Jan 29, 2011 - Cuba Pt 1 - Our Man in Havana*

Chrome, and lots of it, fenders, lights, hood ornaments. Sleek lines, Fins. Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Dodges, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Fords. The lineup of taxis outside the old Capitol building in central Havana is all made before 1959. Just as the Capitol was modeled on the US version (with a dome just a bit higher), these cars are all American. The 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air that we hired was in beautiful condition – the upholstery smelled of real leather, old leather. The V8 engine roared to life as the driver shifted gears on the stick, spinning...

Aug 11, 2010 - Planning Cuba

Well im in the planning stages of my trip to Cuba in Late October or early November. Im tempted to wait and see what the Hurricane season will be like for making any concrete plans. Then again I can always by the trip insurance and cancel if necessary right?? I have been spending a lot of time reading lonley planet and another website that I found . The latter focuses entirley on Cuba and I think I may have found an apartment to rent for the 4 or 5 nights that we are there. Its much cheaper than a hotel room and easier for us because we...

Feb 8, 2010 - La Habana ... The People

February 8 - La Habana - our last day Today, we kept the day simple and wandered around the city. Treasures were around every corner: a fruit and vegetable market, men playing dominoes (with much discussion) and a video recording session of a cotemporary group (complete with groupies and young people in the latest fashions. But, our real focus and appreciation is the people we have met. In the morning, while Joanne was uploading photos to our trip journal, Victor brought out is iPod. Juanita was able to figure out how to make it work on...

Feb 7, 2010 - La Habana...walking, walking

February 7 - Exploring La Habana Walking, walking, walking is the order of the day. (Joanne doesn't believe in getting there by any other mode). We covered quite a lot and if we had to sum it up, we'd agree that La Habana is a combination of rich culture and devastating squalor. When we have been here before, it has been with a tour and we have never really been exposed to the reality of the living standards here. People on tours are very sheltered from the real Havana. Getting used to the "real" Havana would take some time. The North...

Feb 6, 2010 - Havana...La Habana

ebruary 6 - Varadero to la Habana How does one explain the differences between Varadero and Havana (called La Habana by locals and pronounced "labana")? Varadero certainly has its charms and it's a great place to completely relax and get beach time; however, the sprawling resorts bear little in common with the rest of the country. In La Habana, crumbling apartments, exhaust belching 56 Chevies, ration shops and expressive locals will leave you reeling. In its grit is an authentic Cuba that must be a shock for travellers arriving from the...

Jun 17, 2009 - Cuba

The final month in Santiago went by in a flash. While we loved the serenity of our vista, the kindness of the people, the authenticity of the city, and the endless summer vacation of our lives there- it was time to move on. We were getting a bit “shpilky” (i.e. antsy) to see the rest of the world. 
Fortunately, we didn’t have much time to wallow in these feelings, as we were fortunate enough to have many of our closest friends and family come visit us. The earlier part of our stay here brought us my step brother Elliot, Gillian’s mom and...

Jun 9, 2009 - Cuba - Fidel's island

CUBA We were not initially sure that we would ever make it to Fidel’s island. With our flights being cancelled due to swine flu and Patters being temporarily “detained” in customs, there was grave concern that Team Mex (John, Pete, Cath and I) would not enjoy Mojito’s and Cuban cigars with Team London (Lisa Bantich “Banto”, Steve Cook “Cooksie”, Chris Stone “Stoney”, Richard Hill “Jawbone”, Leigh Bennet “LeighB” and Craig Lake “Puddles”). After a 15 hour journey via Panama, which should have been only a 45 minute flight, the effort proved...

Jun 9, 2009 - Cuba

Havana: After much drama with cancelled flights between Mexico and Cuba and the need to buy new tickets via Panama, it was an uneventful flight to Havana right up until the immigration check where Pete found that the difference between his passport photo and his now hairy face was starting to raise concerns from the officials! Eventually we all collected our bags and caught a taxi to downtown Havana where we arrived at our Casa Particulares around midnight. Our hosts, Maria and Manuel were there to greet us with a warm Cuban smile. Staying...

May 6, 2009 - Cayo Largo, Cuba

Even thought I knew it was coming, I didn’t appreciate the early wake up call at 4:00 am. Fortunately Cory and Elaine had done all the packing the night before. I waited while they brushed their teeth and got dressed. After they loaded up all my luggage, and theirs, we started out along Obispo St in Old Town Havana. While this street is normally very busy with the hustle and bustle of activity, it is quite deserted at 4:30 in the morning. It was surreal to be walking alone along the quiet streets. When we reached the entry way we were...

May 4, 2009 - CUBA LIBRE

Poco is very tired from two plane flights from Guatemala, so he is letting Elaine and Cory write this entry. This entry might now seem a little out of order, as this one was rushed off at an interent cafe. After arriving at the Guatemala airport, Elaine was in a bit of a foul mood, as the security guards caught me trying to pass through security with a banned item. Yes folks it is true, I tried getting through security with my roll of Canadian flag packing tape purchased from the local post office in Hope, BC. In case you were not aware,...

May 3, 2009 - Arrival in Havana

Sunday, May 3, 2009 We awoke early and said our goodbyes to the Sanchez family. Tiffany the youngest child ran up to Cory and Elaine and gave them a big hug. Karla her mother said hasta la vista baby, which Tiffany then started parroting. It was quite cute. After catching a shuttle to the airport we had a short wait until it was time to catch our flight. We flew to Panama City and changed flights to connect to Havana, Cuba. One thing that I noticed in the airport at Panama was many people were pretending to be Doctors getting ready to head...

Apr 11, 2009 - Meeting the tour

Today I was meeting my tour so got up early to pack and then head out and see a bit more of Havana. We were going to go to the revolution museum but because it was such a nice day we decided to walk to the castle instead. We walked along the avenue to the fort and had some good views of the bay. Then we decided to walk along the Malecon - the main street by the sea. Was boiling and after and hour we were exhausted! Made it to the National Hotel - very famous! We went inside and had a cocktail. A bit of a treat! Then we decided to walk to...