Hello, is anyone in here?

I guess you could say I've been on a blogging hiatus, huh? Life just gets too busy for me sometimes, and other times, I just get too damned lazy! I went on vacation in November. We went to Cuba. Stayed in Varadero. It was my first time going there, or anywhere that required me to have a passport with me for that matter. I'm a beach person, so Varadero was just perfect for me, with it's 22 km of stunning white sand beach front. And our hotel we stayed at, the Hotel Internacional, was right on the beach, as in we stepped off the terrace and we were walking on sand. Beautiful! Here are a few views we got to enjoy from our room on the top floor...

The two top pictures were taken later in the afternoon, and the bottom picture was taken in the very early morning, so you don't see too many people on the beach, but rest assured, the weather was beautiful, and many people, myself included frolicked in the waves during the main part of the day. The nice thing about going away in November, is that it's really off season, so the resorts and the beaches aren't overly crowded. Because of this, I know it looks like nobody was in the water in most of my pictures, but we really were! In fact, here's a picture of me in the water by myself. The people I was with were poos though, when it came to getting wet.

And just to prove that people other people were actually in the water, which I have to admit was warmer than the hotel pool, there's a picture of one of the many beach carts that come around to sell their wares. I loved those carts! And yes, I did support these guys buy buying some funky fish bone necklaces in festive colors. Can't wait until spring to wear them!

Another thing I loved about Cuba, besides the very friendly and accommodating people that live and work there, is how they make use of the old. The streets are loaded with these cool old cars. Yes, there are new models there as well, but the oldies were so much fun to see and to ride in!

The first picture is of my mother in law standing in front of a taxi that picked us up at the hotel to head to the big market in town. The second is a picture of the parking outside the International Building in Havana, and the third is another taxi that had stopped at the bank for us to change some money on our way to the big market in town, since we decided to go back and get a few things we had seen earlier and didn't want to go home kicking our butts for not getting them. Yours truly is the one standing up in the middle of the red taxi. That was when my hair was still long. I've had it cut since then. See, so much news to tell!

And as I said, the people in Cuba are so nice! They are definitely aimed at customer service and keeping the tourists happy! Here's a few pics of some of the people I met there, that will leave a lasting memory in my mind, and that I hope to be able to meet again on another trip...

The one thing that makes me really sad, is that I never did take a still picture of our beautiful maid, Marsaladies. She was such a sweetheart, and her genuine kindness came straight from the heart. I do have some video coverage with her on it, but I stupidly didn't take a regular picture. I can only hope that I will run into her again in the future. So, of the pictures here, we have our favorite "little" bartender, Jesus, and one of his co-worker pals, that I unfortunately don't know his name. Second we have Ricardo, who was an old man I had a conversation with in Havana. Well, tried to have a conversation with anyway! I don't speak Spanish, and he doesn't speak English, however we did manage to carry on a little chat. Third is my fisherman friend, Alberto. We met him fishing with many others down at the canal in Varadero. He was a nice old guy, and very readily answered all our questions.

Anyway, I better cut this off here now, before it scrolls down to the cores of the Internet with all this rambling and pictures I've shared! Bottom line though is that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, and can't wait to go back again next year!

Ola! :-)

Olivia