A special birthday at Cayo Largo

Being able to swim in the Caribbean Sea was a dream I had cherished for a long time, a great curiosity: not only did I manage to fulfil it by celebrating my 50th birthday at Playa Sirena, one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, but I spent the whole Easter week in Cuba, from 22 to 30 March 2008, with my family. A wonderful gift! With my husband and daughters (aged 18 and 24) we left from Malpensa T2 at 11.45 on 22/03/2008. The trip had been booked through Clictravel, an online agency that proved above all convenient and with a good variety of offers, thorough with regard to the information requested by phone and very efficient at the booking stage — in short, valid in every respect. We flew with Blue Panorama; the service was overall good, the staff helpful and attentive, the seats fairly comfortable, legroom etc...

We spent the eleven hours of flight eating, drinking, reading, chatting, watching films and trying to grab a nap. On arrival, a great emotion: we are on the other side of the world! At Cayo Largo daylight saving time began a few days ago, so the clocks are five hours behind instead of the usual six... it is about 17.30, in Italy 22.30. After clearing the formalities, within a few minutes a bus (with a driver who had provided a musical background) takes us to the Eden Isla del Sur resort; the reception immediately proves inattentive to the requests made from Italy: they assign us two rooms on the ground floor instead of the first floor we had requested. We point this out straight away in order to avoid a move in the following days (our girls speak correct Spanish), but everyone, including the resort manager, postpones the solution of the problem.

The anger at not being listened to at all will last a few days... We settle into the ground-floor rooms and look around: the place is beautiful, but everything is plain, everything is a bit dated... except the enchanting sea and beach! The natural setting is the priceless feature of this place! We would instead describe the organisation of the Eden resort as "neither good nor bad" (sometimes slow, sometimes unpunctual, communication not always clear). We meet our waiter Benigno, who will keep us company every day with his attentions, his smile and pleasant chats: what a lovely person! The restaurant, like the food, is modest. Quantity is not lacking, but the dishes are not very varied and sometimes it is the quality that leaves something to be desired: perhaps the cause is the embargo, which does not allow ingredients we are used to (e.g.

the brioches, very nice to look at, were baked with a fat that ruined their taste). Contrary to what we usually do abroad, where we very much enjoy local specialities, here we often ate pasta, which was in fact well cooked. The time difference gives us some bouts of drowsiness/tiredness. On the 23rd, the day of my 50th (sigh!) birthday, we are all awake at dawn... but in the Caribbean! Nice weather, 28 degrees, sun, warmth... we take the little train to Playa Sirena and spend unforgettable hours there. The swim in the turquoise sea in the company of the largest starfish that exist is wonderful... the beach is white, immense, the light dazzling. The sun beats down and the parts of skin not protected by factor 50 suncream (!!!) obviously get burned. Back at the resort again by the little train (free, at fixed times) and Easter lunch around 14.00.

An unforgettable day closed with mojito and piña colada! A shame they put off the room change by another day. Monday 24 March it rains and we take the opportunity to make the excursion to the Marina of Cayo Largo; we visit the Museum and the turtle farm; then the cigar, rum and souvenir shop, then in search of the crocodiles. As every day we enjoy fresh coconut, a real treat: a spectacle to see how it is cleaned and cut on the spot at the little kiosk inside the resort. In the evening we are very tired, also because at last they let us change rooms: this time we are on the upper floor and... facing the sea! Tuesday 25/3 a day devoted to the sun and swims in the clear waters of Playa Sirena and in the no less beautiful but slightly rougher ones of the resort; the resort beach is equipped with umbrellas and sun loungers and is very pretty and easy to use.

Wednesday 26 breakfast at 7 because the visit to Havana is scheduled. Unfortunately at 10, at the airport, they tell us there is a problem and the trip is postponed. We return to the resort disappointed and a little angry. We decide to go to Playa Sirena and spend the rest of the day there, but the little train breaks down! They repair it and at last we swim in the fantastic blue waters of this enchanting place. We decide to eat prawns and lobster at the beach restaurant (20 cuc each; the cuc is the currency tourists must use and is worth €0.80), then sun sun sun and sea until late evening. Return by taxi booked by the restaurant manager (2 cuc each). In the evening, Cuban dinner. Thursday 27 March breakfast at 6.30, at last we set off for Havana! (120 cuc per person.

We paid by credit card and, all things considered, we saved a lot, given the euro-dollar exchange rate particularly favourable to us at that time. We did the same with the other expenses, which always proved convenient). Half an hour's flight on a small but comfortable plane of the Aerogaviota airline, during which we are offered drinks and sweets, then a coach tour of this very beautiful but peculiar and decadent city. Now and then we get off to visit some areas of the city described by the guide: the emotion is great every time, but it is the Plaza de la Revolución with the famous image of Che and the words "Hasta la victoria siempre" standing out on the façade of the Ministry of the Interior building that give us a kind of euphoria and we take endless photos.

We stop to admire the beautiful buildings in the Capitolio area, where the Teatro Nacional certainly stands out: we remain enchanted. We go up to the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña with a breathtaking view over the capital. We drink a mojito at the Bodeguita del Medio and have lunch near the Cathedral, then a few free hours around the little market and its surroundings, then a stroll along the Malecón, the famous Havana seafront. What a special atmosphere... walking through the city streets we unexpectedly discover some hotels: old colonial houses, externally damaged by time, but restored, welcoming and inviting inside, with the characteristic well-kept patio, sometimes used as a dining room or an elegant reception. On the streets, countless cars from the 1950s, of the most varied models and colours; the yellow coco-taxis, a Cuban three-wheeled exclusive, are unusual.

People are always smiling and courteous; cheerfulness, music and rhythm reign supreme and make up for the unease that grips the tourist when old people and children ask for clothes, caps or personal items. We return to Cayo Largo on the 18.30 internal flight, certainly happy and satisfied, but aware of having seen very little of the city. Naturally we intend to return to the Isla Grande on another occasion to get to know it more and better. Friday 28 March we decide to go to Playa Paraiso by taxi: the beach is less extensive than Playa Sirena but the sea, if possible, seems to us even more beautiful; we take long walks until we come across some fish