Hostal Angelo's Taste & Travel

Last Canadians in Cardenas! 
As we watch the procession of tour buses being escorted by the Cuban Policia we can't help but notice the people of Cuba going about thier day in a somewhat or orderly manner perhaps a little rushed as they would like to get home to start the preparations for the arrival of Evil Irma!  As Canadians staying in a Cuban Casa having not booked (first time ever....and last) with our trusty Travel Agent there was no flight for us.  Our local friends all assured us it would be no big deal, the last bad one to hit was Michelle followed by Matthew....they all kept talking about Michelle like she was the stronger big Sister to Irma.  Don't worry you will be fine,  don't worry it's never going to hit....don't worry it will blow out before it gets to us!  That was the word on the street.  When we arrived back to "Hostal Angelos" our cuban home away from home, Angelo was there to greet us with a cold Cerveca and told us do not worry we are going to have fun!  He has never let us down before so why not believe him now!  We went about are merry way, texted home and said don't worry they tell us it's going to be fine......Yes my flight will be cancelled but no worries I will get home to our family and restaurant a day or two after the storm.  That night we headed to our favorite spot the Hard Rock Grill Dporti just across the street from Angelos. It looked a little bare and the staff a little tired. They have spent the entire day removing everything not bolted down and even then a few of the things bolted down.  They did not seem so sure it was going to be fine, but what can I do at this point....so Cristal it is!  It was starting to get harder and harder to find. 
Morning was dark and starting to blow....perhaps a little harder than I have seen before and this was well ahead of Ms. Irma.  I have received a text from my friend in canada wanting my Passport Number to list me with Global Affairs Canada incase it's bad, of course I sent them off with a....here you go, but don't worry everything is going to be fine.  Through out the morning everyone was battening down the hatches, buying what little water was left in the stores and starting to trim the trees.  Angelo had ventured off to Havana for the day with his Mama, I asked as they left....Are you sure it's ok to go so far away, you know the answer!  We headed off to a friends house for an afternoon in the pool, it was blowing but crazy hot.  Before the day got too late we got warned it was time to leave and get home back to angelos. When we arrived Angelo was again waiting with a Cerveca a little worried about why we were not home sooner but calmly stating this is nothing.  The Orient was the first hit in Cuba and we watched on the T.V. As the people sat so calm, mostly in rocking chairs as the Storm got closer and closer....I commented on how calm they were. Not long after it hit the first town all T.V. communication was lost.  But with so many friends texting me the location of the big blob slowly moving over the island we were never without news.  At one point Angelo pointed to a blue house about 1 block away and says do not worry the ocean has never rose above that point before.....that house is about 12 blocks from the ocean.  This must explain the steady stream of mattresses, t.v's and horses being relocated past our casa.  Mama has now started to cook and cook and cook. There is only 4 of us how much can we eat!  Mama clearly know more than us, she is wise and has lived through many hurricanes.  As the winds grow stronger (I wasn't sure this could happen) Angelo assures me this still is nothing.  I prepare a lengthily lists of reassuring texts to send to my buddy.  Texts he can begin to send my Mom and Dad in case it gets bad here.  "Good morn mom, all is good here, just heading to the pool with kids, I near there's a hurricane somewhere but it's beautiful here, maybe a little rain, love ya" he was to start sending if we lost contact.  After enjoying a lovely dinner with Mama and Angelo the winds suddenly  stopped....the calm before the storm.  There was about an hour of calm. My friends quickly stopped by to double check my well being and to warn me to stay inside my room and do not leave no matter what and most certainly when the rain starts to stay inside.  They quickly ran back to thier houses to be with their families.  When the storm started we sat safely under a large overhang, listening to our grand Mata tree creaking and cracking we were sure she would not survive the day.  We sat in our rockers calmly sipping on our last cold cristals. It is dark now very dark. We have already lost electricity.  As the storm gained force a large street lamp from the third floor roof ripped it's 4 bolts clear off and tumbled down to shatter not less than and inch from Steve....I do believe it is time to enter our rooms....moments after we were safely getting settled Angelos goes scurrying by up the spiral staircase towards the roof, Steve is swiftly in pursuit.  We have 3 large cement water tanks on the roof more than enough water for the 4 of us if we are to be without power for  a long period.  The pressure of Irma are so strong it is syphoning the water right out the top.  Angelo shrieks at me....go to Mama! As I try to console Mama, she is crying and shaking I can't help but worry as the boys are vulnerable, the roof is the last place you want to be in a hurricane.  The tree is making a little more movement the winds are no longer blowing in one direction they are making a circle....all along the cubans have used the word cyclone not hurricane, I now see why.  After what seemed like am eternity the boys descended from the roof, not all that triumphant they only saved 1/2 of one tank of water.  Soaked like a rat Angelos heads off to his room below and after a stark scream from Mama (at that point she scared me more than Irma) we were ordered to our room.  We secured the door and all our shuttered windows and calmly sat back to see what happens next.  Once inside our room the moment we hoped would not happen happened.  The grand mata tree dropped to the ground.  You could here as it filled the patio and many things shatter to pieces.
As we sat inside our dark room, the sound so loud you had to yell to talk.  I remember that we have been given a little candle as a gift from our little freind Elaine she is only 8.  With the candle lit it seems just a little less scary.  I text my little friend....."Elaine thank you for the candle, I needed it tonight. I will see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams".  A mere moment later I receive a reply...."it was my pleasure, if god want us to see each other tomorrow we will, if not please take care".  Ok now I must admit I am a little scared, safely I crawl into Steve's arms and wait for the morning light. Not sure we slept much but we did pretend to.
With the break of dawn Steve, Angelo and I were down below to survey the damage the tree was so thick it was almost jungle like.....the boys found me a path under the table up against the wall to go for help. The street was deep in water and debris.  I made my way down to My Buddy Framils house to ask for garden shears, snipers or anything of that sort.  He laughed, grabbed a machete and said let's go.  As we walk back to Angelos the town of Cardenas is waking, everyone is outside looking up to their roofs to make sure they survived....the majority of them did.  We arrive back to Angelos and trusty Framil hacks us a path into our casa, surprisingly the machete works well. A few short hours later our amigos Humberto and Gilberto appear with one of the few chainsaws on the island.  They make short work of the gran tree.  It is now no more than a mountain of debris blocking the roadway.  As everyone clears their homes of falling trees the roads grow smaller an smaller, how will they ever clean this mess.  But you know what the storm has passed, we survived our super strong casa survived, most of our friends homes survived with the exception of one roof. Everyone I know is fine and the clean up can now begin.  I later learned that Irma claimed 10 lives in Cuba......I feel a great sense of close grief for the families.  What I have been saying since the storm is "the hurricane was not near as bad as I anticipated but way way longer and relentless".  What happened next seemed worse than the hurricane.....6 days of No electricity, No water and No refrigeration!  Of course Hostal Angelos was fine.....mama was still cooking. There was no shortage of food at the house. But I would have paid 100cuc for a cold Cristal.  All stores were boarded up and when opened there were no supplies, if there was they were warm.  The gas stations were closed unless you were a hydro worker, had a tractor or government employee....no there was not even a drop of diesel on the black market....shhhh did I say black market out loud! We spent the next few days passing time with friends as plane after plane keeps getting cancelled.  Our friends freezers have now unthawed they have cooked all their meat. I start to wonder what they will eat tomorrow.  They do not seem worried.  On day four I decide that we cannot stay any longer.   We head to Varadero to survey the damage and then off to the airport. We find no planes heading to canada. (This is another story about our dear friends westjet and air canada, but we will leave that for another day).  I will make the ending quick as it is solely about me not my beautiful Cuba....we head to Havana in our trusty 52 olds with our dear friends Vlad and Inis only to find no flights and no casas.  We spend a hot night in the classic car, one we will not soon forget.  In the morning I crack....crack hard.  Find a phone, get a airport worker to help dial me up the Canadian Embassy and plead for assistance......remember that friend that listed me on the Global Affairs List.  Well the embassy knew of me they quickly appeared and before long we were back in Canada.  It might sound to you like I wish I wasn't there, but that is hardly the case....Hostal Angelos kept me safe and well fed, my friends were always a fingertip away and I sure am glad I was there to help Angelo, Mama and all my friends.  I have been back in Canada for only 3 days now and I am already booking my ticket back!  I might not have been the last Canadian in Cuba but I never met another in Cardenas!  Oh ya....booking with my trusty travel agent!    Julia

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The Insiders List of Tasty Travels

Until recent years, running a legal restaurant in Cuba wasn’t heard of. Since the 1960s, the only choice for eating out of the home was state-run restaurants. The kind that offered the same choices with the same ingredients they were ran by the people for the people but they did as they were instructed by the state. They did not offer the innovation or the quality that the new generation lingered for. So underground restaurants started opening up in family homes, behind closed doors – and for those who knew where to look, these so-called hidden Paladars in Cuba were the place to grab a quick bite and enjoy a little taste of Cuban freedom.....Read More....

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