Posts Tagged ‘Caribbean’

Arrival in Cayo Coco, Cuba

Looking for a nice warm place to relax in the Caribbean, I found a package deal from Air Canada for a week at an all-inclusive resort in Cayo Caco in Cuba. Never have been to Cuba before, the price was certainly good, and after researching some YouTube videos about the resort in question, we decided to go for it.

It started snowing heavily when we arrived in Toronto. Perfect weather to start a flight to somewhere nice and warm.

This is what it looked like as we were heading down the ramp at Pearson to our Air Canada Rouge flight:

Our Air Canada Rouge Flight to Cuba, Leaving from Pearson

From my time traveling on business on Air Canada Rouge flights, I got us seats with extra leg-room by the second set of emergency exit doors. Well worth it in terms of leg comfort, though there’s still not much in the way of elbow room either. Also no window to speak of, so no pics of the take-off or landing.

We arrived at the Cayo Coco/Jardines del Rey Airport (which goes by CCC) late that same evening.

Dhan Shortly After De-planing
Both of us getting into the line for Cuban Customs

It was nice being in the open air shortly after landing, and we exited from the back of the plane, and got into the long line up for Cuban customs, along with the passengers from two other flights from different Canadian airlines that arrived at around the same time.

It took a while to make our way through customs, and they didn’t seem to recognize us as a couple, so we each went to the customs agent one at a time. It was also a very long (almost an hour-and-a-half) wait for our checked luggage to arrive, and with three airplane’s worth of passengers and next to no seats in the baggage waiting area around, it seemed to take even longer. But in the end our luggage appeared, and we made our way to the bus that would take us to our resort.

Alex, Our Bus MC

It was there we met Alex, who got everyone on the bus and gave us a quick and friendly lowdown on how to best enjoy our vacations at the resorts. He had a lively trade in selling cold beer to the passengers.

Our resort was the final stop that the bus made, so we briefly got to see the foyers of a couple of other resorts. Our plane left a bit late and we waited forever for our luggage, so there was no welcoming party for us at the hotel, but we were beat by that point and were very thankful to get on an extended golf-cart which took us to our room. It was one of the “regular” rooms, which was sizable, had a king-sized bed, small TV, bar fridge, and a nice bathroom.

After shucking off our Canadian clothes and getting into something more appropriate for the warmer weather, we headed to the “snack bar” (actually a full restaurant and bar) and got a bite to eat. That is where we met the first of the local cats who hang out at the resort.

Looks like this cat has been in a fight or three. This is the only shot I have where he wasn’t growing at another nearby cat.

After that, we retired gratefully to bed.

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Shells from the Sea

All of the following shot using the Olympus Tough camera bought just before the trip:

Bringing a Sand-dollar to the Boat

Bringing a Sand-dollar to the Boat

Broken Sea Urchin Shell #1

Broken Sea Urchin Shell #1

Broken Sea Urchin Shells Detail

Broken Sea Urchin Shells Detail

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Crepuscular Rays Near Sunset

Crepuscular Rays Near Sunset

Crepuscular Rays Near Sunset

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Maho Beach, Sint Maarten

Making our way back from St. Lucia, we took an island-hopper from there to the island of Sint Maarten, landing on the Dutch portion of the island at Princess Juliana International Airport. We had been told to check out the nearby beach-side pub that is at the start of the runway, alongside Maho Beach.

Here are some shots I took while there, all taken with my iPhone.

Plane Coming in for a Landing Over Beach in Sint Maarten

Plane Coming in for a Landing Over Beach in Sint Maarten

Warning Sign by Maho Beach

Warning Sign by Maho Beach

Surfboard with Major Airplane Arrival Times Listed

Surfboard with Major Airplane Arrival Times Listed

Liat Plane Coming in for a Landing in Sint Maarten 1

Liat Plane Coming in for a Landing in Sint Maarten 1

Liat Plane Coming in for a Landing in Sint Maarten 2

Liat Plane Coming in for a Landing in Sint Maarten 2

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