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I try and update this blog daily. So
it is written at the end of the day when I am tired and I/it is
prone to spelling and grammatical errors that I am not prepared
to correct.
Friday 19 May 2017
We got up at 5:30am and got to breakfast at 6:00. By 6:30 we
were on the shuttle taking us to Terminal 6 at LAX and Alaska
Airlines. The procedure to go to Cuba was really quite simple.
Check in as normal. Take your boarding pass to the Cuba
Information booth (next to the check in), pay US$100
each for a visa,, have a stamp put on your boarding pass. They
give you a 12 excuses affidavit to sign. This is so that you can
declare that you are not going to Cuba for tourism. We ticked
the box that said we were going for the "Support of the Cuban
People [515.574]"
The plane was comfortable and I remembered that we had paid for
an upgrade to business class which gave us wider seats and more
legroom.
As we came into land, we flew over farmland. The Havana
International Airport is in a rural setting. There were two
small commercial jets at the domestic airport (it reminded me of
the old Adelaide airport with TAA and ANA) and a Cuba Cargo jet
and us in the entire place.
Passport control required that we look into a camera before we
passed two ladies in white coats who took our declarations that
we had not had a cough or a runny nose for the last 15 days. ...
and unless we had something to declare, we were free to pick up
our bags and go.
I could feel my nose growing. In one day I had told the US
Government that I was not going to Cuba as a tourist and I had
told the Cuban Government that I didn't have a cold and a cough!
We were greeted outside the terminal by a young fellow with a
sign with our names on it. He told us his boss was anxious to
speak to us. He phoned her and she told us that the first night
would be in another hotel (Capri) not the tour group hotel
(Hotel Nacional de Cuba). I had pointed out to Flight Centre on
numerous occasions that this was never to happen and we would
not change hotels half way through our first day in Havana. They
assured us that our booking was with the one hotel. They nor
their agents can be trusted. We were also told that the pick up
fellow would show us how to get money from the ATM. He was a
simple yellow cab driver and got away from us as soon as
he could. No tip for him. He showed us nothing so we were left
on our own get CUCs (Cuban Pesos and equivalent to 1 US dollar)
from the hotel cashier. After much grief we convinced the Capri
hotel to give us a late check out (6:00pm) so that we could
spend the day with our photographic guide (Yosel Vazquez)
without having to break midway to change hotels. Peregrine Tours
will have to pay for that, coz we aren't. The hotels are only
about 100 metres apart, but the Capri is a bit of a rat house
with the walls of the room painted a nice lavatory green colour.
Both Flight Centre and Peregrine tours are on the nose, in our
opinion! I know of one guide who will not be getting a tip at
the end of the tour, and that is before I have even met him/her!
We checked out the Hotel Nacional de Cuba and the foyer looks
grand compared to our hovel.
We let a spruiker outside our hotel take us to a good by noisy
restaurant across the road. We had French Onion soup to dinner.
Driving from the airport to the hotel one could have been in
Bali. Both Bali and Cuba have the same run down appearance.
Saturday 20 May
2017
We walked to the Hotel Nacionale de Cuba and met up with our
photo guide, Yosel. He was a young fellow in his 30's, short red
hair and an accent that sounded American, although he assured us
he was Cuban born and bred.
We headed off to the old part of the city in an old "Chevy" but
soon ended up walking the streets, taking photos of the people
and the buildings as we went. We then caught up with our driver
and basically repeated the journey, taking photos from the car
as the driver slowly cruised the streets.
Most of the old cars are used as taxis. This is because they
have the capacity to carry more people because of their size.
The particularly well maintained looking ones are more likely to
be private hire cars.
We arrived back at the Capri Hotel at about 1:00pm and rested
until about 5:00pm when we walked across to the Hotel Nacionale
de Cuba and checked in. The first room they gave us was a
smoking room which we rejected. We were upgraded to a much
better room and settled in. At 6:00pm we went downstairs to meet
guide, Omar Perez Batles. At about 7:30pm the group went to a
restaurant for dinner. We have a touring party of 11 people plus
our guide.
Sunday 21 May
2017
We got on the tour bus at 9:00am and drove to the gallery of
José Rodríguez Fuster, a Cuban ceramic artist who
was born in 1946. His work is much of the style of Gaudi.
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José Rodríguez Fuster
Art Gallery, Havana |
José Rodríguez Fuster
Art Gallery, Havana |
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José Rodríguez Fuster
Art Gallery, Havana |
José Rodríguez Fuster
Art Gallery, Havana |
From there we drove to the old part of Havana.
It most certainly wasn't the old part of Havana that Yosel
showed us. This was an upmarket, glitsy, renovated tourist trap.
We walked from square to square. I upset a few of the ornately
dressed women who offered to have their photos taken and then
demanded money, by just walking off. They were lucky I didn't
charge them for taking their photos. I must stress that the
subjects of the six photos immediately below were "actors" who
were dressed up to to encourage tourists to photograph them and
then demand payment. Usually 1CUC (US$1.00). None of the
"actors" below were paid by me. These are pure and simple
"street photography shots."
Something we learned from Yosel yesterday is
that Cubans' regard it as special that someone would want to
photograph their children. Unlike Australia where you are
regarded with suspicion if you even look at a child. The statue
of the rooster with the naked lady on it's back represents the
women who worked during the many revolutions to put food on the
table for their families. For some reason (I can't remember
what) the shoes represents something about her class.
Streets of Old Havana |
Streets of Old Havana |
Streets of Old Havana |
Streets of Old Havana |
Streets of Old Havana |
Streets of Old Havana |
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The ride in the old American cars |
Walking into the future |
We had lunch upstairs in a nicely
airconditioned hotel. It was very humid outside.
After lunch, we had a short tour in some of the renovated
American cars and eventually taken back to our hotel.
Getting money is a problem here. There are NO ATMs as we know
them. The hotel cashiers will only EXCHANGE cash (US currency,
Pounds or Euros) if you are a guest of the hotel. The fellow at
the "Bank" attached to the hotel tried swiping all my cards but
they were all rejected, claiming they "were American Credit
cards and wouldn't work."
If the Cubans want tourism to thrive, they will have to do
something about the access to cash. Cuba is expensive, you need
cash. There are no ATMs and supply of money is limited and
difficult to access.
As one of our party was told during her drive from the Airport
to the Hotel. "We can't understand why you tourists keep coming
here. It is expensive, there are shortages of most things and we
are trying our hardest to get out of the place."
Monday 22 May
2017
We got up at 2:45am so that we could have breakfast and check
out by 3:30am and be bused to the Airport to catch the 6:00am
plane to Santiago de Cuba. We arrived at the airport and were
given an ultimatum by our guide that we either sign a company
disclaimer about flying on a Russian Aeroplane or spend two days
on a bus traveling to Santiago. We had little choice but to sign
the company's disclaimer. We cleared security OK and sat and
waited till just after 6:00am when our flight was called. We
climbed onto our Antonov 158 and waited. A couple of alarms went
off in the distance and we were asked to disembark for an hour
while the problem was resolved. We spent the next few hours
peaking through a crack in the wall at the Antonov 158 as it lay
in bits on the tarmac with no one appearing to try and rectify
the problem. At 8:45am there was an announcement that the plane
would be delayed until 1:30pm. Our guide was unphased and kept
playing games on his mobile phone. In the mean time a high
frequency pitched sound began out side and that was quite
irritating. It seems as though the "agency" couldn't care a damn
about us. An official made an announcement in Spanish to the
congregation but our guide said nothing to us. There seems to be
no contingency plan except to sit and wait. There has been no
suggestion of a tour or anything to keep the group occupied.
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The Antanov being repaired |
After promises of food that never
eventuated, at 2:00pm we went downstairs to a bus that took us
across the tarmac to an awaiting plane. This was an A135. the
Antanov still remained on the tarmac but appeared to have been
put back together.
It was a one hour flight to Santiago de Cuba. The day is hot and
sunny.
We did a walk of the town and stopped at a bar for a couple of
beers and then back into our mini bus and were taken to house
for a "typical meal with a family." There was a band playing
Cuban music and we had the place to ourselves. It was very
pleasant and about 9:00pm we returned to our home stay. There
are five double rooms within the house, each with an air
conditioner and an ensuite bathroom.
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Street in Santiago de Cuba |
Playing dominoes in city square: Santiago de Cuba |
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Watching dominoes played in Santiago de Cuba |
Dinner at a "typical Cuban Home." |
Tuesday 23rd May 2017
After a pleasant breakfast of omlette and very strong
black coffee in the back garden of the "homestay" we set off
with Omar in the bus for the Cemetery. This is where all the
fathers of the revolution are buried including Jose Martires
(born 1853) and is regarded as the philosopher of the
revolution. Also beneath a simple large stone lies Fidel Castro.
We watched the changing of the guard. To me the downside of this
visit was that, like a number of these public places you are
charged 5:00 CUC to take photos!
We then continued to the Mocada Barracks which is now a museum
and a primary school. It seems as though this was the scene of a
defining battle during the revolution against the Batista in
1959. There are photos on the wall of Ernesto (Che) Guevara and
Fidel Castro as young men. Guevara was an Argentinian doctor who
met up with Castro, a lawyer, and these two formed a formidable
leadership for the revolution.
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Fidel Castro's Tomb |
Changing of the Guard at Jose Martires' tomb |
We then took our bus to Castillo del Moro San Pedro de la Roca,
which was a fortress build by the Spanish to ward off pirates
and corsairs such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan.
We drove back to Santiago and had lunch at a local hotel (Cuban
roll and a Crystal Beer) before retiring back to our homestay
and the comfort of the Air conditioning. It is about 31˚C
and very humid, which makes doing very much at all quite
draining.
We had a fish dinner at Thoms & Yadira's Restaurant.
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Stature of Jose Martires |
Castillo
del Moro San Pedro |
Castillo
del Moro San Pedro |
Wednesday 24th. May 2017
We had a 9:00am start on a sunny hot and humid day. We drove for
3 hours without a break and then stopped at Bayamo for a wander
around and lunch. At about 2:30 we continued on and arrived at
Camaguey in central Cuba at about 6:00pm. This is the area that
Che Guevara secured during the revolution. We checked into the
Hotel Santa Maria, had a quick tour
of the city and then had dinner. The hotel is excellent with
large rooms and bathroom and a very efficient air conditioner.
Thursday 25th. May 2017
It was a hot, sunny, humid day. We walked a few hundred metres
to the home of the home of the Camamguey dance company. This
dance company is used as a step up to the National Ballet of
Cuba. Dancers are paid 30CUC per month. That is the equivalent
of US$1:00 per day. It was hot and humid inside the theatre. We
watched a class being taken by a lady who is regarded as the
highest qualified dance teacher in Cuba.
After a short break they performed
their arrangement of Carmen. It was very good.
After lunch, at a restaurant across the road from our hotel, we
were taken on a bicycle ride in one of Cuba's trishaw/taxis. At
about 3:15 we escaped the heat and retired to the coolness of
our hotel. We had dinner in a restaurant located about 200
metres from our hotel. The bill for the both of us came to
17.15CUC. (US$18:00)
Friday 26th. May 2017
It was a six hour trip from Camaguey to Trinidad de Cuba. The
countryside changed from flat farm land (Sugar cane, sweet corn,
cattle) to much more hilly terrain as we approached Trinidad de
Cuba. We stopped off for coffee on the way in the township of
Ciego De Avila and I was able to
photograph some of the locals.
Business next to silver shop |
This fellow is an artist |
House in Trinidad de Cuba |
Trinidad de Cuba seems a very basic town with rough stone
streets that are difficult to walk on.
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Our accommodation is in a homestay for the next three nights. Like the town, it is
comfortable but basic. Our room reminds me of a 1950's hospital
room. But it is clean and it is functional.
We went down the street and booked a day trip for tomorrow (47
CUCs each). This is a 4 wheel drive venture up into the
mountains behind the town.
We found some stairs along which people were sitting at
tables drinking and listening to the live music. We had a couple
of beers and then ventured down the hill to a Tapas Bar for
dinner. The drinks were strong and it wasn't long before Briar
fell to the effects of the heat, humidity and dehydration.
We made it back to the homestay with the help of the group, a Brazilian nurse, who happened to be passing and a couple of
Australian girls.
The airconditioner in our room wasn't terribly efficient, but it
took out some of the humidity. I eventually got to sleep by by covering
myself with a wet towel and turning the wall fan up to the high
setting.
Saturday 27th. May 2017
Today was the trip up to the park at Guanayara in the mountains
behind Trinidad de Cuba. At 9:30 we climbed aboard our 1960s
vintage Russian built trucks. These trucks had 20 fixed seats on
the tray which were covered by a metal roof. This vintage of
truck had no synchromesh in the gear box and so the driver had
to double declutch every time he changed gears on the two hour
journey up into the mountains. Although old, these trucks had
the power to climb the mountain roads with ease, as well as with a
lot of noise. The rust in the cabin was held together with
gaffer tape and camoflage paint. We made it to a coffee spot and
were shown the equipment they used to use to crush and roast the
coffee beans. We climbed back onto the truck and headed further
up into the mountains. The breeze as we drove along was very
refreshing. Eventually we arrived at the park and began our walk
along a path through the jungle. It was all downhill and
eventually after passing a small water fall we came to a pool
where are guide told us we had half and hour to swim. It was
cool and an idyllic setting.
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The Russian built truck |
The Russian built
truck |
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Our swim in the middle of the park |
Some of the others swimming in the pool |
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Lunch in the park after the swim |
A dog lying in the water that ran down the street |
After we dried off we continued our
walk through the jungle beside the river for another hour until
we came to a restaurant and the lunch that was included. After
lunch we climbed back onto the Russian built truck for the
journey back to Trinidad de Cuba.
We arrived back at about 4:45 just in time for our one hour
salsa lesson. This was in the courtyard/foyer of a local house
and was very hot work.
We then headed off in our bus to a place for dinner. This
restaurant was a barbeque place that offered as much as you
could eat.
At about 9:00pm we headed home.
The air conditioner in our homestay room is still not very cool
even though the manager cleaned the filter while we were away at
dinner.
I had a very restless night fighting with the humidity and the
high temperature. My cough re emerged during the night.
Sunday 28th. May 2017
It was another hot, humid day with the temperature in the low to
mid 30s. We climbed into our bus at 9:00am and headed off to the
beach. We arrived at about 9:30 and set up camp under the palms
and the shade shelters. We swam in the Carribean which was very
warm. We ordered lunch from the restaurant on the beach and ate
it on the beach in the shade. At about 2:00 we headed home to
Trinidad de Cuba. The rest of the group went off to visit a
temple in the town but we declined to do so.
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Boats for hire at the beach |
Our shady camp at the beach |
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Selling ice creams |
Relaxing in the shade |
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Manuela was feeling ill |
A local beauty |
At 6:30 we ventured up the hill to the Vista Gourmet
Restaurant and sat at the rooftop tables overlooking the town
and watching the sunset
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Our Street |
View from the Vista Gourmet Restaurant |
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Omar, our Guide |
A man and his horse in our street |
Monday 29th. May 2017
I woke up with the feeling that my cough was worsening. After
three nights in our room with an airconditioner that sounds like
a Russian truck and delivers about as much power. The room is
marginally cooler, but it is very humid. I would have expected
the reverse cycle air conditioner to drag many litres of water
from the atmosphere, but the drain pipe outside the room would
indicate that it does nothing.
At 9:00 we climbed into the comfort of the airconditioned bus
and headed off on the one hour journey to Cienfuegos.
We did a quick walking tour of the town, bought a couple of
cigars and headed to the seaside and to our hotel. There is an
abundance of old American and Russian cars here.
Our accommodation at the Hotel Jagua was not ready until about
1:30, which was when I had a good sleep to try and overcome the
effects of the previous night's airconditioner. Checking in
seemed to be a problem and we were shuffled from the main hotel
to the "green" building and then to the "yellow" building. Our
room is right on the sea shore with the water lapping at the
base of the walls.
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The main street of Cienfuegos |
The main street of Cienfuegos |
The main street of Cienfuegos |
Palacio del Valle |
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The view from the top of the Palacio |
View from our room at Hotel Jagua, Cienfuegos |
We had dinner at the Palacio del
Valle which was just over the road.
Tuesday 30th. May 2017
I woke at about 3:00am in need of some Lomotil. By breakfast
time the symptoms had diminished, but I couldn't face breakfast.
The airconditioner indicated that the room temperature had
dropped to 16C, which I find hard to believe. The room was humid
and uncomfortably warm.
At 8:30am we set off in the bus. The bus seems to be the only
sanctuary from the heat and humidity.
It was about a 3 hour drive to Santa Clara where the tomb of
Ernisto "Che" Guevara is located. It was nice and cool inside
the tomb, where not only his body is buried there but also about
20 other heroes of the revolution, as well as some memorabilia
from the revolution, including guns, uniforms etc.
From there we drove in a round about way back towards Ceinfuego
and after lunch at a roadside eating house we arrived at Giron,
or the Bay of Pigs. This was the site of a 72 hour battle
between some of Batista's old police, some nationalist Cubans
who had escaped to the USA and the whole thing backed by the
CIA. On 19th April 1961 the main force was sent from Nicaragua,
the Americans involvement was discovered when a plane was shot
down and the pilot had US airforce indentification on him. The
whole battle was over very quickly and some of the invaders were
imprisoned for up to 30 years.
From there we drove up the coast to a rocky swimming hole and
stopped for about half an hour.
We then continued our bus ride back
to Havana and we arrived at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba at about
6:45pm.
It was nice to be in a properly air conditioned room. As I
opened my suitcase, I could feel the trapped heat and humidity
in all my clothes. I don't think I could live in such a hot and
humid country.
I didn't go out to dinner with the rest of the group as my
stomach was still very delicate and I still have a barking
cough.
Wednesday 31st. May 2017
We were on the bus at 8:30am and set out for the 3 hour
journey to Vinales (Pronounced "Vin - are- lay"). During one of the comfort breaks I took a
couple of photos of this farmer who was posing for the tourists
with his bullocks and cart. We then moved onwards and had a
short photo stop at a place that had wonderful views of Vinale.
We descended into the valley and taken to a small tobacco
farm and were shown the cigar making process.
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A farmer beside the road to Vinale |
A farmer beside the road to Vinale |
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Vinale from the lookout/tourist centre |
Rolling a cigar |
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American style barn |
Typical rural house |
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Girl band at the tourist centre |
Karen trying a cigar |
The Cigar maker's friend |
We then climbed back into the bus and had a farewell lunch in
Vinale at a restaurant overlooking the valley the then returned
to Havana. The return journey took three hours and as we
approached Havana the skies opened and it poured with rain. The
streets of Havana were awash with water.
When we reached the Hotel Nacionale de Cuba, Omar said goodbye
and disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared at the start
of the tour. It seemed odd to us that he and the driver rarely
ate with us, but sat at a different table and watched us. From
what we could gather both he and the driver, Richard, had to
find their own meals each day and also find their own
accommodation. At no stage did we sleep in the same hotel or
homestay as Omar and Richard. They seemed quite detached from
the group they were supposed to be leading. Maybe that is the
way Peregrine tours want it, but probably more likely to be the
policy of the Government Agency from whom Peregrine bought the
tour package.
We sat outside in the cloistered area of the hotel and had a few
farewell drinks with the remainder or the tour group and went to
bed about 10:30pm
Thursday 1st June 2017
Today is checkout day and Omar had arranged for us to be taken
to the airport at 3:00pm. We checked out of our room just before
midday and sat and talked with the remainder of our tour group
until we were picked up by a taxi at 3:00pm for our 6:00pm
flight from Havana to LAX.
Going through customs and security wasn't too bad but one
security official was determined to find the cigarette lighter
he thought he had seen in Briar's bag with the X ray machine. He
was very unprofessional by going through her bag himself without
letting her empty it in front of him. Needless to say there was
no cigarette lighter! But this was typical of the Cuban's
attitude to tourists.
Our Alaska Air flight is a turn around flight, that brings one
load of passengers into Havana and then an hour later returns to
Los Angeles with a load of departing passengers from Havana.
Today, as it landed a sudden thunderstorm swept across the
runway. I have never seen such heavy rain. It just bucketed
down. As they don't have air bridges through which the
passengers disembark, the incoming passengers had to sit in the
plane for half an hour before they could get off. So our flight
was delayed by 30 minutes. After we had boarded the Captain was
made aware that the toilets were flooding. The maintenance crew
hadn't emptied the effluent tanks from the previous flight. A
maintenance crew had to be called in from another terminal to
undertake this task. This delayed us another 30 minutes. Then
the captain informed us that there was a thunderstorm directly
over us and that we would have to wait another 30 minutes until
it passed before we could take off. So we were an hour and a
half late in taking off.
The flight was un eventful. It took about 5 hours. We landed at
Terminal 6 at LAX and had to be bussed around to the Tom
Bradley terminal for customs and immigration procedures etc. It
took about 45 minutes to get "processed" as a couple of flights
from Asia had just landed before us and there were long queues,
which were very well handled by the people in charge.
Once we had claimed our luggage, we caught the transit bus to
the Travelodge Hotel at LAX and checked in at about 11:00pm
local time. It had been a long day and my eyes were feeling a
little "gritty." When we arrived at our room I looked in the
mirror and immediately released that I had conjunctivitis in my
right eye. Deja vu to our trip to Morocco a couple of years ago.
Bugger!
Friday 2nd June 2017
A cool cloudy day in LA today. We did our final packing prior to
the long haul over the Pacific to Auckland and then home on
Sunday morning.
Today we have arranged to be chauffer driven around LA and shown
the sights before being dropped off at Tom Bradley International
Airport tonight.
John Ploszkiewicz from LA Platinum Tours arrived at the motel
just before 10:00am and outlined what he had planned for the
day. We began with a drive through Venice and finished up at the
Santa Monica Pier. John seems to be a walking talking
encyclopedia on everyone and everything in Los Angeles.
We had a quick chat with a young singer songwriter (Ben Bostick)
who was busking at the end of the pier. I have since checked him
out on Youtube and he is very accomplished. Then we
drove through Beverly Hills and had a walk along the shopping
precinct of Rodeo Drive before crossing over into the luxury of
the residential area of Rodeo Drive. This included glimpses of
the homes of the rich and wealthy through the gaps in their
security/privacy fences. It was then along Sunset Strip to the
Farmers' Market where we had lunch. After lunch we had a walk
along Hollywood Blvd and then drove up to see the "Hollywood"
sign. We finished off the day with a drive around the the Music
area which consists of a number of concert halls etc. and then a
visit to the oldest part of Los Angeles, El Pueblo de Los
Angeles Historical Monument. John got us back to Tom Bradley
international Airport just after 6:00pm.
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A fellow lying on Santa Monica Beach |
A star for Raquel, my all time favourite |
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On Santa Monica Pier |
Singer, Ben Bostick, on Santa Monica Pier |
Two LAPD Officers on Hollywood Blvd |
We relaxed in the Business Class lounge until our Air New
Zealand flight left at 10:45pm. It was a 12 1/2 hour flight over
the Pacific to Auckland, and hour wait in transit before the 4
1/2 hour flight to Adelaide. We arrived in Adelaide at 10:30am
Sunday morning local time.
Saturday 3rd. June 2017
Today was lost over the Pacific as we crossed the International
Date Line
Thoughts on Cuba
* Counted 6 cars with their hoods up on the side of the freeway
as we drove back to Havana today
* Turkey Vultures hover everywhere.
* "I don't know why you tourists want to come to Cuba.
Nothing works and there are shortages of most things." - The
driver who picked up one couple from the airport.
* "Cuba has the same effect on US administrations as the
full moon has on wolves: it's an obsession!" - Wayne Smith
* Cuba lacks finesse.
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