Photos of Planet Cuba (Part II)

What can I say? It truly was like being on another planet to me.....everything is so different from Canada. Different, but strangely parallel...and cool... Yeah, it's a socialist country, and that scares a lot of people, but we won't get into any kind of political rant here. There are a lot of reasons why it is how it is, and the land is incredibly rich with culture and history, if not with dollars per capita. Cuba is an awesome place to visit....I wish we could go every year. Our resort was great, everyone was super friendly, the weather was beautiful and everywhere around us were cool things to see and do. I will highly recommend a trip to Cuba to everyone I meet until the end of my days.

I just hope my photos do this highly fascinating place proper justice! I shot just shy of 1100 images in 8 days, and I found it hard to trim that number down and get rid of the pictures that didn't turn out so well (ie:out-of-focus shots, poorly exposed, etc.). Sometimes it's tough for me to let go of these photos, because even if they're crappy, I may never get a chance to go back and take that picture of that thing...in that place...at that time...and in that situation. Sounds heavy, doesn't it? Well, it's true. I had this kind of thing going through my head as I reluctantly deleted a blurry photo of a chicken a few minutes ago. "But it was a Cuban chicken! "

Anyway, here are more pictures from Planet Cuba....and don't worry, there'll be a chicken in there somewhere.

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Workin' Hard @ the Market in Varadero

Being a tropical island, there is no shortage of palm trees in Cuba...

And, for some reason, there is laundry hanging everywhere on the island...

Cuba is known for excellent cigars...

...old cars...

...and of course,  rum. (I really wish I could have taken this much home with me)

I should also mention that the beer is quite good as well...

(Notice the laundry hanging up there?)

These last few photos are from Revolution Square (well, not the coconut....)

And, last but not least, is the picture of the chicken that I promised you.

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I guess that's enough for today. I'll post Part III very soon. As I said, I have lots and lots of  images to sift through, so I might take some time. Until next time,

May the Force be with you....

Photos of Planet Cuba (Part I)

Buenos dias! Not much time for writing today, but before I get way too far behind in this blog, I want to share some of the of the fantastic photos that I shot during our 1-week getaway to Cuba. It was a delayed honeymoon/anniversary/birthday trip, taken earlier this month. Bobbie and I desperately needed a vacation, and she chose Cuba. Other than hooking up with me, it was the best idea she ever had! (lol)

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero for the week but tried to get out and explore as much as possible, seeing as we'd never been to this country before. Let me just say that it was AWESOME! There are a million things to see and experience in Cuba, and we barely scratched the surface. Hopefully, the pictures will reflect some of the uniqueness and beauty of  Cuba - the landscape, the architechture, and most of all the people, who in my opinion are some of the friendliest and most genuine people in the world.

Please forgive the brevity of the text in this post - I'll have more details soon. I just couldn't wait to show off some photos. So, without further ado, here goes:

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Bobbie on the beach in Varadero

Me - with my official 5 peso tourist hat

Poolside @ Sol Sirenas Coral - our resort

In front of one of the municipal buildings in Varadero. The large picture is of Che Guevara - you see his face absolutely everywhere in Cuba.

Cuban Graffiti (I haven't figured out what it says yet, but it's all pretty patriotic)

Cuban Chicken (tastes like Canadian Chicken)

Local Farmer cutting sugar cane

Fresh Bananas (they tasted awesome)

Statue of Jose Marti (National Hero) in Cienfuegos

Near the Marina in Cienfuegos

Street Scene in Trinidad

Plaza Mayor in Trinidad

Street Dog (lots of these in Cuba)

Trinidad Skyline (everyone who's ever been here has this same photo)

The Malecon drive in Havana

El Morro Fortress, Havana

The Mojito - the best cocktail in Cuba, and maybe the world....

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I hope you enjoy these photos of Cuba - keep in mind that this is only part one, and this is not even 1/100th of the shots I came back with. I'll post a lot more later, and I promise to give a full description of the trip and all the cool things we saw and did. I guarantee it will be at least as exciting as watching your in-laws' fully narrated slide show from their trip to Thunder Bay. (I do have lots of pictures of Thunder Bay as well, if anyone is interested...)

Hasta la vista (until next time);

May the Force be with you...