Mickey, Marty, Bill and I went again to Varadero Cuba for a week of golf. Bill was a last minute fourth and we are happy that he came along for his first visit to Cuba. We again stayed at the Superclubs Breezes Bella Costa, which is right on the golf course, although you need to take a taxi to get to the pro shop because of the fence. We got a $728 Conquest deal with "unlimited" golf but we had to pay CUC22 each for a cart fee (CAN$100 = 72CUC [Cuban Convertible Peso]). However, we got a free upgrade to a balcony which was very welcome and returning guests (Mickey, Marty and I) got a complimentary bottle of rum, a couple of Cristal beers, and some pop. We know the manager, Johny, so we were well taken care of; as well, many of the staff remembered us and treated us well. However, we never saw Sergio so maybe he is gone. Alexio’s car died so we didn’t see it.

The beach, hotel and weather were all pretty good. We had some rain but got in 7 games of golf without getting drenched. There were a fair number of guests there but it never seemed crowded. Many hotels are shut down due to lack of guests in the off season or for renovation. Sometimes on the golf course it seemed like we owned it. The greens started off in poor shape due to top dressing but improved well during the week due to rain and attention.

We flew Canjet which has a fleet of 3 Boeing 737s. The food was adequate but there was no in-flight entertainment.

There are a few pictures in the album section.

Here again are Mickey’s random notes which, he explains, that you needed to be there to understand them.

TC Super efficient organizer.

JL Super efficient agent, no glitches

BBC 72 CUC per dollar, yikes!

BK This is a rainy day in Varadero?

MS Golf voucher from dot matrix printer doesn't cut the mustard with hotel management.

MS Sets the bar high first few rounds (80)

TC Sand wedge worn out from wayward shots

MB/TC Birdie men, rise to the challenge and put pressure on BK/MS

BK/MS/TC Squares on score card to small for job at hand.

JMD Free rum, beer and mix for repeats, squat for newbies

BK Juiced up a 1Mega pixel cameras memory from 256 kb to 2 gigs, overload!

MB Party room and balcony sunsets every night

MS 1927 taxi oldest I have ever been in.

BBC Severe shrinkage in "hot" tub, JMD fixed by mid week.

MS Looking at buying an ice cream truck, but not for a business.

BK Luggage 5 lbs lighter on trip back, due to water hazards

TC Everybody at hotel remembers Tito, MS,MB, BK invisible

BBC No bingo winners on rainy day with only 10 playing!

MS Who said there were sharks spotted in the ocean?

MB/MS Tequila in hot-tub.

TC Set-up early morning (diet) breakfast, so we could golf in the dark.

MS Met "Teddy" and "Marcos, the Subway guy" from Oshawa, I see free meals for MS/WS

MB Met "The crane guy" from Sherborne

BK Temporarily misplaced his "get out of jail free" card. Maid and pesos to the rescue.

MB Bought excellent chicken and ham and cheese sandwiches for all at the airport

TC/BK Bought drinks at the "Dupont" mansion, muchas gracias.

TV Stock market meltdown, tropical depressions, a bit of election coverage, baseball.

MB Great new hard cased golf bag from ebay, as long as you don't need to put clubs in!

TC/MS Took orioe cookies from mother and daughter at airport.

MS Clubs come out at gate 9? Early morning security guard noticed otherwise as airport closing.

Thanks to all for such a relaxing and enjoyable golf week in Cuba.