Cayo Santa Maria
It's been a week so far here in Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. Things at work are going well, and I expect to be here another 2 weeks or so.
It's definitely not the tourist season. The hotel is at about 1/5 of capacity, and the pools, restaurants, beach, and clubs are never crowded. Part of the reason is the weather. Hurricane season ended less than a month ago, but the wind is still strong (and thus the waves are large) and while it's certainly not cold, it's not too hot either. Mid to high 20s in the afternoon, and slightly overcast at best.
Nevertheless, this is the Caribbean (or at least a Disneyland version of it) so the music and dancing never stop. The hotel has a show every night, but once you're here over a week, they start to repeat. The ocean is closed for business with red flags posted everywhere indicating that you're not allowed so swim. Yesterday I managed to go for a long walk on the beach, basically until the fine white sand ended and the rock began.
It's been interesting working closely with Cubans so soon after coming back from St. Kitts. The attitudes are totally different. Many or most of the people we deal with here are very eager to learn new things. More eager, in fact, than most operators I've dealt with in North America. They are helpful, enthusiastic, and clever. Necessity is the mother of invention, and that should be the motto of this country.
On the other hand, it's very difficult to answer questions such as 'how much would someone with your degree earn in Canada?' (ie: 'how much are you getting paid?'). The average salary here is around 30CUC (40USD) per month. However, due to the fact that Cuba has two currencies (one for tourists, one for locals), things like food and locally-made (ie: very poor quality) clothing are quite affordable even with this salary. On the other hand, imported items (electronics, clothing, etc.) are difficult to impossible for locals to afford. For example, cell phones are available for purchase, but they cost on the order of 120CUC, or 3 months of an average local salary.
Below are some pictures...
It's definitely not the tourist season. The hotel is at about 1/5 of capacity, and the pools, restaurants, beach, and clubs are never crowded. Part of the reason is the weather. Hurricane season ended less than a month ago, but the wind is still strong (and thus the waves are large) and while it's certainly not cold, it's not too hot either. Mid to high 20s in the afternoon, and slightly overcast at best.
Nevertheless, this is the Caribbean (or at least a Disneyland version of it) so the music and dancing never stop. The hotel has a show every night, but once you're here over a week, they start to repeat. The ocean is closed for business with red flags posted everywhere indicating that you're not allowed so swim. Yesterday I managed to go for a long walk on the beach, basically until the fine white sand ended and the rock began.
It's been interesting working closely with Cubans so soon after coming back from St. Kitts. The attitudes are totally different. Many or most of the people we deal with here are very eager to learn new things. More eager, in fact, than most operators I've dealt with in North America. They are helpful, enthusiastic, and clever. Necessity is the mother of invention, and that should be the motto of this country.
On the other hand, it's very difficult to answer questions such as 'how much would someone with your degree earn in Canada?' (ie: 'how much are you getting paid?'). The average salary here is around 30CUC (40USD) per month. However, due to the fact that Cuba has two currencies (one for tourists, one for locals), things like food and locally-made (ie: very poor quality) clothing are quite affordable even with this salary. On the other hand, imported items (electronics, clothing, etc.) are difficult to impossible for locals to afford. For example, cell phones are available for purchase, but they cost on the order of 120CUC, or 3 months of an average local salary.
Below are some pictures...
1 Comments:
you're a sexy bitch.
By
Anonymous, on 3:51 PM, November 03, 2008
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