Blogs from Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Our host offered to give us a customized driving tour this day. It was going to be a hot one. He gave us suggestions and then we could add or subtract things. Once settled, we were on our way. He first drove us to the little town of Cojimar. This is where Hemingway got inspiration for "The Old Man and The Sea". I really liked what I was seeing here, and thought that on a return visit, maybe we'd stay here. After walking around for an hour or so, he took us to the stadium that hosted the 1991 Pan American Games. We went inside to look around and there were some track teams practicing. Next up was a visit to the Christ statue, where there were some great views of the city. After this he ... read more

Ever since I visited Havana in January 2018, I have wanted to go back. I really like it there, and love seeing it before it becomes spoiled with commercialism. This time my wife came along, and since she speaks Spanish, it was very helpful. We were wanting to do a short getaway and Havana was perfect for that. My wife was not keen on Cuba for political reasons, and while I get it, I told her that we are not going for the politics, but for the people. We headed out early on Delta flight 1575 to Atlanta on a 737-900 aircraft. In Atlanta, we ate some Panda Express for lunch. In the afternoon, we boarded Delta Connection flight 5201, a CRJ-900 to Havana. We cleared for first class on the flight and I was able ... read more

Cuba. 2019. Summary Cuba, an island of contradictions. Havana is a busy city where there are obviously people making a reasonable living and some taxi drivers etc. wearing heavy gold and using smart phones and yet you see beggars on the street and older people with lowly jobs looking impoverished. I think most people are quite industrious and willing to make money wherever they can but there appears to be working age people stood about, or queuing up for meat or something. These paradoxes also apply to the countryside but with the emphasis of more on the poorer end. Much farm work is done by horse and pony and old Russian tractors. A few farms had larger and more modern tractors but I suspect these were government owned and run by cooperatives. There are large area ... read more

Cuba Day 5 Friday A good nights sleep for me in the Classic Vueltabajo Hotel in Pinar del Rio. Room average but comfortable, others fared a bit worse I heard. The previous evening meal was very good, as have all meals so far. Salad, rice and beans, pork, chicken and other meats. I think they are trying tpyfatten us up. Today 26%, cloudy and wet at times but rain not as hard as yesterday, although glad of rain jackets. The roads were filthy and we were like drowned, filthy rats at the end of the day in the village of Pons and 100k of riding. Still loads of ponies with carts and several with men on board with lassos hooked on the saddle. Cuba, a country of contrasts with two boys and one man seen today ... read more

Cuba Day 4. Thursday 24 Jan 19 Back out of village and left along valley heading west. Undulating for 10k followed by a lump of a hill Which had us losing water to evaporation in this humid climate with little breeze. I made an error previously about there being a thousand it so old American cars. They may now even equal Turkey Vultures and be in the several thousands. We see them everywhere. Today as we ventured further west we became more rural and vintage. There were nearly as many ponies and carts as there were small tractors including three carts pulled by two oxen, two of them piled high with stones. I suppose the highlight was seeing a chap ridging his crop with two oxen and a little boy of about 4 with him. As ... read more