Blogs from La Habana, Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean - page 4

So today started with the all-important search for breakfast, and most importantly, COFFEE!. We have no food in the apartment and only half a bottle of water that Carmens mum left us. I still had some cash leftover from yesterdays ATM withdrawal (I didn’t take out much) so we could cover breakfast. We went back to where we found the ATM and it was attached to a bank, so we were able to convert our money to convertibles. Yaay! Even though I had to leave Jo to the business end because a) I’d left my passport at home and b) apparently two people can’t approach the counter at the same time. We split the cash and walked back to our apartment to stash some of it because it is quite a lot to be waking around ... read more

I awoke early to get ready. I checked out of my Airbnb, and then their driver took me to the airport. There was a lot of traffic, and it took long. It takes about 30 minutes normally anyways. Check in was simple, and I did a little souvenir shopping before heading to my gate. Immigration and security were not bad, taking about 15 minutes maybe. Then it was a short wait for Delta flight 648 from Havana to Atlanta. I was in first class seat 1A for the quick flight up. This was an Airbus 319 aircraft. I watched some of the film "Diehard", and enjoyed 4 gin and tonics. We arrrived early, and the whole customs and immigration process was quick. Maybe 15 minutes or so total time. I went to my connecting gate and ... read more

Forgive Me, O Travel Gods, For I Have Sinned... ...I am traveling on a package tour. My first since I was a teenager. I realized early on that I preferred to make my own decisions and what to do and where to go, and that I liked figuring how to get around. My resolve to avoid package tourism was reinforced in 2014 when I took advantage of Incheon Airport’s free stopover tours of Seoul. I regretted that decision because I didn’t feel like I made a connection with the place. So, how did I end up on a tour? Jeff’s parents - Jeff Sr. and Peggy - very kindly sponsored a family trip for the four of us to Cuba. We all wanted to experience Cuba before it truly emerges from isolation and American brands saturate ... read more

I want to share more photos of my Cuba trip. I shared some right after my return in March, but did not have time to share more. I now have a few days of down time, so I will attempt to share more. I hope that you enjoy... read more

We were blessed to sit in on a 2 hour briefing with Bruce Kleiner, Chief of Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Havana Cuba and with Julio C. Llopiz, Deputy of Public Affairs, Asst Public Affairs officer. The meeting included 70 persons. There were lots of questions afterwards. He did discuss the fact that there is still a U.S. embargo against Cuba (I did not know this) and that U.S. citizens are not allowed to travel to Cuba as tourists ( our group leader did tell us this.) There are currently 12 categories allowed for our travel, such as education, religious, etc. The future of U.S. relations was still unknown at that point. Interesting! We were only allowed to take photos outside of the U.S. Embassy. Not much to see so I included some miscellaneous photos with captions. ... read more