It may not be fancy, but the room was unexpectedly comfortable. The bed felt better than some fancy hotels I’ve been in Japan, for example. Though, admittedly, most Japanese beds aren’t very good. Mercifully, the air conditioner worked exceptionally well. It got quite hot and humid in Cuba, even in October, and the cool room was a welcome respite. It was also very roomy, giving plenty of space to spread out my clothing and luggage.

It’s a place that is perfectly suitable for me, though perhaps not for my wife. It was good that she didn’t travel with me.

The bathroom was odd and took getting used to. First, the shower area was in the corner, but there was no partitioning to the rest of the room. You can see the toilet in the foreground. To the right, out of frame, was a giant wooden armoire, which held towels. It worked well enough, and the water was generally confined to the shower area despite not having any boundary.

The oddest detail that required a mindset change was the deposing of toilet paper. Notice that plastic trash can to the right of the toilet? After you do your business, any toilet paper used can not be flushed and must be thrown away into the trash can. I suppose the old plumbing in this part of town requires extra care. I’ve never experienced this before in the countries I visited, including India.

From what I can tell, each room is unique. I saw some of the other participants’ quarters, and the configuration was different.

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