Cuban Caddy
Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra
My horse and carriage is for hire, senor
For just as long as you desire senorita
You want to ride
Forget the manana and come to Havana with me
I'm the Cuban Cabby, I'm the Cuban Cabby
The taxi drivers drive you frantic, you know
Oh, but my rig is more romantic and so
You want to ride
A night full of splendor and you can depend upon me
I'm the Cuban Cabby and I need dinero (Money that is)
The moon is peepin, the shadows creepin
A lovely night for lovers, the same as you two are
If you like music, I'll give you music
It's time for riding through the park
As we go riding in the dark
I'll sing a Spanish love song to the strings of my guitar
Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo, que a mi me toca
Ay ay ay ay, canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo los corazones (Olé)
My horse and carriage is for hire, senor
For just as long as you desire senorita
You want to ride
The sweet senoritas and gay caballeros know me
I'm the Cuban Cabby and I know my business
And I mind my business
You want to ride (The Cuban Cabby)
You want to ride (Will make you happy)
You want to ride
Dave and I found ourselves able to arrange a few days off, so we took a quick jaunt to Varadero for some sun and sand and relaxation. This was my fourth time in Cuba (Dave's third), and we know not to expect really great food like in other resort areas, but we decided to try to find a place with good enough reviews that we wouldn't be too disappointed. Turns out, Paradisus Princesa del Mar fit the bill nicely.
This resort is really beautiful, with all of the amenities we were looking for: The beach is perfect, with fine white sand, plenty of palapa sun shelters and lounge chairs, a beach bar, and a gentle slope into crystal clear waters. (There is also a beautiful pool with a swim-up bar, but with a beach that nice, we didn't use the pool.) Downside: one day the beach bar was out of beer for Dave, another day, they were out of diet cola for me - how can one bar be out of anything for a whole day when the other bars/restaurants were still stocked? (This happened a few times throughout the week.) Also: a couple of days it got pretty windy and felt a bit cool (but compared to home, we were still plenty happy to be there).
Because Rudy and I have been going to a daily boot camp, I purposefully chose this resort because it has exercise classes...but only attended twice. The first class Dave and I went to was a kickboxing-type class, and it kicked my butt. The next day, I went back for an aerobics class while Dave went next door to the gym, and it started off lame and ended really hard (slamball squats and plankjacks, etc). After that, just walking in the shifting sand every day (and laying out on loungechairs where the crossbars never quite hit me right) felt like exercise enough. Bonus: there were several exercise opportunities at the beach and pool as well - better than I've seen anywhere else - but I was too pooped to join in.
The food was good in the main buffet restaurant, and because I've been going to boot camp and following a nutrition plan, it was important for me to go to a place with plenty of healthy options. It was never a problem to get an egg white omelette for breakfast or fresh grilled chicken and fish for lunch; there was always plenty of fruit and veggies and nuts to round things out. (And for those who wanted it, there were plenty of more indulgent options, available 24 hours/day.) Note: I was surprised that the coffee (which was to be my main indulgence after recently giving it up) was so weak and tasteless at the resort, but delicious cappuccino soon filled the bill.
It felt like a bonus that we were given the option to prebook a la carte restaurants before we left (so much better than lining up every day at other resorts), but we found it funny that when we were checking in, we were given a piece of paper with our requests, and then a paper with what we were actually booked into. (It was later explained to us that two of the restaurants on the website have been closed, others opened, and the man in the booking office does his best to accommodate requests; it all worked out.)
After our first full day in Cuba, we ate at Sakura - a Tepanyaki-style Japanese restaurant - and it was a great show and fabulous eating.
We had a decent meal at their Mediterranean restaurant, Marseilles, another decent dinner at their open air Cuban restaurant, the Beach Grill, but our last dinner - at the Mirabar - was all around fabulous.
The following picture is of the menu from Marseilles - neither of us tried the "ingot of old chicken clothes":
We didn't go on any excursions, but Dave and I have been to Havana and on the catamaran tour before. While watching the evening entertainment one night - which was consistently fantastic - this British couple asked if they could join our table and we had a wonderful time chatting and laughing with them. Rob and Karen had been on the jeep tour that day (which involves driving your own jeep in a caravan through the jungle to a pool for snorkelling, and then a speed boat ride down the river, and then a horseback ride across a valley; all totally off the regular beaten tourist path for Cuba) and if we had been staying for longer than four full days, I would have definitely been interested in that. As I said, the evening shows were great - Dave particularly enjoyed the operatic evening; we both enjoyed the retro dance party the last night that saw us both drenched to the bone with sweat - and on more than one evening we ended up in the piano bar for more drinks and karaoke. I don't know if I would have really called this a five star resort, but with good food and entertainment and late nights with my honey under a warm and starry sky, who could ask for more?
As for the song: growing up with I Love Lucy, Desi Arnaz is everything Cuba to me and Dave, and he kept breaking out into My horse and carriage is for hire, senor. For just as long as you desire senorita. You want to riiiiiiide every time we walked down the beach together. How blessed I am to have had this break with this guy by my side.
