Flight WS730 pulling into Gate B13 to take us away from all of that white stuff on the ground.
Waiting at Gate B13. From the left, Real, Tony, Susan, Elsa and Rose.
Susan with Real and Rose. Susan is not happy with this picture because of the wide angle off axis distortion. But the excitement in her face is unmistakable!
In the Snow
Susan and I have great friends in Elsa and Tony. We have travelled with them, we go out in the evenings dancing with them, we visit with them (You haven’t eaten Italian till you eat at Elsa’s!). They are Italian, of course, from Supino, a small town in the Province of Frosinone south east of Rome. We have visited them in their home in Supino and it is beautiful.
I begin here because this is the beginning of our journey. Last fall Elsa and Tony told us that a group of their friends from Supino had booked a cruise in the Caribbean sailing on the MSC Armonia out of Havana. They were going to go along and suggested we join them. Our friends Rose and Real were also interested and said they would come.
We had trouble finding an agency that could sell us tickets because of the foolish American embargo on Cuba. It was Rose who finally found Jennifer Waugh who was able to book the trip for us.
So the six of us were set to go: two nights at a hotel in Varadero, seven nights on the Armonia and then two more nights at the same hotel before the flight home.
Our flight was with Westjet and was booked through Toronto. I presume this was the cheapest option. It was also slower than direct and involved more time in the air in extreme discomfort.
Elsa on the flight. Everyone seemed pretty happy to be on our way!
Real and Tony. Elsa and Rose are on the edges of the picture.
I am not a fan of window seats but you can get nice pictures.
The flight was long: almost 5 hours to Toronto, a wait at Pearson Airport (terrible food options), and then another three and a half to Cuba. It was long and uncomfortable. But that is the price we pay for fast travel by the cheapest option. I wish there was some other way to go without spending a fortune. I guess the only answer is money. Isn’t it always?
