How did we pick Cuba
for our honeymoon? Well, we wanted to go somewhere that was new for both of us. I liked the symbolism because we were embarking together on a new chapter of our lives. We got married in July 2018 in a beautiful little country church, that turned 100 years old that year. What a heritage to begin our marriage on!
When we were in our home airport,
waiting to leave, we both noticed another couple that looked like they were waiting at our gate as well. We briefly waved and said “hi” from our seats, but it looked like they were in their own little bubble, and we were too. There were lots of people on our plane, and many destinations in Cuba. Once we landed and got seated on our bus, we saw that couple climb on our bus as well. But the bus was planning to make multiple stops at numerous resorts. Our resort was the last stop for that bus, and the next thing we knew, both that couple & us were in line to check-in. We then started chatting and discovered they were Nathan & Erika. They were from near our city, and were also on their honeymoon. Over the next week, we became friends and even did some excursions together.
It turns out that Nathan is into photography, so he and I hit it off right away. We had both brought our cameras, but he’d also brought his tripod, and I hadn’t. One evening the four of us watched the sunset and then once it was dark, we got some nice night shots too. Nathan was kind enough to borrow me his tripod for some shots. Shout out to Nathan, thank you!
It’s really fun making friends abroad who live close to home. That makes it easier to continue building our friendship in person long after the trip is over.
Cuba is an absolutely beautiful country!
The weather was almost perfect for us the week that we were there, which was a blessing! It was sunny most of our honeymoon week, and none of the other weather that came up affected us directly. Actually, when we were in the airport to leave, a large thunderstorm with big winds & lots of lightning rolled in. I wondered if we’d be able to take off with that storm raging, but the storm let up 15 minutes before we boarded and stayed calm enough that we managed to take off without any complications. Though I did kind of feel bad for the people coming off that plane, as the next week’s forecast was for lots of cloudy & rainy days.
It’s been said that Cuba is frozen in time. After visiting there, I would definitely concur. But I would add this: it’s slowly modernizing. So I am glad that we were able to go when we did.
This is evident by the type of vehicles on the road. Many are old, we saw very few new vehicles. But it’s not just the motorized vehicles I’m talking about. We witnessed the roads being shared by people walking and riding various methods of transportation: bicycles, peddle-driven or motorized tricycles, horse-drawn buggies and carriages, tractors, teams of oxen, trucks, vintage cars, tour busses, and rarely, new vehicles.
Before our arrival,
we notified the resort that we had chosen to spend our honeymoon with them. In turn, they prepared some nice surprises for us! First, they informed us that as honeymooners, we would receive a complimentary bottle of bubbly with our room. It appeared that the week that we were there was a popular one for honeymooning because the resort manager informed us that they were unable to give us the usual honeymoon suite as it was already occupied. Instead, they upgraded our room to the closest location by the ocean. I was quite content with this arrangement because I just loved stepping off our ground-level balcony in the mornings and being on the beach in only a few paces.
We were also given one special supper, which was set up around the pool one evening for just a small number of guests. In addition to the three-course meal, we had live entertainment. Everything about that was set up very romantically, we quite enjoyed it!
Before we left, multiple people had warned us to bring our own spices, because apparently the Cuban food was prepared too blandly. We didn’t bring any spices, and honestly, we didn’t need any. I didn’t find the food to be lacking. Was it a little bit different? Yes. But we were going to another culture to try their things. I wasn’t disappointed. I guess it helped that I went into this with an open mind.
Another thing that was mentioned was that we should bring trinkets for gifts or tips. Like things that we would normally get at a dollar store. That seemed a little cheesy to us, so we didn’t bring too much stuff.
We wish we would have been told to bring things that come out of the U.S. that the Cubans have difficulty getting, like name-brand toothpaste, etc. Those are things that they value, so they make great tips; even better than money. If you travel to Cuba, keep this in mind.
We decided to book a couple of tours, but we were very intentional about keeping some days where we just stayed at the resort. After all, it was our honeymoon!
We just couldn’t
come to Cuba and not see the old city of Havana; it was an excursion that we decided couldn’t be left undone. So we planned on a guided day trip.
We spent most of our time in Old Havana, there is so much history there; in the old buildings, the vintage vehicles, the statues, even the old cobblestones that some parts of the streets were paved with, and so much more! We visited an old fort, and of course, what would a trip to Havana be without a stop at a cigar tobacconist’s shop, so we stopped at one of the bigger ones in the city. On one of Havana’s street corners, I saw this light standard with 15 lights on a single pole! It made me chuckle to see them branching out in all directions. I think it’s safe to assume that corner was well-lit at night! I really wondered how it came to be built that way.
Once the majority of our day trip’s stops were completed, and we were somewhat familiar with the old city, we were all given some free time to do with as we pleased. After we found some nice classic cars to take pictures with, Myrina and I chose to take a tour in a horse-drawn carriage. Honestly, for me, it was less about all the information we received about everything we passed by. Rather, I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with my wife while taking in more of the beautiful Old Havana via an old transportation method, it just felt fitting.
Actually, there’s a little more to this story…
I will readily admit that I may not be the most directionally-adept individual out there; in fact, on more than one occasion, I have called myself “directionally challenged”. But by this point in our day in Old Havana, I had a pretty good idea of where some of the main things were because we had come and gone past them a few times throughout the day.
Also, before leaving home, I had downloaded some off-line maps into an app so I could use that as a backup if I needed. If I have learned anything, it’s to be as prepared as possible (within reason) for whatever may happen. It’s also really important to know how some things are done in other cultures.
In this case, once the guide and I had haggled for a bit and agreed on the price for the tour, I pulled out my wallet in preparation to pay him. His response was quick “No, no! You only need to pay after the tour is over, I don’t want your money now. Please, put it away!” I didn’t realize until later when we talked about this with others back at the resort, but this is just part of the Cuban culture. At the time, it made me a little uncomfortable. Neither Myrina nor I know (or knew at the time) very much Spanish, certainly not enough to carry on even a simple conversation.
At that point, we climbed into the carriage and settled in for our ride. At first, we travelled down streets and areas that were familiar to me, so I was pretty comfortable. In addition to the steady flow of information from our driver and/or guide, they would greet everyone they met in Spanish, and sometimes it seemed that they were saying more than just a simple greeting. As our tour progressed, we naturally got further away from the areas I had seen before.
This, in addition to all the chatter that I couldn’t understand, left me feeling a bit vulnerable. My sixth sense started to kick in then, and I became more vigilant. This was heightened by the fact that I was on my honeymoon, and I was feeling protective over my wife. Over what was probably only the next couple of minutes (but felt much longer), all kinds of questions were running through my mind, like “Did we choose a reputable tour? What are they saying about us and our money, that I know he saw in my wallet? Do I know where I am right now? Where might they be taking us? Could I get us back to the bus within the allotted time, if needed?”
I thought I knew the general direction we’d gone, and sort of the vague turns we’d made, but it was difficult to know for certain because the streets weren’t in a tidy grid. I consulted my map, and was pretty certain that we were close to a main road we’d driven on a couple of times earlier in the day. But rather than being on said road, we were in the quieter neighbourhood just off of it. I also deduced that if my calculations were correct, then shortly we should be turning a certain direction; and from that point, I should see a statue – a familiar landmark. The horse was in no hurry, as it clip-clopped along. But sure enough, we eventually turned the way I thought we might, and there was that statue! I breathed a big sigh of relief and enjoyed the rest of the ride a little more. After our ride was complete, I thanked and paid our guide. We even had a little time to browse some shops before we met our group at the bus. That was my experience. But I wasn’t the only one to feel like something might be off.
If Myrina were to tell you her side of the story, she would tell you that she was terrified for the entire ride. Thankfully, it turned out to be all ok, but it is something that neither of us will forget about our honeymoon!
Especially when in unfamiliar places, it’s always good to pay attention to your sixth sense, it’s better to be more cautious than to be caught unawares.
Our “jeep tour” day
was quite full of activities. We actually drove Suzuki Jimmy’s, and we were given the opportunity to drive them as well. There were three vehicles, with the tour guides driving the lead and tail spots with guests that didn’t want to drive as passengers. In the middle vehicle, we were encouraged to all take turns driving. Of the couples on the tour, it was quickly evident that the guys all wanted to drive, but none of our wives wanted to. So we guys took turns driving. It was an adventure driving on their sometimes rough roads, but I quite enjoyed that challenge! One of our stops was at Rio Canimar (the Canimar River), which is located a few kilometers from the city of Matanzas, Cuba. We were informed that we would be driving “speedboats” on the river. Since they only had 25 horsepower motors, we quickly discovered that they weren’t that speedy, lol. But it was nice to go for a relaxing short, little cruise on the river.
We were then taken to a place on the coast with a beach and coral reefs where everyone else in the group snorkelled, while I did a scuba dive. It was an interesting dive, because the divemaster primarily spoke Spanish, with only a little broken English. In fact, our Jeep guide had to join me at the “dive shop”, to help translate for me, so I could purchase and set up the dive. The “dive shop” was just a small shipping container sitting near the beach where they kept all the rental gear and the compressor. As far as the dive itself, it was ok, but I likely wouldn’t dive in Cuba again. Now that I’ve been there, done that, and got the stamp in my dive log.
Our next stop was for a swim at a cenote, so we were able to wash all the saltwater off of ourselves. Cenotes are underwater limestone caves filled with freshwater. For more information about cenotes, check out this Wikipedia article.
Our next stop was for a swim at a cenote, so we were able to wash all the saltwater off of ourselves. Cenotes are underwater limestone caves filled with freshwater. For more information about cenotes, check out this Wikipedia article.
Lastly, we stopped at an old colonial settlement from 1820, where they still grow coffee to this day. We ate amazing delicious food at the restaurant, then took a short horse riding tour around the place. We both enjoy riding horses, so this was a treat. After our ride was finished, we were invited into the home of a family who lives there. They had a pet crocodile that was super docile, and we were all invited to take pictures with it. It didn’t have its mouth restrained, yet it was so chill, I was amazed! I found it intriguing that the whole time we were visiting, a woman who appeared to be Grandma or maybe even Great Grandma was just smiling in her rocking chair while sitting farther back in the room.
She didn’t say anything, but if you looked her way, she gave you a big smile. Based on her body language, I suspect that she may not have spoken or understood English. But that’s the beauty of a smile, it transcends language barriers!
Those are the only two off-resort excursions that Myrina & I chose to do together on our honeymoon. On the resort, over a few days, we did a wine & cheese tasting, snorkelling, and a short ride on a small 3-person catamaran (both of us and our guide). We also did a rum & chocolate tasting, along with Nathan & Erika. That was very relevant because Cuba produces a lot of rum. Both rum and sugar are produced from the sugar cane that is grown in large quantities. Interestingly, some of the farmers we saw still used teams of oxen for their fieldwork, while others had modernized enough to have tractors.
Additionally,
I signed up for a half-day tour of the old Hershey sugar cane processing facilities. Mr. Hershey exported all that sugar back to the United States where he used it to make his chocolate. The tour was quite interesting and revealing. The way that the people were kept at work there, and how were mostly unable to leave was a sad part of their history. But interestingly, it’s viewed as a good thing, because the living and working conditions provided by Mr. Hershey were better than what followed when communism took over his factories and town. So that’s something positive about that part of their history. Mr. Hershey built a town that he called Central Hershey, which he kept in good shape, and he treated his workers fairly. He even paid for maintenance on their houses. But he paid his workers in “town credit” that could only be redeemed in his town. For the most part, everything they needed was there: grocers, movie theatres, schools, hospitals, and even a train system. But because they weren’t paid in actual money, it was very difficult, nigh impossible, for them to leave. Nonetheless, most people were happy to live there, with relatively good lives.
We were informed that a few people still lived in some of those houses. The very rusted metal on the roofs was telling of how long the roofs had braved the elements. Before learning all this on our tour, I was not aware that all of Hershey’s chocolate in that era was made with Cuban sugar.
Of course, being in a new country meant that there was plenty of new flora & fauna that I couldn’t resist checking out, a lot of it through my lens! So on the days that we stayed on the resort, I spent some of our time with my camera, prowling the place looking for new things to shoot.
Some of the more interesting creatures I found were lizards, of which there were many because this is a tropical country.
Check out this Cuban Green Anole. They have a hidden little surprise, a red dewlap. They usually keep it retracted, but sometimes they put it on display. And boy, are they quick runners! I didn’t have any success getting pictures of them if they weren’t sitting still.
Another common lizard that we saw sunning themselves all over the place was the Saw-Scaled Curlytail Lizard. They are quite beautiful with their color variations; I like the pattern and layout of their scales. Some of them were not too bothered by me getting close, so I was able to get some nice photos.
One night, after it was dark, we saw a Cuban Land Crab that was out on the grass. It was brightly colored and fast-moving. I managed to get an interesting shot of it, from down low, in front. I think that’s an interesting perspective of crabs that I don’t often see.
Our resort was
right on the beach of Cuba’s north shore, so the ocean we saw and swam in was the Gulf of Mexico. Just outside of the resort ran a highway, and across that highway, there was a big hill in the rainforest. I was told that there was an easy hike to a nice viewpoint near the top. Well, that piqued my attention, as I do enjoy hiking. So one afternoon, after getting the best directions I could acquire, I headed off to discover some new landscapes and trails. It was easy enough that I did the hike, which was more like a walk, in my thongs (flip-flops). On the way, I saw some Leafcutter Ants, as they were carrying their cut leaves across the trail. I was fascinated by their behavior and watched them for a while; as I have never had the chance to see them in person before this. But taking pictures of them was very challenging, as they were always moving. Fortunately, they kept moving mostly in a few single-file lines, so that made knowing where they would be somewhat predictable. I didn’t have my macro lens yet, so this was all the more challenging, but I did my best. These ants form a very interesting complex society, for more info check out this Wikipedia article.
On this honeymoon trip we had an amazing week! If you want to visit Cuba, we highly recommend going.
I’ll leave you with something that will hopefully give you a chuckle.
They free poured their rum so much here, it was a little crazy. Once, Nathan & I each ordered a rum & coke. The bartender put some ice in the plastic cups, then proceeded to nearly fill the cups with rum. He then topped that off with just a splash of coke! We joked that we almost could have counted the individual molecules of coke; it was so little! Good thing we didn’t have to drive anywhere… we were just off to the beach.
Until next month, hasta luego (see you later)!
Till next time, keep dreaming big!
» Jamie
“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams” – Douglas Ivester”
