Cuba Trip 3/20 Day 3

Went to bed early last night about 10:00 PM and zonked out right away. Woke up at 2:00 AM and had to read myself back to sleep. Probably about an hour and a half. Woke up just before 7:00 AM and Janet was still sleeping. Went for a shower and let Janet slowly come to life.

Went for our first breakfast and it was a little intimidating holding the tongs while starring at a huge tub of bacon. There was probably 30 pounds of cooked bacon there. Took the bacon and went to the egg station and asked for 3 eggs over easy. The lady cracked 3 eggs side by side and when ready she flipped all 3 at once with a large spatula and never broke a yoke. On to the fresh orange juice line up and they have a see-through orange crushing machine. They keep feeding oranges into the top and out the tap comes the freshest orange juice ever. Oranges to orange juice in 15 seconds. Awesome. Then to the toast machine. Pick your bread from maybe 20 options and set it on the toast conveyor into the oven for toasting and then it slides out the bottom. I like it dark so I put mine through a second time and it was just right.

Mid morning we teamed up with Steve's mom and sister, taking a cab into Varadero for a shopping trip. Various stands of touristy things with many very similar products for sale. Bought a cuban conga drum set which included the shaker things, maraka's or something like that, drum sticks and two sticks you bang together. Some great noise makers for the grandkids. Janet bought a carved mahogany turtle and a couple of bracelets.

We toured the so-called mall and while interesting, not too much worth buying. Janet bought a scarf, nice blue colors like the water with dolphins in it. Back to the resort in another shared cab ride and back to the buffet for lunch.

After lunch we did the day on the beach thing, I went for a swim. Seemed cold at first but you get used to it and its quite refreshing. Definately a sobering effect, so back to the pool bar for some more rum. Must of had 15 different kind of rum drinks so far and each one several times just to make a decision if I liked it or not. Okay I exagerate a little. Never got stumbling drunk or anything close to it, just kept up with the warm and fuzzy feeling. It takes a lot of willpower to eat and drink this much. Fun in the sun and in the shade and then back to the buffet for another round with the ole feed bag.

After supper we mosied on over the the lobby bar and found a duet of a piano player and a saxaphonist doing their best at a lot of show tunes type of music. In the middle of one song while the piano player is pounding out a rythym, a big old rusty bolt falls out of the bottom of the piano and the foot pedals go off at some wonky angle. So the music stops and they are holding the bolt and looking under the piano. One guy leaves, goes outside and comes back in with a rock and balances the foot pedal assembly on the rock and it seems like it will work for now.  I'm right close by and walk up close, looking at this grand piano and see the manufacturer plate inside and its dated 1859 ! This thing is 150 years old ! Sounds good but needs some maintenance I guess. I ask the sax man about his saxaphone and its 1962. No shine to it whatsoever. He says its the salt air that has eaten the finish away. We stay and listen and drink some more rum until they shut it down. We head back to our room, a little TV and lights out.

I've had a sore throat since before we left, a cough and runny nose and its still hanging on. My body is fighting off the alcohol first I think. Thank goodness for the sinus medicine and cough medicine Janet brought along.

Bye for now.