The Cuba Story, part 1, an idea

It was about six months ago I decided I want to take some vacation, a real vacation, a vacation devoid of a blackberry or a notebook. The idea of severing the electronic umbilical cord was very powerful -- it would force me to concentrate on meeting people, do some exploration, and just have fun. I even had the wild dilemma about my camera. Should I or should I not bring my camera along? Would you enjoy your vacation if you have to always have to worry about a piece of electronics hanging from your shoulder? I love photography so I guess I had to bring the camera. It is not work. It is a hobby. It is a pure fun never-ending quest to capture those perfect moments, to frame them up on your wall. My dilemma was quite justified in the end. I think I could have enjoyed the trip even more had I left the camera in the safe of my hotel room from time to time. Knowing there is nothing to record the impression, you would be forced to embrace the beauty of nature and hopefully be able to retain the feelings in your head. Nah, my memory is not that great these days so it was worth the weight of carrying and worries of protecting your camera.

So it was about six months ago my thoughts about a vacation were brewing. I was going to go with two friends but timing would not side in our favour. I really wanted to go though. Thus, alone I went.

Where? My initial thought was Costa Rica. Its rainforest was the main attraction. I think I could create an adventure out of it. It did not feel right to visit Costa Rica alone however. My attention then turned to Cuba. It seemed like a mystery to me. Too many people I know have visited Cuba. They all visited Varadero or thereabout, or on the island of Cayo Coco. Very beautiful resorts. I thought about it and I think I would be bored to death if I were to stay in a resort for seven days. I might as well stay in Toronto and work on my computer. I would get a richer kick of satisfaction of doing something meaningful than to lie on the beach the whole day. I suppose it would be nice if you have a book to catch up on. I suppose that would be nice. That is not me however. I like to push myself in every way, mentally and physically. The act of doing so is filled with adrenaline and excitement. It would be like Christopher Columbus discovering the new world, to seek and explore. I set my mind to doing just that.

My preparation for the trip was simple. Besides the culture and people experience, I knew I wanted to bike and hike around and do some snorkelling. I got most of my camping or survival gears out (flashlight, compass, sunscreen lotion, toilet paper, DEET, lighter, etc.). That would serve me well in those hiking trips in forests and walks in town. For the snorkelling I wanted to take pictures underwater. Since I do not have an underwater camera, I brought a clear plastic bag along. I also read up about Cuba before the trip and found that the locals would appreciate any bit of help you can give, so I went shopping for a bagful of school materials and toys to give away. That went into my suitcase along with my clothing and camping gears. My camera equipment went into the AACRO backpack. I like the AACRO backpack because it is light, it has a lot of pouches, and the fabric is waterproof.

My list of camera equipment included: the D80, one 2MP Mini-DV recorder, three lens (80-400mm, 18-200mm, 50mm, extension tube, 2x converter), the speedlight, spare batteries [for the flash, for the camera, and for the flashlight], spare memory cards [so I had 9 GB of storage in total], three filters, a micro-fiber cloth, and the Artic Butterfly. I threw everything in the compartments and padded the lenses and camera with a couple of old sweaters. I intentionally left my battery charger at home, thinking that I would need an electrical adapter for Cuba which I do not have. The backpack weighed a ton. A small tripod went into my suitcase.

Last Friday, my adventure began.