http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Cuba , Oeste , La Habana en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:13:05 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:13:05 +0000 This is an old story never before toldA small trickle of blood collected on my neck as I tried desperately to recall the Spanish for ldquostop humping my leg you stupid dogrdquoIn all my confusion the words failed to come and that mangy mutt just kept doing its thing against my bare sweaty leg. Its owner seemed to neither notice nor care and she brushed me off despite my pleas for hel http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-430892.html Hi everybodyHeard about the yellow scorpion treatment in Cuba for cancer...well..I hope it works so far I went twice this year just to get. Went to Habana and got to Labiofam Lab which is close to the airport. A really a nice doctor name Nidius Cruz gave me a 4 little glass 20 ml size bottles valid for 3 month and just mixed with distilled water. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-430612.html Cuba is more than a beach. Susan LordOkay so today was a whirlwind of emotion. After breakfast a few of us grabbed an early taxi so we could go to the absolutely gorgeous Playa Santa Maria Santa Maria Beach for the entire day. The weather was beautiful and the hot sun beating down definitely signified a great day at the beach. The taxi ride there was a bit awkward because our cabbie got http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-429012.html Today was Robbyn's and my last day in Havana before we met up with our tours. We were going to look in the museums but as the weather was so hot we decided to take a stroll down the Malecon We firstly stopped at Castillo de San Salvador which was empty apart from us but gave us good views of the bay. Then we thought we would walk down to the Hotel National. It seemed like a good idea at the time http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-428237.html On our second day in Havana we got up to the sounds of the street a very loud cockerel and a guava lorry. The lorry driver gave me and Robbyn both some guavas but when I tasted it I realised why he was giving them away Ugh We caught a tour bus for a city tour of Havana which then crashed into a lamp post We then had to wait to catch another bus very eventful Then we took another bus which t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-428226.html Today me and Robbyn arrived in Havana Cuba. The weather was hot and the street were lined with palm trees It was fabulous We took a cab from the airport after extremely lax security surprisingly to our apartment for the next few days. The cars were ancient and the streets narrow but and it was something of a culture shock. Still we settled in and then took a walk out into Central Havana to ex http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-428097.html We arrived in La Habana on Thursday 23rd of July late at night. So we had stepped from USimpacted Costa Rica into the very different world of cummunistic Cuba.Used to but also kind of tired of our usual accomodation in the hostels we were really amazed by the friendly welcome at midnight in the beautiful casa particolar Casa Dulce situated in an old and nicely clean prepared colonial house in H http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-427967.html looking for travel friends to a swingers party allinclusive in a private house in la habana cuba next august 79 . a lot of fun very nice people erotic massage course included. more info bodyworks101hotmail.com http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-424233.html It is a sin not to do what one is capable of doing. Jose MartiToday was fairly busy but also relaxing because we had a full day of free time. After waking up at a surprisingly early hour considering I had been out at the lsquoKarachirsquo club until 3am myself and a few friends headed to Old Havana once again to do some shopping and exploring on our own. We grabbed a taxi to Plaza de http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-421802.html A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past. Fidel CastroTodayrsquos schedule was a little bit different than usual. We boarded the bus at 830am no morning lecture and set out on the 2.5 hour drive from Cubarsquos northern coast where Havana is located to the southern coast to Playa Giron more commonly known as lsquoThe Bay of P http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-412271.html As I have said before the ever more sophisticated weapons piling up in the arsenals of the wealthiest and the mightiest can kill the illiterate the ill the poor and the hungry but they cannot kill ignorance illness poverty or hunger. Fidel CastroAt the start of the Cuban Revolution one of Fidel's goals was to eliminate illiteracy in Cuba especially because 43 of the people in the country http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-411259.html LLegamos a la Habana y nos hospedamos en casa de familia en el barrio el Vedado. No existen los hostels. Hay familias que han heredado casas y pagan un monto mensual al estado por rentar habitaciones a los turistas. Aunque el alquiler se cobra en dlares y haciendo el cambio debera ser buena plata la que se queda esta gente es tan alto el impuesto que deben pagar al estado que no les alcanza http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-410233.html ldquoLet me say at the risk of seeming ridiculous that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.rdquo Ernesto Che GuevaraToday was my favourite day in Havana yet First of all this morning our class was honoured to have the famous Cuban scholar Rafael Hernandez coauthor of The History of Havana as our guest lecturer. He talked quite a bit about how the geographica http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-409210.html Freedoms like privileges prevail or are imperiled together. You cannot harm or strive to achieve one without harming or furthering all. Jose MartiToday after my two scrambled eggs for breakfast we had a lecture by Dr. Jorge Mario Sanchez on the impacts of remittances tourism and the Obama factor on Cuban society. During the Special Period of the 1990s remittances U.S. dollars sent http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-406554.html Condemn me it does not matter history will absolve me. Fidel CastroToday we awoke bright and early for our first lecture in Havana about Cuban Independence and Democracy. Our classroom is on floor twentythree of ENSAP in a very hot and stuffy room. The two air conditioners at the back were working their hardest I'm sure but not to the point of noticeably cooling the room down. Our lectu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-405655.html Y t apareces en mi ventanasuave y pequea con alas blancas.Yo ni respiro para que duermasy no te vayas. Silvio Rodriguez 'Mariposas'Today I awoke from one of the most refreshing sleeps I've ever had away from home. The night wasn't overly hot so I was still nestled underneath my two thin sheets as I awoke to the quiet bustling of the Havana streets below. Another beautiful sunny day in C http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-405348.html In truth men speak too much of danger. Jose MartiI have arrived Touching down at the Jose Marti International Airport 15 km southwest of Havana was cause for a huge personal sigh of relief. I had successfully lasted the 1am fourhour Coach Canada bus ride from Kingston to the Toronto Pearson Airport and then the 3.5 hour flight from Toronto to Cuba and I thankfully did it all without http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-404750.html a wonderful stay in havana if and when you are headed to havana be sure to look up Jos Enrique. He has an incredible flat for rent as a casa particular but unlike most casas this is very private clean and secure. Drinking coffee with Jose every morning helped me to regain some spanish. He was very patient with my lack of spanish looked out for my well being and helped me to form the perfe http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-402059.html a wonderful stay in havana if and when you are headed to havana be sure to look up Jos Enrique. He has an incredible flat for rent as a casa particular but unlike most casas this is very private clean and secure. Drinking coffee with Jose every morning helped me to regain some spanish. He was very patient with my lack of spanish looked out for my well being and helped me to form the p http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-402049.html HAVANA IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HEMINGWAYSecond only to the iconic images of Che which appear everywhere in Cuba from coffee mugs and Tshirts to graffiti and Government billboards are the images of Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway is a legend in the Havana area and three of the main tourist venues in Old Havana are links to him first is the Hotel Ambos Mundos on Obispo Street where he wrote ldquoFo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Oeste/La-Habana/blog-388464.html