Here we come! After a lovely day in Miami Beach and a lovely day here in Quito, Ecuador (the Secret Garden Hostel is the best place we’ve stayed so far!) we’re off to Galapagos tomorrow morning. More soon!
OK only one big post for all of Cuba and that’s it. Next stop Ecuador and Galapagos. Then I’ll try and catch up properly…..
No pics embeddd in this as that’s the bit that takes time. Really need someone to invent off line interfaces for the blog sites! All the pics for it are here http://picasaweb.google.com/tim.minter.pics under the albums..
Cuba!
Little bit nervous about Cuba, not quite knowing what to expect. What I think you do get is a pretty unique place. One of the first things we did was toddle off to the Museo de la Revolution. What you might call a very thorough exhibit! There’s painstaking detail spelled out on faded cardboard and in black and white photos and the odd random section with English subtitles. One room with a lot in English is all about the things the USA has done to Cuba eg. Infecting the plants and animals with horrible diseases. True or false, this room, I assume portrays the official history taught in schools? As an impartial observer I’d say there was some pretty ridiculous stuff there. Ridiculous if it’s true, and any of it actually happened, and ridiculous if it’s false and Cuba is using these things to excuse local problems or as propaganda.
I suppose the questions I have about this place are, what would it be like now if there was no revolution and what would it be like if there was no embargo? One thing is for sure, is this isn’t a prosperous place. Education and healthcare are supposed to be brilliant and literacy amongst the population is supposed to be close to 100%. Arts and sports are supposed to be accessible to everyone. If you see someone begging you should not believe them as housing is free to all and jobs are available to all. I’ve no idea how true this is and people do beg on the streets on Havana. Outside the tourist areas, Havana, although a photographers dream, is so crumbling I had to marvel at the optimism of some people you could see going about their lives. Watching in morbid fascination as an old lady hung up her washing to see if the final pair of pants would bring the whole building down.
[pics of Havana]
We were staying in Hostal Vallencia, an old colonial mansion in old Havana surrounded by picturesque squares and amazing buildings. Lots were being done I guess as part of the countries concerted efforts to attract tourism. Walking around Havana was an amazing experience. Around any corner you could find an amazing square or church or wide boulevard or the most rickety crumbling, roughest neighbourhood.
1950’s Chevy
[pics of cars]
Pretty much the first thing you notice when you get here are the cars. It’s not quite like the sequence in James Bond, walking down the street surrounded by polished, spotless 1950’s finned wonders but they are here and they are everywhere. Most have been through a few engines and are held together by what must be a huge industry of talented creative welders and bodgers. Some would be a worthy half finished product of the bodgyest of Scrapheap Challenges (Junkyard Wars if you’re American) but some have been truly loved, repainted (a few times probably) and shined to perfection.
Coco Taxi
[Coco taxi pic]
He he! If every country doesn’t have it’s unique transport it damn well should! 1950’s Chevies are pretty unique I guess but Coco Taxi’s are even more fun. Kind of like being thrown around in a big hamster ball. No idea if these exist in other places around the world. Kinda hope they don’t as they wouldn’t be that special anymore !
Here’s a bit of our ride through Havana.
[Coco taxi ride video]
Socialism\Communism?
Kath and I have been talking about this a lot, what’s all this socialism\communism about? I know what my idea of it is and a quick read up about it and a trip to the Museo del la Revolution pretty much confirms it, i.e. everyone is equal, and the state runs\owns everything, working for the good of the people, employment to all, free housing and health care but now I’m actually here it’s very hard to imagine how it actually works. How can a surgeon have the same income as the person who was sitting reading the paper in the hotel lobby waiting for someone to hand toilet paper to? Where do those cash restaurant tips go? How on earth can a taxi company keep tags on taxi drivers who NEVER put the meter on (and from what I can see have all disabled their speedometers).
Not speaking Spanish is a problem as so far we’ve not been able to have a conversation with anyone local at all. Why doesn’t everyone drive the same car? How can some people live in pretty horrible concrete tower blocks, tiny rooms with only three good walls in the roughest of neighbourhoods and someone else be relaxing in the garden of their suburban detached?
Techno cuba
Owning a computer or mobile phone as an individual was illegal here until recently. I’ve seen a few mobile phones now and a computer on the back of a bicycle. Businesses have been able own computers and microwaves for a while now but one massively noticeable thing here is that technology is very much not part of daily life. Tourists, unlike everyone else, seem to be treated to pretty much continuous electricity and most places we’ve been have had hot water 24 hours a day (as long as the electricity is on). Diesel generators power the most remote places we’ve been to and the phones have been working for us but not for everyone.
Havana has some combined state run telephone and internet offices (Etecsa) as do most bigger places. Trindad had a grand total of 6 internet connected computers, Vinales had three, one in the tourist office which didn’t have power and only one worked in the Etecsa office. Maria La Gorda had none. Maybe the fancier hotels in Havana have internet, possibly even wireless? I’ll probably never know. This is all a big excuse for my lack of email and blogging
Tropicana
A must see since 1939, the Tropicana Nightclub was the hangout of many a famous\infamous celebrity and mobster over the years. Now a must see tourist hotspot but no less a spectacle because of it. We booked our seats and got in the taxi (it’s bleedin’ miles from old Havana). The neon glow could be seen some way away! Our attempt at dressing up for the night left me feeling rather embarrassed next to the other suited and slinky clientele. Walking boots and trousers meant for the rain forest had to do for me and I kinda did feel a disapproving glare or three as we were shown to our FRONT ROW! table. Acting all sophisticated and filling the table with cocktails to the point we couldn’t even start our complementary bottle of rum (which we’d forgotten about) helped though.
[pics of dancers]
As our taxi driver there wouldn’t budge from charging us 15 CUC (as opposed to the 12 quoted) we told him not to bother with a pickup and regretted that pretty much as soon as we left. As with anything it seems here, there’s always someone willing to come up with the goods for the correct fee though, usually just exactly when you want it to. We found ourselves, rather worse for ware, posing outside a 1950’s American museum piece which then took us all the way home (for 15 CUC)
[pic of “taxi”]
Help!
When walking around a grave yard after a day of hardly seeing a soul, this isn’t the kind of thing you want to see! Check out the date…
Trinidad
One of the most visited places in Cuba but definitely for a good reason, some say it’s like a Hollywood set swarming with tourists and Cubans enlisted as extras. That might be the case sometimes but we loved it here (initially anyway!) Cobbled streets and basically a place frozen in time.
[pics of Trinidad]
Like a lot of places we’ve been so far, it feels like we’re the only people here. We got a bus from Havana with probably 15 people on yesterday. We went on a hike to swim at a waterfall in Topes de Collantes and 6 of the same people came too. In a strange twist I reckon the others might have been extras put on the bus by Cubans.
[pics of waterfall]
Cobbles, cobblers and Trinidad
This was a bit of a rollercoaster. Arriving here from the big city was brilliant. Cobbled streets, lovely square, surrounded by greenery and hills, literally the scene from many a postcard. Horses and carts outnumbered most things with wheels and around every corner would be something you’d have to fight the urge to photograph.
This was our first taste of Casas Particulares; Private homes with a room rented out. Hotels do exist but I think there’s probably only two here in Trinidad. Outside of a city these Casas are the places you’d probably find yourself staying. From our experience, stepping off the bus at any place with Casas Particulares will involve a huge pushing frenzied mob. You’ve probably not become famous over night, they’re desperate for your business. Touts and Casa owners literally in your face, pushing and shoving. If you’re ready for it, it can be quite fun, if not, then it aint! Lonely planet says “try and go with an owner” but it’s impossible to tell who is an owner and who is a tout. Either way, if I can offer any advice at all it would be to say you “just want to look” and not be afraid of walking out and trying a few places. Although the mob will have gone home, just wearing a rucksack on the street is enough to be deluged with offers of accommodation.
I said this was a rollercoaster because, although surrounded by picturesque loveliness, this was the first place we experienced what we thought was inevitable at some point; someone stealing from us. We were being careful out and about in public but the reality is we let our guard down. We really don’t want to be travelling around suspecting everyone we see and hanging onto our material stuff like it’s the end of the world if we loose it.
Here it started off with Kath’s hair conditioner mysteriously getting lower and lower. Harmless enough for us to ignore\even laugh about, it’s so hard\impossible for people here to get hold of good quality stuff like that. Then the last night, possibly knowing we’d be out till late and definitely knowing we had a 6.30am start the next day we came back to find Kath’s bags gone through. Unlike my bag, Kath’s is ordered and everything has its place. Whoever went through it didn’t realize this and it was obvious things had been pulled out and put back all over the place. Sure enough, Kath’s little camouflage short shorts had gone. We assume it was the teenage daughter of the owner who would have seen Kath wearing them and wanted the conditioner to impress the boys.
We confronted the owner and daughter, curlers, night gown and all, fresh from bed. Denial and complete lack of language caused friction both sides and it ended with us saying we’d call the police. They weren’t open until 8am, we were screwed really. No evidence and a $50 bus to catch at 7am. Nowhere else to stay of course either. A rather awkward night and definitely awkward morning in store. We had a roof terrace connected to the rest of the house and although we’d checked it completely before, I thought I’d give it one last look before we went off to bed. What should we find but the shorts! We think it was the daughter, realizing the only way out would be to remove any evidence and chuck them over the wall back at us. Feeling a bit better we went to sleep. With no real way to get the police involved and having basically accused the owners of theft we got ready for the awkward walk though the house in the morning. We decided to get up extra early.
Return to Havana
Back to Havana after the eventful few days in Trinidad and we realized just how much we liked this place. We kind of knew where everything was, how much things cost and what the obvious hustles were. Back to the Hostal Valencia and the most amazing room. Temporarily transported from back packing into the world of “flash packing” as I believe it’s called!
[pics of hotel?]
Next Stop Vinales
Here in Vinales the accommodation is mostly Casas again. Although we were weary, this was such a beautiful place and a breath of fresh air from the constant hustlers of Trinidad. After chucking our stuff all over a room in a Casa we headed off for a walk up the hill to the Hotel Los Jazmines to take in the view.
[pic of Mogotes etc]
Vinales was my favourite place so far but yes more theft! We couldn’t believe it. Again it was Kath’s organized bag that alerted us. And the fact it’s got a broken\trick zip. We felt so happy in this Casa in Vinales it was the last thing we were expecting again! This time it looked like the thief had started going though Kath’s bag, broken the dodgy zip, got very worried and tried to fix it (no easy task) with pliers, oil and brute force and then had enough. Somewhere though, either in Vinales or Trinidad we hade stolen US$150 and 50 in Bermuda dollars (so useless to anyone in Cuba we had to laugh).
Casa de la Cultura
[pic of casa]
Ready for a night out in Vinales after the second of our theft experiences we headed to Casa de la Cultura. A bar and dance club just off the main square. It was Friday night, a huge sound system filled the main square for the kids while the grown ups spent their hard earned (or otherwise obtained) cash in the Casa next door. The square reminded me of a huge school disco. With wall to wall designer clothes and people clearly used to partying we couldn’t help but wonder where it all came from.
Biking across Cuba (well, two very small parts of it)
I’d say Independent travel in Cuba is more difficult than other places. Busses are limited in their destinations and pubic transport is known as pretty bad. I don’t think people travel much and those that do any great distance are usually tourists in tourist busses (to the same limited destinations). Those bus destinations are awash with Casa Particulars, other towns we’ve been bussed through seemed to have none.
With the government in so much control it’s as if certain places have been designated as tourist stops. Hiring a car will get you anywhere you want but could you stay anywhere? Probably not legally.
Our freedom from this came from renting bicycles. Twice we did this. Once in the most burning sun EVER from Trinidad and once in Vinales for an amazing trip through the most amazing countryside. Both times it felt so great to be out and about on our own going wherever we wanted whenever we wanted.
From Trinidad to Playa Ancon was a 16km ride each way via seaside roads through a little town called La Boca. Through clouds of huge dragon flies it was pretty spectacular and nice and flat! We even got a break from the touts trying to sell us stuff in the town while bumping down the cobbles of the old town on bikes! I’m sure I saw someone test firing a ram jet rocket powered van on the way too!
[pics of journey]
The second bike ride was from Vinales which I think is just the prettiest place we’ve visited in Cuba.
[pics of journey]
This was a mammoth ride and I felt very proud we’d done so much by the end! We took in two caves… Cueva de San Miguel
[pics]
and Cueve del Indigo
[pics]
and a huge cliff painting called the Mural de la Prehistoria.
[pics]
Not an ancient cave painting type thing but actually painted in 1961 taking 15 people 5 years to complete. Not everyone’s cup of tea apparently and the fact it had its own visitor centre and restaurant was a bit over the top I think. The Ox ride was worth it though!
[pic of Ox]
Gran Caverna de Santo Thomas
This was possibly the funniest ride we’d got so far. Most structural parts of our “Taxi” had been replaced with bits of old carpet and, as we found out a fair few times the petrol tank was long gone, replaced instead by a small plastic bottle which needed regular topping up from a slightly larger plastic bottle. When this failed, spanners were involved and petrol poured directly into the engine. By end of the trip only 3rd and 4th gears worked and we had been gassed. Getting up hills and starting and stopping were out of the question, but everyone was smiling.
Stepping out of our comedy ride for the day, like so many places we’ve arrived at so far, we were the only people there.
While our driver tended his car we were given helmets and torches and briefed that this wasn’t suitable for “fat Americans”. The biggest cave system in Cuba, 3rd biggest in the whole of South America, there was no artificial light and I’d imagine this would be the closest you could get to going into a cave as a proper caver. The guide for the two of us was a rather plump man himself but seemed very used to scaling the hike\rock climb up to the cave entrance. Below us was one of the many state run work camps that each student has to go to do their 45 days state labour each year. Music blaring and general party atmosphere made this interesting socialist idea look like quite a lot of fun.
Into the caves and it was quite an experience. A refreshing lack of health and safely and other things stopping you plunging to your death meant that it felt like you were the first people to see and touch some of these things. There were some amazing things, very hard to describe in words. The only light came from the head torch and the only other living things were a few bats and, bizarrely, some crabs, feeding off bat poo and the stones of fruit the bats leave behind.
[pics of caves]
Big Red Crabs (Peninsula de Guanahacabibies)
Our last stop in Cuba. To the surprise of the car hire man here in Maria la Gorda we asked about hiring a car. Maria la Gorda is the most remote hotel in Cuba, right on the western tip of the island.
[pics of Maria La Gorda beach, pier pic?]
Our home for 5 nights this was a truly relaxing end to our Cuba experience. There’s not a lot to do here except scubadive, sit on the white beach and play chess on a big outdoor chess board.
[pic of chess board]
Compared to the accommodation we were used to this was heaven too. Wooden huts in forest just back from the beach. There’s one shop, one restaurant and one bar all owned by the hotel so you know what you’re going to be doing for food and drink while you’re here for sure. The nearest other people are 14km away at the ranger station for the biosphere nature reserve of Guanahacabibies and the nearest after that are probably 40-60km away.
We wanted to go into the Guanahacabibies reserve and to do that you needed a car and a guide. As luck would have it we managed to hook up with a Dutch couple that day who also wanted to go but had managed to arrive in Maria la Gorda with no petrol. The only petrol for miles around might be right at the end of the Guanahacabibies reserve where there was a remote (and pretty much unused) customs station for boats that might arrive there. The Dutch couple needed petrol if they were to ever leave the place and we both therefore wanted to go on the Guanahacabibies tour. They offered us a lift which was brilliant, it saved us an extortionate car rental and they, well, just got our company for the day!
We picked up our guide from the ranger station and set off hoping for petrol. The first Iguana we saw was brilliant! There were so many of them that by the end of the trip we’d be a bit bored by them. Spoilt or what! Here are some pics of the critters and stuff we saw. [link to album]
[pics of stuff!]
The most bizarre way to fill up your car with petrol. Fortunately for us all there was petrol at the end of the Guanahacabibies peninsula. One slight complication was it was meant for boats. Moving some rudimentary barriers and backing the car down the pier to the ancient filling pump we got the much needed petrol, at a premium of course!
[pic of filling car]
This whole place is crawling with crabs.
[pic of big crab pushing hand]
Not just in the reserve but everywhere; the beach, the forest, the roads. If you just stand on the balcony of our hut here and look out you can see the floor almost moving. In any square meter I reckon you’d find 5 to 10 possibly loads more. Mostly hermit crabs, which are, of course, the funniest of the crabs. We considered finding a really good shell and getting a load of hermits together around the shell and seeing what happened but so far we haven’t been able to find a good shell, even on miles and miles of beach. They’re all taken!
[pic of hermits]
OK going to do the next two posts as big ones. End of Bermuda and all of Cuba! (and no pics 
Got only a few mins before off to Ecuador after 18 hours of flights yesterday!
Hoobies
The standout thing about the Bermuda leg of our trip was the fact we found ourselves very much integrated into the whole local Bermuda thing pretty much as soon as we got there. With only 65,000 people, (a quarter of the population of Brighton which seems small enough) we were really bumping into people in the street we knew by the end of it. Some people we met couldn’t go more than a few streets without a wave or a hello.
Outside of Hamilton, the main town, the first few times a stranger said “hello”, I must have sounded like an idiot in response, muttering flustered gobbledygook! Everyone from the man digging up the street outside our little cottage to the old lady off to the shops would give a passing “how are you?”, to which I’d invariably return a startled something sounding like a cross between a grunt and a splutter. And if you ever go to the tiny (oh so English country village) post office at Bailey’s Bay you wont leave without knowing everything there is to know and telling everything there is to tell.
Hoobies was the point of this post! Hoobies is a Jazz Club, I doubt any tourist would ever get near which is all the shame.
The man in red is 85 and a bit of a ladies man, working his way though most of the ladies at our table!
Beaches
The image of Bermuda I think of is very much idyllic beaches and luxury pampering, and why not! Public transport is really good in Bermuda, there’s one transport company that runs all the (salmon pink) busses and all the ferries. As is the official Bermuda way.. everything is clear and organized (if only on the scale of a small village, but what’s wrong with that?)
In a single day we bussed up the northern coast taking in most of the bigger beaches, Horseshoe Bay, Elbow Bay and ….
St Georges
At the very east of the island is St Georges. A world heritage site and general lovely place. Like most of Bermuda, if it weren’t for the sun and heat it could easily be a little Cornish village in the UK. From the red telephone boxes, post boxes and road signs to the stone walls and brick houses. Here are some pics
Two things very strange things here; an internet café where I’m sure the bloke greeted me with a “Hello Tim” and said “goodbye Tim” too. And the other was finding Kath’s severed head on the floor at an old unused café…
It might not look like Kath immediately but if you ever get the chance you’ll see why I was concerned if you check out her old PADI ID card from her braided hippie days! That wouldn’t be the last time I’d experience some potential time line disturbance on this trip!
Dockyard
We got the ferry, which was great, up here to the north west point of the island. The old British fort here is worth a visit. We wanted to see the exhibit on slavery there and I wanted to see the big guns . Slavery is a huge part of Bermuda’s past and present really.
This was our last day and we were running out of time but there’s loads of stuff to see from Military stuff to coins and art and free Bermuda cake.
When we got here to the island, Bermuda seemed possibly like the ultimate integrated culture and colour seemed to play no part whatsoever in the jobs or positions people had. I really think that is case here more than most places in the world but, as we learned there are still problems.
OK not sure yet but getting our route on Google Maps might be getting closer. In theory it should be here..
http://timminter.com/TravelsUpTo20081019.kml if not then the file is definately here ‘cos I put it there ftp://ftp.timminter.com/htdocs/TravelsUpTo20081019.kml
Worth a try!
One of the many little perks of the theatre stuff we got involved with were invites to a couple of gallery openings. One was a display of local and UK artists, sculptors and pottery people
The other was the opening of a gallery of Bill Brandt’s work. He was a pioneering photographer of people and things the 1930’s to 1960’s. Stunning photos in black and white including some of the coast just along from Brighton; a series called “Nude, East Sussex” and a famous pic in this series is one of an ear on the beach.
From this point on you might notice me taking some back and white pics! You could say I was inspired, particularly in the bar later.
[pic in bar]
People, in places, doing their things, was his specialty. It sparked a heated discussion on when\if it was OK to take pictures of people without them knowing or agreeing.
We were surrounded by a cacophony of sounds as soon as we got off the plane in Bermuda and like so many other places it’s the tree frogs causing all the commotion.
I kind of like to think of myself as knowing a bit about wildlife and being quite observant, in the wilderness anyway! (not being able to find anything and everything is standard practice at home and work of course) I felt quietly confident in tracking one of the little critters down. A life long Bermudian, who’s cottage we were staying in, and Cleo (semi professional Bermuda visitor) who we were staying with in the cottage had seen 8 and 0 respectively so I didn’t put too much hope in it though.
For whatever reason though, these little critters, this time were almost flinging themselves at us in the end. We even had one visit us in the cottage and we felt suitably honoured.
This is just a big toad I found in a tree stump.
The best drink encountered so far has to be Bermuda’s Dark and Stormy. You can get it in cans everywhere and all it is is Bermudan ginger beer and Black Seal rum. Easy Peasy. I’d recommend everyone goes and makes one right now in fact.
Smuggled in under overcoats, a version off this that might have been quite a bit more heavy on the rum than traditionalists would appreciate saw us through the Beyonce gig rather well! Shown here in the now legendary “Evian” bottle.
I’ll keep this short as, due to our group excitement at winning tickets the day before the gig by submitting a You Tube video to Evian mineral water I’ve already written a couple of posts.
The history is this:
• Plan world trip
• Find out Kath’s friend Cleo will be in Bermuda at the time
• Cleo finds out Beyonce is playing Bermuda Music Festival and really wants to go
• Change dates of whole trip to coincide
• Try and get tickets – find only all inclusive hotel\hospitality tickets are available at over US$1000 each
• Scrap that plan
• Come to Bermuda, and Cleo attempts to use contacts to get tickets
• Two days before gig, while drunk, hear about local Bermuda Evian competition where all you have to do is submit a video by mid day the next day to You Tube featuring Beyonce and an Evian product. Think we have a real chance due to small population
• On way home devise video but realise we have no Evian products
• Cunningly create Evian product using competitors water bottle and marker pen
• Create video after run through on first take (can you tell?)
• Desperately try and find an internet café in Bermuda the next day (not easy!!)
• Upload video and win!
Showing that someone is actually reading this blog too I was asked to write a review for festivalpreviews.com. That was quite a while ago so not sure if they want it anymore but we’ll see! Someone also wanted to see some pics so I’ve uploaded some here (click pic below).
Utilizing our new found Jedi mind tricks one night we went for the ultimate…. Moonlight hot tubs in the fanciest hotel on the island.
It happened to be the night before the Bermuda Music Festival too and Beyonce was staying there so security was tighter. We didn’t bump into her, but, past gate security, reception, through a maze of corridors, out into the garden while getting rather lost and back in past the pool reception to get our free towels we made it! I’m sure no one cared but we felt some satisfaction, sitting there bubbling away in the moonlight for free. This time those bubbles weren’t coming from Kath either! And what a swimming pool too, all very nice.
Well not quite! Getting something for nothing was a bit of a theme in Bermuda for us for two reasons, sometimes it was loads of fun and second it aint cheep there!
Crystal Caves are one of Bermuda’s most famous attractions aside from the amazing beaches and general luxury. There are other caves though and these alternative caves are just a bit away in the grounds of a hotel and are open to guests. As Cleo so rightly implied, the difference between a guest and someone who is not a guest is merely a state of mind. With our Jedi minds tuned we infiltrated the hotel and entered the caves. Far too cold and un-chlorinated for most hotel guests we pretty much had them to ourselves. Freezing like a new years day dip off Brighton beach but crystal clear!
