Back in Havana! This time we got to visit El Moro, a fortress built to protect the city from pirates. Also, we walked around the old city (La Haban Vieja), visiting various plazas and getting a good feel of the place. Havana is definately more wealthy than the rest of Cuba. You can see it in the way people dress, the state of the buildings, etc. The rural areas have little exposure to tourism, so there is no way for those people to get their hands on the CUCs (the currency foreigners use). The city is massive and very crowded. The [View Full Entry]

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The day we left Santiago De Cuba it had started to rain. We were all very happy to leave as none of us liked the place. I can't tell you exactly why. Nothing bad happened. It was more about the feel of the place. It was just very dodgy. The drive to Baracoa, which is on the east coast, was quite a long one. We stopped in the town of Guantanamo for a break. (the town, not the detention centre). The road outside of Guantanamo is very secure - there was no stopping to take photos. I tried to capture 1 [View Full Entry]

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This is the 2nd biggest city in Cuba. We had a long travel day to get here - about 8 hours. But 6 of us being on a private bus with 30 seats, it wasn´t too bad a ride. Well, apart from the roads... lots of shakin´going on. It´s also a lot hotter here. The city is surrounded by mountains so the weather basically gets trapped here. Very humid. Once we all settled into our guest houses and had dinner we met up for a walk into the city centre. Our guide told us that this place had seen some people [View Full Entry]

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Someone dug a whole in the ground and called it Camaguey. Well, not quiet that bad, but the place is a bit of a dump. Apparently I wouldn't feel that way if I could spend more time there - so I've been told. But on the 2 hours or so that I got to spend in the town, I have to say I wasn't that impressed with it. The city itself has some nice buildings that have been beautifully restored. It is also the place where many of Cuba´s artists reside. We visited a photographer´s studio, a sculptor´s place and also [View Full Entry]

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The road from Santa Clara to Trinidad is apparently the worst we would need to experince for the whole trip. This is good, because the road was seriously bad. I don´t think there are a lot of roadworks that go on. Perhaps it´s because there aren´t that many cars on the road? It is quite funny to see wide, major highways with no cars, or just one or two. It was quite a scenic drive and we stopped on a moutaintop lookout to have lunch. The Cuban landscape is quite stunning... very lush and green. We arrived in Trinidad late in [View Full Entry]

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I think Merryn and I have quite easily adapted the Cuban approach to time. I had thought of getting up really early and taking a walk through the old town of Havana, but instead, kept sleeping. Getting going was a slow process and we just took all the time in the world to get ready, have a leasurly breakfast, and then meet the rest of the group for the ´real´start of the trip. 2 people were still missing - they had visa problems and would be meeting us in Trinidad. We had a massive bus all to ourselves. It is specifically [View Full Entry]

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Hi all. We are alive and well. It took a few days to get to a place with internet. My mobile phone also doesn´t work here, so Irene or Nick or Eugene, if you can let my mum know I´m alive and having fun, that would be much appreciated. I can´t say much about Havana. We got there late in the afternoon, had dinner, went for drinks, then bed, then got up in the morning the next day and left town. Hopefully we´ll get a day or half a day to visit the place at the end of the trip. The [View Full Entry]

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It is unfortunate that one must go to a place like this - but it´s the closest town to the airport (apart from Cancun which is even worse). If you like being surrounded by bogan Americans, very few actual Mexicans, paying at least tripple for food and drinks that you pay in other Mexican towns, then this is the place for you. Playa Del Carmen exists only for the American tourist who thinks that they are getting a true Mexican experince here. Are you getting the sense that I don´t like it here? Tonight is our farewell dinner. And there is [View Full Entry]

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We took a very early bus out of Merida and headed out to Chichen Itza - another set of amazing ruins. Although exhausting to get up at 5.00am, it was worth beating the crowds. We were at the site around 8.30am and got to see a lot of the various temples and ruins without hoards of people. By lunch time the place was packed. Apparently only about 10% of the site has been excavated to date with most of the building still covered by the jungle. Unlike the various ruins in Guatemala and Honduras, we weren´t allowed to climb any in [View Full Entry]

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Merida is a very touristy town. Busy, loud, and apparently very safe. We got here last night and basically just went out to dinner. Today was fantastic. We went off to swim in the Centotes - basically water holes in caves. The water was beautiful and warm and the most amazing shades of blue or green, depending on the way the light fell. The only issue we had was with the transport there. Well, the main transport was private vans - no issue there. But we got to some village in the middle of nowhere and took horse drawn carriages along [View Full Entry]

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