Last Day

Although we were due to leave today it was an evening flight and our taxi pickup was confirmed for 5.25 p.m. so we had pretty much the whole day still free.  We were booked on a conservation tour of Havana Vieja, which we already felt we knew quite well , but our very enthusiastic guide was able to show us a number of the social projects which are funded by revenue from tourism. We saw a specialist maternity hospital, a primary school, a housing project where families are decanted while their homes are restored, a school which trains local young people in the skills required for all the restoration work, and an amazing old people’s day centre in part of a former convent which is being restored in stages. It’s good to know that all the tourist money spent in the centre of town in the bars, hotels and even tours is used to fund the restoration of the old buildings as well as these social projects.

After that we were free to soak up the last of the atmosphere and the sunshine for the afternoon. The main highlight of the afternoon was when we went looking for the old railway locomotives we had seen from the taxi the first night we arrived, and almost accidentally discovered a huge indoor market in an old warehouse building. Sadly we had no money left to spend due to difficulties in using our credit card. It was just as well as the cases were pretty full anyway.

Once again our taxi turned up on time and we were whisked off to the airport, where we had two surprises. First the crowd which seemed to fill the departures hall consisted almost entirely of the queue for our flight and the check-in had not yet opened. Second, when we finally reached the desk, not only did we get the aisle seats we wanted for a ten hour overnight flight, but also a free upgrade to Premium Economy. This meant the return flight was a rather more pleasant experience than the outward one, spoiled only by the long wait in Paris for our onward connection to Edinburgh. We finally made it home around 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Viva Cuba!

Tom and Norma Smith

Back to Havana

We had a fond farewell of the folk at Hostal Bastida, especially Julio and our cook who seemed genuinely sorry to see us go. After arranging an early breakfast, and walking to our meeting point for 8.20, the bus finally arrived about 9.10. Although we were the last pick up in Trinidad we had a few pick ups along the coast. It wasn't the most direct route to Havana but meandered along the south coast via Cienfuegos which seemed a more prosperous area and then through an agricultural area which had rice and sugar cane growing in abundance. We did have a stop at the same roadside stop we had used before and shared a very nice ham and cheese croquette. Then it was a quick run into Havana on the Autopista.

We were the first to be dropped off in Havana so we were back in the same hotel as before by 3p.m. The atmosphere around the old town was completely different on a Sunday, a family day out for local families with balloons, dancers on stilts, sweets and popcorn for sale.  There were more book sellers in the square than before, many copies of books by Fidel and Che as well as "Our Man in Havana" by Graeme Green. Vaguely remember the film. We found an atmospheric old bar for our evening meal with very good jazz music. There are so many musicians here - a bit like Shetland. You are serenaded in nearly every cafe and restaurant and need to keep loose change for the hat coming round. We have only bought 2 CDs so far.

Monday 2^nd March Walking Havana

Our last full day in Cuba and nothing booked. All the museums are closed on Mondays, and that also ruled out the Hemingway tour because it includes the Hemingway Museum. We decided to walk along the Malecon again, this time with better weather. We walked all the way to the very posh Hotel Nacional, where we had a drink sitting on the terrace before getting a cocotaxi back to the Parque Centrale.  Here we went for a walk around the main shopping area and the Chinese quarter, passing a railway restoration yard on the way within sight of the Capitol building, which is itself under restoration. Back in the Parque Centrale we had a sandwich and a beer on the veranda of one of the hotels before strolling back to Havana Vieja. 

Valley of the Sugar Cane

Today we had a trip booked to the Valle de Los Ingenios, the centre of the sugar industry in this part of Cuba for two hundred years until the government closed it down in 2005. To our surprise we were the only ones on this particular trip. There was just us, our guide and driver sharing a taxi. First we had to wait for a driver to appear, then we had to go by our guide's house so she could change her shoes. She had not expected to be leading this particular tour today.

First we stopped at Plaza Santa Ana, a quiet square in a corner of the town we had not previously scene, to see the town residence of the family who had controlled the sugar industry in the 19th century, and some buildings associated with the slave trade including the former jail. Then we headed out of town and stopped at a mirador which gave a fine view over the valley we were to visit. The Spanish wanted to extract the syrup from the sugar cane and developed a device like a mangle to extract it.

We heard from our guide that although the tour we went on yesterday descended 500 metres to see a waterfall, there was another tour which descended nearly 3 Kim's. Thank goodness we didn't book that by mistake.

Our next stop was a house which was currently being restored and the archaeological remains of the slave quarters, the production processes, water storage etc were gradually being dug up. The process started with extracting the syrup, then turning it into molasses and finally they processed the sugar till it was like we know it today.

A completely restored house had a grim looking owner and a history plus legends to match. There were stories of gold hidden in the fields by slaves who were then killed so many people had tried to find the treasure, now using metal detectors but so far nothing of value has been found though plenty of interesting historical artefacts.

Our last mirador was now a restaurant with a tower built to keep an eye on the slaves. It was a popular tourist spot with local embroideries hanging up and blowing in the breeze.

Lunch followed in a small family farm/restaurant, chicken with rice and a guava fruit ice. Our last stop was a family pottery where we bought a wind chime as we have in our Casa. We couldn't believe how cheap they were. Maybe we can sit out front at Whitecraigs in our rocking chairs listening to our wind chimes.

A popular song here is "Guantanamero", the chorus remembered well from our youth. It does refer to what we know as Guatanamo Bay and the people who came from there but not in the recent past.

We decided to have a lazy afternoon before our long bus ride to Havana tomorrow, though we spent time finding out exactly where our bus was to leave from in the morning. The travel agent said "Don't worry be happy".

After a fish dinner with soup, salad, potatoes, fruit and a huge slice of maize cake we set off for Playa Mayor, finding a seat on the steps with a good view of the band and some very nifty dancing - a fitting end to our stay in Trinidad.

Waterfall Trek

After reading more about the hike we were to undertake in the mountains we were not sure it was a great idea, however 9.00 o'clock found us on a Russian truck heading into the mountains, stopping at a coffee shop to discover more about coffee production, and walking over a trail learning about plants, the national tree which is the Royal Palm and all it is used for and seeing several tomorrow birds. It was only a 1500 metres hike each way but the last bit to the waterfall was sharply downhill for 500 metres. After viewing the beautiful and spectacular scenery some folk opted for a swim but we oldies thought it would be better not to hold everyone up and set off before them for the steep climb back up the path. It enabled us to have more rests and sit at the top to recover. A lunch followed in an open air restaurant. The run back to Trinidad was bone crunching!

A pleasant late afternoon reading in the sun followed and we ate out and listened to a band, in fact several bands.

Bicitaxi Tour

Once again the Casa turned up trumps with a great breakfast, enough to keep us going all day. We were to go on a "bicitaxi" tour at 9 o'clock and were sharing an English speaking guide with a Dutch couple. This tour far exceeded our expectations, with first a visit to an artist who was not only working with local women incorporating their embroidery skills into her art but who did art therapy with children with problems. She is internationally known and we decided to google her when we had easy Internet access. We saw the station, which is still in use for tourist trains, and heard about the importance of sugar cane and the slave trade in the past. However many of the trains are gradually falling into disrepair so no longer running. Our next stop was to the Black Market which everyone knows about but the authorities turn a blind eye to. The farmer's market is legal but has to be outside the town. It was by a couple of metres. We not only admired the fruit and vegetables but the length of the nails of the farm ladies!

A visit to the cigar factory is mandatory but fascinating to watch them at work. We also visited a local bar, much smaller than those used by the tourists and much cheaper, and lastly the community shops where people can buy their monthly rations at very low prices and also a few things which are not rationed?

We learned so much on our tour and enjoyed a coffee and cake before setting off to find out about our tour tomorrow. We also wanted to change more money before the weekend. That was interesting as the first time Visa was "not working". The advice was to try again in an hour. Luckily the second time it was OK. As in Santa Clara only one bank deals with credit cards.

Being solvent once more we decided that half a day at the beach would be good so took a "cocotaxi" to the beach at Playa Ancon, a couple of hours soaking up the sun, including being denied access to a bar because we weren't hotel guests, and a return journey in an ancient Chevrolet taxi. 12 km each way cost a total of $14. The drive was very flat and we passed marshes full of birds like egret and small wading birds.

Our attempts to use the Internet were thwarted by very slow technology. We read our e-mails OK but BBC news took so long to load that we had to give up.

Once again the Casa tried to fatten us up with a 3/4/5 course meal. A mountain excursion tomorrow might help to walk it all off.

Journey to Trinidad

After Vinales where changing money had not been possible, and Las Terrazzas where with some difficulty we had changed almost the last of our UK cash, it was now important to find somewhere to draw cash on a Visa card. The only bank where this was possible was near our hotel and opened at 8 a.m.(Tom)--- "I joined the already long queue outside the door ten minutes later. The doorman was following the usual practice of only allowing someone in to replace someone else leaving. It was soon clear that I could have a long wait, but I could see that some latecomers were walking straight past the queue and being allowed in without waiting. I tried to ask the man next to me why this was. He immediately realised I was a foreigner and motioned me to wait while he went up to the doorman. A short conversation followed, I was waved to the front and allowed in ahead of the queue. Inside I had to obtain a ticket and wait till my number came up on the overhead display after a few minutes. Leaving with my money soon after I was able to thank my benefactor who had also been allowed in early."

By 10 a.m. It was goodbye Santa Clara. Our driver was on time and it was a shorter drive than yesterday over the mountains to Trinidad. However it was not quick due to the many potholes, but we did go the tourist route with many magnificent views. We had a couple of photographic opportunities.

Trinidad even in the first few hours lived up to its promise. What a photographer's dream. We were delivered to Hostal Bastida and made very welcome. We decided to eat in the Casa as recommended and chose fish as our meal. What an amount of food the lady brought - soup, salad, fish, rice, more vegetables, fruit and finally ice cream, and all for 10 pesos each. Only the wine was extra. We walked it off by a night stroll to Plaza Mayor, listening to the music and wandering through the shops, eventually buying a maracca type instrument made out of a gourd with beads on the outside. Not sure how it will pack but the luggage will sound good.

Santa Clara

We were expecting our driver at 10.00 but he appeared at 9.00 and we were very happy with this arrangement as it was a 4 hour drive to Santa Clara. It was our driver from yesterday, a very pleasant person but almost no English. The journey was mostly on the main highway, making very good progress except for slowing down for the odd bump in the road. It was very quiet and we have found all our drivers to be very cautious, especially at junctions. We did stop at a cafe/ road stop on the way where we had very cheap coffee, good toilets and souvenir shops. The Hotel America in Santa Clara was pleasant and roomy. We were advised where to look for a restaurant and booked it for later. We wandered round the main sites which Santa Clara is famous for. Che Guevara is particularly remembered here as he planned the attack against Batista's troops here. The Battle of Santa Clara involved the derailing of a troop train with a bulldozer. Four of the carriages and the bulldozer can still be seen alongside the present day railway line. The soldiers fled and that was the beginning of the end for the Batista regime.

A dip in the pool appealed but there were about 20 young men watching football, Manchester City v Barcelona in the Champions League. They were all very excited, noisy and dominating the pool once the match was over. Most of them were supporting Barcelona who won the match.

The restaurant was fine though the music did not match up to previous experiences. There was a large Dutch group who were celebrating their last night together in Cuba.

La Terrazas Tour

After watching the Oscar results on CNN we finally found out about Eddie Redmayne's success before heading off for breakfast. We had a tour organised for 9.30 and met up with a Belgian/Dutch group of 4 and a German couple.  Our guide Oriol used to be an English teacher but becoming a guide enabled him to earn more. He was very lively and entertaining and it was a pleasant tour with lots of opportunities to ask about life in Cuba. We started at a viewpoint, an old French coffee plantation where we learned about coffee growing and the slave conditions on the ranch. Our guide heard the Cuban national bird, the tocororo and used a call on his phone to bring it closer. It was a very colourful bird and the photographers in the group were very glad to see it.

Our guide had 2 daughters and the older one was a beautician who "does restoration to women". What a great way to describe it.

On his recommendation we went to the "best vegetarian restaurant in Cuba". It was very good but too much and we probably ordered too much as well.

La Terrazas

It was time to say goodbye to Marit and Leo, our Dutch companions. Hopefully we'll see them again later. We had another lovely breakfast then paid our very reasonable bill for evening meals and drinks.

We packed and waited for our taxi to La Terrazzas. Another surprise, our car was a 1954 Chevrolet in beautiful condition. It was less than 2 hours back to Las Terrazas, an eco village developed in the late 60's and our hotel, built in the 90's. We had to wait for our room so had a walk round,  The facilities are excellent, a huge room and bath/shower with a view. It was pleasant to spend the afternoon beside the pool, just chilling out.

Our meal was in the hotel restaurant, a bottle of good Argentinian wine, 12 CUCs, about £8 so quite a bit cheaper than home. The meal itself was OK but the chicken was a bit stringy, perhaps reflecting the rather thin chickens which peck around the place.

The Tobacco Fields

A fantastic breakfast awaited us at our Casa Particular. Silvia, our hostess provided coffee, juice, an omelette, pancakes and French bread as well as fruit. It was a feast but we had no problem trying everything. Along with the other two guests in our Casa we joined the walking tour through the tobacco fields. We set off down a different street than yesterday, much prettier with attractive bungalows, many with rooms to rent. Soon we were on a path through the fields with our guide, Douglas, and an Australian, originally from Czechoslovakia. The Dutch couple were very good at spotting birds and one of the highlights was seeing a humming bird. Another thrill was to see leafcutter ants taking their bits of leaf down to their colony to feed the fungus they live on. We have seen it on TV and even at Butterfly World but not in the wild. another first was seeing a giant tree rat perched on a post at a refreshment stop on the walk. We had a fresh coconut drink then ate some of the coconut.

The main aim of the walk was to learn about the tobacco growing process and see a cigar being made. This is the season when tobacco is ready to dry and we saw lots hanging up. The farmers have to sell 90 per cent of their crop to the government. They keep the other 10 per cent which they can use or sell. We all had a try but decided smoking was no longer for us!

After a tapas lunch we headed off to Hotel Jasmine, 3 km out of town. Luckily the weather though warm was overcast so we survived the

climb and the view over Vinales Valley was well worth it. After a beer we braved the steep path down to the valley floor and found our way back to Vinales with little difficulty. The little houses on the way were very pretty. A stop at a craft place on the way back yielded a few souvenirs.

We saw among other birds the Turkey vulture, king bird, bullfinch and nightingale which is very rare.

We had another lovely meal with far too much provided, courtesy of Silvia.We then had a walk down the Main Street where there was music and dancing.

Road to Vinales

It was an early start though we managed breakfast and waited for our bus with a family from Brighton who had waited until their children had no exams before they felt they could have a break in Cuba at this time of year. It was pleasant to chat and exchange ideas as we waited half an hour for the bus. Mañana!

Another hour and a half passed as we zigzagged around Havana picking up our fellow travellers from hotels all over the city, and passing many of the sights we had seen the day before. Finally we were on the open road and things moved a lot faster as we zipped along a nearly deserted six lane highway. Two and a half hours and one brief stop later we were in Vinales, and a short walk from our home stay for the next two days. It's "Homestay Silvia" and is a good equivalent to B and B though she is willing to cook you an evening meal as well. After getting our bearings, and some lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring the back roads and tracks around the town and an amazing botanical garden which was set up by a Chinese immigrant to Cuba, his daughter and a friend. Both ladies lived into their 90's. We shared the tour with a couple from Minnesota. It was no problem to come to Cuba as they had travelled via Cancun. Many pictures were taken of bullocks, carts, fields of tobacco and the mountains.

Bus Tour of Havana

Yesterday had been a bit cool and showery but today the weather was cold and dry and very windy, coming our way from the Eastern United States. We took the "hop on hop off" bus tour round Havana but decided not to get off. The waves driving up on the Malecon were quite spectacular and one way was closed to traffic. We had a strange encounter on the bus journey. The couple from Norfolk had said to look out for them in a convertible which they were sharing with another couple. Unbelievably as we sat at the front of the bus we saw them as they spotted us and exchanged waves. Amazing! A visit to a couple of museums followed, the Revolutionary Museum and the Cuban art museum. There were no holds barred in the first one with the Cuban view of the last 56 years. The art museum had an installation of the "Cuban 5" who were recently released from prison in America, and we watched a film about events over that period. After all these politics it was good to go out for a meal, inside in order to avoid the cold wind. We reflected on our day marked by many people shouting

"Hemingway" as we passed. All Tom needs is the hat now though he is not fond of fishing. Maybe tomorrow would have warmer weather.

Havana

The day started with a lovely breakfast in the inner courtyard of the hotel - fruit juice, breads, omelette and fruit as well as good coffee. The tour company’s local rep came along to sort out our travel arrangements and offer us more tours. We decided to go with a night tour of Havana and a trip into the mountains from Trinidad. We then set off to find a bank, and found a travelling exhibition of decorated bears in one of the squares. The rest of the morning was spent looking at the buildings, admiring those which were restored and wondering how long it would take to finish restoring the rest. We walked along the Malecon - the promenade - where the buildings are almost all in a very poor state. The tourist dollars are being used to restore buildings, and the other feature is that social projects are included in the old town - a primary school, an old folks home and art studios.

Tom had the usual photographer's problem of when to stop taking pictures of 1950’s American cars. The people are very photogenic as well, especially when they are in a doorway or hanging over a balcony.

We duly turned up for the evening tour but the bus was about 40 minutes late due to folk along the way being late for their pickups. We started with a walking tour and our small group of English speakers included a couple from Norfolk and two Chinese. We then had our first mojito, pleasant and quite a kick with it. The entertainment was to see the gun being fired from the castle on the other side of the harbour, a cross between the one o'clock gun and Up Helly Aa with twirling fireballs and a great deal of marching. We then headed off to a restaurant for a meal, a selection of tastes of Cuba, just what was needed after a busy day.

Cuba 2015

Journey to Cuba

Our journey from Kinnesswood to Havana was a long one, up at 5 a.m. to drive to Halbeath Park and Ride, bus from there to Edinburgh Airport, flight to Charles de Gaulle airport, then a delayed connection and a 10 hours plus flight arriving in the evening local time, but really after midnight UK time. We were met by a guide who sorted out our papers then put us into a 1950's American convertible for the half hour drive to a very pleasant little hotel in central Havana. What a way to arrive! We had a little walk around some lovely squares in Havana Vieja before very welcome bed.