London

So I guess as Jane is being slack I should do some updating…

Well England has been a nice change from the non stop hustle and bustle of the last few months. Needless to say it is a bit colder then Cuba and Spain, however the weather actually behaved itself and the sun has been shinning.

Been great catching up with my sister and Ollie (and her cat which seems to have an identity crisis going on) and relaxing and having some home cooked food. So first day in London required a trip to the local primark (cheap clothing) store as we look to get something different to wear (6 months in the same stuff just gets boring). Also a trip to the supermarket to get some decent beer, followed by a little more relaxing and catching up on emails, washing and sleep.

First weekend and a trip to visit my family in Wolverhampton, then down to a little village for more family. Was lovely catching up with everyone and seeing them all, having a nice walk with Steve and Karen and Jess and the dog of course through the country. The English country side is actually very nice and with the nice weather was even better, local English pub for a few pints made it great. Following day down to Shirley and Ray’s for lunch in there 14th century country house, such a lovely place.

Back to London and one of the highlights for us both, the Paralympics… I will say this now ‘disadvantaged my ass’, these guys (and girls) do things I can only dream about. First night was the swimming finals where we saw Sophie Pascoe win one of her medals (unfortunately was a silver) but we had flag in hand. Now I saw people with no arms or legs swim faster than I can… next day was Athletics finals, that was fantastic, the Olympic stadium was great and we saw so many finals (both wheelchair and non wheel chair) including a great 4x100 relay final. The third and last day we got a day pass where we saw wheelchair tennis (these guys would kick my butt), wheelchair rugby (the most violent sport I have seen) and blind football (which was amazing). Overall the Paralympics were amazing, fantastic, awesome and well pretty inspiring, you don’t go to watch amazing impaired people, you go watch amazing sports people do amazing things!

So after the Paralympics it was time to see some of Jane’s family and friends and a trip down to Eton was next. A lunch on river bank and bbq dinner was very nice, then the next day catching up with Jane’s old uni flatmates, and a nice Chinese dinner.

Well the next few days were spent shopping and catching up with friends and family. Eatinga bit more and spending time with Annika and Ollie (also a trip to IKEA to buy some things  -  luck my sister has a container coming home).

So England came and went. We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. We managed to relax and see lots of people. Now Cyprus and my family…

Madrid

Toledo

Varadero

Our final stop in Cuba was Varadero,  it was a debate whether to come here or not since it is a major resort destination. However, we spoke to a few Cubans who said it was stunning regardless of the resorts and if you stayed in one the resorts a little down the beach then it was very enjoyable. We chose an all inclusive resort.  All inclusive was everything apart from top shelf liquor and massages. After arriving just behind a large tour group we took 45 minutes to check in – appalling. We dumped our bags in the room and rushed down to the 24 hour snack bar and ordered Cuba Libres while waiting for our burgers. This was my first experiences of turquoise water, it was stunning and looked like it had been airbrushed. The water was warmer than anything I had experienced and cleaner than you could possibly imagine. It was the most typically beautiful beach I have ever seen.

And that was us for three nights, eat drink and sleep. The only decision was where to do the eating and drinking. On the final night we were treated to the most spectacular thunder and lightning storm I have ever seen. It took up the whole horizon looking out towards America and had four centres of activity where the lightening would originate from. It went on for hours and lit up the whole sky.

The all inclusive experience was very enjoyable but this particular resort has a long way to come. Things like not cleaning the toilets regularly, not clearing plates, a strange booking system for some of the restaurants, little and non coherent information about the resort and what facilities are there and how it works.

We finished our resort experience with an old taxi drive to the bus station, check out this gem of a taxi.

Trinidad

Trinidad is everything you want it to be and more. Picturesque, everywhere you turn. The Casa de particular we stayed in was incredible and Jose was most welcoming. We had arrived later than expected and with no money until we got to the bank in the morning so it was lucky that Jose offered dinner at his house that could be put on our bill.  There were no afternoon storms in Trinidad so there was little relief from the intense heat apart from the air conditioning in our room. We took ourselves on a fascinating walking tour in the morning admiring the iconic Trinidadian architecture and colours. Past the old sugar plantation owners houses and up the palace tower for a spectacular view over Trinidad.

Each time we sat down we were treated to fabulous music. Our evening were particularly special as we listening to traditional music at the casa de la musician and casa troya.  There is nothing like warm summer evenings listening to live music sipping mojitos… this is Cuba.

The bus rides were an interesting insight into Cuban culture. Machete wielding men patrolled the side of the roads cutting grass. People stood under over bridges looking for a hitchhiking rides due to the lack of buses. Horse and cart buses served more populous areas. Generally people just milled about.

Vinales

 

Our first stop was Vinales and the lush green mountains. It was very humid. Vinales is the home of tobacco growing in Cuba. Here is was very humid with the tropical afternoon storm replaced with just the thunder storms. I managed to get F on a horse. We had a fabulous time meandering through the fields and were reaffirmed just how stuck in the past Cuba is. Ox drawn ploughs leisurely stroked the fields while hand planting followed behind. We stopped at a growers house and were treated to some fresh coffee which had been completely processed on site. It was some of the best coffee I had seen. The lady took us around and showed us all the different types of plants that were being grown in her garden. It was like sufficient farming, people grow what they need and there is no market in which to sell excess. Kids ride bareback on the horse caring  large knifes. We visited one of the caves where the African Slaves hid out in when they were trying to run away. Beautiful clear filtered water. The afternoon thunder started to roll through the mountains as we left the cave. It was a real experience being on the back of the horse surrounded by echoing thunder. Needless to say the backsides were a little sore when we arrived back at the hotel.

We made the mistake of a 8 hour bus ride the morning after the horse riding… sitting for long periods of time was  UNCOMFORTABLE.

 

Havana

Well from the moment we arrived in Cuba it was like taking a step back in time. The immigration hall was packed and nothing was moving very fast. Bags were deposited in a pile and the line for the currency exchange was exceptionally long. Thankfully the ATM decided to accept our cards and we avoided the currency queue, we were later told off by the taxi driver as no one has change for the notes given by the ATM. It is a strange world of two currencies in Cuba, with one the hard currency of the Convertible Peso used in established shops and all tourist facilities. The other the Cuban Peso is used by the locals. It creates two very separate worlds. These two separate worlds is evident in so much of Cuba. The cars driven by Cubans are the classics, the bars attended by Cubans are not by locals, the buses are separate and internet is not available for most Cubans. People wait in queues to do the most simple tasks. As the economy starts to open a little it is difficult to image how this country will change with time. Once Fidel and Raul pass away and another wave come through the rate at which things could change is mind blowing. It is difficult to image being young in Cuba at the moment with such limited opportunities and what people think of the tourists that come through. There isn’t any sense of threat to tourists though even though they represent such great wealth in comparison to the Cubans. The people are amazing and so willing to help.

Cuban food is quite bland with little fresh vegetables. There seems to be little industry and a great need especially outside of Havana for clothes. The communist regime doesn’t allow shops outside of government commissioned shops, so there is little available for purchase and what is, is too expensive for locals to buy. This leads to a strange experience of regularly being asked for the clothes off your back.

Havana is such a magic place to walk around. Everywhere you look are beautiful colonial buildings and photographic opportunities. We had two full days in which to explore what the city had to offer. The revolutionary museum proved an interesting place tracking the events in Cubas history and how the communist government came to power. The exhibits post 1961 were just propaganda about how great the government was but that is really to be expected. The revolutionary museum also proved another surprise benefit and that was refuge from an afternoon torrential downpour. The thunder and lightening rumbled through the sky and there was no way out of the building whist still staying dry.

We didn’t really have any plans of what we wanted to do in Cuba so we headed to the hotels and the  tourist agencies. Since there was no access to the internet we had to do everything the old way. Queue and ask questions, it took us a while but we had a plan and it incorporated the historic Cuba, natural Cuba and the picturesque white beaches and tourist resorts.