Friday, September 9, 2011

Fun Times in Cuba

One of the highlights of our stay in Varadero was the Catamaran trip.

Well, first, DOTH, being the accomplished sailor that she is, had her own, personal trip on a catamaran. She wasn't allowed to sail it alone, but the accompanying Cuban 'captain' did allow her to take over, once they were away from shore:


Setting off

Away we go!

Heading for the horizon


And back to shore!

The next day, we set off for a trip on a much larger catamaran.

We were picked up at the hotel door by coach and taken to a small seaport nearby, where there were a number of large catamarans moored, with many coaches full of people!






Heading out into the Atlantic, our first stop was a visit to the dolphins in an 'aquarium' somewhere in the middle of the ocean on the way to Cayo Blanco



This is DOTH heading down into the water - about 10 people at a time were allowed

DOTH gets to pat him as he swims by on his back!

And gets a kiss, in return!

Hey, that deserves a reward!


And the dolphin takes a bow!

I didn't go in, as much as I would have liked to. I would need to keep my glasses on if I wanted to see anything, and we had been warned that a dolphin kiss can knock off glasses (and earrings - ouch!). Not a pleasant prospect to spend the rest of my vacation with my specs at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean! By the way, the participants were standing on a cement ramp - quite deep underneath there!
From the aquarium we headed to another spot mid-Atlantic (!) for a spot of snorkeling. Again, not something I can manage without glasses, but DOTH was eager to try out her underwater camera, so in she went:


We were above a coral reef where there should have been lots to see, but apparently not. DOTH has not had her photos developed yet - we will soon see what she saw!
(sorry, forgot to crop the face in the left corner!)


There were other catamaran tourists in the water also








We then headed for Cayo Blanco, which I am assuming means White Beach, as that's what it was. The sand was the whitest I have ever seen.




We were given a wonderful lunch of our choice of lobster tails or chicken, with fries, and were serenaded with some great Cuban music

We then had a few hours to swim and sunbathe - the sun was scorching and the water again like a warm bath




And then set sail for home -- all-in-all a lovely day!

4 comments:

  1. That sounds wonderful, especially the dolphin encounter. Lucky DOTH, not everyone can claim to have been kissed by a dolphin. I like the view of all the heads bobbing about in the water near the other boat. I look forward to seeing the underwater shots.

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  2. This all sounds so fabulous. I can't wait to see those underwater shots. x

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  3. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Would love to have seen Doth sailing. The water looks wonderful -- but not the heat. We have cooled down considerably -- barely 72 degrees.

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  4. Yes, snafu,she was quite pleased with that kiss!

    Elizabeth,if you click to enlarge the first photo of DOTH snorkeling, you can see a little of what she may have seen - looks like a lot of rocks to me. Let's hope she caught a glimpse of a fish or two!

    ChrisJ, DOTH is quite an accomplished sailor, with many a certificate from the Canadian Yachting Association - I'm very proud of her!

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