We spent one week in Cuba at the end of August. We are lucky to have direct flights from Brussels to Varadero. It's really great to wake up in Brussels, take off at 10, land in Varadero at 15:30 and relax on the beach before dinner!
Cuban flag as we walked out of the airport terminal:
On the way to our hotel, which was about 10 km from Varadero town. Since the Varadero resort area is on a peninsula, there's a highway that runs by the sea all the way to the extremity of the peninsula.
The splendid beach in front of our hotel. The Florida Keys lie only 150 km from here.
We spent one afternoon in Varadero town, which was not of much interest. We took a stroll through the Parque Josone.
Thanks to the foreign currency brought by tourists, Varadero is probably the richest place in Cuba, per capita. Yet during the few hours we spent in town, we saw some interesting behavior, such as people queuing to buy Brazilian flip-flops, or Cubans waiting outside stores and allowed in a few at a time, if not having to wait by the door while store employees go fetch whatever items one wants.
One evening we took a service elevator by mistake and ended up in the staff area behind reception. As we walked through the corridors, we were reminded that we were in socialist Cuba with quotes from Fidel and photos and posters about los cincos, the "Cuban Five" (five Cubans convicted in the US of espionnage who - as we saw during our week in Cuba - had become part of the regime's propaganda).
Finally, music was everywhere. From musicians entertaining us during lunch time in Varadero...
... to the bus rest stop on our way to Havana, at 9:30 one morning...
... our week in Cuba was at the rhythm of rumba, son and mambo.
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