A Special Place in Cuba

            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.