Cuba Visit 2016

Matanzas/Varadero Arrival

Feb 9 … I had to put up with the same bullshit, in Varadero airport, as last year -- took me an hour to get out of there! Lots of questions, misunderstandings until I finally got it across to them that I lived in Canada. I found out later, when renewing my visa in Cienfuegos, the problem is that my travel insurance is on a Canadian company but my passport is American which causes the confusion. Live and learn!

We stayed at Villa Loreto -- nice room, great lighting, full size fridge with ice tray but it never got cool and on the 3rd day it rattled loud constantly so we unplugged it. Martha was healing from a broken ankle. She spoke fair English. Noisy busy street one block away (the casa was on the playa side of Matanzas, about 4 or 5K from downtown). She said breakfast was fine but supper would be hard for her so we’d need to eat out. She arranged for a taxi and a casa for Jesse and JF (Brian’s daughter and hubby) who would be arriving in Santa Clara on the 12th.

We ate supper at a restaurant right around the corner -- the Bukan -- fine dining, excellent food and service.

Temps were really cool -- 12-15 C (53-59F) during the day plus real breezy!

Feb 12 ... Jesse and JF landed in Santa Clara at 1:30pm. They arrived here at 5:15pm.

$130 for 400K round trip. The driver took all of us to their casa which was very nice and quieter than ours.

Then we walked to the Bukan restaurant for supper -- $43, including tip, for appetizers and meal each, plus 2 rums and 3 beers CHEAP!  Jesse and JF were very impressed and ate heartily! (More about this great restaurant later)

Feb. 13 … We took a taxi to Rio Canimar ($10). We rented a motor boat for an hour ($40 per BOAT, not per person.) We had a great time! Brian drove first but refused to turn around where we were supposed to. This upset Jesse, as she didn’t want us to end up in a Cuban jail, so she made him switch with her and drove 1/2 way back, JF drove the rest of the way. We saw lots of pelicans!

Back at the main building, we watched a show put on by the locals which involved dancing and drums. Interesting!  

He's having way too much fun!

                                         

Playa Larga

Feb. 14 ... We got a taxi, for the 4 of us, to Playa Larga ... 10am ($80/123K). We arrived at noon to Hostal Juaquinillo. Owner Julio was very sweet, accommodating and spoke very good English! The rooms were nice but not much storage. It was very noisy because neighbors played loud music all day until 10pm. Biting mosquitoes in the room didn’t help us sleep either!

We went to the bank to exchange money. Arriving back to the casa, Brian counted his money and found the clerk gave him $32 too much. He said he'd return it the next day. Well, later, she showed up at the casa crying. The bank was going to dock her 2 months pay! Brian explained he was coming back, then he gave her the extra money and she cried from relief -- poor girl was really upset!

Feb. 16 ....  9am. We’re off to the Parque Nacional Cienaga de Zapata several K from Playa Larga. We went to the bat cave first. Climbed a makeshift ladder down to it -- very scary going down for me. Not too bad going back up. Saw hummingbirds, woodpeckers, terrapins -- no snakes (thank god)! We did the tour through VERY rocky/coral terrain -- climbing involved about 2 feet up or down coral rock. You better have sturdy footwear and strong ankles! We stopped 1/2 way for 30 minutes, for diving/snorkeling which the kids did while we watched/rested. We were back to the casa by 1pm. 

     

Feb. 17 ... JF went to the beach this morning, came back with sand flea bites all over his legs, Jesse has mosquito bites all over her back from yesterday. They had applies insect repellent but it didn’t help at all. Poor kids!

 9:30 am ... off to the crocodile farm ( Criadero de Cocodrillos). 10 minute drive. We took photos of Brian in front of our 1954 (year he was born) Chevy taxi -- "2 antiques". There were tree rats (sooo cute) in a cage with an iguana. We toured all the craft shops/tiendas. There were hens with baby chicks everywhere! Jesse wants some chicks now -- haha.

Got to the croc area which is all fenced in with chain link. There were about 3 dozen in all sizes. Most didn't move until feeding time. Then they crawled, very slowly, over each other to get the food. Took lots of photos and Brian took a video. I took a photo of an odd coconut tree that grew lengthwise before growing upward. We were back by 11:30 am.

Cienfuegos

Feb. 18 ...  Left Playa Larga 9am, arrived Cienfuegos 10:30am -- $45 taxi for all four of us.

Our casa (Casa Colonial) absolutely gorgeous! It's a historical house -- very "rich" indeed!

         We took the kids to the main square (Parque Marti) and down the craft street. They loved the museum -- Urban Historic Center of Cienfuegos -- with the bell tower on top. They went all the way up while we sat in the square and rested. They liked the theater -- Teatros Tomas Terry, too. Both were very interested in various art galleries and shops.

2 Bici-taxi drivers took us to a nice place that served STEAK (Brisas del Mar). Service was sooooo slow -- got there at 5:30 pm, finally left at 8:00p! But food was excellent!

Feb. 19 … Jesse and JF off to Santa Clara at 930 am /taxi only $40 for 200K! Then to our next casa -- Hostal Ariel y Baby. Wonderful people, nice place, full size fridge. Nice location for $30 per night. But it was very noisy -- loud talking after 9pm, loud music some nights, and meals were always 1/2 hour to an hour late -- flies and mosquitos = new bites every day!

Yay! We found out Villa Nora can take us on March 1^st for $30 per night for a month. We found this casa last year and loved it but they couldn’t fit us in when we first arrived in Cienfuegos. It will be soooo nice not to have to pack/unpack every few days!!!

EEK!! -- Evening ... started to take a drink of my iced tea and saw a tiny lizard floating in the last dredges of it!  It was the length of my little finger but only 1/2 the width lengthwise -- real slender. Yikes amighty!  

Feb. 28 ... chilly morning again. We went to the Museo Historico Naval -- very interesting history about September 1957 when naval officers rebelled against the Batista regime. No charge for the guided tour, or to take pics. 

Villa Nora in Punta Gorda

VILLA NORA/PUNTA GORDA

March 1^st … Nora, and her daughter Norita, speaks no English. They are the most loving people, we felt like family right away. Julie (the housekeeper) speaks a little English. She is very animated and funny.  She lives in Cruces which is 40 K one way. She travels by bus every day, and makes only $30 CUC per month!

We love that the store is only 1 1/2 blocks away and the Cadeca is right across the street and Juan Carlos, the guard, speaks English! The neighborhood is very much like the 50's suburbs in America. Large ranch house type homes with well cared for lawns and wide sidewalks.

March 2 ... Best sleep I've had since we arrived in Cuba -- very quiet at night! And no flies due to screened windows!

March 8 ... Out on a walk, we heard music. There was a live concert at the Culture Center from noon to 1pm. We stopped and watched. Great fun watching everyone dancing, like the Twist, but music was soooo loud! Turned out they were celebrating International Women's Day -- music coming from every direction all afternoon! I remembered this from last year and I find it great fun! Looking forward to it next year.

The door to our room.

   

March 9 … Went to Immigration to renew my visa, not as long a wait as I thought. We got there at 10:15am. One guy took a looong time to get processed. Next guy took 20 minutes, then my turn at 11:00am. There was a problem with my travel insurance because it was on a Canadian company and I have an American passport. I was going to have to go to some kind of agency to have verification. Then I told them Brian had the same insurance and his was ok. They called him to the back office, he showed our marriage certificate, told them I lived with him in Canada. He showed his insurance card -- they saw the card numbers matched and all was ok. Rest of process took 10 minutes, out by 11:30am. Whew!!

March 12 ... Brian has been walking around a couple times a day, stopping to visit anyone outside. The neighborhood is getting to know him -- the Cadeca guard, neighbors across the street where a Canadian lives from December through the first of April -- he brings 6 bags and even his own 28" TV!  Starting to feel like home here!

Also, we both love peanuts and there's peanuts everywhere -- salted or honey roasted! We didn’t find any last year.

March 16 ... Ariel and Baby's (our previous casa here) son Roy and his girlfriend Yami took us to Laguna Guanaroca to see the flamingos. $10 per person ( the kids waited for us because Yami is afraid of boats). It took less than an hour to walk 1K to the boats, take the ride to the flamingos, and back. There was a group of 5 from France that went with us.

The flamingos were very cool! We didn't know they could fly! They are very long when stretched out in flight -- about 6 feet, and the wing span almost the same. The pelicans were funny to watch diving. They'd klunk, head first, into the water then flip right side up real quick. It was comical.

We'd left at 10am and returned by 1:30pm. Roy charged us $20 but B gave him $25 since they waited while we were out on the boat. 

    

FUMIGATION:

Neighborhoods are routinely fumigated, for mosquitoes, one day a week for each neighborhood. Trucks drive down the street and the spray (fog) comes out the back -- you better get out of the way! Individual homes and stores are also treated weekly. The stores close down for an hour, doesn't matter what time of day it is. At the homes, you have to go outside for an hour. Nora, Brian and I sat on the front porch with a nice breeze blowing. We chatted and learned some more Spanish.

March 19 … We went to another concert at the Cultural center -- same band -- seemed to be for Seniors, everyone in our age group. They played all rock 'n' roll, mostly American, and those oldsters were getting it on! Brian and I danced (well he looked like he was having seizures) to 3 songs and it wore me out! La Bamba, Ghostbusters, and I Feel Good.

March 22 ... Obama here yesterday. People here say they don't need Americano life. They eat, free school, etc. Obama = blah, blah, blah.

Trinidad / Crab Migration!

March 24 ... left Cienfuegos at 10:15am (taxi = $50) arrived Guajimico 11:00am to give it a look for next year’s trip. Nice seaside village with 50 cabins and kayak/catamaran rentals, but lots of steep streets/sidewalks to get around. Left there at 11:30am. On the road to Trinidad, along an 8K stretch, there were 100's of crabs crossing the road and 100's of dead ones who didn’t make it. They were as big as a man's hand! There have been many instances when they have flattened tires and caused skidding. We skidded a couple times which freaked out all of us -- driver included! There was a string of bicycle riders and the girls were screaming, a couple of the guys, too!    

Here is an interesting video that shows the awe and horror of crab migration:

Crab Migration

Arrived in Trinidad 12:10 noon.

B went to see The Way of the Cross Procession, a religious ceremony that passes through the streets of Trinidad, every year on Good Friday, as part of the Easter celebrations. The procession was apparently designed originally to trick looting pirates, and it follows a route marked by crosses.

I didn’t go as I’m not a fan of crowds and the streets of Trinidad are crowded enough on a good day.  

                                              

    

March 25 ... finally booked Hotel Hanabanilla, had to do it through a travel agency-- $132 for 2 nights with meals.

March 26 ... left Trinidad at 10am (taxi = $80), arrived Hotel Hanabilla at 11:40am. It's out in the middle of nowhere, weird!!

However, our room was poolside, on the 2nd floor, so it was noisy all day! Same thumping bass tune over and over again all day long. Finally stopped at 5pm.

Lunch isn't included with the package and would cost $6 per person. Breakfast is 7am - 930am and supper is 7p. The snack bar serves full meals for $3 each or a grilled ham & cheese sandwich for $1.25 -- it was actually very good -- and closes at 4p.

Breakfast choices were 2 choices of meats -- small rounds of a kind of smoked sausage, and some kind of 'mystery meat'. Hard-boiled egg or scrambled, vast array of fruits (no bananas), and 4 kinds of breads, plus coffee and tea.

We went down to the boats at 10am for a tour of the lake and the waterfall. One hour ride, the boat vibrating the entire time as the motor was in the middle of the boat, beautiful scenery. Then a 1K hike on a tiny trail to the "waterfall". Waterfall, my foot! It was just some water spilling over a big rock into a tiny pool. Had to pay $3 CUC each to take photos -- what a crock! 

Return to Cienfuegos

March 28 ... Going back to our home base (Nora’s). Taxi here at noon ($40), he brought an English speaking friend with him --cool! Abraham is Cuban but lived in Florida for 25 years, been back here (Hanabanilla) a few years.

We got to Nora's at 1pm but a family of 4 were just getting ready to leave. Had to wait until 2:30 for the room to be ready.

Spent the rest of our time there just resting and taking short walks each day. By then, it was too hot to do much else.

Since we’d seen/done all we had wanted to do the days became very long and boring. No TV (except movies on weekend nights), no radio = what to do?

I had my tablet loaded with books and games BUT when I wanted it, Brian had it! I had brought that for me plus 2 adult coloring books and a needlepoint project. Brian brought nothing for him to while away the hours. I told him, before we left, he needed to figure out what he could bring to entertain himself and I reminded him of last year when the same thing happened. He remembers being fine last year -- well, yeh, because he had my tablet all the time!!

So, now, I’ve bought me a new one and set aside the old one for him to use in Cuba. He says he’ll never use it. HA! I should make a bet on that!

Matanzas/Varadero Return

April 3 … We left Nora’s (with lots of hugs/kisses) 10:50am arrived Matanzas 1:30pm. Taxi = $60.

Arrived at Martha's hot and tired. We went to eat at Bukan’s at 5pm (Brian had no lunch), and rain poured down hard! Brian borrowed Martha's umbrella and we were soaked to our knees after a few steps. The wind blew the umbrella forward so our backs were soaked, too. We got to the porch underneath the restaurant, still pouring hard. We couldn't go up the narrow stairs together with the one umbrella. So, Brian went up to get a table, I'd come up when the rain stopped. Next thing I knew a waiter came down with our umbrella. An old man across the street came over, gave me his umbrella while staying on the porch out of the rain, the waiter and I went on up. I guess the waiter returned the man's umbrella. Talk about service above and beyond!

April 7 .... off to Varadero airport (taxi = $25) at 12:30N, arrived airport 12:50pm. Customs was easy for me, didn't go through any of my stuff and didn't take my lighter. However, they went thru ALL of Brian's stuff and took his lighter (“hidden” in the camera case)!

What a grand time we had, can’t wait for next year -- more adventures to come!