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Published: December 25th 2017
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Outside the Floradita
Where Hemingway was known to hang out. Cuba! Oh Cuba how I love you. I had a fantastic time traveling throughout the western half of the island of Cuba with my friend Barb and 14 other travelers on a guided tour. Many of you may be confused as to why I would choose a guided tour and it really came down to concerns over changing diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US, my poor Spanish skills (I can buy a beer and find the bathroom, but not make reservations or take care of business), and just time pressures.
We booked our tour with Cuba Adventures and we met our fellow travelers in Havana before heading out on the road. We completed a brief walking tour of old Havana, which included a look into the various squares, churches and the sweet ass Cadillacs so many have as a result of recent economic embargoes. There was also a statue you could touch and apparently conceive soon, but I stood a good three foot away from that one!
Then we hit the road to the Vinales Valley, home to tobacco crops, beautiful scenery and free-flowing rum that turned yours truly into an very young, very silly tourist. Seriously though,
Church building material; coral
What do you do if you are a small island country in need of raw materials? Hit up the ocean! rum is so cheap in Cuba that if you aren't drunk at least half of the time, then you're just not getting your money's worth! In Vinales we were able to do the one thing I wanted to do most of all in Cuba, visit a tobacco farm and see how cigars are rolled. We lit up and enjoyed some while learning about the crop. We then joined a group going to a cave just to explore and I somehow dragged myself far up that mountain to have access to a beautiful cave, filled with stalagtites, stalagmites, and one or two bats.
After Vinales we spent a long day backtracking and heading east (Vinales was West of Havana). We stopped in the Bay of Pigs and visited their museum and hung out on the beach a bit, before heading to Cienfuegos for an overnight stay.
Then off to Trinidad! Wow, how I loved that place. We could see the ocean from the rooftop of our casa particular (most of the places we stayed were rooms, with private baths, within the homes of Cubans). Trinidad was a great mix of beauty, culture and music. I found that sitting on
Coral church
Real name I can't remember a rooftop with a (somewhat obstructed) view of the ocean, a cigar, some rum, and some good conversation from fantastic people, was my favorite thing about the trip. All of those surprised me, with my introvert ways, but I really enjoyed the company of those on the trip with us.
After Trinidad we headed back to Habana (how it is spelled locally), via Santa Clara. Santa Clara is home to the Che Gueverra museum but unfortunately I don't have pictures at the moment because I left my camera back in the bus.
What a fantastic tour! I highly recommend Cuba as a destination for anyone, whether a seasoned traveler or not. The recent policy changes have opened Cuba up to more tourism, but it hasn't been overrun yet, there is still genuine Cuban life to be appreciated and savored.
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