Blogs from Trinidad, Centro, Cuba, Central America Caribbean

Cuba!! by Rachael Arriving in Havana!! We had visions of scary immigration control upon arriving in Cuba but as usual with most things on this trip it was a lot less daunting in reality. However we did have a bit of drama upon leaving the airport - we had booked into a hostel and were quite perturbed when none of the taxi drivers or any locals had heard of it...finally we were taken to a random house and discovered it was actually a casa particular -which is what we stayed in the entire time in Cuba, where you stay in a family´s home and they cook your meals for you, rather than staying in a touristy hotel. More complications followed as the owner Oscar unfortunately couldn´t have us to stay as his bathroom was broken or ... read more

Trinidad The town of Trinidad on the South Coast is an old colonial town. Again, a lot of work has been done in co-operation with url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereissteve/6045679368/" title="Trinidad by WhereIsSteve, on Flickr"img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/6045679368_b3f22310cf.jpg" width="500" height="367" alt="Trinidad" align = right Unesco in restoring some of the older buildings and this has helped to boost the tourist trade. Trinidad seems to be a popular destination with the tourists and, I guess because it is so much smaller than Havana and because the tourists are concentrated in to a smaller space, it seems far more touristy. Certainly most of the shops in the centre of town are selling souvenirs, and the restaurants seem to be more expensive and will only accept payment in CUCs. The town still has its cobble... read more

Next morning we had to get up super early to have breakfast as our bus left at 7am. We left as the sun was risng. The bus to trinidad took all day, we arrived at about 4 (the timetable says arrival at 2, but we were late). We stopped at a few places on the way for food and bathrooms. The casa in Viñales had organised a casa in Trinidad for us and they were waiting for us with a sign once more. I went with the bags and the hostess on a bicitaxi to the casa while the boys walked. It was a bumpy ride as most of the streets are cobble stone. The room was up on the second floor with a kind of balcony that was the roof of the floor below. The ... read more

People we have talked to tend not to rave about Cuba. Interesting and nice sums it up. Some of those who take tours seem not to get out and and about too much and there is sometimes a feeling that there are barriers between foreigners and tourists. After a week here we can understand the reactions we have seen and heard. Luckily for us though we are coming to a different conclusion. Not sure what it will be but, at this stage, it is all about difference. Cuba has had a communist government since the early '60s. Apart from the horns and tails, communists tend to have countries that are dull, grey and pretty boring with people scared to say anything that the government doesn't like. Right? Nothing will work and people won't really like having ... read more

Hello again beste lezer, ondertussen zitten we in Trinidad! Dit is een prachtige koloniale stat die in veel betere staat verkeert dan Havana. Mooie huizen met hoge plafonds en prachtige inrichting; luchters, 18de eeuwse zitbanken, pianos, ... echt heel mooi! Nu we dit gezien hebben, beslissen we om ook hier 2 nachten te blijven en pas morgen ochtend door te reizen naar Camaguey. Alweer een heel gezellige casa met rustige patio om wat te relaxen en bijzonder vriendelijke oudere uitbaters! s Avonds trekken we er nog even op uit en genieten bovenaan de trappen naast de kerk van een Cubaans optreden. Salsa dansen kunnen ze echt wel bijzonder goed, al goed dat wij kunnen toekijken vanop onze stoel. we keren terug, Anouk ontspant wat op de patio en ik zet me naast de oude man om ... read more

Question: Where in the world can you visit a beautiful early 19th Century Italian styled theatre, recently restored by UNECSO, where you expect to buy paraphernalia about the building in its lobby and find only books on revolution, posters about revolution, pictures about revolution, postcards showing revolutionary figures and revolutionary music. Not a theatre program in sight ! Answer: Only in Cuba ! Flying to Cuba from The USA was a long convoluted process, not being able to fly direct of course. Amy and I parted for the first time since we met up in Borneo and it felt odd to say bye bye, if only for a short while. We both flew into Mexico City airport, 2 hours apart. I flew in first and waited for her at her arrival gate. Having met up, we ... read more

Photos by Berm; Text by Alison After spending a few days back in Havana, our plan was to head eastward along the island. The weather in Havana was much cooler than we had expected and we had heard from other travellers that it was warmer farther east along the island. That was all the encouragement that we needed to make our plans. We decided to head east in greater style than by the tourist buses (which are actually quite luxurious by Cuban standards) and so we splurged on one week of car rental. Our budget didn't allow for too much luxury though, so we selected the most economical car - one that was about the size of a tin can with wheels. I had a good laugh everytime Berm climbed into the driver's seat. He ... read more