There wasn’t meant to be a day 45 of our holiday but Aerolineas Argentinas ensured we got an extra - albeit unwanted - day. We had a buffet breakfast at 0730 and checked out, joining our fellow passengers in the hotel foyer to wait for the 0830 bus that AA had organised to transport us to the airport. It wasn’t altogether unexpected that nothing had shown by 0900. The hotel tried to help as best they could and we were eventually herded into a large van with broken rear doors and a female driver that had clearly never driven a van [View Full Entry]

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The day started badly and got progressively worse. Our taxi didn’t show up at 0830 and neither did Luis with our $5 key deposit. We kept the keys as a final souvenir and a concierge at a nearly hotel sorted us out with a taxi. Our driver spoke English and we talked about Panamanian life, in particular their festivals and the ever increasing Colombian drug problem that has spilled over the border into Panama. The queue wasn’t too long at the Copa Airlines desk but it still took well over an hour to check in for our flight and they couldn’t [View Full Entry]

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This was the last full day of our holiday and we only had a few things planned before we had to get packed and ready for a long trip home. We had breakfast at a cafe next to The Terrace that was similar to Denny’s but unfortunately didn’t have the hash browns that I had been craving since the first week of our holiday. We had a few coffees, 3 huge pancakes and a BLT for less than US$10. We hailed a taxi to Panama Veijo - the location of the first Panama City built from 1519 and now home to [View Full Entry]

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You can’t come to Panama without a visit to the Panama Canal so the Miraflores Locks were first on the agenda. We caught a taxi for the half hour journey (US$15) and arrived about 0745 to be greeted with the news that the visitors centre opened at 0900. We couldn’t find a cafe for breakfast so we passed the time walking down the main road to the locks to try and find a vantage point to watch the three container ships queued up pass by. Whilst not the best view, we saw a large MSC vessel pass through as P&O and [View Full Entry]

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Our taxi arrived at 0400 as arranged and we bid farewell to Gaspar and his wife who’d made the effort to get up and say goodbye. Our flight wasn’t until 0800 but we wanted to check in early so we had plenty of time to talk our way out of any issues we may have had with customs whilst trying to export paintings with no receipt and cigars of questionable origin. Plans were thrown out (again) as we were not allowed to check in until 0530. We bought a few drinks each and waited. By 0600 we’d reached the front of [View Full Entry]

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Lonely Planet said that the mirador at the top of the Jose Marti monument in Plaza de la Revolution opened at 0930 but we headed out about 0800 and walked to ensure we were the first ones up the tower. The walk was about 2km but it wasn’t too hot and we made short work of it arriving there in plenty of time to take photographs and see a wreath laying by a delegation of African politicians, complete with all the pomp and ceremony deserving of such an occasion. I was surprised at how close we were allowed to be to [View Full Entry]

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Hurricane Paloma hit central and western Cuba overnight although not with the force that was expected. We woke to almost clear skies and a hot morning. Anneris prepared another top notch breakfast and we packed our bags before walking back to Parque Vidal to try and find internet access. Both of us were feeling a little under the weather as a result of our big night so a quiet morning was in order. We spent an hour answering emails - one from mum enquiring as to our mortality on the assumption that the hurricane had caught us. We also caught up [View Full Entry]

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I woke at 0500 and started coughing - a cold had been brewing for a few days, the result I suspect of frequent rainfall and 30 degree plus temperatures. I managed a few patches of sleep until breakfast at 0800. Anneris cooked us a up an omelette with a pancake and fruit along with grapefruit juice and some great coffee. We only had one full day in Santa Clara so we headed out early to make the most of it. Parque Vidal is the centre of town but it lacked the charm of Trinidad’s two main squares but as it was [View Full Entry]

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Jo must have been up early but I slept through until breakfast at 0800. We sorted out our bill with Elizabet and by 0900 we headed out to get information about a tourist train to Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills), only to find the train was out of service. Lonely Planet recommended the local train as an alternative but it too was broken - as was one of the bridges on the way to the valley - a result of the recent hurricanes. We found a travel agency that did half day CUC9 tours by van and [View Full Entry]

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Jo had a lousy night suffering from the heat and the bloke next door was snoring. I woke just before breakfast at 0800. Elizabet phoned ahead to Santa Clara for us to book with the person from Nicholas’ list for two nights and also showed us where we could buy a bag for our assorted market junk. We were nearing the end of our travels so carrying an extra bag was far less of a hassle. The bag cost CUC 11 and easily carried my humidor and cigars, our various trinkets and heavy clothes that the weather dictated were no longer [View Full Entry]

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