My quarter of a century Birthday had to be a memorable one! What could be more unforgettable than a trip to a country I could not legally enter and one in which I had been obsessed about for years?
On this day we chose to take a catamaran around the peninsular beach
of Varadero,
which is located about 2 hours from La Habana in the northernmost part of Cuba.
The city itself is about 22km of gorgeous beaches and islets. Our tour
included: snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins, lunch, and then an
afternoon at Playa del Blanco. Playa del Blanco is a deserted beach with
a wide strip of fine, white sand that slopes gently into the sea. This
was also booked at Hotel Nacional.
In a song about tourism on the beach
of Varadero,
once a Cuban vacation destination and now off-limits to locals, the singer
Frank Delgado lamented, "The last time I walked through this land, it
was still my friend Cuba.
I didn't need a passport. I don't remember when the peninsula was taken
from my hands or even whether anyone asked my opinion?" While I
thoroughly enjoyed my time at Varadero, there was always a guilty pain in my
heart of being somewhere that the natives could only dream of returning to one
day.
Cuban fishes courtesy of Marc.
In the evening the three of us decided to take salsa lessons from Sergio,
whom had generously offered to teach us the basics for free. Salsa is
difficult to master, but when done well it is a mesmerizingly sensual
dance. I struggled to follow Sergio's lead the entire time. For me
it was a challenge to combine the hip movements with the simple forward-back
step. However, even though I failed on the dance floor, I am really happy
that we ended our trip on this note. Instead of focusing on the sadness of
leaving a place we had come to love; we laughed, sweated, and learned something
new and essentially so Cuban.
Marc and I walked to a part of El Malecon and said our goodbyes. I
thanked him for enriching my trip in ways that were indescribable and as a
token of my appreciation I gave him Lonely PlanetCuba
guide to use on his last days on the island. We promised to see each
other again soon and I knew that for once this was not one of those empty
promises you make to those you meet on your travels in order for the goodbyes
to be not as painful.
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Afterward: Marc and I did
see each other again a week later in Los Angeles.
I helped him celebrate the last destination in his round-the-world trip.
We could not stop talking about our adventures in Cuba
the entire time together. Oh, and I got my precious Lonely Planet Cuba
guide back!
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After-afterward: Almost 2
years after Marc and I’s meeting we have fallen deeply in love and have
traveled to 9 different countries together despite living a world apart from
each other.I cannot wait to see what
our next adventure will be!
