Every trip I take, I always seem to come back with a story that keeps me laughing. After arriving at the resort I started to see a few patterns among some of the other guests staying at the resort. I had read online some (interesting) reviews saying that the resort was no more than a cover for a “brothel”. I soon started to see that while it wasn’t a brothel, it was pretty obvious that there was some stuff going on. So much so that I invented a very fun game that I’m sure will provide me some great entertainment for the rest of the trip.
I’m a big people watcher; it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. The game I came up with was “spot the old man and his hooker(s)”. I quickly shared it with the rest of the group so that we could all play along. By the end of day two I am at a count of 11 of these situations. One guy even had two girls. It was absolutely shocking. The resort knows it’s going on but turns a blind eye. While it was a fun game a first, I soon started to see how disgusting it quickly turned. From seeing the poor girls looking bored out of their mind and clearly wishing this wasn’t what they had to do to make ends meet, to seeing a guy “directing” his “girl” from across the bar to twirl her hair for him while he took picture of her doing it. Like I said, it was blatantly obvious what was going on in these situations. As I am typing this the couple that just got up and left shortly after I sat down was clearly one of these situations. It’s not hard to pick out. Just look for an old guy with a local Cuban girl that is dressed in a semi-revealing outfit and very pretty heading in the direction of the bedrooms. Its day two and like I said, I’ve already counted 11 of these situations. I’m scared to see how many more of these situations I will spot. Okay, rant over, time for the good stuff.
I woke at 8 and took a stroll through the resort as I explored it all in the dark last night. It was a great way to start the day. Nothing beats waking up to breath taking scenery. You can tell the resort is aged and in need of a good renovation. Not that it was bad, just things like cracked paint/tiles showed that its been a while. It still has been a pleasant experience and I’m not sure you could get a better view anywhere else on the island. The resort is built on the side of the mountains so it has an ocean view sheltered by the mountain range, which makes for a beautiful sight. After sorting out what would happen to those who are missing luggage, I headed out for my first dive with one other member of the group, Jared, who was able to dive.
Our dive guide was Manuel and he suggested Sponge City, which had a max depth of 100ft and was a 10-minute boat ride. The boat was parked about 30-40ft from shore. A little confused, we asked how we are supposed to get to the boat. Manuel and another staff member grabbed our gear, put it on a kayak and paddled it over to the boat for us. We were then instructed to swim out to the boat and board. It was different, but made for a unique experience. We got to Sponge City and enjoyed a nice relaxing dive. There was a mild current and some nice diving between the reefs. Usually when I dive, I will adhere to the rule of thirds (surface with 1/3 of your starting pressure). Well, things didn’t go according the plan. I should have surfaced with 1000psi (70 bar). At 1000psi, Jared and I both signaled to the dive guide, he gave us the okay and waved us on-ward. Things got a little questionable when I looked at my gage only to see 500psi. I grabbed the guide and signaled that I was going up with or without him. He signaled okay and started to ascend with us. Turns out, he thought I said I had 100 bar as he dives using metric units. That would work out to be roughly 1500psi, which is why he kept going on-ward. I ended up surfacing with only 100psi. I shook it off, thankful that we have cleared the confusion and know that we figured out the units of measurement for the next dive.
The fun didn’t stop there, as I was climbing up the ladder to board the boat after surfacing, he tells me “We have to hurry! The boat is sinking!!!” Not clear as to if he is joking around or being serious, I figured it was better to go with “Oh shit, we are sinking”. I hauled my ass out of the water and the boat took off. He later explained that the bilge pump tube had come loose so there was no way for the water to drain. Laughing was the only thing I could do at this point, as I knew it would be funny to look back on. We laughed our way back to shore and I headed straight for the buffet.
Lunch, was great. No complaints. I loaded up on carbs and headed for a walk along the beach. I love interacting with locals. I love hearing their stories and what life is like for them. As I was approaching the end of the beach I heard a bunch of local guys yelling at me to come over. A group of them were camped out in the bushes, I hesitated and thought it looked a bit too sketchy so I decided to stay clear. I walked towards the other group of local guys that were at the edge of the beach by the water. They greeted me with smiles, asked me my name, we shook hands and started talking a bit. The guys from the bush ran over and introduced themselves and started talking to me. Doing my best to read their body language, making sure I wasn’t getting myself into a bad situation, I kept my distance so that I was out of striking range in case the situation took a turn. Next thing you know, they are asking me if I know Maria. Not understanding, I tell them that I don’t know Maria. He then explains that he has plenty of women and he can set me up with Maria. He goes on to tell me that he can set me up with a girl for everyone in our group. The wheels started turning in my head as I was connecting the dots for how these old pervy men are getting the women they are with. I immediately declined shook my head and cautiously walked away with a watchful eye to make sure I wasn’t about to get mugged. It’s sad that this sort of stuff is ramped at this resort. Slightly off putting but I wouldn’t let that ruin an otherwise great time.
I met up with a few others of the group; passed time with great conversations and then we ate at the Al La Carte for dinner getting to experience more authentic Cuban cuisine. I was impressed; everything at the resort that has been devoured by my inner fat kid has been great. I couldn’t be more surprised by how this trip is shaping out. I spent the rest of the night star gazing being grateful for every moment I’ve ever had the fortunate opportunity to spend travelling. This year has been beyond amazing for me. I couldn’t be happier and this trip is only going to help me on my journey of self-discovery and remind me of how grateful I have it back home in Canada.
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Justin Steele
The Green Ranger