Last day!
We had our breakfast and Jorge greeted us with his big smile.  He had brought a small photo album with pictures of his wife and sons.  So in between serving coffee and seating other guests, we chatted with Jorge and continued to learn about him and his family.
The day before, I had brought a beaded necklace for Jorge to give to his wife.  I gave our housekeeper some lotions, shampoos, soaps and jewelry items.  So I chose a nice necklace as a gift for Jorge's wife and he received it very happily and gratefully.  But today, Jorge explained in our conversation that the Seventh Day Adventists teach that women are not too adorn themselves with jewelry or makeup.  AHHH!  I felt like I had made a cultural faux pas - although to be fair, the Cuban culture is for lovely colourful clothing and jewelry!  I apologized for giving something that she could not use.  He again, was very gracious and thankful.  He said she is still wearing make up and jewelry sometimes!
Again, Jorge persisted that we should seriously consider coming back to speak/preach in his village.  We had promised to pray...the idea seemed like a neat idea for a First Nations couple to experience but we would continue to pray-never say never to the Lord!
We walked back to the market, and Walter made a deal on a leather wall hanging and leather sandals.  We didn't feel as social this day; no striking up conversations with the local Cuban vendors!  Knowing it was our last full day, we just soaked in the sun, the atmosphere, basking in the delightful island ambiance.  We again chose to hang out in the breezy lobby, reading and people-watching.
After lunch, we decided to try out sailing, as we had really enjoyed it in the Dominican.  So we got changed and walked over to the sailboats pulled up near the snack bar.  A yellow flag flapped briskly in the strong wind; Walter was fine with one of the guys taking us out for a run anyways!  So we hopped onto the nylon mesh and I grabbed the handstrap.  The fellow's English was passable, but we didn't make much conversation.  The wind and waves were such that we were just hanging on and I was spitting saltwater!  We expected a good 1/2 hour or so of sailing back and forth, up and down the shoreline.  But about five minutes straight out on the ocean and back to the beach and we were done.  We tipped the guy a couple Pesos.  That's all the ride was worth to us!
I was damp and wind-blown and just wanted to go back to our room!  But an entertainment staff was trying to gather a salsa dance instruction crew and grabbed me!  With a microphone in hand, and music blaring from the snack bar speakers, I was caught up in a salsa line!  I stumbled in the sand, trying to keep up and follow the entertainment guy!  It was pointless!  After two songs, and more tourists had joined in, I slipped away to where Walter was standing, was laughing at me!  We headed back to the room and showered and changed again!
Earlier, we had run into Marco and Rosi and they invited us to hang out with them at the pool.  Later in the afternoon, we found them, but most people were beginning to leave the pool.  So we stood around and chatted.  Poor Rosi-she had been bit by the invisible sand fleas we had heard about on the beach.  Her legs were covered in red spots and a few welts!  They had been so sore, weeping and infected that they took a taxi up to the village medical clinic a couple days before.
They were just packing up their towels to return them before they were leaving early the next morning; so we made plans to join them in the white wicker chair area after supper to continue visiting.
I dressed up again in my summery clothes, and began packing our clothing and souvenirs to make sure we could fit everything in without any extra check on baggage.  Perfect fit, except for Walter's leather wall hanging.  But it rolled up and could easily be carried on and stowed in overhead bins on the plane.
Strolling hand in hand along the stone paths, we made our way to the buffet for our final supper in Cuba.  We made our way over the white wicker chairs in the lobby and saved a spot for Marco and Rosi.  They had invited another 2 or 3 couples and we all had a visit.  Everyone was Canadian, either from Ontario or Saskatchewan.  We enjoyed our free beverages and chatted.  Walter and I ended up telling some of these folks about Healing Hearts and what our ministry is about and they seemed genuinely interested.  Some local Cuban music was being played by a four- or five-piece band.  Before we knew it, the mainstage entertainment was being introduced - we had actually stayed up until 9:30!  Whoo hoo!
It was a "Magic Show", and Walter was very interested in seeing this performance.  He had been working on small scale "illusions" as part of his illustrations for speaking at Bible Camps.  So we found seats and settled in to watch the entertainment.  It was a pretty good performance, especially the grand finale.  I have NO idea where those doves came from!  Walter knew some of the tricks and could see their secrets.  Not me.  I was completely caught up in the thrill.  But the doves also impressed my husband!
The "magic" of the warm evening carried us back to our lovely suite;  we still could hardly believe we were in Cuba, and that our week was almost over.  It was good to still be wanting more than to be glad we were going home!  But a part of us was looking forward to home, and of course, beginning our new ministry with NCEM.
New adventures awaited us on our return to Canada...