Monday, February 8, 2016
We got up early and walked the dogs and finished packing before leaving a little after 10. We headed south, stopping in Jacksonville for a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, which McDonald's DID NOT HAVE! So we continued on to St. Augustine, arriving about 1:30 at the Edgewater Inn, a nice little motel sitting right at the edge of the river by the Bridge of Lions. But it was windy and chilly so we didn't sit outside. We went for an early dinner to Mango Mangos, where we had a huge plate of fish and chips and Oliver got the Kalik Gold he hasn't had since the Bahamas! Back to the hotel for an early night.
Pretty view form the patio outside our room.
Oliver's treat!
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
After a really good breakfast, we headed for Miami just a bit after 8. We had an easy drive, stopping once for insect repellant and shaving cream, and once for gas. We arrived at the Miami airport at 1:30 and took a taxi to the Hyatt in Coral Gables. We checked in and rested a bit before our 4PM meeting with Ulla, our Tauck Miami rep. We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers with the other 22 people in our group while we filled out all the paperwork. Ulla spent an hour having us carefully fill it out line by line. There was a health questionnaire, a customs form, and most importantly, our Cuban visa. We also received explicit instructions on what and what not to sayand we were all nervous wrecks! After the meeting we went to dinner. We had an excellent meal which we enjoyed with Katie and Duke, a nice couple from South Bend, IN. Tomorrow will be an early day we go to breakfast at 4:45AM!!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
What an awesome day! We were up at 3:30 and downstairs by 4:45. We had a really good breakfast and then boarded the bus for the airport. We haven't touched our luggag since we got here! They picked it up from our room, took it to the airport and then checked it for our charter flight to Havana. We cleared security and were at our gate by 7. Our flight leaft early, at 8:45, for our 45 minute flight to Havana. Upon our arrival, we cleared immigration with no problem and then went to the VIP lounge where they had pastries, juice, coffee and rum for us. After about 45 minutes our luggage arrived and we followed it to the bus, with Ronny our Tauck guide and Alicia our Cuban guide. Right away we saw all the old cars, although our bus was a nice brand new Chinese vehicle. Our first stop was Revolution Square, where we saw a monument to Jose Marti, as well as Che Gueverra and Camilo Cienfuego, the leaders of the revolution. But everyone was most interested in all the taxis-all from the 50s and mostly convertibles., with beautiful paint jobs. After that we went to the Museum of the Revolution. There's not really much in the museum, but outside there is the boat that Fidel Castro came to Havana from Mexcio in, and some pieces of U-2 planes shot down during the 1962 missile crisis--or as they call it, the "supposed" missile crisis! No shortage of brain-washing in Cuba!!
Yesterday at our meeting Ulla told us that we had "lost" our reservations at the Melia Habana but that they had secured rooms at the Parque Central. There was some grumbling but when we arrived at the hotel for lunch, we were very pleasantly surpirsed! The other hotel was about 15 minutes outside of central Havana. The PC is right in Old Havana where all the action is! And as an aside, we are getting a $1000 refund!! We had a delicious lunch and then went to our rooms. Our room is huge with aking bed and a big bathroom. We found a bottle of rum waiting for us and we changed for our 5PM presentation, followed by dinner.
The presentation was on Cuban-US relations and the presenter was a former Cuban diplomat. He was really informative, if a bit biased, but did make us look at Cuba differently. He talked about how much better thingsare here but everywhere we go, we see old dilapidated buildings and Alicia told us that often 3 generations live in a very small apartment.
After the presentation, Ronny told us he had more bad news, that our bus had broken down andcouldn't take us to dinner! But then he said they had arranged for 9 convertible taxis and we realized he was joking! He gave all the ladies a scarf for our hair and we went down to a whole line of of brightly colored cares-ours was a red 1955 Bel Air and we had a wonderful driver. The line of cars pulled and we went down the street with all the horns honking-SO festive and fun! They took us on a tour of Havana and then to our "paladar" for dinner. A paladar (means palate in spanish) is a restaurant that was a private home and is privately owned (but licensed by the government) and ours was elegant and wonderful. We had a beautiful seafood ceviche as an appetizer, along with a salad and stuffed mushrooms. I had roja vieja for dinner and Oliver had lobster and dessert was followed by rum and cigars! It was one of the most fun evenings we've ever had! Back at the hotel now and looking forward to another great day tomorrow.
Landing in Cuba
The arrivals terminal
Revolution Square and the Jose Marti memorial
Taxis at the Square
My favorite taxi
Che Gueverra
Camilo Cienfuego
Typical Cuban apartment building
Che, Fidel and Camilo at the Revolution Museum
Parts of the U-2
a little propaganda
How the Ciubans lock the doors at the museum
Camilo, the Cuban diplomat
ceviche
the paladar
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Today was a long but interesting and fun day. We started out with breakfast-a huge buffet filled with many things we didn't recognize and many different kinds of pastries. Supposedly the food selection here is very limited but the only thing I've really missed is potatoes-no potatoes here unless they are imported. After breakfast we boarded our bus for a short ride to Old Town, where we met a young architect who works for a group that is renovating a large area of Old Havana. He walked us around and talked about the different types of architecture and showed us buildings in various stages of renovation. He said that the area they are working in was built to accomodate 20,000 people-there are 70,000 living there now! Most people in Cuba own their won home/apartment-there are very few rental properties. Usually 3 generations live in one apartment. The ceilings are very high so they build little lofts to accomodate more beds. They call these lofts "barbecues" because they are so hot being near the ceiling and with no air conditioning. Until 2011, if you owned a home in Cuba you could not sell it.So if you wanted a different home, you would have to find someone who would trade with you. Same with cars. Of course, there were many under the table deals conducted.
We saw a lot of street performers, people drawing caricatures, and ladies in festive costumes who will kiss the men and then ask for a CUC (the CUC is a convertible peso, the currency used by all foreigners). It is equal to $1, except that they charge a 13% exchange fee.
Cuban architecture-notice where the door is
People live in this building
This building has been renovated
They use old cannons to block off the streets-I told you they recycle everything!
You can see a "barbecue" thorugh the window of this apartment. Imagine sleeping there!
After that tour, we were back on the bus and went to Project Muraleando (mural-making). This is in a neighborhood that was decayed, with garbage everywhere, but now features murals & sculptures all made from found or recycled items. The Cubans don't waste anything! A wonderful, funny, smart man gave us a tour-he was a child psychologist, a college professor and now directs this community project. We watched a musical group that played guitars, cymbals, drums and had 2 singers. They were amazing and had all of us up and dancing. We had a blast. After the performance, we went into the art studio where there was art and handmade jewelry for sale. Unlike in the government owned shops, here the artists get 50% of the money and the project gets 50%. I bought a necklace made of coconut and different types of wood. Oliver bought a colorful and pretty print, and we bought a cd of the musical group to use for our vacation DVD.
An example of recycling at Project Muraleando
All of these countries have helped the Project
Part of a mural
this corner was nothing but a garbage dump before the Project
dancing at Project Muraleando
After this visit we had lunch at another paladar. It was excellent-we had a mojito, several different appetizers and Oliver had fish in lemon sauce while I had spaghetti and shrimp in oil and garlic. For dessert we had chocolate cake and key lime pie.
This is the paladar. NO Cubans eat at paladars because they can't afford it.
THIS is where the Cubans eat! Those 2 guys on the left are ordering from a government-run restaurant. Usually there are long lines at these places.
After lunch we visited Habana Compas, a dance and cultural performance group. They were just astonishing, playing all types of percussion instruments, including ornately painted wodden chairs with stretched rubber on the seats which they played with drumsticks. Their energy was unbelievable and their smiling faces so heartwarming. This group has performed all over the world and will be performing in Tampa in April.
When we left there we went to the private home of a photographer and artist. He had met us earlier to take a group picture. He showed us a piece he he had done that took up the entire wall of his living room. This piece will be on display in Los Angeles later this year. After a discussion about this piece we went into the backyard where he has a pool and a bar-we enjoyed several little appetizers and cookies along with sangria. It was an interesting and relaxing way to end the day. One of the most striking thigs about Cuba is that even the professionals-architects and photographers, etc-have to do other jobs to make enough money. When they do things for tour companies, they get paid "under the table" and don't have to give that money to the government.
We arrived back at our hotel to find we had no power in our room. We had been told to expect this so we had brought a flashlight. After about 30 minutes the power came back on. We are debating what to do this evening. We can have dinner in any of the 5 restaurants in the hotel and at 8:30 there is a Latin jazz group playing but we are tired and stuffed and may forego dinner!
Here's our group photo
Lorenzo and his amazing art piece
In the garden at Lorenzo'a
Sunday, February 12, 2016
Last night we decided to have a hamburger and fries (imported) in the lobby restaurant and were in bed by 9:30. We were down at breakfast by 7 and boarded the bus at 8:30. Our first stop was at Colon Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in the world. There are many beautiful mausoleums designed by many famous architects and made of marble from Italy and Cuba. 3 former presidents of Cuba are buried here and they have about 40 funerals per day! There were 4 just in the hour we were there. We had a wonderful guide who told us so many interesting stories.
This beautiful tomb in the cemetery is in memory of 28 firefighters who were killed when a shop caught fire and the owner neglected to tell them that there was gunpowder stored. When it blew up, they were all killed. No monument in the cemetery may be higher than this one.
Such beautiful monuments
Here I am "patting the baby". Legend goes that the woman wasburied with her dead child at her feet. But when they opened the grave to move it, she was found holding the baby. So it's said that if you pat the baby while making a wish and then walk backwards away from the grave, your wish will come true. Nothing like watching 24 senior citizens trying to walk backwards through a narrow pathway!
And here's Oliver patting the baby
Back on the bus we headed for Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway's home from 1939 to 1960. The Cuban people LOVE Hemingway and are very proud of his loyalty to Cuba. His gold medal and certificate for his Nobel Prize are both in Cuba. The house is exactly as he left it when, under pressure from the US government, he went back to the US for a short time before going to Spain. He returned to the Mayo Clinic for treatment of his depression and alcoholism before going to his winter home in Idaho where he committed suicide. We walked around the house, looking in through the open doors and windows-no one is allowed inside the house. We visited the huge pool and the Pilar, his fishing boat.
The house
Hemigway's library. That small round beige plate on the wall is an origian Picasso, worth millions!
Hemingways' chair---and liquor!
Hemingway's bathroom. Those little black marks above the tile are where he kept track of his weight!
The Pilar
After that visit, we stopped at a culinary school to learn how to make a mojito - the official drink of Cuba, and ropa vieja-a shredded beef specialty of Cuba.
We had lunch at a paladar specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. Our welcome mojito was followed by several different appetizers - focaccia bread, cheeses, sausages, fish carpaccio - then ravioli and a white fish and vegetable dish, and finally a wonderful almond ice cream. This is an award-winning restaurant, what we would call a farm to table restaurant, and it was outstanding. We continue to appreciate the variety and quality-and quantity-of the food here. Not at all what we were expecting.
After we waddled back to the bus, we went to visit a community project for children in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana. The project is sponsored by UNICEF and everything is free to the children. There were about 10 boys and girls there, although sometimes there are as many as 50 or 60, and after the director gave a short presentation on the project, each of the children introduced themselves and told their age--in English-- and then in Spanish told us what they want to be when they grow up-2 mathematicians, 2 doctors, a dancer, a computer programmer-and a pop singer! Of course in Cuba, the government pretty much tells you what you will be but maybe that will change by the time these kids grow up. Then they sang a song for us - Cuba Beautiful Cuba=and they were quite the performers. Then they moved all the chairs away and had us get up so they could teach us a dance. After the dance we got ready to leave but first they asked us each to write a message in English in their guest book and they gave us each a picture drawn by some of them. They LOVED posing for pictures-if you pointed a camera their way, they struck a pose! We took pictures of each other with the kids and then took up a collection of money to leave with them. Of course Ronny had brought money, pencils, and some curtains which they can't get there. Each week when he leads a tour, he brings supplies from the states for them. It was such a happy and heartwarming hour!
Strike a pose! She's even got the "sorority girl hand on hip" down.
My new friend!
Oliver and his new friend Melanie
Dancing with the children
Aren't they adorable?
Now we are back at the hotel until leaving for dinner at 6:30. Tomorrow we are going out into the country to Pinar del Rio to learn how cigars are made!
Saturday, February 13, 2016
I KNEW things were going too smoothly! We went to a good paladar in the beautiful Miramar district and all was well until dessert, when I got very hot and nauseaous and barely made it to the restroom before losing everything I had eaten! Made it back to the hotel but it was an entire night of throwing up---and other stuff!! So I stayed in bed all day while Oliver went on the excurison. He didn't get back until 6PM and I was still heaving. Ronny-our tour director- wanted to all a doctor but I totally against that idea, so he had room service send up broth, rice, toast and apple juice. I couldn't eat the broth or rice but the toast helped a lot.
Sad girl
This is Oliver's story of the day. They traveled for about 2 1/2 hours to rural Pinar del Rio. The first thing he noticed was that there is no farm equipment-no tractros, no nothing. All the fields had fences around them but all the animals were on ropes to control where they could eat. There is all kinds of vegetation but the plowing is done with oxen. The towns are better kept than what we saw in Havana. They stopped at a rest statiopn and a man was making barrels and chairs out of the bumps on palm trees. He bought 3 cigars at the rest station.
There are little houses that are rented out to tourists-he saw a couple pulling their luggage down a dirt road.
Plowing the fields
They visited a tobacco farm, where they watched cigars being rolled by hand and everybody got one. Tobacco seeds are smaller than mustard seeds and you can hold 100,000 in the palm of your hand!
There are 4 types of leaves, starting with the ones at the bottom for strength, the the second layer for smokeability, the third for flavor and the top layer for boldness. The leaves are placed in water for about 7 hours. They watched a lady sorting the tobacco leaves. She strips out some of the veins and then weighs them down to flatten them. They are divided by the 4 layers. The guests enjoyed cigars with coffee and rum. The owner opened a new bottle of rum, poured a little on the ground - that's for God but they don't pour too much because God didn't buy the bottle!
Enjoying his cigar, coffee and rum! Doesn't he look like a tobacco farmer?!
The tobacco farm owner. Welcome to my country, my friend!
Tobacco drying
Sorting the tobacco
Taking a little ride
Pallets of tobacco leaves
Lunch was a a restaurant that served huge amounts of food in a beautiful location and then they came back to the hotel.
Ronny-our Tauck guide, Alicia-our Cuban guide, and Orlando-our driver
Beautiful countryside
Sunday, February 14, 2016
I'm back on the trail again!! First thing after breakfast, we met with a famous former Cuban baseball player, Rolando Macias. He was very sweet and interesting. He can hardly walk and has to use 2 canes. In spite of Cuba's "free" healthcare, or because of it, he can't get the surgery he needs because he is over the age limit. After his talk, we headed for the bus and and went to a little league game. It was very different from American little league-a lot of crowd participation (in a positive way, not like the overbearing parents here) with bells and whistles and dancing, and a lady selling odd food out of a baby carriage!
Lunch was at a beautiful paladar where we ate outside and it was a beautiful day but again too much food and we are starting to realize that we get lobster and fish at every meal, and the salad always looks the same! Apparently the supply is limited!
We drove around Miramar a bit where all the embassies are located. There are some nice homes but NO Cubans live there-it is all foreigners. The homes belonged to the rich Cubans who all left when the revolution began in 1959. We saw the Russian Embassy, which looks weird and very Russian! We drove along the malecon-the seawall that protects Cuba and saw the American embassy. There was a huge line of people waiting to get in and apply for a visa.
The building in the distance is the capitol.
The flag in front of the American embassy
A rough day! In Cuba, it could be months-or years-before they ever repair this sidewalk!
This is the second largest fortress built by the Spanish
Classic Cuba!!
This is where Alicia - our Cuban guide- lives., with her husband, son, parents, sister and nephews. We stopped here so that Ronny could deliver a box of candy to Alicia's son Kevin. Valentine's Day is a HUGE holiday here! It's the turqouise house.
We saw horses and carts everywhere-even on the highway!
There are people along the side of the highways grilling food and selling it to people who stop or are walking to the bus stop
The Russian embassy
The Floridita-Hemingway's favorite bar
This is what "free" healthcare looks like! And this is the second level specialty clinic!!!
After lunch we stopped at the big shopping market where we bought several souvenirs-the best is a beautiful handmade humidor for the 30 cigars Oliver bought. We also bought a set of glasses-Havana Club-which EVERY drink we had was served in!
Back to the htoel to finish packing and change for dinner. We boarded the bus and went back to the Miromar area to La Bonita, a relatively new paladar. We enjoyed a glass of wine while watching a private performance by a Cuban singing group. They sang a variety of songs, including "Coming for to Carry Me Home" in English. It was a lovely performance. Dinner was another story... the wait staff was quite confused-2 of our tables received appetizers and the rest of us didn't. When our main course was served - "steak" -it was inedible. Tough as shoe leather and tasteless. Supposedly the lobster was the same. We arrived back at the hotel at 9:15 and finished packing.
This group was just wonderful
I think this might have been my dinner
Our wake-up call was at 5AM and we were on the bus by 7, at the airport by 7:30 and in the VIP lounge by 8:30. Tauck does a great job of getting priority access-we had our own check-in desk (very important here in Cuba), the VIP lounge stocked with liquor, food, soft drinks, etc.and priority boarding.
10:40 wheels up-USA here we come!!!
They have this big terminal here but don't seem to use it
Havana Harbor
The Keys
We landed in Miami at 11:30 and we cleared immigration, grabbed our bags and cleared customs and were in the car by 1:00. It rained for awhile but we made it to Palm Coast by 5, where we grabbed some subs, checked into our hotel and enjoyed a quiet evening. We were home the next day by noon. Our dogs were happy to see us!
Some random thoughts about Cuba...
The place is absolutely falling apart. Buildings collapse on a routine basis. They are trying to repair some buildings but it appears to be a losing battle.
Anyone who thinks socialism is a good idea needs to visit Cuba. Although they have free healthcare and free education and EVERYONE gets food subsidies, they are still poorer than dirt and there is absolutely no incentive to to work hard, since the government sets all the salaries. Our local guide Alicia is an English teacher but makes the same money as a tour guide (paid by the government) but gets tips and many extras from Tauck, most of which I think the government doesn't know about.
As for free education-the government decides what you will be pretty much. By the age of 12, they identify kids who have talents in sports, music, dance, etc and they are sent to schools to study that.
As for health care-each neighborhood or district has a family doctor. He/she has a small office and lives upstairs. You go to the family doctor first and if he thinks you need it, you go to the polyclinic where the specialists are. There seem to be a lot of hospitals for different specialties. Alicia's parents are both retired doctors. Her mother's pension is $300-a YEAR! And her father's pension is $500 per year.
All Cubans receive food stamps-everybody gets the same amount. They can't afford to go to the nice paladars so go to the government owned restaurants, mostly ratty looking little places with long lines.
The Cuban people are mostly friendly, fairly cheerful and very patient. But their understanding of democracy is non-existant! They kept telling us that they like Americans; they just don't like our government. I asked Alicia if she understood that in America, the government IS the people but she had no clue what I was talking about. They revere Fidel and Raul-never Castro, always just first names-although they don't have any idea where Fidel and Raul live, they don't know how many children they have or what their names are.
They have no knowledge of the Bay of Pigs or the missile crisis. They think the embargo was put in place out of meanness! On the other hand, most Americans don't understand the impact the embargo has had. Even the smallest things like rice have to be imported from far away. If a cargo ship stops in Cuba, it can't come to the US for 6 months, so it's hardly worth stopping in Cuba!
We saw many iphones, tablet computers, etc-many of which come from FEs-theses are friends outside of Cuba who send things or bring things to them. The paladars are mostly financed by people outside of Cuba.
Supposedly the unemployment rate is 3% but we saw many, many people standing around on the streets. Alicia said that many of these people have jobs but they punch in and then go outside. Again-absolutely no incentive to work!
Transportation...the wonderful, beautiful cars! Lovingly kept and original equipment, since they can't get parts. Pedicabs, little scooter cabs, and buses crammed to overflowing. Old bucycles everywhere. Lots of new Chinese buses for the tourists.
Housing...deplorable! Most people own their own apartment but 3 generations are likely living together. We saw buildings that were boarded up on the ground floor with apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors, or people living on the first floor with the top floors crumbling. Laundry hangs from every window. There are nice parts of the city but Cubans don't live there. Even in Miromar there are some rewally bad looking homes.
At night it is pitch black-very few streetlights-and the sidewalks are so dilapidated that it is dangerous to walk. As for crime-Ronny pointed out that there are no guns-but the bad guys will pull a knife on you in a skinny minute!! Ronny said you can leave nothing outside your house because it won't be there in the morning.
I hope that the situation in Cuba will improve as more Americans visit but there have been tourists from Canada, Australia< Europe and Latin America for the past 50 years and it hasn't helped. The people are hopelessly brainwashed and are so dependent upon the free stuff they get from the government that the thought of fending for themselves is not something they can even comprehend. I hope to God that the USA is not in the same position 50 years from now.
Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!!