A trip to Cuba ------- Day one古巴之旅------第一天

January 17

DAY ONE

FLIGHT AND ARRIVAL

The bad things that I read from the review on the trip advisor did have some influence on me. I worried for being isolated at the Varadero airport, for the passport being switched, for the broken luggage, for the things being stolen, for the rude attitude, for the awful food and so on and so on….. I was very anxious to find out how it actually looked like.
We used to check in 24 hours ahead of the flight to get the seats on internet. With the package that we purchased there was no check in available on the internet but at the airport counter. If we wanted the seats together then we had to pay for them when we did the booking. Otherwise there would be no guarantee for good seats. My husband did not want to spend money on them so we had to wait for the seats assigned for us when we checked in at the airport.
My friend dropped us off at the Windsor airport at 2 pm. To my surprise there was a long line up for checking in for the luggage and seats. We had to wait for more than 15 minutes. Then we were told that there were no two seats together available. There were only two seats on the front role left. Though the seats were not together they were elite with the charge of 20 dollar per seat. Since there were no seats left we were given those seats free of charge. I was happy with them any way.
The flight that came in from Varadero was delayed for twenty minutes so our flight departed late too. It was windy and cold outside. I did not wear the winter coat but just a light summer jacket. The boarding was not inside the building but outside. It was freezing walking out in the cold and waiting for 5 minutes for getting inside the aircraft. I had never had a chance to sit on the front role seat. It was spacious so I could stretch my legs. There were more than two hundred seats which were fully occupied. I found it very comfortable with my seat. When I had a chance to talk to the couple next to me they told me that they booked their seats for 35 dollar per one seat one way. They paid the total of 140 dollars extra. I was happy to be able to enjoy the same privilege free of charge with the temporarily separated from my husband.
Our plane took off at 4:10 pm instead of at 3:50 pm. We were supplied with free meal and free drink. The food was tasty and the service was good too. Since it was only a very short distance flight for 3 hours the aircraft was not luxuriously installed with individual TV screen. Time passed very quickly with serving of food and drink. After having finished the meal it was time for the plane to touch down at 7:25 pm on time.
I started being nervous about going through the immigration. A beautiful lady came to walk us to the custom area which was not far but just five minutes walk. She then pointed me to get in the first cabin where a lady officer was sitting behind the window. I handed her my passport and the visa application form that I filled out on the plane. She ordered me to look at the camera. When the picture was taken she tore the form into two halves, kept one half and stamped on the other half. She then gave the passport and the stamped visa back to me and told me move forward. I then pushed the door open to get to the side where there was a big hall for the arrival of the luggage. My husband was not seen so I stood there waiting for him who got out from the third door after a few minutes. I was surprised to find out that it was very relaxing to go through the immigration without being questioned. The officer was very polite and friendly. There was no hassle about it.
Since our flight was the only one arrived we did not have to wait for long time for our luggage. We were able to get our luggage within ten minutes. The airport was very small one and not very busy. It was quiet when we walked out of the building. There were only big tourist buses and a few taxis parking in the parking lot without many people around as in other airports. We walked toward the guy with the sign of the company that we dealt with. He checked with the list in his hand and told us to look for the bus # 5. We then proceeded to the parking lot to find our bus. There was a girl standing next to bus with many cards in her hand. We told her our names. She then gave us the card and told us to get onto the bus. It was a new luxurious bus imported from China. We had to wait for almost half an hour for the bus to be loaded with all the passengers who came from the same flight.
It was 8:30 pm when the bus departed from the airport parking lot. The girl got on the bus and be our guide who was a university student who worked without paid. She also told us something about Cuba. There was free education from kindergarten to university. After having graduated from the university the students had to work for the government for 2 years in their field before they chose to work somewhere else. There was no unemployment and no hunger in Cuba. The crime rate was low and people were happy with their simple life. She then also suggested that each passenger should give the driver 3 dollars for tip which meant a great deal to the local people. It was the first tip that we handed out in Cuba.
The distance from the airport to our resort was around 20 km but it took us an hour to get there. Our resort was at the very end of the strip. The bus had to make so many stops to drop off the passengers. We had a chance to see different hotels on the way. It was 9:30 pm when we arrived at our hotel which looked magnificent from outside. After having helped us checked in the receptionist put a wrist band on our hand as identification for free meal, drink and service within the hotel. A bellboy came forward to give us assistance. He then put the luggage on the golf cart and drove us to our room. On the way he showed us the dining restaurant, the bars, the pools, the beach etc. Our room was on the second floor. It did not look like the five stars hotel room but 3 stars one in Canada. The restaurant would be closed at 10 pm. It was a quarter to ten so we beat with time to get to the restaurant to get something to eat before it closed.
The buffet restaurant looked great with plenty food in different sections. We were going to have three meals daily in that buffet restaurant during our stay. The meal on the plane was good enough for my dinner. I did not want to eat more but just a small bowl of black bean soup which was very tasty and some fruit like papaya and guava. The place was very clean and neat. The servers were very friendly and polite. They gave me good impression about Cuba which was totally different from what I read and heard. After having finished our late dinner we toured around the hotel property. We walked toward the loud music area which was an open theatre and a show was going on. There were plenty of empty seats so we just sat down and watched the dancing show which was very wild with beautiful body movement. I enjoyed watching it. The show ended at a quarter to 11 pm. We then walked back to our room to have a hot shower and jumped right into bed which was very comfortable. It was quiet so I was able to have a very good sleep that night.



一月十七日

第一天

乘坐飞机、到达旅馆

从网上，看到太多有关古巴的负面新闻，感到有点不安。担心在机场会给为难、护照会给调换、行李会给弄破、里面的东西会给偷走、食物难吃、服务态度不好等等。。等等。。对旅程有点忧虑，很想知道到底是怎样一回事。
以往，搭乘飞机的时候，都会在起飞二十四小时前，上网登记取座位。这次订购机票的时候，要付钱才可以预先取座位。老公不想花那笔钱，因此，要到机场的柜台登记才取到座位。想取到坐在一块儿的座位，要靠运气了。
好友，在下午两点，开车送我们到机场去。看到很长的人龙在排队登记。要等十五分钟才轮到我们。在这个小机场来说，要等候那么长的时间，是很稀有的。柜台的服务员，告诉我们班机爆满，没有两人可以坐在一块儿的座位。第一排，还有两个空出来座位，但是，分别在两边。那些座位，要付钱的，二十元一位。在没有办法之下，她要免费给以我们。可以取得第一排的座位，可算运气不错。跟老公分开坐，不算是一个大问题。
从古巴飞来的飞机迟到，因此，我们起飞的时间也要延迟二十分钟。要到室外去登机。天气寒冷，我没有穿上冬季的外套，而秋天薄薄的上衣，排队等候的时候，感到很冷、很难受，不断发抖，很担心会受冷、着凉。机舱里面很暖，进入之后，体温马上恢复正常，才放心。乘坐那么多次的飞机，从来没有机会坐前排，这是第一次。座位前面有很多空出来的地方，给我把脚活动活动，很舒服，感觉比坐在后面的座位舒畅很多。有机会跟隔壁的夫妇聊天的时候，得知，他们要花一百四十元订购座位。每位三十五元一程。得知后，感到很开心、很幸运。可以享受优待的座位所带来的方便、舒适，而不用花钱，可算好运气。
飞机上有晚餐、饮料，免费供应。食物可口，招呼周到，很不错。只需要三小时的飞行，因此，飞机上没有个人的小电视银幕或者别的华丽设备，只有基本的设备，但是，很舒服。时间过得很快，吃过晚饭之后，飞机就准时在7时二十五分降落。步出飞机的时候，有点担心不安。有一位女保安在机舱门口等待，带领旅客步行到移民禁区去。我是第一个跟着她走。她用手指挥我进去第一个小房间去。里面有一位女官员坐在窗口后面。我把护照、填写好的签证卡片，交给她。她叫我脱下眼镜，目视摄影机。拍照完毕后，她把卡片撕开，把印盖上一半，连同护照还给我。然后，告诉我可以离开。不用说话，也没有给询问，就通过了移民区，向前走两步，把门推开，发现是一个大堂，给旅客领取行李。没见到老公的踪影，等了几分钟，看到他从第三度门走出来。大家的看法都一致，没料到那么快、那么容易。对古巴的忧虑感，开始有点舒缓。不应该加以担心。
机场只有我们一斑机降落 ，因此，行李很快就输送出来。不到十分钟，就领取到行李。马上，步出大堂，发现外面不像别的机场那么热闹。没有人群、汽车在等候接机，而只有几部古老的出租车和好几部新的大旅行卡车。看到有一位中年男人，手举起我们旅行公司名字的小牌，另一只手拿着一张名册，上前去向他询问。他看一看名册之后，告诉我们去找第五号的旅行车。
走几步路，到达停车场，很容易就找到第五号的巴士。有一位女孩站在巴士的前面，我们把名字告诉她。她从手里的卡片，找出写有我们名字的卡片，把它交给我们。然后，让我们上车去。车上还没有旅客，我们挑选第一排的位子坐下。旅行巴士，很新、很豪华、很舒服，是中国大陆的进口货，对古巴落后的看法有点改观。旅客陆续地出来。要等半个小时之多，全部的旅客才到齐，在八点三十分开走。
小女孩跟随我们上车。她负责把我们送到旅馆的。在车上，她把古巴、自己简单地介绍一下。她是大学生，获安排领队这份工作，来给以她有机会跟外国人练习英语。她没有领取工资。古巴，实行免费教育，从幼儿园一直到大学毕业。毕业之后，要给安排到本科的领域上给国家工作两年。之后，可以另选工作岗位。在古巴，没有人失业，没有人挨饿，罪案律很低，人民生活安分守己、简朴、幸福、开心。在最后，她建议，旅客们每人该给司机，三块钱的小费。小费对当地人，是一个很大的鼓励。那是我们踏足古巴，送出去的第一份小费。
我们的旅馆，离开机场有二十公里左右。车程需要半小时，但是，我们要坐了一个小时。我们的旅馆在岛上的最上端。旅行车，把旅客送到不同的旅馆去。每次停下，给旅客下车的时候，我们有机会看看不同旅馆的外貌。九点半，才轮到我们下车。旅馆看起来很不错。要等候登记。登记完毕之后，女服务员把特制塑料带，绑上我们的手腕去，来辨认出我们所居住的旅馆，可以自由进出、免费使用旅馆的设施、吃喝等等。
有一位男服务员上前来，给我们搬行李，并领带我们到小卡车去，开车送我们到我们的房间去。一路上，他给我们介绍旅馆里面的设施、吃饭的餐馆、游泳池、海滩、小吃部、娱乐区等等。餐馆十点关门。到达房间已经九点四十五分种。我们，马上扎紧时间，出门到餐馆去用晚饭。在飞机上吃的晚饭，对我来说，已经足够，但是，老公还想多吃一点 。我陪着他去。时间太晚，不想多吃，只挑选一小碗黑豆汤和些水果。黑豆汤是古巴的地道食物，很可口好吃。地方到处都很整齐、干净，服务员有礼、友好，服务周到、体贴，留给我下很好印象。所有担忧的东西都是多余的。
晚饭后，我们向着音乐播出的方向走去。原来是个剧场，正有歌舞表演。看到有空出来的椅子，就坐下看表演去。表演很有水准、不错。表演在十点四十五分结束。散场之后，返回房间，洗澡去。然后，马上上床睡觉。空气清新、没有污染，床铺清洁，床垫舒适，房间安静，享有一个很好的睡眠。