Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Cuba 2012

........................... DFW, 7 a.m., Monday, Oct 29, 2012.............................. 'Got some sleep during the 3+ hour red-eye from Seattle. Given the chance for an exit row, I took it, only to find my seat was narrow & didn't recline. I hope my exit-row seat to Cancun is more comfortable. Yesterday, trying to cover all bases in prep for being out of country for 2 & ½ weeks, the anxiety was manageable. A close loss by the Seahawks distracted me, along with the Giants’ sweep of Detroit in the World Series. Hurricane Sandy did significant damage & took reportedly 11 lives in Eastern Cuba & is heading up the Atlantic Coast, with unusual & serious forebodings. I grabbed a big duffel bag, tossed in a bunch of tank tops, several pairs of shorts, snorkel & fins, reflectors (a tradition—prompted by driving after dark our first Cuba trip, dodging dark carts & bikes on the narrow Cuban road shoulders) & baseballs. ‘Printed copies of 2 packing lists & scanned them. No ah-hah recognitions of things overlooked. Mary starts packing literally weeks in advance & usually has what I’ve overlooked. Nate volunteered to drive me to the airport, Lucy no longer liking to drive after dark. Half a mile up Chrisella, I remembered I hadn’t put my Lonely Planet Cuba & my Spanish dictionary in my back pack & persuaded Nate to turn around in the rainy night, to go back & get them. I always forget something. Hopefully that was it. Sister Mary & Niece Deanna arrived in Cancun Saturday & will meet me at the airport this afternoon, to catch a Cubana flight on to Havana. We planned this trip last March, missing the music, cigars & ambiance of Cuba. I was wrong last visit, 4 years ago—to be with the Cuban people upon Obama’s election, predicting he would abolish the stupid embargo & Cuba would rapidly become a suburb of Miami. NOW my prediction: upon reelection, Barack is going to quit pleading with obstructionists in Congress & begin using executive orders, one of which will be to quash the embargo!............................. Tuesday night, Casa Particular Deysi, Blanco No. 109, La Habana........................ Mary & Deanna showed up while I was waiting in the Cubana check-in line in Cancun. Great timing. No problems getting through customs there. On arrival in Havana, we got past the medical check point (where we anticipated we might be required to buy temporary medical insurance. But at Customs, my carry-on bag had been tagged for inspection—because of the dozen baseballs! I followed the customs person, first to one x-ray machine, then to another, much bigger one, where the balls got several minutes of scrutiny. Finally deemed to be free of explosives, I was allowed to put them back in my bag & I rejoined Mary & Deanna. They had found taxi-driver, Guillermo, sent by Rigo to pick us up. On the way in to Centro Habana, we were delayed a few minutes after Guillermo’s taxi had a flat tire. Finally arriving on Calle Blanco, Rigo was there to greet us, informing us his parents’ casa particular(CP—Cuban bed & breakfast) and his were filled with family from out of town, as a relative needed to come to Habana for medical care. Rigo had arranged with Deysi, to put us up in her CP, right next door. Dinner time by the time we got our bags in to the 2 rooms, Mary turned to her Havana Good Times (HGT) ap that was working on her phone. We learned that Restaurante Castropol was within walking distance—2-3 blocks to the Malecon. Then about the same distance along the now closed-to-traffic Malecon, waves crashing over the wall, to the Castropol, where Landy was our waiter. A handsome 24-year old, Landy’s personableness was matched by our delicious meals........................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Cuba20121st ....................... After Deysi served us breakfast this morning, we walked to Habana Central, to change Canadian $ in to CUCs & check on our rental car. Seeing a huge line outside the Cadeca (money change), we decided to look elsewhere to change our CAD $ in to Cuban CUC’s. Near the Hotel Sevilla, where we were to pick up the rental car the next morning, I decided to check in, to verify it was reserved & available. The line for Cubacar at the travel agency wasn’t long, but it didn’t move fast. While waiting in line, I decided to cancel the rental car. Mary had found so many things to do in & around Havana on her Good Times ap, I envisioned a rushed trip in the rental car, with a wish to be back in Havana, with too little time left before our return flights to Cancun on Nov 9. The cancellation went surprisingly quickly, once I got to talk to the agent. While not the best exchange rate, the reception desk at Hotel Sevilla readily changed our money. Again consulting Mary’s Good Times ap, as well as my Lonely Planet guidebook, we checked out a few CPs in Havana Vieja, as the beds at Deysi’s aren’t great, nor is the water pressure in the shower, which isn’t hot. We didn’t find a better CP, either because they were up too many stairs for Mary’s sore knee, the beds weren’t an improvement or there weren’t empty rooms. Toilets without seats didn’t score points with the girls either. We talk to Rigo in the morning. Maybe visiting family will be gone & we can stay with him or his parents. We had an enjoyable break during our CP search—we happened on to Restaurant La Lluvia de Oro, where the group Cubano Tradición was performing. We sat right next to the “stage” & befriended band members—see pics. ‘Great sounds......................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CubanoTradicionBand ............................... So happy last night with dinner at Castropol, we returned tonight. Landy’s night off. Our waiter tonight gave it a good try, but we decided not to double-tip, even tho’ the food was again very good. Tired from our exploits today, we didn’t even go past the nearby Casa de Musica, which last night had a line down the block, waiting to get in. ................. 1:30 a.m., Sunday , 4 Nov, Casa Lilly, 13th floor, No. 301, Avenida de los Presidentes, Vedado................................. Wed morning I walked to nearby Hotel Dueville, to buy bus tickets for the next day to Cienfuegos. And to check email. First, I picked the one computer that was not working—‘couldn’t get connected to the Internet. I left to buy the bus tickets, lacked enough CUC’s so I had to walk back to the CP to get more. On return, another computer was free. I remember Internet access 9 years ago and 4 years ago as not fast, but manageable. This time it seems much less available & extremely slow, maybe in part because I’ve grown accustomed to much faster speed at home. I hope I succeeded in posting a vacation greeting, replying to emailers—to call Kim for apt business, Dawn regarding the beach. Back to Casa de Deysi, to pack up & move just a few doors down the street to Rigo’s CP. Up a long flight of stairs to the “1st floor”. He had one room for the 3 of us. More on Rigo's lodging below............................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/MoreHabana .............................. We caught a double-decker city tour bus, that took us along the Malecon (waterfront promenade), past government buildings & monuments& stately neighborhoods. We got off at the warehouse that now houses the art market, but we didn’t get a full look at it as Deanna was getting tourista symptoms. We got her back to Rigo’s & Mary I left her to rest, toilet at hand & we went to dinner. The 2nd bed was small, short & lumpy—the most uncomfortable bed we’ve found is all our CP investigations. And the bathroom sink was not properly hung n the wall & fell off. Fortunately no pressure water line broke. To top off, my stomach had been feeling queasy. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I suddenly vomited. Fortunately on to a tile floor. While Rigo had a nice breakfast waiting for us in the morning, we were happy to take our day packs & head for the bus to Cienfuegos, leaving much of our luggage in Rigo’s care. While the tour bus had a toilet in the back, both Deanna & I were feeling much better & handled the 4-hour trip to Cienfuegos without a problem. The bus dropped us south of town, in Punta Gorda, a finger of land extending in to the Bahia de Cienfuegos. We had a list of CPs as potential lodging. I hired a bike taxi to take us around. After passing on the first place & finding no vacancy at the 2nd, we found Alejandra's Casa de Oshun, with 2 vacant rooms, bay slapping at the edge of the back yard, with sunrise to the east, the front just across the street from the bay, with sunset to the west............................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Cienfuegos .......................... After getting checked in to the Oshun, we caught a cab in to town, to the Parque Jose Marti. We found the same band we had listened to our 2 prior visits. After buying some wood carvings, we found the wire artist from last visit, a former school teacher who makes much more money selling his wire sculptures to tourists than he made as a teacher. Then the jiniteros found us. After visiting for a while, we asked about cigars. Before long we were negotiating for boxes in the Parque, just as we had our last visit. 3 boxes later, all promised to be slipped out of the fabrica, we had boxes of allegedly Cohiba Esplendidos, Montecristos & El Presidentes. Our first smokes from each box have been disappointing—hard to smoke, bad taste. Maybe we just got lucky with our purchases of boxes on the street in the past, usually 1 CUC/cigar. 2nd morning in Cienfuegos we hired a taxi to take us to El Nicho, a series of waterfalls in the foothills of the Sierra del Escambray to the east of Cienfuegos. Books in the past have described a very bad road that required a 4-wheel drive. Now the road is paved all he way. Granted, chuck holes a plenty, but now an easy drive of a little more than an hour. Very pretty. Not far up the path we were greeted by a handsome fellow with a lifeguard shirt on. He readily fell in to step with us & guided us up the series of falls. I jumped in to the pool below the largest, Delightful temperature. And the neck massage under the edge of the fall was wonderful too................................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/ElNicho ............................... The botanical garden, on the way back to town, didn’t amount to much. It’s good that we didn’t make a special trip to see it.................................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CienfuegosArboretum ...................... Running short of CUCs, we asked our driver to stop at a cadeca. He found one in a neighborhood with NO line. But, when I looked for my passport in my pack, needed to change money—I couldn’t find it. I had shown it at the entrance to El Nicho. I was about to conclude that somehow it wasn’t returned to me & I'd have to go back to get it, when I looked in the back of a folder in my backpack, of various pp l had brought along & there it was! Before dinner, we went to a nearby grand old home, Palacio de Valle, to a rooftop performance by a local band. Beautiful day, great vistas to go with the fun-loving music.................................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/PuntaGordaPalacioDeValle ...................................... Alejandra was a friendly hostess, cooked us great breakfasts both mornings & a wonderful lobster dinner our 2nd night. Bus ride Saturday back to Havana was uneventful. We didn’t have lodging set up. Rigo didn’t have space, plus we didn’t want to stay in his room again, even if he freed up a 2nd. On arrival, he made some calls, took us around the block to look at a couple of CPs. Both felt claustrophobic, dark, dingy. We said no thanks. But before we left the 'hood, we left a bunch of things with Rigo & his family--shirts, other clothing, glasses, chocolate, coffee, shoes, Then we went across the street to say ”hi” to Rigo’s parents, who were unable to lodge us because reportedly friends with a member needing surgery are there. Abel, & maid Melba, were home, We had such fun during our stay 4 years ago. We broke out the rum & the frolicking began. As we were leaving, Aide & Rigo's sister Sonja arrived home. Quick hellos & a promise to visit again before we leave.................................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CasaAbel2............................. Mary had found Casa Lilly on the Good Times ap. A few km from the Centro Habana, in the Vedado neighborhood—a CP in a high rise. We confirmed by phone that Lilly had room for the 3 of us. We are delighted. Expansive views-- on the 13th floor! Fresh, bright, a wonderful change from the old historic CPs in Havana Centro & Havana Vieja. Lilly is very nice & welcoming. ‘Has a nice father & dog. Other family members, including 2 children, we have yet to meet—also live on the rest of this 13th floor...................................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CasaLillyVedado................................ Mary’s getting a sore throat & not feeling great. But—it's Saturday night, so we went out. The shrimp & pork at the nearby La Fontana Restaurant were good. My fish not so much. By the time we were done with dinner, it was time to walk the several blocks to the Jazz Club, where a trio did a strong hour's performance, Cubanos stay up late, especially on the weekend. There’s still noise on the streets & it’s after 2 a.m. Time to see if I can sleep thru the rest of the night (I’ve been waking up during the night a lot—not surprising, as we’ve been going to bed much earlier that usual for me)................... Tue, 6 Nov, just after Sunrise, Havana, Casa Lilly........................... Another beautiful cityscape at dawn. Mary & Deanna sleeping. While they love to see sunrises, I've let them sleep. Deanna is mostly over her stomach bug, but Mary has had several days of respiratory distress—it started in her throat, spread to her ear & has now migrated down to her chest. The awful vehicle emissions on the streets of Havana have not been helping. Hindsight: we should have done the car rental & spent less time in Havana. While Mary had lots of Havana sights on her Good Times ap, many involve being in the midst of the emissions being spewed out constantly. Election day! ‘Much less talk of our elections with Cubans this visit, compared to the Obama win of 2008. I give my prediction: after his re-election, Obama is going to quit trying to win Congressional approval, learn to use executive privilege &, amongst many needed changes, get rid of the embargo. Cubans just listen to me, do not share my hopefulness. While some see improvements with recent changes, most still see the system as broken, the government as not helpful. Sunday we had a nice, big breakfast on the 13th floor balcony, view out toward the Florida Straights. ‘Included Songbird Java, Mary giving grounds to Lilly’s help. We hailed a collectivo taxi (pre-1959 American car), shared with another rider, for $0.50 each & got dropped off near the Parque Central, walked down the Prado tile pathway, with many small classes in session—children learning to draw, groups of women sewing. We meandered through Habana Vieja, took pics at the famous Bodeguita del Medio, but didn’t stop for a drink, as the bar was too crowded. We had a great lunch near the Plaza del Catedral at a palador Mary had read about on Conner’s HGT ap. ‘Great meal. A big table of French travelers next to us. We’ve seen many such groups, probably tour groups, of Europeans. All 3 of us managed to fit in to a 3-wheeler open-air cab to return to Casa Lilly from Habana Vieja. Running short of drinkable bottled water, we asked to stop at a market on the way, only to learn some close at 6 pm on Sundays. We found a 24-hour market, picked up a couple of 5-liter bottles (about 1 & 1/3 gallons each), along with a bottle of Havana Club rum & a big bottle of coke, for our drinks with feet up, back in our room. Sunday night we walked to a restaurant recommended by Conner. ‘Not one of her best. Mary didn’t feel like eating much. My chicken was okay, but the sauce on Deann’s shrimp was bad. The restaurant's solution was to offer us another plate of chicken, which we gave to a most grateful bellman in Lilly’s high-rise (20 stories in all). I made my way back to the Hotel Presidente, about 3 blocks down the Ave. de los Presidentes, for an update on my email woes, taking along my laptop, to see if I could use their Wi-Fi, rather than their computers. I did get on & had better success getting to my email settings, re-did my vacation greeting & sent a couple of emails, cc to myself & WA-la, I got the email in my In-box. It didn’t access the 4 days or so of emails from when I initially did the vacation greeting on Oct 31, when I must have inadvertently forwarded all incoming emails to who-knows-where. After another breakfast on the 13th floor balcony, I walked down to Hotel Presidente, to talk to the tour desk about changing our Cubana flight to Wed instead of Fri. Mary’s respiratory problems are persisting & the awful vehicle emissions each time we are walking in Havana are further aggravation. The travel agent told me she doesn’t work with Cubana Airlines, I’d need to go to their office. I asked if she could call them. The line was busy. She told me where Cubana offices are—about 10 blocks away. The good news when I got there—they had about 8 agents, one of which was immediately available. She checked, sad no seats available Wed. ‘Moment of concern, when I asked her to verify our Fri seats & she initially didn’t find the reservation, but soon did! Mid-day, we went to visit John Lenin Park, a few blocks away, in Vedado. We took turns sitting next to John, on his park bench. After a pleasant lunch in an art studio/restaurant, we took a collective/taxi to an open-air artisan market. I decided to wait until we return to the big art market, to buy mementos & door prizes for our end-of year party. Just before sunset, we caught a collective taxi in to Centro Habana, to check out House of Music (next show to start of 11 p.m. Around the corner, we found the House of Tango, a dingy place were a pleasant gal told us about tango & other dance lessons, with a couple of guys singing tangos off-tune. From there, we walked to La Floridita, for pics with Ernesto (an update for me—the one from 4 years ago is featured on the intro to this travel blog) & daiquiris. For this trip, I brought along "The Sun Also Rises", to read when I can't sleep. I think my blog style DOES resemble Hemingway narrative ('open to any venture capitalists who want to publish me!). We then walked to our favorite restaurant, Castropol, on the Malecon, for yet another wonderful meal, served not by Landy, who was off, but by also charming Marcelo..................... Dawn, Wed, Nov 7.................................. Lilly came out to tell me last night: that Obama won! She was excited. I had spent much of the evening watching CNN in the bar at the Hotel Nacional, which has played a major role in Cuban Politics in the past. It was looking good, when the girls were ready to head homeward. After breakfast Tue morning, I hailed Gabriel’s Czech cab & struck a deal to take us about 60 km to Jibacoa & wait a couple of hours while we snorkeled. Gabriel is a pleasant guy. First spot we snorkeled, most of the dark spots we had seen from shore were seaweed & not interesting snorkeling. 2nd spot was coral reef right from water’s edge--Too shallow for comfort in some places, but we had a variety of coral & fish to watch close up. I picked through the coral washed up on the beach, finding "letters" for my one & only grandchild, Juliet Ann Lowry. At 5, she's a social worker in the making. When I asked what she wanted me to bring back, she'd like another Mexican wooden animal with bobbing head. She added that I should also remember to bring back gifts for Lauren & Jake (Kate's friend Brian's kids). It was partly cloudy, not very windy. Overall, good conditions & a nice, fresh break from the noise & pollution of Havana. We made a deal with Gabriel, to take us to the airport Friday. His phone # is 052733052—for those who want a guide to the closest good snorkeling to Havana..................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/Jibacoa .............................. We went to Hotel Nacional to watch election returns on CNN. Mary & Deanna wandered around the posh hotel, took in some live music & dancing while I watched results look increasingly positive—Michigan & Ohio for Obama early in the evening, Florida results looking increasingly strong for Barack. As we walked away from the hotel, looking for a cab, we were assailed by a young jinitero—inviting us to his “best live music in Havana, 2 blocks away. We bit & followed him & his girl friend, both practicing their English, lecturing us on not wasting time on sleep while in Havana, after we told them we’d had a long day & were about ready for bed. The “2” blocks were more like 6. The bar was smoke-filled, almost empty, with no live music. The positive outcome: Having walked the 6 blocks, we decided we could walk the last few blocks to Casa Lilly, conserve our fast-dwindling supply of CUCs for other things than a taxi. After breakfast Wed we caught a collective taxi to the Capitolo, meandered thru Habana Vieja to the art market in the old warehouse. We shopped for a couple of hours, picking up gifts and door prizes for the end-of-year party. Still not tired of Castropol, we returned for lunch, hoping to see Landy one more time. Marcel was working & took care of us................................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/MoreHabanaVieja ....................... On to Abel & Aide's, to finish the visit we started on Saturday. A couple of Mexican doctors, here in Havana for training, Jorge & Joaquin, joined in. When cigars were brought up, we wanted more than Abel had in house. He called his source, told us he’d have them the next afternoon (Thursday) & invited us to dinner............................. https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/CasaAbel3 ................................ Thursday morning we caught the bus to Playa del Este. I went in. Not seeing other swimmers further out, I limited body surfing to shallow water. The guy with the lifeguard emblem on his shirt was blatantly focused on noticing if we checked out his buff physique—I didn’t have any faith that he was in fact a lifeguard. We all 3 got 30-minute massages. Back in Havana, short of CUCs to pay Lilly & buy more cigars from Abel, I tired my Canadian MC in a cash machine—it got rejected. I went to nearby Hotel Inglaterra, where staff said we’d need to go in to a bank to use the card. Too late in the day, we went ahead & changed US $, even though there is an extra penalty to convert them—a way of Cuba retaliating against the embargo. Back to Lilly’s to shower, then back for dinner at Abel’s. Jorge & Joaquin again joined us for drinks & a delicious chicken dinner. When we finally got around to cigars, we ended up getting 3 boxes, for a US $100 bill. If the Mexican Customs says we can’t bring in more than 1 box each (25 to a box), we will tell them they can have the ones we got in Cienfuegos, as the few we’ve tried so far have been really bad—some won’t draw at all, others only with great effort—And, they taste bad--harsh. Big mistake—buying from jiniteros in Cienfuegos. (Did I write that already? “Worth repeating—we’ve been told many times, from many sources--DON’T buy cigars from those who approach you on the street. We were happy with Abel’s last time. Hopefully he’s done right by us again...................................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/HabanaFinale .............................. Packing time. Taxi will be here at 11 am................... Jose Mari Airport, Havana, Fri 3:30 p.m.............................. We just got sandwiches & colas, “thanks” to Cubana Airlines. Our flight to Cancun, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. departure, is now estimated for 7 p.m. departure. Our plane is reportedly held up due to weather in Mexico City. Cubana won’t put another plane on the tarmac to fill in. They didn’t come to the gate to tell people. We happened to learn from other travelers. We had time this morning to catch taxis to & from Centro Habana, to buy cheese, more ron (rum) & snacks for the trip. With our remaining CUCs. I handed out my remaining reflectors to bicycle taxis. Gabriel (our taxista to Jibacoa for snorkeling on Tue) borrowed a very nice car to bring us to the airport. I tipped him with my last baseball. So far, no scrutiny by Cuban customs. We’ve taken bands off the cigars that we expect to be crappy—the ones we bought from jiniteros in Cienfuegos. We’re trusting that the 3 boxes we got from Abel last night are good ones. If Mexican customs catches we have more than 1 box per person, we’ll give them the Cienfuegos losers, that, so far, have been hard to smoke. We met a California coupe in the airport, waiting as we are to get to Cancun,. They, with destination Cancun, are lucking ones, as are we. Other are missing connecting flights.................... Tuesday morning, Nov 13, Cancun Airport................................. Cubana Air did get us to Cancun of Friday evening, in time to catch the bus to Playa del Carmen. Jerry, Deanna’s friend, was wondering where we were. He had arrived & checked in to Luna Blue the day before. Deanna had discovered Luna Blue on line, highly recommended by TripAdvisor. Indeed, it was nice. AC when we needed it. Screens on windows, for fresh air when we had enough of the AC. Weather was quite pleasant, not too hot, usually a breeze. The spacious room that can sleep 3 had kitchen, with stove & fridge. Saturday morning we walked 3 blocks to the beach, paid over 300 pesos. At 12-13 pesos to the $, way over-priced--for 6 beers & a small order of guacamole. On further thought, the umbrella that came with the deal was priceless--I began turning red quickly, so I spent most of my time under the umbrella. Even though I walk in the shade whenever possible (to try & reduce sweating, in additional to avoiding sunburn, I still have ended up with lots of color............................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/PlayaDelCarmen ....................... Sunday morning we struck a deal for $40 to go to Akumal, about a half hour south of Playa, to snorkel. First at the Laguna de Yagul, with it’s calm inlets with a wide variety of fish, then in the bay, in hopes of finding turtles. Mary & I thought better of the swim out to the edge of the boat channel. Deanna & Jerry saw only some big fish. On our way back, we stopped at a couple of cenotes—fresh water swimming holes that are all over the Yucatan. Very green........................... https://picasaweb.google.com/wrinkles45/AkumalCenotes ..................... We had a delicious chicken dinner, prepared in our kitchen on Sunday night. We’ve been going out less at night, especially me. Mary & I are both hoping our coughs go away soon. With wi-fi in the room, I’m happy to check email & update Craigslist ads, catch up on some of what’s been happening with Lowry Rentals. The other 3 went to the Playa Bodeguita del Medio Cuban hangout a couple of times. The music was good, the mojitos were awful.. Tuesday night we had a great last dinner at a Uruguayan dinner house. My flight leaves at mid-day, so here I am, with the other 3 coming for late afternoon departures. Summing up: now home 8 days, I'm still struggling with the cough we blame Rigo for giving to Mary & me. I've summoned enough energy to do Picasa albums, which brings back good memories of the trip. I've had a sore neck since being a passenger when Nate's little Honda got t-boned last summer, It's tough to look right & left, let alone turn to see behind. So, without consciously thinking about my stiff neck, it probably contributed to my decision to cancel the car rental & perhaps that was a very prudent decision. We did get our fill of Havana. Our jinitero connections weren't as enjoyable this time. I'm looking forward to trips to Mexico & Central America with Mary, to check out more coffee regions. At Abel's, friendly Mexican doctor, Joaquin, assured us we will be totally welcome to stay with him in his pueblo májico, Papantla, in Veracruz State, a coffee growing region.