May 11 – May 18, 2024

This is happening...

We made it!

Part 2 of our Havana, Cuba walking tour. So much to see. The farmers market was sensory overload. The smell of fresh mangos was making me salivate. Intoxicating. I think we're taking a convertible old American car on a driving tour next so stay tuned.

Walking tour of Havana, Cuba with Yane. Lots of history and things to see and learn about. Havana is a little rough around the edges but if you want you can find beauty just about anywhere. This is part 1.

This was a surprise on our driving tour today. A Cuban Missile Crisis display. This is their account if what occured. Interesting indeed.

Took a driving tour of Havana in this beauty through Ernesto. Bucket list complete. What a great tour. .

Good morning! On our way to Trinidad today. Takes about 4.5 hours. Can't wait!

Today's haul

Day trip to Vinales. Got to hang out with some very cool and hard working farmers. Myself and another gal got dehydrated and weren't feeling well at the tobacco farm but pounded down some water and got through it. The ox cart was quite the experience. And learning about growing coffee and processing the beans primatively was pretty cool. Did a little spelunking in a cave behind the farmers place and saw some fossils. Overall a great experience.

Happy Mother's Day Julie! Love you!

Such good music!

LOL while we're sitting in Varadero, Cuba. Great job Julie!

By the way, in case nobody knows Cuba is kind of a data wasteland. At least when you're looking for WiFi to connect to and using VPN. Our posts and photos my be delayed. Be patient.

We were kind of giggling at lunch because we heard that if you're going to have a heart attack in Cuba the best place to have one is in a restaurant because most of the staff have medical degrees. Guess you had to be there.

There are worse places we could be.

Meet Brian. Very cool guy. Shared his hotspot for us. Makes a mean pina colada too.

Beach Day trip to Varadera this morning. Was nice just to sit and chill a bit and enjoy some local flavor. The pina coladas were really good. As we're the beach vendor snacks. On our way out we stopped by a cave for a dip in an underground pool. How cool. Last stop was at the tallest bridge in Cuba. Overall great variety of experiences.

Left early morning to make it to Trinidad. Stopped at a roadside bar for some much needed guava juice. Continued in to Cienfuego. Did some shopping. Had some lunch and got back on the road. Arrived at Trinidad. The pic with us by the tree is the spot where the city was founded. Got to visit the bar where my now favorite Cuban drink was created (canchanchara). Julie got a coaster with the recipe (pic attached). We gave away some stuff to kids and they came out of their shells in an amazing way. Overall fantastic experience today.

New evening pre-bed ritual unlocked. A Cuban cervesa, a Cuban cigar and a mango handed to me by wait staff in a bar. Okay... Maybe not sustainable...but when in Rome. Oh... and you can smoke cigars in your room. Aces! Julie smoked one too. Oh...and watching baseball (the national sport) in Spanish. BAM! Night folks!

If you didn't wake up and get in the back of a sketchy looking ex-military vehicle turned civilian and get trucked into the jungle to hike and see local flora, fauna and waterfalls then you should. What a great experience! This is just a sample. I took a lot of photos and video but trying to be data efficient given bandwidth availability. I promise more to come.

Time for random Cuba pics I thought were interesting.

Happy Birthday beautiful! Glad we got to have it here! We had no idea why one of the staff came downstairs with maracas until they came over to the table. We told the host it was her birthday like an hour previous when we made the reservations. Great service staff. Wonderful surprise!

First visit this morning was to an art district called Fusterlandia. They wanted to call it something fun like Disneyland but for their kind of art. Hence the name. Beautiful and eccentric.

Last night in Havana. Canchanchara, mojito and a smooth Cuban stogie to seal the deal. What a fantastic trip Julie planned and a well deserved birthday getaway for her big five oh!

Last stop on the art train today was to Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Our guide wanted to make sure we got all of the important parts before we left so she walked us through. Interesting stories. I might have missed some while talking pics but hit Julie up if you want to hear them.