Cuba chapter 5

9. day Varadero Uninterrupted 20 km of beach

Varadero is one large tourist resort on a protrusion from the mainland, where, apart from the sea, you can see mainly hotels and shops from all sides. However, we simply want to see 20 km of white sand beach. From the bus station, we trudge like Mongolian llamas with our luggage on a hot day and try to knock on all the casa particulares in the area. Nobody wants to accommodate us for one night, they say it’s not worth it. I’m just wondering how the Cubans are doing. The salary of a standard Cuban teacher is $25 per month. The price for 1 night in casa particular is also 25 dollars. Sometimes an activist catches us and wants to force us to stay for $40. We refuse, so they escort us to a place where the price is $30. We refuse this, not because of the price, but because we are not scheduled to sleep in the house of horrors until St. Matthew’s Pilgrimage. In the end we are forced to stay in a hotel for 30 dollars. The 2×3 meter room with its own bathroom looks scary, but we will survive one night. A walk along the local boulevard is pleasant, and the pink Cadillac passing by here and there will overtake even the helmet. We’re already a little used to Cuba, so we don’t even twist our necks.