Today was a relax and chill day... We just wanted to take in the sun on the lovely warm beach and unwind from the previous day. Perhaps take in some of the activities that were going on around the resort etc.
We got up around 8:30 and headed to the Oh so unsatisfyingly fly infested buffet for breakfast. They had very interesting choices of foods for breakfast such as meatballs in Tomato sauce, french fries, and white rice with peas & beans. They also had normal breakfast things such as, scrambled eggs. But the scrambled eggs were this odd shade of yellow, and were runny beyond belief. Proably only 1/4 cooked, and mixed in with them were bits of ham that looked more like canned dog food. NO THANKS! Onto the next island of food. OOOH cereal. Ok now you cant go wrong with cereal can you???? Hey look fruitloops... with flies on them! Oh what a delicacy!!! The milk had a funky smell. My guess was goat milk. Mmmm fruitloops in goat milk. No thanks... ONTO the next island.... BREAD!!! OK so bread it is. They have a nice variety of breads and pastries. They had these mini croissants that were filled with a bit of jelly, or were lightly drizzled in a sweet honey glaze. These were actually very good, and if you take from the bottom of the pile we have no fly problems. Then we headed over to the fruit table got some nice fruit and some orange juice that was actually very good. Looks like we have our breakfast planned our for the next week if the buffet doesnt change its menu.
Back to the room we headed after breakfast. We grabbed our Canadian cash and headed upstairs to the main lobby where there is an "Excursion" desk set up so you can book your excursion tours for the week. They had so many to choose from and we had quickly glanced at the tours earlier, but we already knew what we wanted. So an agent sat down with us, and booked our 3 excursions 1: Havana 2: Jeep Safari 3: Catamaran/swim with dolphins. For all 3 tours it cost us no more then $350 Canadian. Not bad for a week of fun, and these tours included lunch and round trip transportation.
We then headed back to our room with our Vouchers to lock them up safe, then grabbed our cameras, beach bags, a big bottle of water, snorkeling gear and headed down to the already crowded beach. Basically if you dont get to the beach by 10am your hooped on getting a grass hut, or lounger. It was about 10:45 so we were kinda out of luck. We decided to walk down the beach (to the far end of the beach) to see if we can get a shaded grass hut, if not park it on the beach just passed all the huts and have more of a quiet day away from everyone.
NOPE all the grass huts and loungers were taken. So we put out our towels and laid in the sun for some time. Occasionally we would head out to the ocean and try our snorkeling gear. There werent many fishies where we were but it was fun to snorkel in clear warm water none the less. After about an hour the people next to us in the grass hut got up and left. We scored the hut and 2 loungers. We were very excited to be out of the sun for awhile.
After about an hour of lounging in the grass hut, we had a young man about 30 years of age come up to us with a couple of coconuts and a machete knife to see if we wanted a coconut to drink. He was a cutie, and our water was dwindling so we said SURE!!! He sat on a rock next to us and chopped the top off the coconut. I was so mesmerized as he did this as ive never seen anything like this in my life, that I forgot to grab my camera and take a picture. I regret doing this now as this wasnt the last we saw of Coconut Boy but it was the last time we got a coconut from him. (Sorry we forgot his name, so the nick name Coconut boy stays). I have him a peso and he was on cloud nine. He stayed and talked with us for a bit, and he was just a really sweet guy. His English was quite good and we understood him fine and he understood us pretty well.
Anyways after he left we carried on for another few hours, and in the later afternoon. We decided to head back to our room and freshen up for the evening.
After we went back to the room for a rest and a shower and a change of clothes, we headed towards the magical buffet... On the way from the lobby, just outside the buffet there was a large sign that read "Entertainment out in lobby parking lot at 9PM". We decided to go have dinner and then wait out the show. We wandered into the buffet, found some items that were recognizable, then headed outside for some fun.
It was way too early yet for the show to start. It was only 7pm. On the way to the parking lot you have to go through the front lobby. Who did we run into? Oreo Cookie our doorman who has it bad for Jaylene. Oreo stopped us (Ignored me as usual) and just literally gazed at Jaylene while he did this quirky funny half smile grin. He could swoon her till the cows came home. I wanted to laugh my ass off. Thank goodness Jaylene wasnt falling for it either. She just love the attention. Cant say as I blame her. Watching these 2 was like a circus act. It was so funny. He wanted her to come back to see him that night as he was working the late shift. He just wanted to say hello again. YAH RIGHT!!!!
Anyway I managed to pull my friend away from this idiot, and dragged her outside. I said lets take some pictures and go for a walk. See where the roads of the resort take us. We wandered around for a good hour or more. We found restaurants, mini golf, tennis courts, golf courses, and even the Melia Varadero the other hotel we were debating staying at. We didnt know they were side by side, so it was cool to be able to see it from the outside (Didnt go in). We just turned around and walked back about 20 minutes back to our resort.
By the time we got back to our resort it was about 8:20 and the bandstand was all lit up and there were mini lights in the trees etc. There was even a bar that was open so we could get drinks. We were one of the first few there, so we got a fresh pick of the front row. We watched the band players come in and set up, as well as some of the performers come in. Some kids were running around the stage and dancing and showing off. They were cute and by watching them made the time pass quickly.
I noticed straight off that Mr. Piano man kept looking at me. I pointed this out to Jaylene and we couldnt stop giggling the whole show. All the guys who give us attention here in Cuba... WOAH! We can pick them up by the arm fulls here, but not at home, why is that? Its almost to the point of being ridiculous. I even said I betcha he will come talk to us after the show.
The show was fun, good singers, dancers performing dances from all over the world, and it was interactive. We got to get up and dance in a real conga line, and also get up on stage and salsa/mambo etc. Loads of fun. Jaylene seemed a little embarrassed but I had the time of my life.
After the show guess who came and talked with us?? That's right Mr. Piano man. He asked us if we wanted to go over to the bar for a drink but the bar was just closing so that was a no go. So we parted and never seen him again. Oh well.
So we headed back inside to find something to do, and Oreo met us at the door again. This time Oreo got on his walkie talkie, said something in Spanish then looked at me and Jaylene said "Come with me". Oreo said to me I want you to meet someone... We walked outside the lobby doors again and coming towards us was this extremely tall dark Cuban man. He was young, maybe 30/31 years of age. His name was Larry. He was super shy, and super adorable. Just an absolute doll. We got to know him throughout the week of our stay and never once did we ever feel threatened by this man. He was always super friendly and overly gentle. I still think of him to this day and say "Larry was a gem". Oreo introduced Larry to me. He said to Larry "You and her" (While pointing at me), and Me and her (meaning him and my friend). Larry said Yeah ok and grinned wide. But he seemed very shy as me being put on the spot.
But we kept everything light as this was an extremely awkward position to be in, and we especially me felt very embarrassed. Jaylene and I said we will visit again later, but we have things we want to do yet this evening so we must go.
Jay and I went for a walk on the beach and had some air. We contemplated what we should do about Oreo and Larry. We did want want a laugh and something to talk about later so we went back into the Lobby and found Oreo. He looked at me irritated as he couldnt figure out why I wasnt with his friend Larry. He obviously wanted time with Jaylene alone. I asked Jay if she wanted a bit of time with Oreo. She said just give me 10 minutes no more cause I dont want to be with this guy for long. I said "Fine dont go far, just stay close where I can get you if I have to". She said no problem I will just stay outside the lobby on the steps. So I went into the smoke filled lobby and sat on the couches. I played with my iPhone and after about 15-20 minutes Jay wasnt back. I went outside and she wasnt on the stairs. I started to panic. She is my responsibility and what the hell. I was so mad at myself for letting her go out alone. I dont trust Oreo that much. I know his only intention and I dont want my friend hurt.
As I stood on the front porch of the resort frantically trying to look in the dark for my friend I saw Larry come up the walk towards me. He looked concerned and I ran to him while pointing at his walkie talkie and yelled "PLEASE GET MY FRIEND NOW!!!!" He comforted me and said its ok I will help you dont worry. Within 2 minutes Jaylene was quickly coming up the walk with Oreo while frantically appologizing to me. I thanked Larry so much and he was really nice and told me its no problem. At this point we left the 2 men for the night.
Jaylene explained that nothing happened, he took her to the bandstand where it was a bit quieter away from all the noise, and then pulled out his mouth freshener and explained he had protection. Jay said thats when I called for her and got her away. She was thankful for this. Thank GOD!!! We could and probably should have had this man fired. He was still at work for God Sakes!
MORAL OF THE STORY!!! GIRLS BEWARE OF MOST GUYS IN CUBA... Specially the ones in the travel industry at the resort!!! ATTENTION IS GREAT!!! WHAT THEY SOMETIMES WANT IS A DIFFERENT STORY!!!
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