Cuba - 2016

Two hours later after leaving a very modern Panama City behind, we seemingly descended through a time warp and landed at Havana’s international airport in Cuba, a country we had been keen to visit before any changing relationships with the USA had more profound impacts on its way of life... if you know what I mean.

Four out of our original six travelled to Cuba for a 11 day private tour arranged through two Australian based companies, ‘Please Yourself Travel’ who partner with ‘Cuban Adventures’ (http://www.cubagrouptour.com).  We added two extra days in Havana onto the suggested itinerary and the rest of the time we visited in order, the towns of Viñales, Cienfuegos via the Bay of Pigs, Trinidad and Santa Clara.  We even passed through a town named Australia… seriously.

Now for a few maps, the first showing Cuba's location relative to Central America and the USA and then the towns we visited are shown below on the actual route we took through what is essentially only a small portion of the 1,250km long island of Cuba; yes it’s a lot bigger than we thought also.

Flight from Panama to Havana

Actual route around Cuba... big isn't it

Actual towns/cities visited

Now rather than a blow by blow type of description of our tour around Cuba, I would prefer to focus on some of our experiences, the people, their culture and a little of Cuba’s history to try and put some of how Cuba works into context.

Some cool dudes busking not far from our Havana accomodation

Anything written from here on needs to be read in conjunction with a few key Cuban historical events which helped explain to us at least, why Cuba is the way it is, so please bear with me because this country really is a fabulous place to visit, but more on that later.

Cuba’s modern history begun when Spain’s Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492!  After many years under Spanish rule and domination, Cuba became the focus of a few other countries aggressive attention by way of attacks and invasions over the last 150 years.  For example:

ð   The British navy in 1741, 1748 and 1752 conducted various attacks around Cuba and in 1762, Great Britain wrested control of Cuba from Spain but then returned it to them in exchange for Florida in 1763.

ð   There were frequent attacks on Cuba by pirates and buccaneers operating in and around the Caribbean.

ð   In 1898 after the Spanish/American wars, America gained control of Cuba but then Cuba achieved formal independence in 1902.

ð   After a rapid build up from 1953, in 1959 a revolution lead by Fidel and Raul Castro overthrew the USA backed and Mafia linked, corrupt President Battista.  In Fidel Castro’s team was the famous Argentinian, ‘Che’ Guevara.

The revered 'Che'

     In 1959, Cuba became a communist country and remains so today.

ð   1960 saw the commencement of severe trade embargoes enforced by the USA on Cuba.

ð   In 1961, a CIA (USA) financed and trained group of Cuban refugees invaded the Bay of Pigs and was comprehensibly defeated.

ð   1962 was the date of the Cuban missile crisis between Kennedy vs. Khrushchev, that then lead to the cessation of any relationships between the USA and Cuba, and even further tightening of trade restrictions.

Now keep in mind that Cuba sits a mere 145kms from the coast of the USA and is not very far from the very vital Panama Canal, a trade route aggressively protected by the USA to maintain its trade revenues.

Everything went really smoothly and exactly as promised for this tour, so a credit to the companies we booked through.  We met our guide for the tour on the first night in Havana, Olexis, a former English teacher at a University, and he ensured we learned about Cuba as we visited each town.  He was very good and balanced in his approach, with an obvious pride in being Cuban but very open about those things the population aspires for, increased prosperity.

A local enjoying cuban cigar

Olexis had changed to the tourism industry to increase his prosperity because a very good average wage in Cuba is around 36 USDs equivalent per month, and a normal average is around 16 USDs per month.  Make no mistake, this is not a wealthy country but Cuba’s most important assets, its people, seem happy and a real delight to be with.

Locals queuing to change money.  There are queues for lots of services

When we first arrived in Cuba it becomes obvious almost immediately that this is a country which has almost stood still economically for a very long time as evidenced by all the old cars in various states of repair and buildings which are very time-worn and in need of considerable maintenance.  

It reminded me of when I was growing up in the late 1950’s where everything was recycled somehow and people were very inventive about how to repair and maintain things, or re-purpose them.

Old train being repaired using what they can scrounge together

Cuba however has very good education and health systems that are free to residents and its historical trade opportunities have been centred on sugar, rum and cigars.  We can confirm they REALLY do make good rum and cigars after we bought some from a local in their home, his elderly mother asleep in a bed behind us.

Rob & Lorna enjoying good Cuban rum

Tourism has now become in recent years, probably the primary means of increasing wealth for Cuba and the locals are very well aware of this.  As a result, no matter where we travelled in Cuba, we were made to feel welcomed by very warm, friendly and engaging people who have a wonderful sense of humour and fun, despite their lack of personal prosperity. 

Breakfast at one of the casas

In each city or town, we stayed in casas or homestays; very similar to B&B’s back home and this was a truly rewarding experience.  Most of our hosts spoke little or no English and we spoke virtually no Spanish but it didn’t matter one iota.  

Their warmth and enthusiasm to ensure we enjoyed ourselves was refreshing and we were able to engage in some communication and sharing by using offline Google Translate, very helpful indeed. 

The ability of residents to be licenced to run casas as a private wealth creating business is relatively recent so hosts really protect this opportunity and we would recommend this style of accommodation to anyone planning to visit Cuba… stay in casas!

There are a few things you need to get used to in Cuba very quickly. For example, there are 2 physical currencies they run, one the locals use and one we tourists use and the tourist’s currency is called CUCs (Cuban Convertibles), with 1 CUC roughly equal to $1 US.

Cuba is a very cost effective destination for tourists to visit with the usual cost for mojito, pina colada or margarita cocktails of 3 CUCs.  They have a nice local custom in many venues having ordered say a pina colada when they deliver the pina colada mixture in a good-sized glass and plonk a bottle of rum down next to it.  You then decide how much rum you have with your cocktail… no extra charge!

We enjoyed some good healthy food in Cuba

Local acquiring monthly rations

A meal plus drinks in a good Cuban restaurant, was cheaper than a normal pub meal back home and the food was really good, especially if you ordered pork or chicken and their seafood offerings weren’t at all shabby either.  

Now whilst we were enjoying all this, the locals still receive Government sponsored rations for staples like rice, cooking oil, beans etc. each month and they have shops only the locals can buy things in. 

Havana

In each town we found amazing old buildings in various stages of restoration, each telling its own story of elegance brought to Cuba by the Spanish particularly but also by the Americans during the 1930’s.  

There are also huge numbers of formerly beautiful buildings falling apart and unable currently to be fixed because their owners simply don’t have the money and wealth creation capacity to do this.

Havana

Havana

Cienfuegos

Negotiating horse drawn taxis on main roads

Transport is a huge issue throughout Cuba and cars or trucks are extremely expensive, so what we did see in every town and in Havana were horse drawn carts being used as taxis, or people getting around within each town on horseback like in the old west. 

Buses for locals usually consisted of a tray top truck with bench seats in the back and a metal canopy over the top with holes cut out of it for a view and some glass to help during the rainy season.

Bus on the freeway

local trasport - Trinidad

The locals do a lot of hitchhiking to get around and we would see large groups of people standing at road intersections or freeway overpasses trying to hitch a lift.  Yes there are some freeways in Cuba, built from around 1927, but again we did have to avoid some large holes due to a lack of maintenance.

First ride in old car, 1959 Buick convertible

Now to the cars, those wonderful old cars!  We thought that Havana would be the main location to see the old cars Cuba is famous for, but no, they were everywhere we travelled.  

Cannot tell you how many times we would stop walking, just to watch an old car go by and the first one we travelled in for a 1hr tour was a red and white 1959 Buick convertible still with its original motor.

We did hear sadly that Americans are already offering big bucks to buy old cars and freight them back to the USA.  The money being offered could change the lives of a Cuban family, but the loss of the old cars out of Cuba would change forever the character of the country and one of the reasons tourists are flocking to it.  It is one of many dilemmas the country is facing going forward!

Never tired of looking at the parade of old cars

Our taxi for a few days back in Havana

During our last 2 days in Havana we had two exceptional experiences in old cars.  

The last casa we stayed in was about 30 mins from old Havana so they organised a taxi for us to use a number of times, in fact he was a neighbour. 

We had the pleasure of travelling in a fully restored and immaculate 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, which was great when being picked up at midnight after enjoying a cabaret at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, a landmark hotel.

Colourful Cuban cabaret, Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Our other experience came after visiting the oldest still operating fort in the world, 

Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro built originally in 1589, to witness the nightly ceremonial firing of an original canon and to watch the sun setting over Havana, both very spectacular indeed.  After the firing, we needed to get back to our casa and were hawked by one of many to accept their taxi, the slight deviation being he wasn’t the driver.

Nightly firing of the canon ceremony - Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro

After negotiating a price, almost as if out of behind a tree, popped this very young man who then lead us to the ‘taxi’, oh boy, it was a Russian Lada, a very old Lada missing most things except doors, tyres and steering wheel.  Being bigger I crawled into the front seat without any foam, the other 3 squeezing into the back and we were away, exhaust smoke sneaking in from behind and the rear windows unable to be opened.  I wound down my window to help clear the air but also to let out the sound coming from the boom box.

In front of our 'Uber Cuba'

After a few engine stalls and almost cleaning up a few pedestrians, we made it back to the casa and when we stopped, the driver jumped out and ran back down the street into the darkness and we hadn’t even paid yet.  

A bit dumbfounded we stood and waited until back out of the gloom he appeared and we paid but never did know why he took off.  With all that, Geoff quietly said, “welcome to Uber Cuba!”

There was just experience after experience after experience in Cuba, simple things like searching out the source of the music wafting out of a café, or bar, an old building or within an open air park and finding some locals playing music whilst others are enjoying dancing the salsa. 

locals dancing in a park...

...in front of a hotel

lots of music happening everywhere

When sitting at an open air bar enjoying a band, a local sitting a few rows away spotted us and using only a few words of English, asked if we were enjoying ourselves.

Enjoying the music and yes... more rum

Being asked if we're having fun

On a tobacco farm, at 11am watching the owner hand roll a exquisitely crafted cigar the Cubans are renowned for, whilst enjoying yet another mojito in one hand and cigar in the other.

Land cultivation the old way

Watching the cigar craftsman

Simply amazing how it all happened

Enjoying a cigar and mojito

We also happened to be in Cuba when they celebrated May Day and found ourselves smack bang in amongst how they party together, it was noisy, it was friendly and there was a lot of rum.

May Day celebration and party - Trinidad

Every great experience we had invariably involved some sort of wonderful interaction with Cuba’s greatest resource that could be found everywhere… their people and we hope it never changes.

one of the great faces of Cuba

So hopefully by now you have gained a sense that we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cuba and if you harbour a dream to go there sometime, do it soon before the Americans do what they do when they swamp a developing country, but we hope Cuba has the strength and foresight to grow in prosperity whilst retaining who and what they are.

With that, and Cuba being our last country to visit on this trip, we bid a very fond farewell to Olexis then via Mexico City and Los Angeles made our way back home, a lot ‘richer’ for the experiences over almost 8 weeks travelling with good friends.

So till next time in a little while… go well!

till next time...

...as the sun set over Havana from Castillo De Los Tres Reyes Del Morro

For more photos of Cuba, just click on the link below:

CLICK HERE for more photos of Cuba 2016

Panama - 2016

We were about to leave Costa Rica and cross into Panama and according to the itinerary notes, would be met on the Panama side by a driver called David holding up a sign to make it easier; all sounded straightforward. Well we were dropped off on the Costa Rican side of the border, our driver immediately doing a runner. 

Riot police surrounding noisy migrants

So with no idea of what to do next, we were confronted with a scene of heavily armed riot police surrounding a rowdy crowd of migrants wanting to cross the border illegally.

In the distance on the Panamanian side of the border, we could see an equally large group of armed police waiting to stop anyone attempting to cross.

All the police ignored us as we walked past the commotion and thanks to an American living in Costa Rica and who crosses this border often; he gave us guidance on how to negotiate ‘the process’.  First task, get the right departure document from Costa Rica, pay some money, walk through ‘no-man land’ past their riot police to the Panama Immigration area to get passports stamped, pay some more money and we’re in.

Well David wasn’t waiting for us, so we waited and waited and waited and waited, border crossing chaos all around us… no-one!  As normal now it was very hot and steamy, when Robert worked out that with the border crossing also came a time zone change, watches having to go forward an hour.  Hmmm… had the next driver already come and gone?

Boquete nestled amongst mountains

Thankfully buried in the trip notes we found a phone number for David, so now we had to find a local who spoke English willing to try contacting David to find out where he was.  

Finally and for a price, we did find someone who told us that David was 10-15 mins away.  Well eventually he did turn up, did have a sign, did not speak English but seemed to know where we were meant to be going… Boquete.

Boquete is a small town located in a valley surrounded by mountains and extinct volcanoes, about 60kms as the crow flies but about 2.5hrs drive from where we crossed the Costa Rican border.  At an altitude of 1,200mtrs, it has a cooler and more temperate climate, making it a very popular destination for people wanting to get away from the heat.  Its residents also include many retired Europeans and Americans living there enjoying a cheaper lifestyle. 

It is a nice quaint little town with very good restaurants and quirky bars, plus an excellent barber who correctly interpreted my poor Spanish request for a haircut, and it was also in Boquete we started seeing stalls selling that hat of the same name as the country we were now in… the panama.

Haircut in Panama

On the Quetzal Trail

We were in Boquete for one main objective, to walk, should actually say trek, the Quetzal Trail, criss-crossing its way around the dormant volcanic Rio Caldera.  

With a guide, we trekked what is casually described as the ‘downhill’ direction from west to east covering 9-10kms on the trail proper but before we got to the actual trailhead, we had a complete a steep 2km hike.  

The trail in this direction was thankfully mainly ‘downhill’ but for the 5-6hrs we were on it, but we did a lot of clambering up steep sections and down around the side of the caldera, climbing over large rocks, steps and tree roots.

The hike started at an altitude of 1,981mtrs and reached 2,500mtrs before the descent, and it really was a stunning area, with lots of beautiful jungle to walk through, constant panoramic views across misty valleys whilst constantly being surrounded by large trees or making multiple small creek crossings.

Male Quetzal (photo by Robyn Seal)

The name of the trail also provides a clue as to why we hiked it.

 Quetzals... keep trying to find more of them and again, we were in luck, our guide finding a few more of these stunning birds, along with many others varieties, keeping the 2 real ‘twitchers’ (not us) in our group very happy indeed, mind you the rest of us think they are a REALLY beautiful bird.

At the end of the trail though, we were all pretty stuffed, which made our meal that night in a terrific little Italian restaurant, all the more rewarding.

Female Quetzal (photo by Robyn Seal)

Hummingbird at Australian callistemon in Finca Lerida plantation

After spending the next day near Boquete at the Finca Lerida coffee plantation, we enjoyed more hummingbirds zipping around us, some great scenery, coffee and food.  Next morning, David picked us up for the drive to Almirante where we boarded another small boat.  Thirty minutes later we arrived in Bocas del Toro, the capital on the main island of Isla Colon, in the province of Bocas del Toro, a 4,657km² archipelago on the Caribbean coast, which Christopher Columbus first visited in 1502.

Boat taxi port at Bocas del Toro

Walking to hotel down main street of Bocas del Toro

This place is a tourist mecca for backpackers and surfers especially, with many open-air bars and reggae music and the simple reason for being here was to relax and chill out and we soon learned it was full of a variety of restaurants; many of them located over the water and soon understood how cheap the local crayfish was!  It was nice to do what the locals do, eat your food and then throw any food scraps into the water behind us and feed the waiting fish.

With only one full day here, Rob and I took a taxi boat to visit Red Frog Beach on another island, and try finding the diminutive red frogs.  After disembarking on the island and after organising to be picked up by the same boat in a few hours, the taxi departed and the skies opened with torrential rain!

Part of the island was a private wildlife reserve within very thick jungle and we could hear the frogs, but with the steady heavy rain, the frogs croaking for joy dispersed into the lagoons.  Also on the island is a fabulous tent based environmental ‘resort’ for backpackers, so we spent a few hours with them under cover in the café enjoying good coffee whilst watching the rain falling on a deserted but beautiful beach.

deserted Red Frog beach

Stunning architectural design

It was only a short flight from Bocas to Panama City and boy what a change in environment!  

This city is home to 1.5M people and reminded us of a larger version of the Gold Coast with many very modern high-rise buildings soaring skyward along the coastline.

It also housed some of the most exciting architectural designs in buildings we have personally seen.

To get a good feel for the city, we used a 48hr pass on the hop on/hop off bus.  

One of the stops on its route was at the reason this city exists, the Panama Canal, and to commence our learning curve of this amazing 100-year-old engineering feat, we hopped off at the visitor centre at Miraflores where one of the canals two lock complexes is located.  

The VERY modern skyline of Panama City

Approaching Panama City

As we arrived we were also in luck to see a massive passenger ship departing the locks and towering over the surrounding buildings.

Approaching Centennial Bridge and Pan American Hwy on way to Miraflores Lock

During our stay in Panama City, we completed what was meant to be a ½ day partial transit of the canal, boarding on the artificial Gatun Lake before heading back to and through the locks at Miraflores, then out to sea under the massive Bridge of the Americas where a queue of ships were anchored waiting to take the full 77km transit to the Caribbean coast.  Our partial transit actually ended up taking 10hrs due to delays waiting for an appropriate ship for us to follow into the locks.

Bridge of the Americas

When we boarded in Gatun Lake we were able to obtain a great vantage point at the front of the boat on the upper deck, and as the boat filled with more tourists, our challenge was to retain our spots over many hours.  We had people try to push in, we even had one old Japanese lady do the, ‘I’m short and very old and need sympathy’ thing without a single word being spoken… she was successful!  We did get a great view as we went through the locks but under the relenting heat we looked like slow baked meals when the day had ended.

Ship entering lock we were also in

There is such a massive amount of history and facts about the Panama Canal BUT I’m not going to inflict it on you… except for a few fascinating learnings.  

The canal is not a canal for the full 77kms, instead there are short canals at both ends, each with 3 locks, and a huge manmade lake in the middle at a higher level than the oceans, the lake being used to supply the water to operate the locks to raise/lower the ships into the lake.

If they had dug a massive canal for the full 77kms from coast to coast, as originally commenced by the French in 1881, the ships would not have been able to control their passage through it.  On one coast there is a ~1mtr tidal movement whilst on the other coast it’s over 20mtrs which simply would have meant, a massive rushing of water through the canal and out of control ships.

Ship in lock as tourist boat waits

Everything is charged to go through the canal, the cheapest transit being 36 cents paid by Richard Halliburton in 1928 when he swam the full length of the canal, and the most expensive toll paid so far by the ‘Norwegian Pear’l at $375,600, all tolls being based primarily on weight.  With the opening soon of the larger/wider 2^nd set of locks at both ends, to handle the super ships, the tolls are going to increase significantly.

Ship in lock and canal tourist boat waiting to enter

Finally, 13,000 to 14,000 vessels pass through the canal a year at the rate of about 35-40 per day, with traffic going in one direction for half the day and then reversing for the other half.  The ships waiting to transit in front of Panama City are all allocated a slot in the queue, and if the Captain of each ship doesn’t exactly follow the instructions of the pilot required for each transit, the pilot will disembark the ship and the boat goes to the end of the queue.

Container ship in 2nd lock next to our boat during transit

It is an amazing construction and very worthy of a visit and admiration!

Biomuseo

There is also an old town in Panama City, which we visited a few times and enjoyed walking along its many narrow streets lined with old Spanish colonial buildings. 

Another favourite destination for tourists is the Biomuseo, a historical environmental museum of Panama, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, which opened in October 2014.  It was fantastic and we spent a few hours enjoying it.

The old & new of Panama City

Old town in Panama City

On our last night in Panama City, Rob and I hiked 8kms along the waterfront from our hotel back to the fish market near the old town to take night photos.  This was an unplanned hike because we could walk faster than taking a taxi in the peak hour traffic. It did let us see hundreds of Panamanian locals keeping fit as they jogged and rode past us.

View back to city during 8km hike

The location we had spotted during our hop on/off bus rides we hope enabled us to capture some photos of the energy and modern style of Panama City, but combined with its reliance on the movement of boats past it.

Panama City at night and boats moving with in the waves

46kms from Panama City is the town of Gamboa, originally created to support the canal and it was here we stayed in the huge Gamboa Rainforest Resort for 3 nights, a delightful way to finish our time in Panama. 

View from Gamboa Rainforest Resort

Aracari Toucan - Gamboa

Surrounding Gamboa is Soberania National Park which we visited twice, once by boat watching baby crocodiles, numerous birds and monkeys combined with walking part of the famous Pipeline Road, a world famous destination for twitchers.  

Our final visit into the park was to the Rainforest Discovery Centre with its 32m high observation tower enabling great views over the canopy of the rainforest.

Broad billed Motmot

Tamarin monkey

Baby crocodile

Hummingbird

Tanager... I think

This large resort not only provided excellent scenery around it, especially at sunset, but also the opportunity to see plenty of wildlife.  Every morning just after sunrise we could be found standing on the upper balconies outside the rows of rooms, watching an abundance of colourful birds in the surrounding trees and even another sloth came down for a close look at us.

Hunting hawk

In the resort, at long last we saw those elusive and very colourful little frogs.  They were about the size of a thumbnail and their colours a warning to everything, because they are very poisonous and capable of killing a person if touched.

Red Poison Dart frog

Juvenile Golden Frog

The resort also runs a rehab centre for injured wildlife and whilst looking at frogs, we had a quick look at the holding pens where they were caring for an injured jaguar, one of the most elusive species anywhere in Central America.  We managed to see only a small part of this big cat but it was still a very exciting opportunity.

Our rewarding time here had come to an end as we headed back to the international airport in Panama City for the flight to our final destination on this trip and stories for the next post.

great photo by Robyn Seal

sunset on our time in Panama

For more photos of Panama, please click on the link below:

CLICK HERE for more Photos of Panama 2016

Go well!