Archive for November, 2010

Song of the post:

The ride from the jungle to the river was about an hour and it afforded the 3 of us time for a quick siesta.

Some friendly Cubans saying hola!

3rd Stop: The River

As previously mentioned, it was comforting to be amongst the locals again, especially in such a serene setting.  In case you are curious, never once was I treated rudely or differently because I was American.  In fact, whenever a Cuban would discover that I was American they would get really excited and ask me a million questions.

The river we went swimming in.

Kristin, me, and M. under a waterfall.

M. jumping off the rocks.

After finishing the tour, we returned to the Nacional to use their glamorous pools and facilities.  We figured since M. was still staying there we should take advantage of his good fortune.  Then Kristin and I switched casas back to Sergio and Miriam’s for the remainder of our stay.  We decided to revisit Habana Vieja for dinner.  I wish that I could remember the name of the restaurant we dined at that night, but the name escapes me now.  The food was less than mediocre, which is what you will find throughout most of Cuba, however the atmosphere was superb.  They had various types of exotic birds roaming around the restaurant and an excellent salsa band (possibly to distract you from the food?).

Our dinner guest for the evening.

Stick to eating at your casas while in Cuba.  The food your hosts will serve you will be much cheaper and I guarantee will taste tremendously better, not to mention be more authentically Cuban.

It is impossible to read My Beautiful Adventures without coming away with the impression that Andi is living life to the fullest.  Traveling to Cuba, practicing Chinese medicine, and using her blog as a platform for others to share their most memorable experiences are just a few of the ways that she puts the pedal to the metal when it comes to living life in the fast lane.

Only a few years ago, I was a permanent resident of Comfort Zone Land.  Some major landmarks of the unexciting world I inhabited included my daily work routine, inane television shows, and obsessively keeping up with the news.  It was not until my 40th birthday was approaching that I felt a gnawing sensation telling me that there was probably more to life.  While I probably seemed outwardly the same, inwardly it bothered me that I was about to begin my 4th decade without having traveled farther than Canada.  It dawned on me that some of the people I most admired learned how to speak another language and traveled frequently.

This spurred me to sign up for some Spanish classes and plan a trip to Costa Rica in the months preceding the arrival of the big “FOUR-OH.”  I enjoyed Costa Rica so much, I started Travelojos, a travel blog for Latin America lovers.  Blogging and connecting with other writers and travelers has pushed me to do things I never would have considered a few years ago.  Last year, I took my family on a wonderful vacation in Mexico.  This year, I enrolled in a week-long Spanish immersion program in Guatemala.

But my resolve to break free of the comfort zone extends beyond traveling and I started looking for a way to share my passion for Latin America with other bloggers and the entire traveling community.

I am proud to announce that last week I published a free e-book featuring the work of some of my favorite Latin America travel bloggers.  It is called Latin America at Ground Level.  In it, each blogger shares a personal observation or insight about something they love about Latin America and what it means to them.

Among the contributors is Julie Schwietert Collazo, managing editor of Matador Network, which was recently named as one of the top travel writing web sites by the Society of American Travel Writers.  Other participants include Eileen Smith, Leigh Shulman, Lauren Quinn, and Conner Gorry — all of whom produced blog posts that merited reading aloud to the attendees of the 2010 Travel Blog Exchange in New York City.  In the e-book you will find each blogger’s contribution and a link to his or her blog, Twitter feed, and reference to some of their other projects.

Download the e-book HERE!

By: Steven Roll (follow me on Twitter at @Travelojos)

Song of the post:

Needing a little break from the capitol, we chose to take an 8 hour tour of the city of Las Terrazas, which is located about 1 hour from La Habana.

Me and Kristin on the steps of the Nacional at 5AM waiting for our tour bus to arrive. Neither of us are morning people. You can tell this from our fake smiles in the photo, si?

Las Terrazas is an eco-tourism centered community.  It is situated in an area where a project of sustainable rural economy is being developed, based on the rational use of its natural resources.  Surprisingly, along the way we saw 3-5 star hotels, unlike the dilapidated apartments and houses in La Habana.  It was definitely a different side to the country!

Our tour included: a guided tour of a French coffee plantation from the 19th century, a coffee tasting, 3 zip lines through the jungle, lunch, and then an afternoon of swimming at a river with numerous waterfalls.  This tour was booked at Hotel Nacional.  I am sure there are other places to book tours more inexpensively, but we booked this one out of convenience, since M. was still staying there.  This was a great tour and I highly recommend it, especially if you want to get out of the city and into the country for a while.

My 1st view of the very lush and green Las Terrazas.

La Mariposa (the National flower).

1st stop: Coffee Plantation

The enterance of the coffee plantation.

Where they grow the coffee.

The view from the plantation.

Me cooling down after our coffee tasting.

2nd stop: Zip Lining

Our zip line instructor showing us the 3 courses we would be doing.

The 3 of us ready for our adventure in the jungle.

It was nice to know that Che was looking out for me.

There I go on my 1st zip line. Going, going...

...gone!

The coffee plantation and zip lines were of course off-limits to Cubans, however the river, where we would be going to next, was not.  Although I had had a wonderful time thus far, I was more than ready to be amongst locals again. . .

Update: In less than 4 days I got my 200 likes (you guys rock my world!), but now Kiwi Collection has challenged me to get 300 likes, thus I am still requesting your help.

____________________________

Hello my darlings!

I have always resisted reaching out for help when it comes to winning contests, as I know how precious your time is and you do not need to be spending any of it on me.  However, after much thought I have decided to in fact reach out for help.  You see, when there is a possibility that your #1 life-long dream could come true, then you simply have to go for it!  There are no ifs, ands, or buts.  So, from the bottom of my heart could you please, please, please read this whole post to find out how you can help me accomplish this dream of mine (and the best part is you too can participate and I promise if you help me, I will help you)?

Lots of love,

Background: My favorite hotel website, Kiwi Collection, is running yet another awesome contest.  If you are not friends with them on Facebook or do not follow them on Twitter, you should immediately, as 1) they are the best of the best when it comes to luxury travel and 2) their constant contests and specials are unbelievable!  Their latest contest is about ultimate travel dreams.  All of the details can be found here.

My Dream:

I am a big believer in dreams.  I think having dreams ensures that we get everything we could possibly want from life.  My dreams regarding travel are lengthy, however I am confident that I will achieve all of them, as once I set a goal for myself I do everything in my power to attain it.  Thus, my problem is not in achieving my dreams, it is choosing which dream to achieve first.  And I had this same dilemma with this contest.  I thought about which dream to choose for days and amongst my many thoughts one in particular kept returning: Antarctica.  Since I was a little girl, my family has always joked that I was born with a suitcase in my hand.  The idea of stepping foot on all 7 continents is absolutely thrilling to me and only Antarctica remains.  I cannot think of a place that exudes adventure more, nor can I imagine the feeling I will experience when I first see a glistening iceberg in the distance or hear penguins playing amongst themselves.  It is a grand dream, but what is the point of dreaming small?

How You Can Help:

1. Visit Kiwi Collection on Facebook and “like” them (trust me you will like them in no time)

2. After you have liked them, visit this link or you can find me in their Dream100 photo album

3. You will then see my ultimate travel dream postcard, which looks like this:

4. Once you have stopped laughing, if you could kindly “like” the photo, we will be best friends forever

5. If I get 100 or more likes I get $100 Visa gift card and the chance to win 4 free nights at a Kiwi Collection property.  Unfortunately, they do not have a property in Antarctica, thus I will use my 4 free nights for my honeymoon in Brasil

6. Thanks a million ahead of time!!!

Song of the post:

El Malecon, the 7km ocean side pedestrian walkway, can definitely be seen as the heart of La Habana.  It is a place where minutes easily melt into hours, a place where you can leave all of your worries behind as you watch life pass you by, a place where the Caribbean saltwater air kisses your lips and intoxicates you.  No trip to La Habana is complete without at least one visit to it .

As we strolled down the walkway we saw all types of scenes — we saw men fishing, children swimming, lovers embracing — all while the waves of the ocean broke furiously against the wall.

Fisherman taking a break from work to play.

At the end of el Malecon is Castillo de la Real Fuerza de La Habana.

Once we made our way to the end, we all agreed that we were exhausted from the intense Cuban heat, thus we decided to retire early for the day in order to save up some energy for the adventures that awaited us.  It was time to leave La Habana!

Song of the post:

What a disappointment Revolution Day was!  We had each bought kick-ass Che shirts to wear in celebration, which we had imagined would be a mass of Cubans out in the streets marching and partying.  Unfortunately, the celebration was in another city far away and due to this, La Habana was now silent, as people were celebrating their holiday by sleeping.

Revolution Day is July 26th.

The decorations, however, were out in full force and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing and photographing them.

We decided to spend some time walking along El Malecon, but first returned to the Mission to check out the new flags the government had displayed for the holiday.

On July 26, 1959, Fulgencio Batista was ousted from his dictatorship.  Castro then replaced him as the new Cuban leader with the help of Ernesto “Che”Guevara.

I have been fascinated with Che even longer than with the island of Cuba.  I am fully aware that he is a controversial figure and I whole-heartedly respect the opinions of those who do not support the killings that he committed or encouraged, since I too devoutly believe in non-violence.  However, he stood for a concept that I also devoutly believe in, and that is social revolution.

Unfortunately, most revolutionary leaders throughout history have resorted to killing as the way to end oppression and tyranny.  And while I believe violence only breads violence, I am strongly drawn to Che’s relentless pursuit of creating an egalitarian world at the cost of even his own life.  He elegantly said,

Socialism cannot exist without a change in conscience to a new fraternal attitude toward humanity, not only within the societies which are building or have built socialism, but also on a world scale toward all peoples suffering from imperialist oppression.

Che was a healer, like me, and throughout his medical training he would travel to leper colonies and work with patients that other doctors would refuse to be in contact with.  His experiences there and with the poor during his travels had a key impact on the development of his political thought.  He became convinced that genuine equality could only be achieved through socialism.

Though he has been dead for many years, he remains an inspiration to those who feel ignored, underprivileged, and abandoned by their government, as well as those who desperately would like to see eventual peace throughout the world.

Then it was on to the glorious El Malecon. . .

Song of the post:

On our way to Playa del Este we encountered more propaganda signs.  We each had our eyes glued to the taxi windows in case we should see one, as we were completely enamored!

In the parking lot at the beach, there were a myriad of cars that just oozed coolness.

But, there was 1 that captured my heart, simply because of its color.

The funniest moment of the trip occurred later as we were at the beach.  I was engrossed in my sunbathing when M. announced that he would be back in an hour with both a kayak and food.  I thought he was joking (you know those Aussies and their sense of humor) and was just going for a walk.  But, to my delighted surprise, he returned an hour later with exactly what he promised.  Where he found a kayak in Cuba, one will never know?

The food though consisted of: chips, baby food, and melted chocolate, as that is all he could find.  The next photo is proof just in case you did not believe me.

After we devoured the “food,” Kristin and M. then kayaked in the ocean leaving me some time to digest the trip thus far.

Song of the post:

Kristin and I still felt like we had not seen everything we wanted to see in La Habana, so we decided to continue our walk around the city.  This time it was concentrated in Habana Vieja.  We followed the “Habana Vieja Walking Tour” that was recommended in my Cuba Lonely Planet guide; starting around Plaza Vieja and ending around Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana.  The walk took us about 2 hours in total.  Heads up, be prepared for photo sensory overload!

My travel Bible. I bring one with me on every trip!

The following photos were all taken within the vicinity of Plaza Vieja:

Plaza Vieja

Of course we took a little break in a shaded park to listen to a man croon Cuban ballads with his guitar.

"Besame, besame mucho, como se fuera esta noche la ultima vez..."

And then we continued on walking and all of these following photos were taken within the vicinity of Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana.

Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana

Needing to majorly cool down, the two of us met up with M. and headed to Playa del Este again. . .

We decided the plan for the evening would include: strawberry daiquiris at Hotel Inglattera, dinner at La Floridita, and salsa dancing at La Casa de la Musica Centro Habana.

First, we met M. at the Inglattera, which is another one of finest hotel’s in Cuba.  It is located near Parque Central and proudly holds the honor of being the oldest hotel in Cuba with an incredibly rich history you could spend days learning about.  Having said that, the Nacional is still my preferred hotel.

Hotel Inglaterra.

While we sipped our strawberry daiquiris a salsa band played and when the first intoxicating trumpet notes of “El Chan Chan” began it really hit me that I was actually in Cuba; a country I had been dreaming of visiting for such a long time.  In that moment I wished all of my loved ones could be there with me experiencing this as well.

M., Kristin, and I in anticipation for the fun night ahead.

Our 3 strawberry daiquiri's illuminated by the setting sun.

Me enjoying the cohiba that I had purchased earlier in the day.

A fabulous photo courtesy of Kristin.

Then we dined at La Floridita, or commonly known as “Hemingway’s hang-out.”  I love the simplistic way that Ernest writes.  He is able to vividly capture one’s imagination with only a few words.  Apparently, while he was creating “The Old Man and the Sea,” a novel about a Cuban fisherman who refuses to be defeated by nature, he would eat at the restaurant often.  And even though it was a tourist trap, as a beloved fan, I still wanted to visit the places that he frequented during his time in Cuba.

La Floridita Restaurant.

Señor Hemingway

The best drink in the world! Though Ernest's favorite drink was rumored to be a strawberry daiquiri.

Once satiated, we headed over to dance at La Casa de la Musica Centro Habana.  Along the way we encountered a Cuban man whom begged us to bring him in the club with us.  According to him it had been his life long dream to dance inside there and the only way a Cuban could enter was with the permission of a tourist.  M. told him that he would pay for his entrance fee under one condition: he had to discuss Cuban affairs with us over a couple of drinks.  The poor guy agreed not knowing what he was getting himself into!  M. and I could talk about that kind of stuff for hours and hours.

A photo taken on our walk to the club.

La Casa has a fantastic reputation for being the best salsa club in La Habana, as they bring in the top-name bands, but I was not really impressed.  It was not the real Cuba; I wanted to dance where the locals danced.  So, my only choice was to grab the fellow that came in with us to the dance floor to practice my terrible salsa skills.  Thankfully, he was not too embarrassed with my moves.  I vowed after that evening to take classes some time during our last days in Cuba.

The salsa band that played.

Me and my new Cuban friend on the dancefloor.

On our taxi ride back to our casa we noticed that the locals were out in the streets celebrating in full force.  Revolution Day was only a couple of days away.

The street scene from inside our taxi.

Despite the fact that the noise outside was quite loud, Kristin and I fell soundly asleep from our long, but completely unforgettable day.

Song of the post:

That misadventure I alluded to?  Well, it definitely was not my finest travel moment.  You see, we got scammed, and as much I would like to not admit it, it was totally my fault.  I am obsessed with the musical group Buena Vista Social Club (see video above) and when 2 Cuban ladies approached us and said/promised that they happened to be playing in a small courtyard in Chinatown I naively convinced M. and Kristin that we simply HAD to go!

La Habana's Chinatown gate.

While we waited for them to perform, the Cubans asked us to buy them drinks and lunch.  After about an hour of waiting we sadly realized that this was all a ploy and got up to leave.  However, as we were leaving the ladies announced that they had cigars for sale in their casa.  M. and I decided to check them out.  Sure enough they had every cigar your heart could desire.  I spent some time trying to think how I was logistically going to smuggle these beauties back into the States without getting caught.  Finally, I decided I would take the wrappers off and hide them in my wallet, so that they just looked like regular cigars.  If I got caught with them I would tell security that they were cheap cigars from Mexico (even though they Romeo y Julieta’s) and if they wanted them they could have them.  M. thought I was a bit crazy to take this chance, but I welcomed the challenge.  I ended up leaving the casa with my fingers crossed and 30 cohibas for the bargain price of 50USD$.  My Dad was gonna looove me!

We then departed ways with M. to check into our new casa.  This one was also located in Habana Vieja.  It was a charming place, but not as intimate as the first, because it had a lot of guests staying there and the owners were not very talkative.

The living room of the casa.

The view from the casa's roof.

Despite the fact that Cuba is "falling apart," it still radiates beauty.

But to be honest, we were not interested in talking with them either, as we had a special evening awaiting us!  Because we had walked all day, we splurged on a pedi-cab.  The following are photos from our entertaining ride through the streets of downtown La Habana:

And then we arrived at our destination and when I say we celebrated the evening in style, I mean style. . .