Blogs from La Habana, Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean

To experience the cultural aspect of Cuba, Renata and I decided to also take day trips. On our first day trip, we went to Havana, the capital of Cuba. On our tour of Havana, we visited: 1. A fort in Cuba (I don’t remember the name) 2. The Grand Theatre of Cuba 3. The National Capital of Cuba, 4. "El Floridita," a historic fish restaurant and cocktail bar. The establishment is famous for its daiquiris and for being one of the favourite hangouts of Ernest Hemingway in Havana, 5. Plaza De La Catedral, and La Catedral de la Virgen María de la Concepción Inmaculada de La Habana We also saw some fancy vintage cars and Cuban taxis. We ended the night with a visit to the Cabaret Tropicana where we were impressed with performances incorporating traditional ... read more

After our ride Friday night in the classic cars, we were ready to learn about one man’s private enterprise to literally capitalize on these flamboyant vehicles. Julio Alvarez greeted us a bit late because he already had some tourists seeing his garage. Full of good humour and passion, he had us listening raptly to his story of passion and strategy. His father was a mechanic who trained his son from an early age; however, he actually wanted him to get a better education. Julio graduated university in Mechanical Engineering and later became a specialist in computer technology, rising to CIO for a part of the government. However, when his and the country’s circumstances were right, he gave up his job and invested all of his money into restoring one classic car. Competing with the government-owned classic ... read more

In our big (for 7 people) bus, we began our tour with a visit to a nearby fruit and vegetable market. Suppliers were still hauling in bananas, papayas, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapples and more. Bustling shoppers moved quickly through the crowded aisles, making their purchases with practiced efficiency. For a few items, short line-ups slowed the pace, especially for the vendor selling plastic shopping bags, which will be re-sold in smaller markets. We climbed back into the bus for a drive-by tour of major buildings in Havana. The Capitol, seat of government, was modelled on the US Capitol, complete with a gigantic dome, which was in turn inspired by the Panthéon in France. The Cuban Capitol dates from the 1920s, when US influence was paramount. Also surpr... read more

We awoke early and had the lovely breakfast again that our host made. We got ready to go and sat around until it was time to go to the airport. The host drove us to the airport and dropped us off. The check in and security were quick and easy. The Atlanta flight didn't look good for stand by, we decided to take the Miami flight. The 30 minute flight to Miami was on Delta 650, an A-320 aircraft. We cleared for first class and I had 3 or 4 gin and tonics. Once in Miami, our customs and immigration experience was slow. It always seems to be and I really dislike the airport for that reason. Now we could have flown for free on Delta, Miami-Atlanta-Indianapolis. However it would have meant a long layover in ... read more

We awoke early and ate the delicious breakfast the host cooked. We did a lot of walking this day through the old town. For dinner, the hosts suggested a few places. One of them was near the Capitol building. It had a wait and the line was out the door so we got on the list. We waited 15 minutes or so and the line seemed to not move. We removed our names from the list and went to see about the other suggestion they gave us. Glad we did because this place was great! It was called Sociedad Asturiana Castropol Restaurant and was located across the street from the Malecon. We ended up eating three times at this place! The food was tasty, the service great, and it was a good value as well. I ... read more