A reader suggested a story about our
recent visit to Cuba. After some thought I concluded maybe some readers will be
interested. In 2012 I posted a blog about a Cuban vacation near a town called
Trinidad but the special place in this blog is very different from that one.
Hotel Marea del Portillo only rates
three stars in the status of vacation resorts so why is it special. Maybe that
is why, hordes of people do not flock to this place. Most visitors to the Hotel
Marea del Portillo are Canadians who have been here and return year after year,
often more than once a year.
It is a hard place to get to from
Canada. Only one airline flies into the Manzanillo airport once a week. Busses
take visitors on a two-hour ride through Cuban towns and fields, then over the
mountains down a steep twisting narrow road to the town called Pilon and the
seacoast. The bus then travels another thirty minutes along a terrible road to
the hotels. There are only two hotels here, one called Farallon and the other
our favourite, the Marea.
Let’s look at the geography of the
area. The Caribbean Sea sparkles on one hand and the Sierra Maestro Mountains
rise behind. The highest mountain in Cuba call Pico Turquino at 1974 metres is
one of these mountains where Fidel Castro and his band hid as they regrouped to
begin the revolution in 1959. They are a rugged, steep range forming the south
coast of Cuba from here to beyond Santiago de Cuba providing vistas of sea and
forest for those ready to go into them on horse back.
There are other reasons to be in
this hotel including scuba diving, tours to neighbouring villages, quaint local
restaurants, the sunshine, the pool, the beach, sunset cruises and the company.
The hotels are small, people get to know each other and the Cubans who work
here. It becomes a family place and that is why people come back so often. Cuba
is not known for gastronomy, but food is plentiful for guests if not for the
local people. However, the Cubans in the area are generous and friendly often
inviting visitors into their humble homes for coffee.
Many frequent visitors bring gifts
for Cuban friends when they return each year. Some friendships develop into
romance or intimate relationships and many Cubans from here have come to Canada.
Not all marriages work out, but many do, and partners often return to visit relatives
with their children. In fact, many children are often in the pool area at
various times of the year.
What else, you ask? The beer and
booze are free and plentiful. There is spectacular entertainment around the pool
in the evening with Cuban bands, dancing, skits and singing. If you want to be
quiet and read there are palapas on the beach and plenty of shady places to
just be still for awhile.
Do you agree this is a special
place? No? Good, don’t come here, we’ll keep it special for the ourselves.
