Cuba’s international doctors program is interesting. The country apparently generates excess well trained doctors so they export them to other countries like Brasil, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Dubai, and a number of countries in Africa to generate foreign currency for their coffers. Apparently, the government keeps 90% of the payment and the doctor receives only 10% which is barely enough to live in their host country. Doctors are the only person category (I think) that cannot leave Cuba freely.
Our first stop for a drink was in Santo Domingo. We saw a very active and busy town and had some soft serve ice cream made in a machine concocted with parts from the 1800s. It was strawberry and chocolate.
The ethnic diversity in Cuba never cease to amaze me … African, European, American Indian, Chinese, and everything in between … I still have a hard time sometimes differentiating tourists from Cubans. Cubans love to wear Bermuda shorts.
Another interesting fact Cuba has a culture of deep love for cars, motorcycles, and anything with a motor. Cubans are extremely resourceful in keeping those machines running with no real parts. And, I heard that because of the difficulty of bringing vehicles into the country, enterprising Cubans bring them in parts in their luggage … even V8 engines! … and reassemble them here. “Water always flows to where it needs to be.”
I also had the chance to watch Cuban TV with our host family for the first time … a dubbed Brazilian soap opera and a talk show for women … it definitely added another dimension to our experience traveling the country. It made me realize that Cuba is a relatively mature economy with pretty much everything you would expect … but just a little weird … maybe just plain weird.
We finally made it to Varadero which is a long peninsula with beautiful turquoise seas and powdery white sand beaches on both sides. A relatively developed touristy area with lots of hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis from the 1950s … all run by the government. Apparently, the government has been reluctant to give up control of anything here … such a big cash machine.
We checked in at our houses, put on a swimming suit and headed to the beach. Wow! A beautiful fine white sand beach with seas in a variety of turquoise shades of blue as far as you can see. No trash anywhere and the ocean waters where the cleanest I have seen in a long time.
So many childhood memories triggered by simply floating out there and letting the waves rock you up and down. Back to basics. Very relaxing. This is something that resonates deeply within me … but I do not understand why or its meaning yet.
We ate at a nice Italian restaurant overlooking a lake within a park and went to listen to some cover rock band at an outside bar next door before bed.
Tomorrow, we head back to Habana to turn in our motorcycles, pack, and recover before our flights on Sunday.
Leaving Remedios
Having soft-serve ice cream in Santo Domingo
Downtown Santo Domingo
The Home Depot of Cuba
Russian Ladas are very popular
Arriving in Varadero with beautifully restored old cars everywhere
Including very old ones
Made it to the beach in Varadero
People for all over the world
Just living life
Powdery, white, pristine sand everywhere
Our Italian restaurant for dinner in Varadero
Outside the famous Beatles club in Varadero
The band playing
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