Part 28. The beach.

The first thing we did was to drop the luggage and head down to scope out the beach. I honestly didn't expect the water to be as blue as all the pictures always show, but it was. We walked about a half mile one way, checking out the other resorts, and then a half mile the other way. All the beaches in front of each resort looked the same....and by "the same", I do mean perfect.

When we were looking at the brochures, prior to the trip, all the beaches had different star ratings, some would be a 3 and some would be a 5, yet the resorts themselves would be beside each other. I couldn't figure that out...how can a beach change so much within a matter of a few feet? Answer: It doesn't. We walked a long way, and the sand was white and pristine the entire way.

The resorts all had the same little straw umbrellas, the same beach chairs, (albeit different colours) the same bars and snack stands, and the same locals selling the same crappy souviners from the same little portable stands. Remember this song?

Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one.
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

That's the beaches of Varadero. Beautiful, and I mean seriously stunning, but ticky tacky none-the-less.