I first woke up to the almost forgotten sound of a cock crowing and a little later to the sounds of horses being led close by. When I opened the curtains the views of the mountains and the valley were breathtaking.
All that had been available when I booked had been a junior suite and I seemed to have landed the best room in the house or rather the best room leading away from the house. It was simple and clean with huge bed and a sofa and a TV (with several Chinese programs since a cultural sharing initiative began between the two countries in 2008) and had the wonderful advantage of being the last one in a row of little chalets, the furthest from the main hotel building. In front of my veranda, decked with the two obligatory rocking chairs a well kept lawn sloped down to the trees leading to the valley.
When I eventually went up for breakfast there was no sign of any other guests in this hotel that was supposed to be full. I later found out that there was a Saga Holidays group and the old folk had gotten up much earlier to go on one of their excursions. The breezy dining room above the lobby was empty apart from a few staff members wandering in and out and tiny birds swooping in for crumbs left on the uncleared tables. All around doors opened onto balconies and the panoramic views beyond. Breakfast at the wonderfully pink Hotel Los Jazmines was fine, chopped guava and papaya and the same fruits juiced along with a selection of others, bread cheese, tomatoes and salads and cakes. There was a bored looking chef standing by an omelette station and various hot dishes for carnivores. (A word of caution for vegetarians, all the bean dishes I saw at breakfast in Cuba had some sort of meat in them).
After breakfast I went up to the hilltop-perched pool which was peaceful for most of the time apart from, as I had been forewarned by Trip Advisor, the regular coach strip stops when tourists would descend of the area to take photos of the spectacular views and drink pina coladas or mojitos from the bar that flanked it. Sometimes annoying, these noisy visitors swooping in like the sparrows at breakfast would occasionally provide an interesting distraction.
Amazing photo of the pink hotel and swimming pool. It looks gorgeous and tempting, definitely a place you want to linger … probably on those rocking chairs on the veranda 🙂 Interesting about the Chinese TV programmes and I liked the comparison of the tourists with the sparrows. But I want to know about the acrobats by the pool !!!
In 2008 Raoul Castro began lifting what he called ‘excessive prohibitions’ on censorship. China and Cuba have very strong trade relations and if lifting censorship means showing programs from a communist country then there is less chance of socialists being corrupted by capitalist propaganda! Conversely on cable TV in the bar one night they were showing Green Zone (a US film with Matt Damon).
The acrobats appeared by the pool one morning after breakfast. At first I was the only other person there and then a few more people wandered in. He was Cuban and his adoring parents were also there, she was Eastern European. They practised their moves for some time as the parents (and I) took photos. They stopped when her bikini top slipped! Then they all sat down for lunch and cervezas, even acrobats drink beer.
I lingered for four days, it was very relaxing.
The photographs are fabulous, wonderful vista. Tempting me to visit
I think you would love it!
Thank you SO MUCH. We get chickens every year at the local SPCA, and I plan to? adopt a clpuoe of them in a year or two, but until then, I don’t want to use eggs in my baking. Those tips will be very useful to me, and it will be a pleasure for me to show my family how delicious and satisfying vegan baking can be.