The diversity of a trip to Varadero [EN-ES]

Hello world travel lovers! How many of you, when you hear about Cuba, don't think of its beaches, and specifically Varadero? For years, an image has been promoted in which our country is linked only to symbols that, beyond the typical phrase "rum, salsa, women, tobacco, and the Havana seawall," evoke a "paradise" called Varadero. It's true that in Cuba you'll find everything that phrase evokes, but today I want to show you this place, located in Matanzas, a western Cuban province, with some of its contrasts beyond what we find in any tourist guide and which we sometimes overlook in our desire to focus only on the uniqueness of its sands and beaches, still unspoiled in their vastness.       Although Varadero isn't Cuba's longest beach, it has always stood out for the fineness of its sand, along the 22-meter stretch between the sandy beaches that separate it from the streets, and the same stretch we find once we're submerged in the water; the subtle descent through its platform as we enter the sea, and the way this gradient is maintained throughout its 22-kilometer stretch.                   For decades, Varadero has been the dream resort of many Cubans. A national and international landmark, it promotes the qualities of its crystal-clear sea and soft, white, natural sand, which is increasingly complemented by dozens of hotels welcoming tourists from all over the world. For Cubans who wish to stay at these hotels, depending on their salaries, it's still an unattainable dream, but there's always the option of getting there one way or another, at least to enjoy the views and a natural swim with the tranquility that comes with staying in places where one hopes to avoid crowds of bathers.           So, I want to show you its wide, clean, and colorful streets where we can delight in contemplating eclectic architectural constructions in their diversity of designs and eras in which they were built.                (https://images.ecency.com/DQmUwJqggCLdjTzAyaKz9Y4e8aWLWeeqBxdLuAcdMJgjHEE/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.24.55_3_.jpeg) We then walked among modern buildings alongside others whose foundations are over a century old, parks where we could play and shelter from the sun to cool off with friends or family, or places where we discovered curiosities such as the tree that grows in a hole in a flamboyant tree, or the uniqueness of finding, in the middle of a visually modern environment, groups of hens (which I couldn't capture, by the way) with their chicks in the middle of the task of searching for food among the beautiful grass that its inhabitants keep cared for. (https://images.ecency.com/DQmRqgwRJPsdngo87ZP6GEWC63fkeiykYowhww9LoMFkyDU/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.16_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmTu3CtWxWNHJ1JmwWqAoCgHc5WVSv68RZPUetwGL4bCdm/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.16_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmUSAUSZGmgD1ZR2sdW2TrMj1LWDLHDyS7idKTviTraaAx/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.17.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmQtUhW3vWrTZZNghg1WK6LgmUi1pGFhC8JxAhcpNZZWXs/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.18_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmTFTqPTCjCkaAy5KhNJpZMKbMdHLTFkuHvmaw6xTTDuge/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.18_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmXSAVdT9UixrZQvThk7zTZJACnxWMQEpBud9cmPpyKQ6Q/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.18_3_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmbYewu1wHxaCtuBzvMDKcriYELAuaBeyDeR6tXpYNuRhj/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.18.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmNkALwwEhvYRm3oxFF3ggtL1Bb4rbRo6g3NDx9u23TYEX/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.19_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmRyXTVEmLtsLsetXuysphLvTJwHoPkzcS2J2Vx5WSkev3/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.19_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmRtRYaxvu4rPzFsuXZm7c2AF2cm3ki4TYwHDZyQujRBDx/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.19.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmctabxg2vaLsVSCMZCgFfvbMp7JWCEwFMZx4dh4wsp9ok/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.20_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmSpzUMqM1TTh61GC4fF3YLRBi28YUp7mXQbLTXtp3dVhm/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.20.jpeg) Another peculiarity that this visit to Varadero showed me lies in a phrase that also rings true in conversations between friends. I'm referring to the phrase that evokes the discovery that sometimes the world is truly small. And I say this because I had the opportunity, like a buccaneer on a global voyage, to meet a great Cuban writer and friend who was also on this beach with his family. His name is Reinier del Pino. I'm telling you this because maybe we'll have him here on #hive soon, who knows. It was he who truly discovered me, because I was distracted, trying to photograph some curious animals that caught my attention for their beautiful qualities. (https://images.ecency.com/DQmQe7bWzmX9ZfkaMwjpd3bvkqJFYTKTMbMf4wj9r644RCF/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.12_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmQyMFNamjZjjz59bwbAzCzctaapcUYw5Q2ie5csEzWHkX/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.13.jpeg) During this tour I'm taking you on, note how my intention is to show you some contrasts here and there, to bring you a little closer to their reality, which is undoubtedly interesting. (https://images.ecency.com/DQmbNsC8DSYpTbcoez1zvpumfh4DGNWMxQ5k9RhqYAnGS6q/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.20.06.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmXrEm1LEraeQwh4c92ExpMG4JjWEfgULbhjF9UtWiktCz/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.20.07.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmSwngSQWYLYUMwG3XtMFhWD62sLt9ZLqVRqBA8Q8apVVB/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.20.08.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmc1juX2fCdZvpZPeayR1xVZfBSp3ZwFAtDWS5FnuMMNMT/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.21.21.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmbSEc3ibRNKVTZBtWX3H9k5pMCnrU7BKW8AMkSenpxW57/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.08_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQma7stX9eaB8FmCogo2etpAB4rwSH6YZjziQABZm4CMa2b/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.21.46_3_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmei3yPVTNW7tvMRi8Y3Vje9mszBAFMGb8GXbNsKatt1NS/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.10.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmZZ2mr8ormoNpnTzWMKcA9Rjrhv39ZfopF7Gp41XkSuML/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.16.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmZJwVJs7vM5azEDVp3apZLYPp18e8KqeD22NkJ2QNeyCF/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.26.24_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmXVnG8B6pqomr2m78zYMpBXfuGgNxWrcrbeHQf6bBneCZ/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.26.25.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmQ59AxKCnWV8htpCecYwsEC7eBb9C4TCQAfDG5Uefusvh/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.21.31_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmUYxMiAuYCaoJou25rW9Bumfe58pWwyM7fg5DSLf1xQnZ/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.21.31.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmXkMDHBM8YLVNT4QizvpgXzhFz6xfkZsNtRb8qSk1P2cP/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.01_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmZMHR58bXtXWomwk1JHcWWzbGwXBWN3nxgvSQVXkPnjbo/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.02_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmW2abJPVriGjKULP38qUsA78s7fozHFZuSGNiBRWyeNLx/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.02.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmRNssfZ6HLZ3uDxyjP9EGbbYX1zp33jfkSVQrrXkEGqgA/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.09_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmZJiGEXZVSSuSorWJp5v5cf1ZHLF7z7JUGKbBoPQbqDAn/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.09_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQma7HERNbHHjKKmUJDFba6mAXZHPLrcjL9bfXgqyaDLvqX/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.24.54_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmbnwjSGkMWkmFTzHxDG85cs9QXaMJtwEYu7Eym7fRqngu/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.24.55.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmPYu5K1ARLHUm5FQk4qdW2Weannv8WHGDJD9ANXCmATJW/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.02_2_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmVV1VVg8R8GQE4r4eyYau2dZGnJzsxfQWK6heGpwYBbYF/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.03_1_.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmf6r3WxiduZxhnz3gXYu4P9yX3aCQz4e1dGXCk5rLCABp/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.23.03.jpeg) (https://images.ecency.com/DQmPASpoWk13WA6xAWAzaLjvBmPUggK6fzFv1Jhaoj8w192/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.24.55_2_.jpeg) On its streets, we can find maps that guide us along the way; we can delight in classic cars that still circulate as the main means of transportation; there are striking sites like the Beer Factory or a summer version of the Bodeguita del Medio; there are art galleries, museums, streets bustling with people looking to pick a grape or two, tourists from all over the world, and there are also humble people who surprise us by reading newspapers in the midst of the digital age. (https://images.ecency.com/DQmbT1Zzp5orKRpMDRGGjvJPyygqD562E85V9woVGxQQh5a/whatsapp_image_2025_08_16_at_06.26.26_1_.jpeg) There are stories, yes, many. Perhaps you have some or could come and discover others... For now, there are many more stories to tell, which I'll share with you in another post later. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this trip and that it inspires you to immerse yourself in these beaches, always with a smile and, of course, a hug of light!