Traveler's Checks

So I've been hearing from several Wanderlusty Canadians that there is this super-fantastic deal through Sunwing, an all-inclusive vacation in the wintertime to sunnier climates. The most enticing seems to be Destination Cuba, which I have to say has the added glamor of being off-limits to me and my fellow American ex-pats.

This package deal is advertised as under 400$, and includes a round-trip flight, hotel, and food and drinks for a full week! Amazing! Right?

Sadly, I found this article that claims Sunwing is in fact the hoax us cynics would imagine. The all-inclusive package drops travelers at the hotel destination only to discover that their booking begins the following day, leaving dazed tourists sleeping in hotel lobbies or paying massively hiked prices for a last minute room. The final day of the trip is also cut short in this weird fashion where hotels kick out clients at midnight the day before their flight home, so people have to, again, figure out where to put themselves in the odd hours of the night with their luggage and exotic souvenirs.

I have never really been a fan of all-inclusive packages anyway after a terrible stint in Rosarito Beach, Mexico with my mother and sister. I found myself wandering the premises of this sad resort which housed in the tourists behind a chain-link fence. Once you crossed it to wander the beaches you were greeted by locals peddling cheap necklaces and portraits of marilyn monroe. It was severely depressing and made me swear off resorts and travel that puts the tourist at the center of the economy they move into.

Shortly after this I read Jamaica Kincaid's "The Ugly Tourist" and felt myself ugly for having had the ability to travel and then step away so resentfully. I have the privilege to move outside of my reality and then to step back and critique it as well. I still would rather couch-surf than stay in a resort, but who am I to stick my tongue out at an industry which might be integral to some economies.

Perhaps there's a silver-lining to Sunwing's failure to provide such a startlingly cheap tour of the beaches of Havana. At such a low-price, there must not be much money flowing to the residents who suffer from the sight of our fat white asses galumphing across the smooth sand. Not to excuse false advertising, Sunwing is a grimy little organization for exploiting our desire for warmth during this period of Seasonal Affective Disorder...but can't we just have some tropical themed dinner parties until Spring?

Just listening to the B-52s, and I'm nearly there.