http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Cuba , Este , Santiago de Cuba en-us Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:22:46 UTC Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:22:46 UTC Je sobota den p345ed huriknem. Tonda odvz do nemocnice starho pna kter bydl v nascaronem dom283 asi tatnek nascaron hostitelky. Courme po m283st283 vscaronude jsou mraky lid. Vscaronude se stoj fronty na cokoli od zmrzliny az po tuzexov zboz. Kupujeme zeleznou zsobu na hurikn. Prodava269ka ns nap345ed odmtla vpustit do obchodu a nechala ns venku http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-350681.html This is the 2nd biggest city in Cuba.We had a long travel day to get here about 8 hours. But 6 of us being on a private bus with 30 seats it wasnt too bad a ride. Well apart from the roads... lots of shakingoing on.Its also a lot hotter here. The city is surrounded by mountains so the weather basically gets trapped here. Very humid.Once we all settled into our guest houses and had din http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-342955.html Santiago de Cuba...home of the best Cuban music...but could we find anyWe were met off the bus from Trinidad by a hospitality club contact Lianne who had found us a lovely casa particular a few minutes walk from the centre of the old historic district of Santiago. We had to clamber up a small spiral staircase with our packs to get to our room. Getting up was way easier than when we tried t http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-328243.html pictures coming http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-270300.html Hi allTime to update you on the thrills and spills from Cuba.I think Amy last wrote on our last day in Trinidad. Reluctant to leave Trinidad but feeling we should move on we continued east to a city called Camaguey which is the biggest city in central Cuba. Camaguey was again very different to Havana and Trinidad. The most obvious difference was the lack of other tourists and to be honest after a http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-266105.html So on the eve of the 25th when u folks in the UK were already asleep with bellies full of turkey and mince pies we Patricia Corinna and I set off on our adventure eastwards. We arrived in Camagey rather disorientated after the 7 hr bus journey and went to the casa particular we had reserved. As soon as we got there we got our introduction to the way some ldquobusinessrdquo people try http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-235001.html Hei alle sammenDa har jeg funnet en pc som virker temmelig bra i forhold alt annet jeg har vaert borti her.... saa jeg tenkte jeg skulle skrive litt igjenDet blir litt info dere faar google videre hvis dere er interessert... dette er jo ikke noe undervisningsforumVar i forrige uke i Vinales som tidligere nevnt. Vinales ligger i provinsen Pinar del Rio som blir kalt the garden of Cuba. Det http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-223805.html After a 16 hours long overnight bus ride we arrived in Santiago de Cuba today. Of course it looks a lot different than Varadero and I am very glad about it. We are staying at a 'casa particular' which is just renting a room at a private home or apartment. It is a very common and cheap way here to find a good accomodation. Often they also offer breakfast and other food if you pay a little more. So http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193427.html I woke up at 5.30am and had asked for breakfast at 6.00am. I think Julia and Pena got drunk on the champagne last night because they were pretty rowdy and they didn't get up until 6.30am the time my taxi was booked for. Julia wrapped up a tomales for me to snack on. I'd never been up at 6.30am in Santiago it was definitely the best time of the day with the temperature just right. I literally spe http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193389.html I wanted to take a photo of my dead rat on the way to class but it was gone. I guess that's good timing seeing as it's my last day and I don't need its help with directions anymore.Today's class was another practical. Racquel took Amelia Nana and I to the Cemetary. It's magnificant and has a changing of the guard of Jose Marti's grave every 30 minutes. It's pretty impressive. A lot of famous Cuba http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193388.html Today we had a practical lesson and was really enjoyable. On Monday I told Clara how much I enjoyed a soup I tried in Colombia called 'Ajiaco'. She said they had a version of that soup in Cuba and we'd go to the markets and make the soup together. We went to the local markets where Cubans get their ration of vegetables from and found what we needed. Then the three of us sat around Raquel's dining http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193387.html No class for me today as I went on a tour to the legendary Sierra Maestra mountains I booked myself on an English speaking tour and I was told it would be me and two English speakers. They were a couple from Norway and very friendly. The rest of the group was made up of a dozen tourists from Barcelona. I've never seen so much jewellery worn on a tour. I thought it was in bad taste to flash so muc http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193386.html No class today as Clara has a medical appointment. I spent the afternoon at the Hotel Santiago swimming pool. Paula wanted to go to the beach but it would've taken forty minutes to get there and then only one of us could go swimming at a time so there would be one of us watching the bags at all times. Where's the fun in that Instead I swam drank lemon daiquiris and talked to another student Mel http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193385.html Ask me about my day. I dare you to.Apparently today was another historical day so half of Cuba shut up shop early. Do these people ever work The streets were packed by this stage and noisy kisses were being blown my way every ten minutes by sleazy Cuban men. It got to the point where I told every one of them to fuck off. They probably didn't understand me with their limited English but it made http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193384.html I had my first dive in Cuba Two reef dives lasting an hour each. The water was saltier than I've experienced and stung the hell out of my eyes. Some the fish I saw were amazing one looked like it was made of mother of pearl and another looked like an RHI lightshow.I've never seen so many lizards as I have in Cuba. Bucanero had large iguanas walking around the dining tables like how you'd see ca http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193383.html It's 2am and I just got home from Carnival. Katrin Paula and I went with some Cuban guys to an outdoor concert to see two Cuban Reggaeton and Salsa groups perform. When we got to Raquel's they warned us not to wear any jewellery or to bring a purse because there are lots of bag snatchers. So of course I was on guard for the rest of the night to the point of paranoia. When we finally got to the v http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193382.html I survived my first week as a student in Cuba I've had a good time but I'm ready to leave after one more week. I received an email from Flight Centre telling me they couldn't change my Havana to Mexico City flight so I'll have to change it at Cubana Air on Monday. He said there are vacancies so there shouldn't be any problems.I saw Julia preparing food today and noticed the plantain fritters I li http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193381.html I got to sleep in til 9am as class started at 10am today. Amelia and Paula didn't get home until 7am. I'm glad I left at 2am there's no way I'd bounce back from that. After class I cancelled my salsa class and Paula Katrin and I caught a truck the transport the locals cram into to La Estrella where there is the Castillo del Morro castle and a small beach. We took a bus back home in time for d http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193380.html My Spanish class is made up for three students me Paula who is Swedish and Amelia who is also Swedish. Amelia's father is Chilean. She said when she was growing up her father spoke to her in Spanish but she replied to him in Swedish so while she can understand Spanish she can't speak it properly. The other student Paula can speak some Spanish so that just leaves me the idiot sitting t http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193378.html Spanish class started at 8.30am. It ends at 1.30pm. I have lunch at my casa. It's a huge meal fruit salad rice beans some kind of meat and banana fritters for dessert there's no way I'm going to lose kgs here. And it's mangos mangos everywhere I'm loving itI have dance lessons at 4.00pm where I'm learning 'Casino Salsa' which is the Cuban form of salsa and apparently different from othe http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193377.html It was a 4am rise to catch my flight to Santiago de Cuba. The plane was so dodgy I had to carry my hand luggage on my lap because there was no room in the overhead storage or under the seat in front of me.I arrived at my host family's house at 8am after two attempts at the address by the unofficial taxi driver. His passenger door flew open twice on the journey. Good thing I ride in the back. My c http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-193376.html Things had stuff up with my credit card and it had caused me stay longer in Dominican Republic which had shorten my stay in Cuba... Oh well i did eventually made it to Cuba a few days afterwards. Traveling the communist way was definately a rocky one i thought it was my last one in all honestly but eventually i landed safely in havana and then santigo de cuba which everyone applaud because the http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-166505.html My promised ldquo1012rdquo hour journey from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in the South East of the country actually took 16 hours Cuba is Long Itrsquos longer from tip to tail than the British mainland and my journey was similar to London to Aberdeen.Not much to say about the journey really. We travelled first along an empty motorway stopping at a few places on the way and then the roads http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-122242.html Hi everyoneWell it has been tough trying to find an internet that works in this beautiful part of the world and as for loading photos onto CDs I am not sure that I will get to do that till I get to Mexico City in just over a week. I cant use my hotmail at the moment as it keeps crashing the system so if you need to contact me please use my bigpond address simone.guildbigpond.comMy first day I http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-91562.html Le 22 juillet 2006. Apres 4 heures d'avion 6 heures d'attente a une station d'autobus et 852 km d'autobus le trajet a dure 15h30 de nuit...assez penible nous avons abouti a Santiago de Cuba Chose plutot rare dans ce beau pays toutes les reservations effetuees du Canada ont ete conservees et l'autobus est parti a l'heureNous sommes donc arrives a Santiago de Cuba pendant le grand carnaval http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-78735.html Well Santiago was a little disappointing in some ways. For a city of half a million people it felt surprisingly like a little village complete with horses and carts in the streets and roosters to wake me up nice and early. Also there was a lot more attention from people who wanted to sell me things. The music wasnt exactly spilling onto the streets in quite the way Id been led to expect http://www.travelblog.org//Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/Este/Santiago-de-Cuba/blog-56898.html