#Cuba

We’ve been to Cuba seven times now. Every time we come home from Cuba we say ‘this may have been the last time’, but then we decide to go back again. The reason for that is quite simple. We love the beaches—the best beaches in the world. Of course, we haven’t seen too many other beaches, but I don’t believe they can get much better. White sand and at most resorts you can walk far into the ocean, and when the tide is low, the beach gets even larger.  We love the turquoise color of the ocean.

The food can be a bit of a problem; it is sometimes not as good as in the Dominican or Mexico, but it is okay and not as bad as some people make it out to be. Most resorts we’ve been to we got plenty of seafood, important to us, and shrimp every day. We even had lobster in Varadero.

The resorts in Cuba are much safer than in other countries, like for instance Mexico. Crime is practically non-existent. The Cuban government sees to that, because vacationers are an important part of their economy, providing work and bringing in money.

Another reason we go to Cuba it is still more economical than other countries.

The only problem I have is the Cuban Convertible Peso, the CUC. It is worth nothing on the world market and only good in Cuba. To me, the whole thing is a bit of a scam. I have no idea how they figure out the value of the Convertible Peso. It seems to be on par with the Euro. On our last trip, it cost $1.40 Canadian to buy one Cuban Convertible. That is a bit of a joke, because our economy is so much better than the Cuban economy. Let’s face it, the Cuban people live in poor conditions and they don’t earn much money. How can you compare that with Canada? We are the ones going on Holiday in Cuba not the other way around. Neither can they buy everything they want and even need. They drive old cars, even though they take much pride in restoring them; they are still old cars.

We never buy much anymore in Cuba, except for liqueur. Depending what you buy, liqueur is still a bargain. On our last trip, we paid $15.00 Canadian for one liter of rum. When it comes to alcoholic beverages, our Canadian government is ripping us off. But the selection is quite small in Cuba. Imported liqueur is prohibitively expensive. They wanted over 100 Dollars for a bottle of Gin. The only cheap alcohol we found was imported whiskey from Spain. I’ve been buying a bottle every time we go and the whiskey is good, especially if you only use it for a mix, the way I drink it. Rum, of course, is also cheap.

Like I said, we don’t buy anything else, because of the high Cuban Peso. T-shirts cost between 11.00 CUC and 20.00 CUC. 20.00 CUC translate into $28.00 Canadian. And the quality isn’t there. So we don’t buy them. I wonder how many other vacationers don’t buy as much as they used to. This is not good for the sellers who rely on this income.

As soon as I find some time, I will write a detailed review of the resort we visited this year. Come back and look for it.

#Pussywillows

It must be #Spring. The catkins on the pussy willows are probably ready to be cut. Our Canary is enjoying our Sun-room. It is the first day this year we are using it. It is only a Three-Season room. The sun is shining hot and heating it up, with the help of an electric heater. I can hear the little guy singing from my office in the basement. I see the sunshine only through the window. Too many things to do. We came back from a two-week holiday in Cuba and now we have to catch up with all the stuff that’s been accumulating in those two weeks. I’m also busy smoking a couple of Whitefish, so I’ll be outside in the afternoon. The water in the aquariums needs to be topped up and I have a few batches of wine to be filtered, transferred and bottled. And I’m going to look at my seeds that need to be seeded in flats for my garden.

Oh yes, there is no shortage of work. Most of it, of course, self-created, but that’s okay. Keeps me in shape and my mind sharp. Before I retired, I asked a friend who was retired what he was doing all day long with all the free time he has now. He just laughed and said, “What free time? I’m busier now than ever (He keeps bees). I don’t know how I ever had time to work before I retired.”

Now I know what he means.

There is no reason for anyone to ever be idle and bored. Stuff to do is all around us. That is why I cannot understand why the members of our native population living on the reserves are so bored and turn to drugs and alcohol, even committing suicide. Perhaps they should look around and start cleaning up all the garbage that is everywhere and fix up their houses, like painting them and repairing the damage that somehow occurred inside the houses. We have no holes in the floors and walls in our house. We never made any in the first place. I have a garden that keeps me busy in the summer and shrubs and flowers in the yard that need to be tended. No shortage of work that needs to be done—ever. All that is needed is the will and drive to do it. And to enjoy everything you do.

Nothing to eat? Raise rabbits for meat and goats for milk, chickens for eggs and meat. We did that after the war when there was nothing to eat in Germany after the war.

Just saying.

A couple of days I saw my first goose in the field and yesterday a small flock flew across the highway. I also say the crows that live all year around in our yard. I have no idea where they went for the winter. They are looking at the old nest in the tree in our neighbor’s yard. I wonder if I’ll catch enough mice this year to feed to the crows.

In February, I bought a new pair of glasses from Costco. Progressive and transition. I paid extra money for a frame made from Titanium, which is stronger than other metals. Well, that strong titanium frame broke into two pieces on our second day of our holiday, which means I was left without glasses and sunglasses for the entire two weeks. Not a good thing when the sun is blaring down from the sky and reflecting from the white sand and the ocean. Fortunately, I had an extra pair of reading glasses along, so I could at least read my electronic reader. I have no problem seeing without glasses, but reading is a different story. That’s when things become blurry. Anyway, I’m picking up my new glasses tomorrow. I hope that strong titanium frame doesn’t break again. In all my years of wearing glasses I never even broke a lens, never mind the frame. And none of them were made from any special metal. It proves again to me that expensive does not mean better. Sometimes it is best to stick with the old, the proven stuff, but there is always somebody popping out the woodwork who claims to build a better ‘mousetrap’. I’ve had those also already—mousetraps made out of plastic. Half of them have already given up the ghost.

This was supposed to be only a short blog, but, as usual when I begin writing something it turns into a novel.

Enjoy the rest of the day and the next and the next and…….

Puzzled

Sometimes I wonder about the mentality of people. Actually, I wonder a lot. My wife watches The Price is right and once in a while I stick my head out of my office and watch part of it. What really bugs me is when somebody bids, let's say $800.00 and the next person says $801.00. With that move the first person loses  any chance of being called up on stage to play the game. However, today one woman bid $801.00 and the next person said $800.00. Even Drew Carey wondered about that. He laughed and made a comment; of course, he needs to be careful what he says.

Now I ask myself, the same question Drew Carey probably had: What the hell was going on in the second bidders brain? He literally took himself out of the game. And he didn't even seem to realize that. Now, the woman who bid $801.00 made it onto the stage and ended up winning the showcase.
My other question is: Did that woman play a shrewd, psychological game by bidding $801.00?

This happened before, by the way.