Hockey scores tough to come by in Cuba (and other HORRORS)

[Mika]

Hockey scores tough to come by in Cuba
http://www.canada.com/Hockey+scores+tough+come+Cuba/1525874/story.html

After two weeks on vacation in Cuba, the cool rain and green landscape were a welcome sight Sunday.

Not that Cuba was bad. Far from it. It was a great two weeks of sun and fun in Cayo Guillermo on the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was hot --27 to 30 C every day -- and the water was as warm as you could imagine. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday with my family and friends.

Still, as good a time as I had, there were still elements of home that were sorely missed -- like Diet Pepsi, green relish and hockey scores.

Yes, Cuba may be a great destination for the holiday traveller but not for the hockey fan, at least not during the run for the playoffs.

I know, you go away on holiday to get away from the everyday rigours of life. In reality, the biggest decision I had over the two weeks away was if it was a beach day or a pool day or whether to have a cerveza or a pina colada. I know, life's rough.

But hockey scores shouldn't be that hard to come by, especially with Internet and American sports giant ESPN on the resort TV system.

Ah, the Internet, that wonder of world technology that allows people to search quickly for anything and everything all at the click of a mouse -- except in Cuba. Granted, modern technology will likely never hit the Caribbean country like here in Canada.

At three pesos (Cuban convertible pesos at roughly $1.37 Canadian per peso), you can buy a 30-minute Internet card. After trying to load a website like NHL.com, it took more than 10 minutes to load.

Who's got that kind of time on vacation?

And ESPN? Well, they cover hockey like Canadian sports networks cover Cuban baseball. In between the jai alai results and the water polo scores, you'd get NHL scores.

I know, you don't go on vacation to watch TV but you haven't lived until you've seen Shrek in Spanish.

As for Cuba itself, I ventured to the main island of Cuba once with our group of 21.

Cayo Guillermo, where our resort was situated, is a small island connected to the main island of Cuba through Cayo Coco via a long causeway.

The tour we went on included a boat ride on a lake, visit to a crocodile farm, lunch at a roadside Cuban restaurant, visit to an old sugar cane factory and train ride, a cigar factory and visits to two Cuban towns -- Moron (pronounced More-own) and Ciego de Avila.

It was very educational to see the real Cuba and how rural Cubans live. It is not a country of riches. The people take a lot of pride in their work and work hard for very little money. I was told that the average Cuban makes between 300 and 400 pesos per month.

With one convertible peso worth roughly 24 Cuban pesos, any tips that tourists gave to the Cuban people was very much appreciated.

I did make a little money when I was on vacation.

My good friend David Knott and myself won the Nanaimo RCMP Detachment hockey pool. Somehow, out of 53 teams, we finished first. I'd go back in a minute. It was a lot of fun.

But next time, I might wait until hockey season is over. I need my hockey scores.