Category: Central America

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Central America Cuba

Havana Final

On our return trip from Vinales we stopped by Fusterlandia neighbourhood. This neighbourhood is a few blocks that has creative mosaic art works covering walls and buildings. It was started by artist Jose Fuster and has become a must see on many travelersā€™ lists. There are small works from artists from around the world.

We were then dropped off at the casa we stayed in the first couple of nights. I found out later, at our farewell dinner that immigration had instructed our casa owner to report back to them whether I had changed bags during my tripā€¦ I think that they had noticed that I grabbed a duffel bag at the airport as I transport my backpack in one to be able to lock it, and then had travelled with the backpack and duffel bag rolled up and stored on the side. So clearly my immigration friends had been keeping an eye out on me. 

We had another day free around Havana, which was for packing and having ice cream and lunch. I ordered my taxi early to the airport as I need to figure out where and how I am supposed to retrieve my GPS.

No one I asked could point me in the direction of an actual customs office. One person told me to wait at the exit doors and catch their attentionā€¦but they just told me to wait and did nothing further for 15 minutes. I then tried upstairs without much reward so I went to one of the immigration desks, cut in line and asked the lady there. She was helpful and said that I only get it back after check in, immigration and crossing the border. I thus check in, where I found out that my flight would be over 2 hours late and I would thus miss my connection to London. Luckily, I was travelling alone and was among the first to check in and thus she got me in on a later BA flight. Others were not so lucky.

I then asked my immigration person about my GPS, cut the security line to the front- which was really long, and the lady explained that it will cost s lot to get my GPS back as they only store it for free for 5 days. Otherwise it is 3 dollars per day plus 1% of value of object!! I needed it back and knew I had to payā€¦but first had to wait.

Some 20 minutes later I was called to the customs room and a few forms were filled in by officials, calculated my pricey GPS recovery after I had already changed my CUCs to Euros, and they didnā€™t accept them. I had to re-exchange money and pay then. Then they let me be.

I was hopeful for a bit of dinner until I saw the line to the one canteen (only 1) of over 30 people and decided I was not hungry! As I was waiting I heard and announcement that I need to see customs. I went over to the office where I was before and there was no one there. I asked a lady where I need to meet but she couldnā€™t tell me. So I gave up. About 30 minutes laterā€¦same announcement with ā€œimmediatelyā€ added to it. So I tried again. I eventually found out that I need to see customs, in their downstairs office. I went there- and who do I see but the two that dealt with me and my GPS earlier. The smug youngster gives me a ā€œWhat have you done nowā€ lookā€ and tells me to point out my bag. There were several bits of check in luggage on the floor, my duffel bag/ backpack being one of them. I was instructed to put it on the table and the woman started unpacking all the items. Very cocky and unfriendly with the statement ā€œYou have tobacco in hereā€. This I did- the legal amount and NO more. She found the first box and asked how many I had, to which I replied: Two, the amount that is allowed. She asked if I was sure, I replied yes. She didnā€™t believe me and scanned my bag again. They looked and looked but found nothing. I got my bag back and got to re-pack it in front of the camera. This was a pain as I had packed the boxes carefully so they do not get damaged while she chucked everything out and around and things fell on the floor.

I left my locked bag on the floor thinking that I would probably never see it again. Zippo trust left here!!

Miraculously I did get it in London though!

After another delay of the BA flight I was just too happy to see my brother and sister in law and being off Cuban soil for good!

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Central America Cuba

Vinales

We go as far west of Havana as Vinales. It is a pleasant town, with a large concentration of tourists.

We get here in the early afternoon and decided that we will go to the hotel on the hill to have some lunch, view and swim. As soon as we got there though it completely pissed down with rain, and we had a full thunder storm. We were thus drenched before the swim and lunch and waited for the weather to pass a little. Once it did we enjoyed the warm swimming pool water and then walked back into town- about 2km.

The next morning, we had a morning booked for exploring some of the farms in the area and learn about tobacco farming and cigar making. Our farmerā€™s name is Luisito and he has a good sense of humour. We begin by learning about the tobacco plant. It has 5 layers of leaves- the top, called Corona and the bottom layer, closest to the ground called Mananita. The top leaves get the most sunlight and are the strongest tasting, while the bottom leaves are the mildest. All cigars, irrelevant of quality are made of up a mixture of the layers of leaves.

Tobacco seeds are extremely tiny and are planted germinated first to grow seedlings before they are planted in the fields as older plants. Once the plants are fully grown they are picked, cut and dried for 3-4 months.

Hereafter the leaves are fermented. Fermentation takes place in a secret family concoction. Some are simple- like from vanilla and water only, while others contain water, rum (or as Luisito called it: Vitamin R), herbs or more. Fermentation takes 45 days after which the moist leaves are placed in packages of 50kg, made from green palm bark (from the royal palms on the Island- Cubaā€™s national tree. The leaves stay in these packages/baskets for 1 to 1.5 years.

Hereafter these leaves are used for rolling cigars. Leaves are picked by colour (the cigar rollers know which colour leaves are from which part of the plant. The central veins are removed from the leaves as these contain 75% of the nicotine in the leaf. The filler is then rolled, then the second layer and finally the outer layer. Layers are stuck together by a natural substance such as honey. (See video)Ā 

As I didnā€™t smoke cigars I got offered the farmerā€™s rum- a hip flask with a few sips left. He was taken aback when I drank that out the bottle and didnā€™t flinch like a woman šŸ™‚ .

You can buy cigars at the farm- which in this case are used to make the milder Romeo and Juliet brand- at a much better price than from the shops, only difference being that they are not branded here. (no stickers).Ā 

Our guide for this trip was actually a mining engineer, and was most delighted that I was one too. As with many people in Cuba he had changed careers to an accountant and now guide.

The next day the organised activity was a trip to the beach. This was no short trip with the road conditions being pretty bad, full of potholes and windy. It thus took us just under 2 hours 1 way. Margreth did not come with us as she had the flu- which is probably better for her to recover. The beach was lovely, white sand, turquoise, warm and calm waters and not too manypeople. I took the opportunity to catch my last Caribbean rays for the trip. 

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Central America Cuba

Soroa

From Havana we headed to Las Terrazas. This is an interesting government project of forest restoration. There is a community here who revegetated 5,000 hectares of mountainous forests since the late 1960s. They also now live in the small village here with school, bodega (ration shop), night club and little cafƩ. The population is approx. 1,000 people. There is also an old coffee processing facility and farmhouse on the property which is now a restaurant. The views and fresh air are great.

Soroa is a tiny village, west of Havana. It is raining when we get here, which is good as it cools down the afternoon! We spend the night here and enjoy a home cooked meal. We stop here to visit a medicinal farm. A lady brought this farm 5 years ago and singlehandedly transformed the semi barren land to a thriving farm with loads of traditional cures of many plants and herbs. She lives on the farm with her adult son. We learn about the benefits of many plants and also have some tea.

We then stop by the orchid farm- though not the peak season to see orchids (which number up to 700!) we see 20 and a lovely botanical garden. Out of the 20 the ones that stick out most are a species that smell like orange and our favourite- an orchid that smells like chocolate!!

We are due to visit some waterfalls but find out that due to low rainfall there is no water in them, and thus we do not go.

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Central America Cuba

Havana 2

We take a flight from Baracoa to Havana. On the way into Havana we stop by Revolution Square- where Fidel Castro always addressed the people. There is a very large profile of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos on the buildings near the corners and a sculpture of Jose Marti at the base of the huge “spire”.

We are joined in Havana by two Irish girls, who are here for the western part of the island. We thus swap our sedan taxi for a family van and have a new guide for this last week. Our meeting point was in the modern part of Havana, in the suburb of Vedado. It is strategically positioned šŸ™‚ opposite the road to a super ice cream place- with a great deal of yummy flavours and not the price of Santiago ice cream of a few days ago nor the 3 hour queues of Copellia!!

We donā€™t have far to go the next day but have several stops as we head west. The first stop is by the street art/ religious sanctuary of Santeria. The artist that commissioned this street/ few blocks is Salvador Gonzales Escalona . Santeria is a mix of religious beliefs brought in by the African slaves (Yoruba and Catholicism). They practiced their beliefs underground as they did not have freedom of religion as slaves, and then after the revolution no one had freedom of religion.

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Central America Cuba

Baracoa

The drive to Baracoa is pretty scenic, and goes through a variety of landscapes. It is the first time that we witness pretty arid conditions and a change in vegetation to suit. In is here that we pass the entrance to the infamous Guantanamo Naval Base- the American base/prison. It has been here since 1901.

Once we start climbing up through the hills though the weather changes, it starts to rain and we have another change in vegetation due to an increase in rainfall. It is much greener and there are many palm trees dotted in the forests. The winding road gets us to Baracoa- the first Spanish settlement on the island in 1511, and furthest from Havana at over 1,000km!

It is a small town, but what it lacks in population it makes up for in noise! We had 3 nights here and none of them were filled with sleep!

On the first day we went on a trip to some cacao plantations, learned about chocolate making and processing coconuts. We also had a short boat trip up the river, a swim in the river and then lunch on the beach with a swim in the sea. So it was a relaxing day of sightseeing on the eastern most part of the island. It was also not a day spent in the city.

The second full day we could do a 4 hour hike, but with bad roads to get to the national park and my previous experience in Colombia of hiking in such heat I decided to give it a skip and catch up on reading, blog writing and washing.

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Central America Cuba

Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is hotā€¦very hot!! A heat added to in the city due to all the concrete and buildings. We have another nice place to stay with a terrace and view overlooking the harbour. Santiago is the second largest city in Cuba, after Havana.

We arrive late afternoon and have a walk around the square which is in the process of being renovated and cleaned. The cathedral dominates the square- and the city skyline. There is also a boulevard lined with restaurants and some shops. I went in search of ice creamā€¦4th time lucky, though I paid 7.50 USD for 3 pretty small scoops! I had the choice of vanilla or vanilla šŸ™‚

There was a small gathering of people just off the boulevard on one of the squares where an Afro-Cuban band had set up. I enjoyed the music for about 45minutes until they packed up. While I was doing this an old, poor man had sat himself next to me and drew a sketch of me on a piece of cardboard- which looked nothing like me at all. He said it was a caricature ā€“but it was not that either. I gave him a couple of coins and kept my souvenir- for a laugh.

The next day we had a taxi hired for a few hours to take us around the outskirts of Santiago to visit a few important sights.

The first stop was El Morro ā€“ the city fortress. It is impress and has very good views of the bays. There is also information of the forts around the Americas, which was interesting to read through.

It was only us and another couple there ā€“which was great too!

Our second stop was at Santa Ifigenia Cemetery. This is where some very important Cuban figures are buried- most recently Fidel Castro. He was one of very few Cubans to be cremated ā€“unusual for Cuba. His headstone is a large rock. Several Cubans were there to pay their respects with roses. The Cuban people always saw Fidel at all openings of any business or factories and in a positive light. They were told that he never had any idea of anything that ever went wrong with the country. Mind you, kids used to have up to four lessons of Communism a day! So you know how the message went out.

Another important and very symbolic mausoleum is that of Jose Marti- known as the father of Cuba. His grave/ monument has 6 pillars- representing the original states/provinces of Cuba with their coat of arms. There is a statue of him in marble. His grave is symbolic in representing the way he died- lay on his back as he fell off his horse in battle and a star on his head. The midday sun shines through the glass on top of the monument on the star in the flag of Cuba. Also, during the rains, two streams form around his grave representing the place where he died: Dos Rios (Two Rivers). Ā Ā 

The last important grave and monument is to the mother of Cuba- Maceoā€™s Mother- who had 6 sons and sent them all off to fight for their country. She herself was also a brave warrior.

These graves are guarded by the military and there is a changing of the guards every 30 minutes. 30 minutes is a long time to spend in full military attire in this heat I tell you!

Our last stop was at the museum set up in memory of the students who died in an uprising to steal ammunition and weapons ā€¦ Several of them died during the attack which was not well executed and attacked a military base in essence. Those that did not die were tortured and were made to look like if they died during the attack, with their bodies being rearranged. This was the first attack that Fidel organised, the men who got away ran away to Mexico and trained there in preparation for the Revolution, they then returned in the boat called Granma, with Che Guevara.

No photos.

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Central America Cuba

Bayamo

On the longest travel day- about 7 hours in the car ā€“ we stop for lunch in Bayamo- on the way from Camaguey to Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is 1,200km long from east to westā€¦ with bad roads sometimes it makes for long car days!!

Bayamo is known for two reasons- it is where the Cuban national anthem was sung for the first time, in the church just off the square and is the birthplace of Carlos Manuel De Cespedes

Another quick side trip before reaching Santiago was the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity El Cobre ā€¦. Set on top of a hill, close to the copper mines and is where Cubans pay homage to the Patroness of their country. The colour yellow is used with gifts of sunflowers and people often wearing yellow.

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Central America Cuba

Camaguey

On our way to Camaguey, we stopped by Ciego de Avila, which is home to the countryā€™s most famous cutlery artists. Here jewellery and decorative pieces are made from German Silver (copper, nickel and zinc). The gallery is called Pauyet. When Cubaā€™s first lady went to Mexico she wore jewellery from this workshop and pieces are often ordered from here as gifts or prizes.

It was approximately 6 hours from when we left Trinidad until arriving in Camaguey. On our quick stop for lunch in Florida we had an option of ham and cheese pizza or ham and cheese on toast. The city started out on the coast, but due to many pirate raids it moved into the centre of the island over time. It is also due to these raids that the streets are created in a labyrinth style- no grid, no system, all just haphazard. This was to ensure that if the pirates got in, they could not make their way out. This now not only works on pirates but tourists too!! J

In the evening we went out to CafƩ Cuidad for a rum tasting. Havana Club is a popular brand here and decent quality. We went from the 6 month to the 7-year rum. Then I ended up having a few with our taste tour leader- but of the Pacto Navio. This is a very smooth and expensive rum 8 USD vs 48USD per bottle to get an idea.

Our full day in Camaguey was a Sunday. We start a bici-taxi tour around a few squares of the city. Margret and I were passengers on one bike while our guide on another. I felt sorry for the cyclist who had to travel with us large ladies! The squares were all rather quiet due to it being a Sunday, which was nice and we got to have a look into some of the open churches. We also had a look through a few art galleries.

The rest of the day was off doing our own thing. I went out in search of waterā€¦which took 30 minutes to find as a few places didnā€™t have any. I noted the queues forming for ice cream ā€“about 50 people before they opened! There were also long lines for chicken and milk. Mind you, there are long lines for anything in Cuba really. And if you can get it, it is definitely not cheap.

Ā 

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Central America Cuba

Trinidad

After taking a pretty damaged road through the hills from Santa Clara, through Topes de Collantes National Park, we arrive in Trinidad in the early afternoon and schedule an orientation walk for 5pm, so that it is a bit cooler. This is one of the hottest cities in Cuba, hence trying to use the cooler parts of the day- and its stays light until just after 8pm.

The walk takes us through the UNESCO word heritage, cobblestoned city center. There are several squares here and we have some history of the city. As the six lane national highway passes on the other side of the mountain; it remained forgotten for most of its life except for phases of boom- like with the sugar cane industry and a small gold rush. Once better ports were established, closer to Havana, then it lost that status too.

We did stop by a Bodega ā€“ this is where everyone still collects their monthly food rations of sugar, rice, oil, eggs and daily bread. The one thing I have noticed is that none of these shop have much, but all have loads of rum!

On Day 2 in Trinidad Margret and I went on a catamaran trip to Cayo Blanco ā€“a two-hour trip from Trinidad. We were there with 6 other passengers only and had the whole island and beach to ourselves. We did a 45min snorkel, with a decent array of fish, had lunch and then floated around the shallow waters off the beach. Ā It was a very chilled and relaxing day.

On the second full day in Trinidad I decided not to take the sugar train but to spend some time around town. I visited the Romantic Museum, which is a house of a rich family, decorated by opulent items from around the world- especially European art and glass ware and Cuban mahogany furniture. When the Spanish came in the late 15th century Cuba was covered by up to 90% mahogany forests. The layout and design of the house, with large open windows, shades and courtyard is a great example of cooling in the hot climate.

I had a salsa lesson in the evening ā€“ it went OK. Iā€™m pretty bad at following a lead… and like to improvise šŸ™‚ I did learn the basic steps and three turns, will see if I remember them when I need to?! Later in the evening I went to the Plaza Mayor to enjoy some music and mojitos on the steps of the city.

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Central America Cuba

Santa Clara

From Cienfuegos, which is in the south, by the beach, we head north to Santa Clara. The purpose of this visit is to see the Che Guevara Museum and monument. He and all his guerrilla compatriots who were killed in Bolivia have their remains buried here- after the documents stating their burial place was declassified and thus could be found. No photos in the museum, though they are allowed of the outer monument, which is very large and impressive.

For those who donā€™t know much about Che- he was born in Argentina, studied medicine, was a doctor then eventually became Fidel Castroā€™s first commander in the Revolution. That is a super summarised version! Here is some more information.Ā 

With a large amount of time in the car we discuss the purchase of houses in the country. This was an illegal practice up to the point that Raul Castro took over the presidency from his dead brother.Ā  There was one way to get a house though- though like many things in Cuba, it is complicated. I will break it down into steps J

  1. You are married and have a house
  2. Another couple is married and has a house
  3. You want to swap houses.
  4. Each of you gets a divorce-which is 4 USD and is easy in Cuba
  5. You marry the lady whoā€™s house you want
  6. Stay married for a year
  7. Get a divorce in which she states that she will leave the house to you
  8. You now have the house
  9. PS: if she leaves for America within 5 years then this gets investigated and the house belongs to the government

On the way to Trinidad we stop at a tiny hamlet where we have a lunch of beans/rice/chicken/pork and some salad. It was really pleasant, with a quiet and rural, farm setting.

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Central America Cuba

Cienfuegos

The taxi driver that was organised to be our driver for the next few days was not able to make the trip due to the death of his grandmother, and thus another had to be organised. (? Suspicious?) This was not too easy as the company requires modern, safer taxis to be used and those with papers. These papers cost 600 USD per month, excluding taxes on profits made that need to be paid and thus many taxi drivers are giving up their licenses.

As there were only 2 of us and a guide, taxis would be our mode of travel around the island, which is pretty luxurious considering the options!

We set off, albeit a bit later than planned, to Cienfuegos (ā€œ100 firesā€ directly translated; but named after a governor). After eventually leaving Havana we hit the main highway on the island- an impressive 3 lanes in both directions!! With hardly a car in sight!! The highway was built when the island seemed to have a much brighter future, and now with fuel shortages and cars priced as exorbitantly as they are- the highways are rather empty. 

Our first stop was a quick one for toilet break and sandwich for lunch, then a swimming stop. The waters of the Caribbean did not disappoint, were warm and pleasant to swim in. You could also snorkel. There was also a sinkhole that one could swim in- though is just went for the sea.

We had another 1.5 hours to Cienfuegos, where we arrived in the afternoon. We stopped at the end of the main street at Palacio de Valle. It was created by a sugar daddyā€¦ a new use of the term I have createdā€¦ meaning a man who came into money in the sugar cane industry šŸ™‚ . It is a Moorish/ Islamic style building that was a residence for a short time. The tiles and marble and glass used in the construction were all imported for Italy/ Germany. The roof top has a good view, including of the only nuclear reactor that Cuba started building and never finished due to the collapse of the relationship between Russia and Cuba in the 90s.

We then dropped off our bags at yet another great B&B, relaxed in the aircon for a while and hooked up to WIFI- one of few actual houses that has this facility. I then went out for a long walk to explore the streets, main square and down the malecon (or boardwalk) and ended up making it back to the palace again by foot. I had a good dinner close to our place- the best part being that I could have it with salad and NOT rice!

The style of the town is strongly French influenced as the governor (Cienfuegos) ordered it to be built as such. The main street is two dual lane streets with a large walkway down the center and is lined with a mixture of styles- including an art deco theatre.

The main square features some different styles, still. Many of the buildings here have been restored, as is the case around Cuba. 

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Central America Cuba

Havana

I had an early morning flight from Bogota to Havana. This means an early wake up and off to the airport. The check in line is really long and takes near an hour to pass through! I am able to purchase my Cuban tourist card at the Avianca counter and only need this and proof of an exit flight and I am good to go.

On the plane we receive two forms- a health declaration and a customs declaration. The customs form asks for the usual: cash, drugs, pornography, plant material and do you have any satellite equipment to declare. I have my hand held GPS which I use for hiking and it also has an SOS function. I thus declare this. Which immediately means that I am in the longest to declare line ever known to mankind as any Cuban who bought anything overseas needs to declare it and pay customs. I am moved through a bit quickerā€¦but this means one hour still! I get asked, for the second time in 15minutes who I am, what job I do where I live etc. Then the customs lady fills in a long form with more information and I find out that I have to pay for storage for this unit as I get it back before my return flight.

After such a long delay I was sure that the man arranged to pick me up would have left, but luckily not- he was still waiting. Had approximately 35min transfer to my accommodation, which was very pleasant.

I walked around for a few hours and returned to the accommodation for our team meeting ā€“ I use the term team loosely as it was myself, another lady (64-year-old Margreth) and our guide. The lady had paid a single supplement and thus I had private rooms throughout without paying extra J .

The city is definitely frozen in time and frozen in maintenance. If you use your imagination you can see what sort of a magnificent and ultra-rich city this once was. The buildings have fabulous details and are multi story. There is also a mixture of various building styles as Spanish, French, Americans all had influence. The government is paying for the restoration of buildings around the main squares, which have come up looking great, while some private individuals or companies are renovating other rundown buildings.

This first stay in Havana is in the old city, which was once entirely walled. Few remnants of the wall are still around today. It is near the port, which also boasts the largest arrival/customs building I think I have ever seen ā€“ it goes on for a few city blocks and is completely ruined. The sheer size is impressive though.

Walking the streets of the city is stepping back in time, with such a large proportion of old models of vehicles such as Ladas, Fiats and Dodges. These vehicles are surprisingly expensive due to supply. A 1980s Lada will set you back 30-40,000 USD!!! There are newer Peugeots driving around- which surprised me. These, and other fancy car models, usually start out life in government, then rental cars, then taxis and then get sold to the public. The price then is about 85,000 USD!

I went to the Revolution Museum which is in the old presidential palace. The building is going through renovations and unfortunately many areas are off bounds or looking underwhelming. The museum itself is a bit haphazard and I have more questions than answers when Iā€™m done.

I then return to my hostel for an afternoon break in the aircon. I donā€™t get to settle in before my hostel manager is knocking on my door. He was visited by immigration and they request to see me at their offices- which I happened to have walked past some 25minutes ago! I need to go and meet there and answer questions. He doesnā€™t know why, but maybe it has to do with my GPS.

I thus grab my passport and walk the 15 or so blocks back there. The offices are in the main police station which is an old fort. I find the immigration office which is passed the holding cell. This bodes well for me! I was questioned more- all the information I had given to the other immigration and customs personnel and more about where I have been travelling and for how long and work as well as exit ticket etc. I need to re-state my itinerary etc etc. The lady finishes with me and I ask if there is a problem with me being here and she said no, not yet and bids me farewell ā€œuntil the next timeā€. I have no doubt that there will be a next time. Apparently solo travelling female mining engineers are a suspicious breed??!!