He Shoots He Scores

Today was a special day for Aiden. After playing the whole season as a pretty darned good team player, Aiden had most often prevented the opposition from scoring and advanced the puck forward for his team, but he had not scored a goal. Today, he scored not once but twice. Frank obtained the game puck and it will be a souvenir that Aiden can cherish. When we returned to Tracy and Frank's place Lexy wanted her picture taken so I have included updated pictures of Lexy as well. Click here to see the rest of the pictures.

Old Havana

Anton and I went for a day trip to Havana 150 km from Veradero. Havana is a UNESCO heritage city and it has begun a restoration process to restore some of that Spanish Colonial greatness that the buildings had. True some buildings are propped up with wooden shoring, but others, including the salmon coloured hotel with the top corner window open (Hemingway's room) are gradually getting back to their spleandor. We even saw a modern university building in the old section.
Anton became a man in the central square. Two 'Carmen Maranda' dressed women approached him - one on each side and wanted to be paid for a picture. I declined, turned my back and they both kissed him. He was shocked and a little flustered because I did not come to his rescue.
You will see pictures the Capitol building modelled after the USA Capital building, some lovely examples of Spanish Colonial houses with their wide open courtyards, and the poor lady above who seemed rather dependent on income from tourists to survive. Look for the meat store with a metal bull sign hanging above the entrance. Don't mind the electrical wires, it works. Click here to see more pictures.

Ballet Cuba Style

Every night after dinner there was a different kind of show. Cuba has a very strong tradition in the Arts and these professionals appear at the resorts in musical and dance routines. This group performed as synchronized swimmers legs twirling in the air, but they also had men as part of the team (dressed in black tights) who not only did the synchronized swimming routine but also provided the heavy lifting for the acrobatics. In one of the pictures the girl is doing a double back flip in the air. Click here to see more pics.

Veradero Shopping Trip

We rode back to the resort in a 1957 Ford. Most of these cars do not have the original engines, diesel is cheaper and more plentiful. This one did not have a functioning speedometer but he had a tachometer and could figure out the speed from that. We went to flea markets, and walked around the main street. Almost any restaurant or bar had a small band playing. Since you cannot live on the $25 a month you would make from a government job, most people are looking for jobs that come in contact with tourists where you can easily make more in a day than you do in regular pay in a month. So captialism is alive and well in Cuba. I had a nice Mujito drink at a cafe bar on the beach where a band was playing some sweet tunes. When you take a ride on the horse buggy though the price is quoted as just 5 pesos, you later get to see the fine print 'par personna' -per person and that adds up fast. The people are all very kind and mild mannered. You can see some of the houses where the owners have not been able to do the repairs. Click here to see the slideshow of Veradero.

Cuba 1

We arrived about 9:30 pm after a 3 hour flight, passport control and a half hour ride to the Oasis Brisas complex. The weather the first day was wonderful and we headed out to the beach to play in the waves, float in the ocean to just take in the sights. Lots of beer helped to keep us hydrated. Wenda took on Anton to a gruelling game of Ping Pong which was tied for most of the game but in the end I believe Anton won. Saturday morning it rained, but it cleared by noon and the sun was shining brightly once again. We walked along the beach and I found some interesting sponges that I brought back for the grandkids. We also found a conch shell but soon learned there was an animal still very much alive inside. Each day our houskeeper Maylena made a different artistic creation with the blankets and towels. It really felt good to soak up that sun and of course keep ourselves well hydrated. Click here for more pictures.

We're Back

This was the last picture of our vacation - a quick pic taken in the lobby of the resort we were staying at. We are feeling really well with the recharging of our batteries. All that sun, and ocean was just what we needed. I have to sort through 499 images, so it will take me a bit to fine tune and post to the blog.  Just wanted to say, we arrived at 2:30 am and are both in good spirits.... missed our friends and wished they could have been there with us.

Quinten's Birthday Party

This has been a very busy weekend for Aiden. He played 4 games on Saturday in a tournament about 1 hour 20 min out of town, and spent a couple hours skating in the back yard at his house on Sunday. Here he is playing a bit of pond hockey with Wenda and his dog Elmo. It was also Quinten's day for birthday celebrations. Click here to see more of the birthday party celebration.