Franz at Varadero Photo: Alex Jowett Click on photo for more kiteboarding Cuba pics!

Senor Castro and the Cuban dream...fat cigars and even fatter cars...rum, Romantico and the only way to go to Varadero...beach that is...back to the future and lost in the fifties we lived, The Real Cuban Dream!

At the customs desk while entering Cuba, via La Habana, the customs agent began with the usual barrage of questions.

"Citizenship?"

"Canadian!"

"You speak Spanish?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a photographer and I travel a lot?"

"Why do you have so many stamps in your passport?"

"Because I'm a photographer and I travel a lot!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm a photographer, I travel a lot?"

Her lack of hearing had caused me to answer like an automaton! Oh well, at least I didn't have to pay anything at that desk, or so that's what the sign read as I had walked up to it. I was actually in Cuba to travel around with Franz Olry, the man quickly becoming a true legend in such a young sport, and take some of the first kite boarding photos in Cuba. I was more than a little excited to see what Franz had checked out already. He had been in Cuba for a few days, supposedly scouting out some good locales...Like I say...Supposedly!

I picked up my luggage and cruised out to the passenger pickup where Franz and his entourage of extended family ( his girlfriend is Cuban,) were waiting for me. After quick greetings and introductions we headed out to the car, a 1956 funky red Buick something or other. The symbol of American post-war opulence still surviving in one of the last truly marxist states. The irony of it all still makes me chuckle; in a country where most people can't afford to fill up one of these cars with an entire months wages, these behemoths still live on. Although, some of them are modified to a certain degree. The car we were in was fixed to run off either gas or kerosene...Kerosene?

As we settled into the long drive from Habana to Perico..."Perico?" I asked, not being familiar with the town after all my perusals of Cubas coastal towns. "Uh yeah," Franz said "Perico is kind of in the middle of Cuba."

"So you're going kiting on some lakes then?"

"I don't know, maybe hunh!"

"Que?" I was perplexed.

"Ahh, don't worry we'll go to the coast, it's only about an hour and a bits drive either way!" He answered.

"Oh, is that all!?"

Visions of getting completely skunked popped into my head...Oh well, at least I figured I could get some cool photos of the cars down there.

Roughly fours hours after leaving la Habana we arrived in Perico, a sleepy little hamlet almost dead in the centre of Cuba...at least I could still get photos of the cars, I thought again. Since it was Sunday night, the last night of the disco for the week, we showered, changed and headed out to the local disco right away. Party we did!

"The first thing you notice when you hit Varadero is how clear the water is, being an almost metallic shade of bluey-green."

I woke up in the morning as if in a dream. I felt as though I had been thrown back in time, to somewhere in the late fifties...the hairstyles, cars, barber shops, and fashions were all of a fifties sensibility. A little coffee and oranges woke me up enough to remind myself that I was just in Cuba.

While not ACTUALLY in the fities, Cuba certainly gives the impression of some surreal, Marxist state where life has slowed down so much that it still feels as though you're living in another time. A strange kind of Rip Van Winkle effect on an entire country. When Franz and I went for a walk around the town it was hard to feel like we had any chance of blending in. We were a bit more like two kids from the future running around in the past, much like Michael J. Fox in the movie "Back to the Future." Our flashy surfer wear didn't quite blend in with the straw hats and faded blue Guajiro style of the locals. I decided to ask Franz again if we were going to go kiting at all while in Cuba.

"Yeah, I think we should hunh...Maybe tomorrow we'll go to Varadero...It's nice here in Perico eh, I like it!"

While it certainly was nice there I was afraid that if I stayed too long I'd be pomading my hair and smoking fat cigars before long. Luckily we did go to Varadero the next day.

As we drove to Varadero we passed by endless fields of cane, orange trees and rice, those being some of the staples of the Cuban economy. For what seemed like hours on the road, our old cruiser lumbered along while our host family including the mother and boyfriend, and sister and boyfriend of Franz's girlfriend, and I, listened to endless amounts of the local favourite music...Romantico.

The name says it all really, as this type of music has nothing to do with the sweet melodies of the Buena Vista Social Club and is somewhat more akin to listening to a distant cousin of Julio Iglesias trying to sing his songs. When we arrrived I felt more than just a little relieved. The Romantico music was finally replaced with the soothing sounds of the Atlantic ocean waves breaking upon the golden sands of Varadero beach. As luck would have it the winds were steadily filling in.

While Varadero beach itself wasn't quite windy enough the lagoon side of Varadero was already pumping a perfect 15 knots. And it was only 10:30 am. So, we opted to do a little lagoon side shooting/sailing then head over to the open ocean later on in the afternoon.

Almost immediately after hitting the water Franz busted into a huge one foot grab, floating above the trees as a group of Cuban school kids watched from the shore. It was, most likely, their first time ever seeing a kiter and who better to introduce them to the fantastic new sport than Franz. For the next couple of hours he put on a show for the Cubans by throwing out all kinds of loops, grabs and one-footers imagineable.

After a couple of hours of this we decided to take a break, grab some food, then head over to the ocean side for some killer wave-riding action. During lunch Franz actually discovered he had a few fans in Cuba. A vacationing Cuban, who now resides in Canada, noticed Franz and had him sign his latest Kite mag with Sr. Olry on the back cover. He also suggested a good place for us to go kite. So, we finished eating and headed over to the open ocean side of Varadero beach.

The first thing you notice when you hit Varadero is how clear the water is, being an almost metallic shade of bluey-green. Then you notice that the sand is so fine you feel as though you are walking on a beach of flour. Varadero itself is a long spit that juts out to the east, leaving great ocean waves and slightly off-shore winds on the ocean side as well as creating a funnel effect on it's lagoon side wind. Pumped up, Franz headed out for a few more hours and proceeded to launch rocket airs off the inside break and worked on his wave-riding skills, something Franz is definitely one of the best in the world at. Although the waves were generally only about head-high Franz was able to do some huge off the lips and deep gouges of the wave face.

By Alex Jowett

Jowett is a professional writer and photographer and has had numerous articles and photographs published in a variety of kiteboarding and windsurfing magazines. Check out his website at www.wickedsun.com.