• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
My Big Fat Cuban Family

My Big Fat Cuban Family

Recipes · Blog · Shop

  • Meet Marta
    • Media Mentions
  • Lifestyle
    • Cuban-American Life
    • My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
  • Entertainment
    • Disney
    • Marvel
    • Television
    • Concerts
    • Books
    • Theatre
  • Celebrate
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Cuban Christmas
    • Mother’s Day
    • Movie Nights
    • Summer Nights
  • Recipes
    • Cuban Recipes With Pictures
    • Family Favorites
    • My Cook Book
  • Shop
    • Cuban Foods Poster
    • Cuban T-Shirts
    • Costa Rican Foods Poster
    • Honduran Foods Poster
    • Puerto Rican Foods Poster
    • Salvadoran Foods Poster
    • Scottish Foods Poster
    • Customize Your Own
    • Cuban Goodies In Your Mailbox
  • Contact
    • Advertise
  • Archives

Island Girl

August 20, 2012 By Marta Darby 10 Comments

For as long as I can remember, summer meant finding a body of water to jump into to cool off. Simply stated, if it's hot and I see water, I want to jump in.

Maybe this desire comes from having been born on an island. Surrounded by pristine and inviting blue everywhere always made me want to be a part of the liquid beauty.

In Cuba, we spent our summers at Varadero Beach. The most perfectly perfect perfection of the beach experience anywhere. When we arrived in Miami in 1961, we used to go to Crandon Park ("El Charquito") where there were zero waves and so sometimes the water temperature would get into the 90's. Crazy, right?

Well, when I was 9, we moved to Southern California. There were many culture-shock moments moving from East to West coast, and the personality type of the Pacific Ocean offered one of the most shocking.

The Pacific Ocean, I quickly learned, was not the same as the Caribbean. Or for that matter, the Atlantic. For one thing, there was nothing "pacific" about it. There were waves. And when I say "waves," I mean WAVES.

There was an entire language dedicated to the description of the ocean activity. We learned to recognize when a "set" was coming in. We learned (after getting tumbled a few times) how to move toward the breaking waves instead of away from them to keep from getting pounded into the sand by the shore break. "Shore break" is a thing. Who knew?

There's an entire "surf science" based on high and low tides and there are optimal times to surf. Beach breaks are better at a medium tide – mostly early morning or early evening. Reef breaks will "close out" if the tide is too high. If you get caught in a rip tide that starts dragging you out to sea, you swim sideways, not toward shore.  See what I mean? So much to know. What a contrast between all of this and the yay-we're-at-the-beach-let's-go-swimming simplicity of the Caribbean and the Atlantic.

Also, in Cuba as well as in South Florida, ocean water is pretty much the same as bath water. You can walk right in with no shock to your system. The coolest the water gets there (please correct me if I'm wrong) is maybe the mid-80's. Still a very comfortable temp.

Ah, but in Southern California, the days of sea-water-the-same-as-bath-water were long gone. The water temperature here on the West Coast is routinely in the low to mid 60's. The cool water helps keep the coastal temperature refreshing, but surfing (which my people do routinely) or swimming usually requires a wetsuit.

There are lots of beach days where I don't do more than dip a toe in and complain about the cold water. And I miss being in the water. It's the only downside to life on this coast. (Well, that and our ridiculously liberal governor who is driving our economy into the ground and business out of the Golden State, but that's not important right now.)

However, these past couple of weeks there has been a heat wave here in So Cal. And mercifully the water temperature has risen along with the thermometer.

Temp board photo

That's right. 74 degrees! Air and water temperature! And this coincided perfectly with our beach vacation. Thank you, God!

We spent our entire week splashing around, surfing, boogieing, and just cooling off in the ocean. Strangers were remarking to each other about how warm the water was. 74 degrees, people! Southern Californians headed to the shore in droves. We high fived each other over the awesome air/water conditions.

"The water is so incredibly warm!" We exclaimed to anyone who would listen.

I know. It's not Caribbean warm, but this island girl did not care. When the air and water are about the same (74!) temperature, magic happens. It was like this for the entire week we were vacationing at the beach. And there was no getting me out of the water.

Even when it was time to get out of the water.

Island Girl

You might also like:

Cowabunga! Learning to stand Island girls blog, too. Just Keep Swimming.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Crandon Park, Cuba, heat wave, low tides, Pacific Ocean, Southern California, Southern California heat wave, surfing, vacation, Varadero Beach, water temperature, West Coast

Previous Post: « Kikita, the Luckiest Girl in the World, Sees Ruben Blades in Concert
Next Post: An Afternoon in Hollywood (or How to Stress Out Your Overprotective Cuban Mother) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ody from Miami Lakes says

    August 20, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    LOL!!! I love it: (Well, that and our ridiculously liberal governor who is driving our economy into the ground and business out of the Golden State, but that’s not important right now.) Hahahahaha!!!So glad you had a great vacation and that the temp of the water was in the mid 70’s. That makes up for the crappy economy, at least for a week. 🙂
    Besote!!! Ody

    Reply
  2. dj says

    August 20, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    Love it! 😀

    Reply
  3. Linda S. says

    August 20, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    I LOVE Varadero! Varadero most beautiful blue water I have ever seen. I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit there several times and hope to get there again in November with my daughter. Quite a difference from Southern California and the shores of Lake Michigan where we now live.Love reading about your big Cuban family.

    Reply
  4. Marta M. Darby says

    August 20, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    Thanks, Ody!Our vacation was über-awesome. That, and I didn’t tune in to the news for the entire week.
    Besos,
    Marta

    Reply
  5. Marta M. Darby says

    August 20, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    Glad you enjoyed, dj!Did you get to enjoy the delicious water temp last week?

    Reply
  6. Marta M. Darby says

    August 20, 2012 at 7:55 pm

    Linda,Varadero = The Most Beautiful Beach In The World. Amen.
    xoxo,
    M
    (thanks for reading!)

    Reply
  7. Esther says

    August 20, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    Oh yes, Varadero I remember going there as a child all the time…so pretty. I do love it here in Southern CA myself. The water is not as warm or clear but it is pretty nice compare to other places, we are so blessed!

    Reply
  8. Marta M. Darby says

    August 21, 2012 at 12:18 am

    Esther,What I wouldn’t give to have it both ways: beautiful California coastline AND the warm water of Varadero! Que rico!

    Reply
  9. maria formoso says

    August 21, 2012 at 6:19 am

    Love it! Yes it is true….We islanders love the water. I can relate to this article because my family went from Cuba to Southern California in the 60’s also. I went to school there until after college (1988) when I moved to So. Florida with my family. While I absolutely love So.Cali (and miss it still)the cold water, and waves was very different. Here in Florida I prefer the beaches of the west coast; i.e., Sanibel, Sarasota, etc…….but anywhere where there is water…I feel right at home. BTW…I love your blog! Keep them coming!

    Reply
  10. Marta M. Darby says

    August 21, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Maria,Thanks for sharing and for “getting” me. I have the agree thatnFlorida’s west coast beaches are among the most beautiful in the world.
    Xoxo,
    Marta
    Ps. Glad you’re enjoying my blog. 😉

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

TRY SUPER SMOOTH CAFE LA LLAVE ESPRESSO

Cafe La Llave

My Cuban T-Shirt Designs

“Cuban T-Shirts

Subscribe to MBFCF Newsletter!

Never miss a post! Sign up with your email address to receive recipes, news and updates right in your inbox!

Cuban Foods Poster

“Cuba

Cuban Coffee Poster

“Cuba

Cuban Desserts Poster

“Cuba poster - Cuban desserts subway art print

Get Snacking On California Strawberries!

California Strawberries

Most Recent Posts

  • Best Places That Will Ship Cuban Food To Your Door
    December 15, 2020
  • My Big Fat Cuban Family Christmas Gift Guide 2020
    December 3, 2020
  • My Needs Are Simple: The Verizon CareSmart Watch
    December 3, 2020
  • The Quest for Authentic Chimichurri – Cocina Knows
    November 30, 2020
  • Hogwarts Halloween
    October 30, 2020

Cuban Recipes Cookbook

Cuban recipes with pictures cookbook from My Big Fat Cuban Family

Abuela Mami

Abuela Mami Gifts

Cuban Food Market

Cuban Food Market

Follow Me on Instagram

Follow Marta on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No posts found.

Follow Marta On Social

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

FEATURED POSTS

  • Best Places That Will Ship Cuban Food To Your Door
    December 15, 2020
  • My Big Fat Cuban Family Christmas Gift Guide 2020
    December 3, 2020
  • It’s Cuban Christmas Crema De Vie Time!
    December 7, 2017
  • My Big Fat Cuban Cooking Playlist
    November 21, 2016
  • Crema de Vie (Cuban Egg Nog) Recipe
    July 27, 2016

Blog Archives

Footer

Meet Marta

Marta Verdes Darby is a Cuban-American food blogger in South Orange County.

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign Up For My Newsletter

August 2012
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jul   Sep »

Copyright © 2021 my big fat cuban family