Cigar Loving Doorman: Cuba Day 7: Varadero Day Tour

I am going to skip over Day 6. A very nondescript day. Beach, food, drink. Nothing exciting.

Day 7 was a different kettle of fish. I was still suffering from lobsteritis and as the other sun worshipers worked on topping up their already bronzed bodies I decided that my sun-burnt body needed a break from direct sun.

We awoke to the sound of thunder storms and as I went back to sleep with a sly smile on my face the Mrs headed off to book a day trip to Varadero town. When I re-awoke the thunder had scattered the cloud. It was now sunny with a few clouds. Showered and dressed we stood at reception waiting on our bus.

Our first stop was at Al Capones Villa, now used as a restaurant. Apparently Mr. Capone himself never actually visited the Villa himself however after a walk around I was assured he would not have been disappointed if he had. Unfortunately the walk around was very limited as the current proprietors didn't look too happy with us traipsing about the restaurant and not actually ordering anything.

The next stop on the trip was to Varederos largest Flea Market. The Mrs was now in her element and any complaints about not lounging on the beach were forgotten. We spent around 45 minutes looking around the stalls. Some of the stuff was very nice and some of the art work was amazing. The rest was just tat. The Mrs didn't mind though, she could have spent all day there.

After the market we stopped at a Cigar and Rum store. All of my cigars had been pretty much bought at this stage however it didn't stop my search for the elusive Edition Limitada range that seemed so scarce in Havana. An awkward conversation ensued and my English with some broken Spanish thrown in for good measure led me to the conclusion that the search was to remain elusive.

Slightly disappointed but not surprised we headed towards Xanadu Mansion. This was the former residence of Irenee Dupont de Nemours, a French American millionaire It now serves as Cuba's only 18 hole golf course and club house.

We climbed the narrow stair up to the bar at the top of the mansion. Here we received a Cuba Libra, we brought it out to the balcony and took in the fantastic view. The sun was now shining brightly and the heat it gave off was just about bearable but as we sat and looked out over the green golf course and blue ocean, we wanted to stay there forever.

After the Golf Club we made our way back to the resort. We went for lunch in the buffet and followed that by a few games of pool in the games room. Later that evening there was a Mangers Reception for all the people in the resort. We went back to the room for an afternoon nap before getting ready and heading towards the lobby bar.

At the managers reception all the heads of staff were present. Prizes were given out to a few lucky people and there was a bit of Cuban music to accompany the drinks reception. The whole affair lasted less than 30 minutes after which we headed to the bar for a few cocktails before dinner.

It was Cuban theme in the buffet that night and we enjoyed Creol soup and suckling pig. All very nice. This was followed by an hour of Cuban entertainment. An hour was 60 minutes too long.

After the show we met up with the Scots. As the rain finally came down with full force we headed to the piano bar. A couple of drinks here were enjoyable but as we were the only people in the bar we felt it was rude to talk as the lady played the piano. We decided to leave, face the rain and make our way towards the lobby bar for a night cap.

A couple of Pina Colada's later and it was getting cold. We decided to say good night to the Scots and make our way back to the room.

We had a very enjoyable day, away from the direct sun, but as we climbed into bed, the rain hammering against the window, we wondered would we get another chance to visit the beach.