| I needed help working through my CWS and the lack of spring so I’ve added a couple more vids from our Jan14 trip. The first one is part 2 of the Snorkeling vid. While the GoPro one was ok it really didn’t show of the fish as well as I had hoped. We also used a new Olympus underwater camera and the video certainly rivals the GoPro. Of course using the right software also helps so thanks wossa1 for the tip. It even worked on my dive mask video.
youtu.be/0yBWhAx0ohM I really enjoy the song "Yolanda" and was able to capture 4 of the groups interpretation. Unfortunately the quality of the sound is not very good but it does give you an idea. I just added a few extra Cuba pics taken that trip as well. youtu.be/LDXobXJmiDk enjoy |
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| While I didn’t start it as a Cuban site my YouTube Channel seems to be very Cuban oriented (39 of 43 videos). Which is not a bad thing. I started doing it so I could do something with all those pictures I took and to give others a little idea of what they might expect at the resorts we went to. It’s always a work in progress.
www.youtube.com/user/MrJarArt |
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Cappachino with coffee liquor, my favorite. Here but preferably in Cuba. |
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| Thanks for the tip wossa1, I’ll try that. Right now I tend to use Windows movie maker for most stuff. It does a pretty good job for the basics. I also use Photoshop Premier for those things Movie maker can’t do, including burning BluRay quality DVD’s.
eeeefarm, My Camera mask uses the silicon grease which I use all the time but when I saw how tight the GoPro was I didn’t think it was needed (at least not right away). And while my masked fogged up a lot, the camera never did. But then I never opened it up unless I was in the room where the humidity would be less, and that was only to charge it. The Gopole also had a wrist strap as well so when I needed my hands free it wasn’t an issue. My only problem was remembering I had camera in my mask at the same time as I had one in my hand. I think I would have gotten better pictures had I remembered. No problem with the video just wish I got better pictures. My next project will be to see what pictures I got with the Mask and what my wife took with her new camera. |
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| Hi eeeefarm,I hand held the GoPro. Bought "The Bobber" by Gopole and mounted the camera on it which made it very easy to hold and operate, and no worries about it slipping to the ocean floor. Picked it up at Best Buy.
As to the resolution after I reviewed them I left everything to the default which for the video was 1080-30 FPS wide and Camera 11MP wide. I left the Protune turned off. From what I understand Protune is the video version of RAW (vs jpg) and for me video is complicated enough to work without adding that level of difficulty to it :-). The only think I wish I did was take some pictures with it. There were some interesting fish but the video doesn’t really allow me the ability to zoom in to get a better view the same as you can with pictures. I tried with video capture but with marginal improvements. Something to play with in April I guess. |
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Yep. Put the app on my ipod and was able to check my video sitting on the beach with my mojito. Loved it. Great way to preview to see if I was on the right track. |
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| Thanks all.I used the GoPro hero 3-silver. Found it easy and fun to use, and I’m impressed with the quality of the video.
Sund0g I’m sure we’ll meet up at some point. Los Galeones is on the short list! Especially after our short visit in January. |
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| This is one of the videos I wanted to finish before our next trip, which is coming up in April. The snorkeling is from the beach at Brisas Sierra Mar during the last two weeks in Jan. This was our third time to Santiago de Cuba, and our second at this resort. If I could make any generalization about the weather it would be that the water in Jan is a bit rough and always moving. Not so bad from a swimmers point of view but it does make it difficult to enjoy what’s under the surface. However I did enjoy playing with my new GoPro camera and look forward to more practice in April. Here’s the link. Enjoy
youtu.be/kLV3J_A2q0A |
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Thanks, great resource and much appreciated. It’s always good to know the base price as not resorts charge the same. We’re hoping to return to Cuba in April so I’ll try and confirm some of these. |
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Thanks to all for posting these great pics, Here is a couple of I took last year and it’s a good way to check the posting of pictures as well.
The steps at Brisas Sierra Mar.
This shot was a quick one taken from the bus on the way to the resort last year. I just thought it was kind of interesting. |
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| Thanks for the comments and thanks for the tip, next time I’ll post directly. I’m working on an updated snorkeling video from the Brisas Sierra Mar so that will be next. As to the weather our second day was rainy and then overcast for some of the first week but that meant I had to wear a heavier T-shirt on one of those days. A bit unusual for that area from what I understand but still a pretty good vacation.
The stairs at Los Galeones are manageable and yes it did take a few minutes longer up then down. Maybe when we’re there next year I’ll do a video going up, including rest breaks 🙂 |
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| Great to see the recent changes on Debbie’s. A lot of interesting reading and it certainly helps with the CWS. We spent 2 great weeks at Brisas Sierra Mar the end of Jan and really not happy about returning to all this snow. Oh well, soon we’ll be booking our next trip.While at the Brisas, we decided to take the Chivirico Tour. Partly to get an idea of the local area but we were really interested in seeing "Los Galeones". After reading about it, we wanted to see for ourselves the stairs down to the beach and if it was it something we could or would want to do. It was only a 3 hour tour but definitely got us interested in checking into Los Galeones sometime in the future. The music in the video is performed by Sexteto Guama, the very popular local band.
youtu.be/IrXg8MazseE Enjoy |
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| Thanks ald1, will do.
As to the scuba shop, I can’t really give you a good answer as we are snokellers not divers. Hopefully someone else can help. We did meet up with some divers when we were there last year who dove almost every day and quite enjoyed themselves so you should be in for a good time. |
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| Thanks.
We were at Los Coralas last year, so this year we thought we would try Brisas Sierra Mar. It’s always fun checking out new places and finding new spots to snorkel. |
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| Well the end of 2012 was busy for us (Cuba wise) and 2013 looks just as promising.
This first Video is an updated video of Memories Varadero youtu.be/1nHGDvV4u4w at the end of Oct/12 We were supposed to go to Holguin but Hurricane Sandy had other plans for us . We were there before in Jan 09 and we noticed a definite improvement. and just for fun, here’s a short video of our double decker bus ride around Varadero. youtu.be/c-8WwugE-YY This last one is from our recent trip to Riu Playa Turquesa, in Holguin, Dec 6 to 13. We were there last year and once again had a great time. Although it wasn’t as lush as the year before due to the Hurricane, if you weren’t familiar with it you wouldn’t have known, and the grounds staff certainly worked hard to make everything looked nice and neat. You can see that video here youtu.be/yMicd1Qt97E While we were there we took a short taxi ride to the Blau to both snorkel and check out how the resorts there seemed to fare. It looks like the construction at the Blau is coming along quite well. The Beach restaurant is now closed and just a little further back is a new beach buffet. It also looked like they lost some trees but the greenery is coming back. What we were able to see was a lot of new palapas in front of the Playa Costa Verde. So they were obviously very busy. Next week we’re off to Santiago de Cuba for 2 weeks, so more new videos when I get back. |
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| I finally posted my snorkeling video on YouTube from our trip in May. We noticed since our last trip 2 years ago that the coral seems to be returning. We also saw an increase in size and variety of fish. For those who haven’t been there before, what makes this resort great for snorkeling is how close it is. You also don’t have to go very far or very deep to enjoy these fish and. the beach is a bit shelterd which helps to keep the water a bit calmer. Link is here, enjoy
youtu.be/VToeNEDUAy0 |
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| Hi trent,Yep it’s a lot of construction and will more than double the size of the Blau. It is to the right, and also behind the dive shop and beach restaurant. As to the beach, if you keep walking past the dive shop and follow a path along the shore (kinda) you’ll get to a small beach. It’s a bit rocky now but they are planning on reclaiming the beach as they are aware the current one wouldn’t be large enough. Their current thinking is that the newer part of the resort will cater more to the party and family crowd and try and leave the feel of the older section as is (or as much as possible). Thanks valleyguy,
Hey if it gets me a free trip to Cuba lets talk |
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Thanks for your comments. As to the PCV we’ll be retuning there at the end of Oct so stay tuned, I’ll have new videos up shortly after.| I’m a little slowin posting but we went to the Blau Costa Verde (again) in May and had a wonderful time. A little later then we would have preferred but the weather turned out great and so was the resort. A nice reminder as to why we enjoyed the Blau. I did take a few pictures/ videos if anyone is interested. A short one of the current contstruction
youtu.be/mkV68NFJQIo And a longer one of the resort. youtu.be/9x7m02u9CEA Of the few Water Ballet’s we watched this is the first time I was able to put together a watch able version youtu.be/1M-GTGqOlgs And this last one, "Cuban Critters" I did just for fun. youtu.be/itLhPT_0Xac enjoy |
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Great pix. thanks for sharing. You know that you’ve now added another place on our list of where we need to go 🙂 Have a great time in Jibacoa. Wish we were going but we have to hold off booking for probably another week. It will be a last minute deal somewhere, just not sure where yet. |
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| This is the second Snorkeling video using pictures and video from rosiart and myself during our stay at Los Corales in Santiago de Cuba. What we liked about this resort is being able to snorkel in front of the resort. The variety of life underwater was amazing. Most of the video was done inside the swiming area .
youtu.be/t9VPsuLUaTM enjoy. |
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| We were there in Dec and had a great time. The Staff was excellent as was the food. We were in the mid 700 block and thought it was pretty good, not that far away but very quiet. There are a lot of paths and short cuts that you’ll find which will make things a bit closer. There are a lot of stairs though so I would recommend that when you check in let the staff take you and luggage to your room in one of the carts. It will definately make it easier for you. The ride might make the resort feel bigger then it is but it won’t take long to figure it out. Also Gala night at the main buffet was on Friday nights (when we were there) so dinner started a half hour later then normal.
Have a great time… we did, wish we were back there. |
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