Blogs from Cuba, Central America Caribbean - page 15

First full day in Cuba. With our Air BnB, for a few extra dollars, Lidia will cook us breakfast! Yes. Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit make for a good meal. Kirsten has booked a guide and driver. Edinson is our guide and Michael is our driver. It is a little tight in the back seat, but the four squeeze into a blue Ford from the 50s that Michael found and restored to working condition. In restored we mean make run. The front seats were 2 bucket seats from a late 90’s Toyota. Like every old car in Cuba it definitely had a stereo system. And maybe some added electric windows. There’s no A/C, but we were not in the car that much. Basically, Kirsten and Chester would sit with one cheek on the seat, while Riley ... read more

Travel day to Havana, Cuba, was an uneventful day. Kirsten’s niece and her best friend flew down from Omaha in the morning. Kirsten specifically told Tracey and the girls to NOT check their bags. But what did they do? They checked their bags. Chester and Kirsten flew in late Friday night. The girls met us at our hotel and slept for a few hours before our 1 pm flight to Havana as they had a 5:30 AM flight. Of course our shuttle to the airport is packed and we are the first ones on and the last ones off. We get to the airport and check in and get our visas for Cuba! We were pretty much the only group that did not have a woman in a one-piece romper. Kirsten and Chester were very happy ... read more

Geo: 23.3947, -78.4052Breakfast in the hotel was free for diamond members. Then Philip finished downloading papers and graded most of them. We left our room at checkout time, 11 o'clock, but sat in the lobby for a while since check-in at the cruise ship terminal didn't start until 12:30. The concierge told us that there was nothing at the port so we should wait at the hotel. I had prearranged a transfer with Quick and Safe Transportation from the Hilton to Port Everglades for12:30. They were happy to take us early so we left the hotel closer to 12:10. The port is only about a five-minute drive. Check-in for the Pacific Princess was underway when we arrived. Not too many people were there so we walked right up to the counter going through the usual check-in ... read more

Geo: 23.1168, -82.3886Our last day. A day spent hanging around the local area. There was a guided tour of the hotel but we pitched up to find it was crowded and we couldn't hear what the guide was saying so we decided to break away and go for a walk around the local area outside of the hotel. This area was clearly more modern with more money spent on it. Still not to the standard of a city we're useful to seeing but nevertheless better kept than the old town. We intended to walk to Revolution Square but because it was 4km we decided to try a tuctuc. The driver wanted 15cuc but we thought it was too expensive so then ended up sitting by the pool reading our books instead. We had a nice relaxing ... read more

Geo: 22.6481, -79.0214Groundhog day - went for a long walk along the beach and collected some shells, then laid under our sunshade reading. Tim went in the sea a couple ot times. Only drank one pina colada today. Missed lunch, and had an ice cream instead. Then lay on a lounger by the pool until it was time to get ready for dinner. We decided to break the rules as we didn't fancy the set menu opting instead for the snack menu from which we chose Spaghetti Bolognese (and we fed the cat!) We listened to a five man classical singing act in the hotel foyer. Then off to bed for our last night in paradise... read more