Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Day 2: Christmas in Cuba

Merry Christmas. Honestly, I didn't realize it was Christmas till 11am! This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, and our group took a bus to the nearest airport. This was the most interesting airport I have ever been to. One room inside and a bunch of chairs outside. Quite an experience. Our group got there an hour early, so we stood around talking, still getting to know one another. Soon it was time to board and we got into the extremely tiny propellor plane with 40 seats, with two on each side. The plane had four windows and I had the pleasure of looking out one of them. The way the sky melded with the oceans, and the way the oceans melded with the land.

We landed at our first stop and got off. We waited in another lobby of another airport for a while. When it was time, we boarded, and I simply put on my headphones and knocked out. When we arrived in Baracoa, Cuba we got off the plane and the first thing I saw was a hill of green. We took a bus to our "base house" as our tour guide says so nicely. We unloaded our stuff and sat down to eat sandwiches for lunch. Finishing the lunch, we got our briefing of the trip from David, our tour guide, and then walked to our "casas" or houses. My mom and I met Josephina, the owner, and we put our stuff in our room. 

When we returned to our base house, we were lead on a orientation of the city and ended in a gorgeous hotel with the view of Baracoa, Cuba. We got some drinks and discussed our plans for tomorrow.  Once we were ready, we began to head out, but a hard pour began to fall, so we stayed inside for a while longer. 
We returned to our "casa" with time to spare. My mom and I chatted with Josephina and her husband Richard for a while. It was great to get to know our hosts. At 8, we all headed to an incredible restaurant a few blocks away. My mom and I both ordered la chuleta de cerdo and oh my goodness was it delicious! Before the meat, we were served several different appetizers. To finish off we had an interesting coconut banana ice cream. And it was only $12 for everything! Best meal thus far. We played "left, right, and center" with a few people in our group. Annie won twice! After dinner, we were all exhausted and a few of us walked back home to our "casas."

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