I woke up excited to get the day started because we were heading to the BEACH!  Mom and I woke up around 7:30 a.m. to get ready.  We weren’t leaving for the beach until 11:00 a.m., but it can be hard to find a collectivo heading towards the Capitol, so Pepe wanted to make sure we left early.

The day started with a bath and breakfast- Oatmeal with peanut butter, coffee, orange juice and a piece of gaceniga especial.  It tastes like a sweet bread with raisins, but they call it cake.

In Cuba, things are a certain way one day, and then they change the next day.  One day there is a certain ingredient available, and the next day it can’t be found.  Here is a photo of the box that the “cake” came in:

The ingredients say: flour, refined sugar, water, FRESH EGG or DEHYDRATED EGG, FAT or REFINED GREASE, RAISINS or DRIED FRUITS or SOME OTHER FRUIT, BUTTER WITHOUT SALT or MARGARINE, MILK or MILK SUBSTITUTE, and other ingredients.

That cake is a great example of the way that things are made with what is available.  It’s made with this ingredient…or that ingredient.  You never know what you’re going to get!

Moving on.  We caught a taxi to the Capitol, found ourselves a nice spot in the shade and waited almost two hours for the bus to pick us up.  I took a few pictures of our surroundings:

The building behind me is a cigar factory that was nice enough to allow us to use their bathroom a few times.

Isn’t it amazing how that building is falling to pieces, yet one family put the effort in to paint it that beautiful blue color and preserve what they have?  There were a number of families living there.  You can even see a few people on the balconies if you look closely.

Eventually, the bus showed up and carried us through the Cuban country side for two hours to Varadero.

After a long bus ride, we ARRIVED!

Over the next three days, we walked, lounged, soaked up the sun…

Oh, and this guy… He has no shame:

Listened to some great Cuban music…

We did a lot of eating…

My mom ordered that omelet for me and she told the man that made it that I wanted all vegetables and no pork.  The man looked from me to her and then said, “well does she eat beef?” (in Spanish).  My mom said that I do and he relaxed, then said, “Good, she isn’t stupid.”  Beef is far and in between in Cuba, so they don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to eat it, let alone vegetarianism.

That fish was fresh and grilled right in front of us, but I only ate a small portion of it.  I can only stomach lunch looking at me for so long…

I even tried tongue:

Just kidding.  That’s guava, put it looked and felt like tongue!  It was delicious, though 🙂

Lots and LOTS of coffees…

We had a wonderful time at the beach, but we were ready to head back Havana by the end of our stay.  We waited for the bus and then made the journey back “home”.

We had a great time at the beach and I feel thankful for getting to spend a few days relaxing on such a beautiful beach with my family.

Once we were home, we headed to bed to get enough rest for the next day, which was another adventure!