Cuba’s Varadero Marina Complex
Photo Feature by Juan Suare
HAVANA TIMES – These pictures belong to the Varadero Marina complex where many yachts are docked at the end of the Hicacos peninsula. It is not a hotel; it is a fairly new place of recreation like the Plaza Las Americas also found in Varadero. There are shops, restaurants, cafes, bowling and a disco.
The only activity that is banned for Cubans are the water tours that are only for foreign tourists. More hotels are being built in this area.
I asked a waitress if there was WiFi and where I could pay for the service. She replied that it was free, so I connected with no problem. While there I could see many Cubans with their laptops and cell phones connected that day. Maybe it was just a promotion.
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Well Griffin the way it works is that the USA is the only country in the world that offers refugees a prize if they put their lives at risk and cross the Florida Straights in a rubber tube – it’s called ‘putting foot on dry land’ in the USA – of course no other refugees are afforded the same generosity not even so call allies – Oh and did I mention that the refugees go on US social services when or if they get there? Who needs a yacht when you have a rubber tube to paradise?
No. I find it perfectly consistent with the situation that the country finds itself in due to 57 years of US embargo. They prepare for the day the worlds only super power allows them to make a living errr…. that is from them, by them and for the benefit of them – gee thanks guys
Get ready for the ‘Cuban women make great wives’ introduction services.
Sorry – cynicism doesn’t always come across well on the net – I do admire it though. Great line, hasta siempre, ganacias, btw. Yo mucho quiero aprender hablar espagnol!
Yes, I know about the Cuban balseros. That was what I was hinting at.
Sounds like a communist-maritime version of Build It And They Will Come.
Think a bit why don’t you? Cubans want to come to America, they do it with inner tubes, oil drum rafts, whatever floats. The government in Havana is very paranoid….so why would they let their people get on a boat?
I wonder why the boat tours are banned for Cubans. Is there a problem with Cubans and boats? Are Cubans more prone to sea-sickness? Or are the authorities worried that Cubans tend to get lost at sea and might never find their way back to the marina?
I visited this facility a short month ago and found that the facts noted above differ from my experience. Even though I was a hotel guest, I had to pay for a WiFI card in order to be able to connect. Most of the visitors were attendees to a medical conference and they weren’t all Cubans. While Cubans may be “allowed” to enjoy these facilities, most can’t afford to so that’s a bit of a mis-representation. The marina was essentially empty except for the government owned boats used for tourism and there didn’t seem to be a lot of tourist boating activities taking place.
This sounds like a bit of propaganda to me.
Does anybody else find it hilariously ironic to see the “26 Julio” flag draped over the roof of the marina, constructed by the Castro regime for the purpose of earning hard currency by entertaining wealthy foreigners?
Hasta siempre, ganancias!