The trip home is taking much longer than anticipated. Leaving Cuba went smoothly, spent most of my last CUCs at the airport, and my last trip to the bathroom where, as usual, you paid the matron for toilet paper and there are no toilet seats and half the toilets don’t […]
Read MoreThe trip home (Cuba 7)
Wait, there’s more (Cuba 6)
Our last full day in Cuba, we ventured out to Las Terraza, a village and UNESCO biosphere area. In the 1820s and 30s, this area was devoted to growing coffee. After the coffee plantations were abandoned, the deforested land suffered from erosion. Around 1968, the government decided to restore the […]
Read MoreHavana continued (Cuba 5)
Hemingway has been a theme this trip. This morning, we visited his Havana home. He rented the house in 1939, bought it a year later and lived in it until 1960 when he moved back to the US. He gave the house to the Cuban people, leaving it furnished complete […]
Read MoreReturn to Havana (Cuba 4)
While the roads are pretty good in Cuba, it still takes hours to drive over 300 km, especially when you have to make a couple of mandatory cultural stops, potty breaks and lunch. Our first educational moment of the day was Che Gueverra’s mausoleum and museum. There were several frustrations […]
Read MoreOn the road (Cuba 3)
We traveled on May Day, the international day for celebrating the worker. Havana was set up for a massive parade and speeches. We departed early for our long drive to Trinidad. Our stops for snacks and lunch provided Paul with opportunities to bird. He added to his life list with […]
Read MoreTrinidad (Cuba 2)
Our route from Havana to Trinidad took us past the Bay of Pigs. Site of a near diplomatic and political disaster, it is now a calm spot popular for fishing, diving and snorkeling. Our hotel is on the beach, about 15 km from Trinidad. There are few hotels in the […]
Read MoreHavana (Cuba 1)
Another day, another country. It is a quick flight from Miami to Cuba, and with 8 charters a day it is relatively hassle free. Over half the folks flying to Cuba are Cuban-Americans going to visit family. Now that Cubans can own small shops and restaurants, family visiting from the […]
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