Cuba..it´s a wrap...Ciao/Adios to all from this wonderful country....

                                                    Havana, road trip through Vinales and the beaches of Varadero


On the morning that we were planning to leave Havana by bus to Vinales in the eastern peninsula, our Casa owners (Ana & Rodolfo), decided that they would go there for the weekend too... so they invited us to join them in their vehicle for the same price as the bus... fabulous!  What a great invitation!  So off we went through beautiful terrain with our own built in tour guides...

Rodolfo took us straight to our reserved Casa where we got settled before meeting them later in town.


View from our Casa.


Street scene with bikes, pedestrians and oxen all in the same area.

That night, we went to the Artex bar that they were familiar with.  It had great Cuban music.  Later we went to a dance bar where we twirled away to salsa and rock music.  Shayne with Ana and Yvonne with Rodolfo.  Was great fun!  They sure can dance!

The next day Ana & Rodolfo invited us to join them again at one of their favourite beaches north of town. What a gorgeous ride past remarkable mountains...

Playa Jutias, is 1 1/2 hours from Vinales following rough roads, windy roads, small towns with lots of oxen
pulling carts and oxen working in the fields.
In order to access the beach, you have to cross a causeway that has a guard.  Ana had to register with him because she is Cuban.  Some beaches still do not allow Cubans to be on them... this was one that she could go to.  And what a gorgeous beach it was!!!



Had some good snorkels here seeing coral, starfish and camouflage fish.





It has a nice restaurant where we shared a meal with our two friends...

Then the rum came out, on the beach in a 26er, 2 glasses and a pop can.  They mixed and poured and remixed for us to enjoy a homemade pina colada on the beach.  Yum!!



Our time together with our wonderful new friends was coming to an end... back to Vinales...

Left Vinales the next day and headed to Havana in a 1952 Ford taxi.



As we were leaving town, our driver kept stopping to pick other people up.  In the end, we had 3 other people
plus a dog in the trunk.  The first hour was uneventful, but then .....the car made an emergency stop when smoke started pouring out the dash...seems some wires were overheating.  We were worried we wouldn't make our bus connection to Varadero but he kept reassuring us that we would soon be on the road and there was nothing to worry about .... in about 10 minutes we went on our way again ...the dog managed to escape the trunk while we were pulled over....we noticed her and the sack rolling away down the shoulder of the road... Ha.

Cubans have learned to be resourceful with everything they own... they can fix anything!!!

The Autopist (freeway) from Vinales to Havana

Once in Havana, we tried to bargain a taxi driver down to take us to Varadero... no luck this time, so we took the Viazul bus instead.  Three hours later we were at the Varadero bus stop with Lidia, our new Casa owner, waiting for us holding up a sign with our names on it.  She took us to her Casa surrounded by beautiful gardens and outdoor living space - All for $30 / night and 4 blocks from the beach.


Casa Lustre  - Calle 21, 4th Avenida y Autopista #402


Our garden breakfast spot


Our room entrance



Our breakfast frittata along with fruit, toast, coffee and juice!!





Lidia, our Varadero Casa owner, was a nuclear scientist and was on the design team for that nuclear power plant we mentioned several weeks ago in Cienfuegos....she is a great lady.  She no longer works in that field because
she is able to make more money working in the tourist industry than as a scientist.  Ha!

During our travels throughout Cuba, we asked many people about the economics of the island.  Most were consistent in saying that the average wage here is under $50 / month!!!  Consequently, those that are able and have marketable skills (ie speak another language), can earn more working in the resorts or in private Casas than in their area of expertise.

Our last few days in Varadero were spent mainly at the beach.

Mi Cuba es tu cuba...and it has been a remarkable 50 day trip through this fantastic country...Cubans are warm, generous and loving.... We'll be back, for sure!!

Ciao Yvonne and Shayne

PS - if you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask.


It has been a pleasure showing you the beautiful sites of this wonderful country!!

Cuba ....the Isla Juventud experience... and, off to Havana

                                                  Isla de la Juventud and a flight to Havana

Our first night here on the island of youth (Isla de la Juventud) was an interesting expereince again... we walked around this lovely little port town of Nueva Gerona to find a newly restored pedestrian walkway in the heart of town.  After finding a place for dinner, pizza tonight, we watched an altercation happening at a nearby table. Fists were flying, lots of yelling, people jumping up to help... The Policia eventually arrived...  all over a lovers spat between 2 Cubans and the jealous boyfriend, as his girl hustled a tourist. 

Regarding the open sexuality in Cuba... young girls already know how to excite the tourists to either get free drinks, free gifts, free sex and ultimately a marriage to take them away.  Within minutes they attach themselves to someone and start cuddling, grinding, lap dancing... and so it goes.

****  Heat is 'catastrophic' here in this mountainous, lush island.  It just explodes..instant sweat...


Our plan was to stay a few more days on this island then take the ferry back to the mainland (directly south of Havana)  so we went to the ferry terminal to buy a ticket.  The whole setup was very confusing for us with poor signage and directions along with hundreds of people lining up in random spots.  So, Yvonne yelled out "Hablo Ingles?"  As our experience continues to be, a woman stepped up to help us, immediately.  She ended up taking
us to the front of the queue and translating for us.  She found out that we could indeed take a plane directly to Havana (25 minutes) instead of a 5 hour ferry ride to the mainland and then several hours north by bus to Havana.  Sold!!!   We have found that whenever we truly need help, 'a guardian angel' always appears!

So, later in the evening we grabbed our packs and took a taxi to the airport to fly to Havana.  Our 'new' airport friend, phoned a recommended Casa for us once we arrived in Havana.  Great!  We took a 25 minute taxi ride to this beautiful colonial building with a terrific patio on the second floor. 

The Ana Colonial outside and inside..

Many homes in Cuba are very long and narrow like this picture indicates, with rooms off the main walkway.  Our bedroom was upstairs.

It turns out, our casa owner, Ana, was a child of the Revolution.  She was an 11 year old girl in 1957 and ran messages for Fidel, Raul and Che in the mountains of their hideout...even her parents didn´t know...Ha...we got to touch the hand of someone who has touched Fidel. Cool!

Havana is a gorgeous, bustling, vibrant, noisy city.  It is definitely a change from the more personal nature of
the residents in smaller towns.  No one here wants to really talk to you, they just want your business, like every big city!

A typical street scene with old cars everywhere.

A meat shop




Jose Marti Memorial in the Revolution Square

We really enjoyed the 2 1/2 hour on/off bus tour around Havana on an open air double decker bus.  It is
well worth the time to see the entire city. 

Ciao!

Yvonne y Shayne

Cuba .. from the high seas off Cuba

                         Leaving land in Cienfuegos, sailing through the Cayo Largo and Cayo Campus. Arriving at Isla de la Juventud

Hmm, can you sing this tune....

......6 days on a creaky boat, with 2 Germans to keep it afloat...thus was our voyage off the coast of Cuba from Cienfegous to Cayo Largo and Isla de la Juventud.........

The first hour after departing Cienfuegos was great leaving the bay and past Punta Gorda at the farthest end of the malecon.


Almost ready to leave...


Our Captain and Co-captain


Punta Gorda... was quite stormy when we left

Our route was sailing through the Canarreos Archipelago in the southern part of Cuba with our first stop
being at Cayo Largo.  Due to stormy seas we ended up staying there for several days.


Marina at Cayo Largo and our boat - a Bavaria 46C

Our first sunset in dock.

We explored a few beaches while we were on this resort island...


Playa Sirena and Playa Paraiso seemed to go on forever.



Eventually left Cayo Largo for Cayo Campus 8 1/2 hours sail away.  Due to Yvonne's disposition to sea-sickness, she got the best seat on the boat... in the bow, front and centre... Yahoo!


She loved this spot...

We put a 50 kg test fishing line out to catch some dinner... our first catch was a really big old barracuda
that we threw back (too tough to eat and poisonous to humans when they are that big!  Huh!)



Our second throw gave us a nice 40 cm blue fin tuna.


This little guy gave us really tasty filets for dinner.

After our catch we continued on our journey to Cayo Campus.





Here's a look at the inside of this beautiful boat.  Sleeps 10, has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with showers
and this is the kitchen and dining area.


Our comfy queen bedroom.

After a stormy night we headed out again towards the large Cuban Island, Isla de la Juventud.  During this section of the journey our captains threw out a tow line and buoy so that we could get into the water with our mask and snorkel.  As soon as we entered, a pod of dolphins surfaced around us.  We could hear them under water and could see them jumping.  Was absolutely fabulous to experience these amazing creatures in their home.




Approaching Isla de la Juventud



Traveling down the large river channel towards dock.


Docked at Nueva Gerona on Isla de la Juventud.

What an adventure this has been!  Wouldn't have changed any of it... well maybe the sea-sickness!  Ha.

We walked around this quaint little port town before taking a taxi to the famous Presidio Modelo.  This prison, built in 1926 could hold up to 8000 prisoners and was where Fidel Castro and his family were imprisoned for 2 years from 1953-1955.   It was eventually closed in 1967.  Google it for more info.




The inside of a cell block with a guard tower in the centre.


Here, Shayne is standing inside one very small cell...


After a final group dinner in Nueva Gerona, we said good-bye to our new sailing friends!  Auf wiedersehen!

It has indeed been a great experience with 40 knot winds, thunder and lightning, getting grounded on 5 sand bars, while trying to go through a canal, 4 metre waves...ah - the joys of sailing!!  Loved it!

Adios S and Y.