‘We all got through it’: Canadian family stuck in Cuba recalls ordeal amid massive blackout

Ellen Francis says she and her family were having a great time in Cuba – soaking in the sun at the beach with warm, clear waters and exploring the popular tourist town of Varadero.

The Canadian woman, 37, from Newmarket, Ont., arrived at a resort in Varadero, Cuba, on Oct. 12 with her husband and two children, aged 10 and six.

But starting last Friday, she said their vacation became like a scary movie. It got rainy with heavy winds, and the internet went out early that morning.

While the hotel used its generator so staff could prepare meals, the place suddenly lost power during dinner Friday.

“It was pitch black,” Francis said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Tuesday. “The kids were a little bit worried … about what was happening. But it was fine – we all got through it.”

Since there was no internet during their last few days at the resort, Francis and her family didn’t learn there was a major blackout in Cuba until they returned to Canada on Saturday night. The blackout stoked small protests as Tropical Storm Oscar hit the island, The Associated Press reported.

As Cuba grappled with the power problem, Francis said the resort staff were still pleasant and tried to make guests as comfortable as possible. Her family, including her children, also stayed positive, she said.

There was no longer any water for their last few days there, so they had to get creative. “A lot of the guests at the hotel were walking around with garbage bins full of water to take up to the room to flush the toilet.”

Francis and her family were among the fortunate ones as they were able to fly out of Cuba on Saturday night as planned. Meanwhile, she saw new guests being dropped off at the resort who had no idea about the blackout.

“So luckily the airport was still up and running, there were no delays with the flight,” she said.

Like Francis, Helen Pike said she was among the lucky ones whose resort had a generator. The 61-year-old retiree from St. John’s, N.L., said guests from other resorts were transferred to her resort in Varadero on Monday because of the blackout.

For the most part, she said she and tourists at her resort were unaffected until Sunday, but the impact was not as serious. She said the internet was not working at times, while the air conditioning, debit and credit card machines stopped working at the resort.

“As far as we’re concerned, we don’t have it as bad,” Pike said in a phone interview from Varadero. “When I think of what locals are going through, it’s hard to get down.”

She said Cuban resort staff have been telling her how they’ve had no power and no water since Friday. “A lot of them had food spoiled so they cooked a lot of food and were eating it cold so it wouldn’t go bad. A lot are sleeping outside at night because it’s cooler.”

She said she’s nervous about what’s going to happen if the power isn’t restored. She’s scheduled to fly out of Cuba on Oct. 28 and hasn’t heard of any changes to the flight. While she hasn’t reached out to the Canadian government to find out what’s going on, she said, she hasn’t heard anything from Canadian officials either about the crisis.

“I feel fairly secure right now,” Pike said. “I’m just worried if this goes on, how safe are we going to be?”

CTVNews.ca reached out to Global Affairs Canada about whether it is communicating with Canadians stuck in Cuba. Global Affairs has not provided a response.