and says to themselves: "If only there was a cheaper option..."? One thing I would recommend for ...