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- Joined
- Oct 12, 2007
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A crusing Canadian rag bagger buddy sent this.
<pre>Hi Everyone
We got tired of pushing east into the prevailing easterly winds so we left Paraquina at
the dock in Cayo Largo and flew to the Cuban mainland. We arrived in Havana in the
afternoon of Feb 5 and found a rental car. Not so easy in Cuba. We didn't want to spend
the night in the city so we headed out hoping to find something out in the country. Our
first challenge was to find our way out to the large national highway which runs the
length of the country. After several wrong turns we asked a man, who just happened to be
going to visit his brother near the highway, and he guided us thru residential areas. The
highway is about 4 lanes wide each way. There are no lane dividing lines. Cars, trucks
and busses weave around potholes and rough spots. The right hand lane sometimes had horse
drawn carts, bicycles, and people walking or hitchhiking. Once we left the city the
country was quite empty. There were no roadside motels that we have at home. It got
dark. We drove on and eventually turned off the main highway towards Cienfuegos. By now
it is really dark and raining and the road is narrow and winding. When large vehicles
approached I just pulled over and stopped. By 9:30PM we arrived in Cienfuegos and were
driving slowly down the main street when a man on a bike pulls along side and asks if we
would like a place to stay. He guides us to a Casa Particular.
Casa Particulars are a cottage industry in Cuba. Houses with up to 3 rooms to rent are
government licensed and regulated. Every one we stayed in was clean and air conditioned
and the hosts were friendly and helpful. For 20 to 30 CUC you can have a quiet stay,
enjoy meeting local people and sometimes buy gourmet meals.
We were surprised at the cleanliness and how well the buildings were maintained in
downtown Cienfuegos when compared to Havana. There is one street that was closed to
traffic for several blocks that was completely finished in terrazzo with designs in
several colors. Many old mansions have been turned into museums or galleries. In the old
exclusive area of Punta Gorda the Yacht Club and old mansions were huge and very ornate.
We spent the day just walking trying the restaurants and talking to people on the street.
The next morning we got an early 6:30AM start for the old city of Trinidad. We were
surprised to find the streets and roads busy with people, walking, biking, riding in horse
carts or just standing waiting for a ride. The cleaners were out making sure the streets
were tidy. In Cuba if you have a car you become a part of the transportation system. At
a rural intersection we were flagged by a man in yellow coveralls who indicated that we
had room for 2 people. He had a clip board on which he kept records of who had been
waiting longest. We took 2 men. One man rode all the way to Trinidad with us and was
very helpful with directions thru town and to a Casa Particular near the historic town
center. Here we had the entire top floor of the house with fridge stocked with beer, pop,
wine and water, table and chairs, front and rear balconies and outside entrance. We
walked 3 blocks to the historic town which wasn't a lot different than the rest of the
area except for the cobble streets. Trinidad was once the center of the sugar business
founded in the 1500's. The mansions and churches were impressive. All the streets are
narrow and cobbled with large stones and sloped to the center. Walking soon got tiring.
Even though the town is an historic site all of the residential houses are still occupied
while the mansions have been turned into museums, restaurants or galleries. After 3 hours
of walking we found a shady spot to have some beers and listen to music. Back at our room
after a shower and a rest we were served a huge gourmet meal which was brought up from the
first floor. Later we sat on the balcony overlooking the street and watched the local
scene. There was every means of transport chugging past. Horse drawn carts, old trucks
and cars, motorcycles and a 3 wheeled dump truck that brought a load of sand. After
dumping the load they parked with radio blaring and helped bucket the sand onto the roof
of a house using a rope and pulley. Meanwhile the kids are playing soccer and there is a
bible study going on a couple of houses away who were doing a fair job of singing louder
than the radio. Our rental car took up a third of the street but didn't receive a scratch
with all this going on around and under it.
After a huge breakfast of fruit eggs, juice and strong Cuban coffee we again got an
early start heading for Playa Largo in the Zapata National Park. Again we picked up 2 men
who I warned that we would be taking the slow road thru the mountains. They didn't mind
as they had been waiting several hours for a ride. This road, that travels to the highest
point in Cuba, is narrow, steep with hair pin turns and some very rough spots but the
scenery makes up for it. The hillsides were lush and the valleys misty with royal palms
showing thru. Our little VW rental car did well but spent most of the time in first or
second gear. Although traffic was light you still had to watch for the horse cart or old
truck that could be around any turn. Playa Largo is at the end of the notorious Bay of
Pigs which is formed by the huge, swampy Zapata Peninsula that sticks out like a shoe
(hence the name) into the Gulf of Batabano. The entire peninsula is a park. The tourism
here is diving and nature watching but the facilities are sparse. We found a guide for
bird watching at the park office who helped us find a place to stay right on the beach.
That night we were served crocodile (farmed), pork and various local vegetables that were
similar to potatoes and turnip. There was an embarrassing amount of food but we were glad
to find that after we left the family sat down and cleaned up the rest.
In the morning after an early breakfast we traveled about 15 KM with our guide into the
bush. We walked along the trails while he made bird calls and played them on his tape
recorder as well. We were lucky to see a tocoloral, the red, white, and blue national
bird of Cuba, a bee hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, a pigmy owl, a cuckoo and
several small colorful birds. Our guide said that the dry paths we were walking on would
be covered with a meter of water in the rainy season. We left the park about noon and
headed toward Mantanzas on the north side, Atlantic coast of Cuba. We drove thru miles of
citrus groves, sugar cane and other agriculture. The center of Cuba is very flat.
Mantanzas turned out to be a disappointment as it was quite industrial so we headed on
towards Havana along the coast. After several miles we saw a sign pointing towards the
ocean and a resort so we treated ourselves to a night in an all inclusive resort. It was
a change to talk to other Canadians and watch CNN in English. The American news is
depressing though.
The next day we drove to Havana in a torrential rain storm. We stopped in at the marina
and met with old friends. One took us to a town outside the city were we rented a one
room cottage built on a piece of corral stuck out into the water. With the storm waves
crashing all around it made for an interesting night. The TV only received 2 Cuban
channels and its easy to see why most people spend their evenings outside. One channel
had some really bad local singers and the other had committee reports.
Our last day in Havana we returned our car and found a nice old house nearby. In the
center of the city this house had palm trees out front and more growing in a center court
yard. It was 3 stories high and completely ceramic tiled on the floors. We had the top
suite with a sitting area, bedroom and bath with a balcony overlooking the court yard.
After dinner we made our hosts happy as they thoroughly beat us in dominoes. I never knew
there was so much skill and strategy in a simple game. Even though we had an early flight
we played till after 11PM.
We are now back on the boat and preparing to leave for Panama when the weather is right.
</pre>
<pre>Hi Everyone
We got tired of pushing east into the prevailing easterly winds so we left Paraquina at
the dock in Cayo Largo and flew to the Cuban mainland. We arrived in Havana in the
afternoon of Feb 5 and found a rental car. Not so easy in Cuba. We didn't want to spend
the night in the city so we headed out hoping to find something out in the country. Our
first challenge was to find our way out to the large national highway which runs the
length of the country. After several wrong turns we asked a man, who just happened to be
going to visit his brother near the highway, and he guided us thru residential areas. The
highway is about 4 lanes wide each way. There are no lane dividing lines. Cars, trucks
and busses weave around potholes and rough spots. The right hand lane sometimes had horse
drawn carts, bicycles, and people walking or hitchhiking. Once we left the city the
country was quite empty. There were no roadside motels that we have at home. It got
dark. We drove on and eventually turned off the main highway towards Cienfuegos. By now
it is really dark and raining and the road is narrow and winding. When large vehicles
approached I just pulled over and stopped. By 9:30PM we arrived in Cienfuegos and were
driving slowly down the main street when a man on a bike pulls along side and asks if we
would like a place to stay. He guides us to a Casa Particular.
Casa Particulars are a cottage industry in Cuba. Houses with up to 3 rooms to rent are
government licensed and regulated. Every one we stayed in was clean and air conditioned
and the hosts were friendly and helpful. For 20 to 30 CUC you can have a quiet stay,
enjoy meeting local people and sometimes buy gourmet meals.
We were surprised at the cleanliness and how well the buildings were maintained in
downtown Cienfuegos when compared to Havana. There is one street that was closed to
traffic for several blocks that was completely finished in terrazzo with designs in
several colors. Many old mansions have been turned into museums or galleries. In the old
exclusive area of Punta Gorda the Yacht Club and old mansions were huge and very ornate.
We spent the day just walking trying the restaurants and talking to people on the street.
The next morning we got an early 6:30AM start for the old city of Trinidad. We were
surprised to find the streets and roads busy with people, walking, biking, riding in horse
carts or just standing waiting for a ride. The cleaners were out making sure the streets
were tidy. In Cuba if you have a car you become a part of the transportation system. At
a rural intersection we were flagged by a man in yellow coveralls who indicated that we
had room for 2 people. He had a clip board on which he kept records of who had been
waiting longest. We took 2 men. One man rode all the way to Trinidad with us and was
very helpful with directions thru town and to a Casa Particular near the historic town
center. Here we had the entire top floor of the house with fridge stocked with beer, pop,
wine and water, table and chairs, front and rear balconies and outside entrance. We
walked 3 blocks to the historic town which wasn't a lot different than the rest of the
area except for the cobble streets. Trinidad was once the center of the sugar business
founded in the 1500's. The mansions and churches were impressive. All the streets are
narrow and cobbled with large stones and sloped to the center. Walking soon got tiring.
Even though the town is an historic site all of the residential houses are still occupied
while the mansions have been turned into museums, restaurants or galleries. After 3 hours
of walking we found a shady spot to have some beers and listen to music. Back at our room
after a shower and a rest we were served a huge gourmet meal which was brought up from the
first floor. Later we sat on the balcony overlooking the street and watched the local
scene. There was every means of transport chugging past. Horse drawn carts, old trucks
and cars, motorcycles and a 3 wheeled dump truck that brought a load of sand. After
dumping the load they parked with radio blaring and helped bucket the sand onto the roof
of a house using a rope and pulley. Meanwhile the kids are playing soccer and there is a
bible study going on a couple of houses away who were doing a fair job of singing louder
than the radio. Our rental car took up a third of the street but didn't receive a scratch
with all this going on around and under it.
After a huge breakfast of fruit eggs, juice and strong Cuban coffee we again got an
early start heading for Playa Largo in the Zapata National Park. Again we picked up 2 men
who I warned that we would be taking the slow road thru the mountains. They didn't mind
as they had been waiting several hours for a ride. This road, that travels to the highest
point in Cuba, is narrow, steep with hair pin turns and some very rough spots but the
scenery makes up for it. The hillsides were lush and the valleys misty with royal palms
showing thru. Our little VW rental car did well but spent most of the time in first or
second gear. Although traffic was light you still had to watch for the horse cart or old
truck that could be around any turn. Playa Largo is at the end of the notorious Bay of
Pigs which is formed by the huge, swampy Zapata Peninsula that sticks out like a shoe
(hence the name) into the Gulf of Batabano. The entire peninsula is a park. The tourism
here is diving and nature watching but the facilities are sparse. We found a guide for
bird watching at the park office who helped us find a place to stay right on the beach.
That night we were served crocodile (farmed), pork and various local vegetables that were
similar to potatoes and turnip. There was an embarrassing amount of food but we were glad
to find that after we left the family sat down and cleaned up the rest.
In the morning after an early breakfast we traveled about 15 KM with our guide into the
bush. We walked along the trails while he made bird calls and played them on his tape
recorder as well. We were lucky to see a tocoloral, the red, white, and blue national
bird of Cuba, a bee hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, a pigmy owl, a cuckoo and
several small colorful birds. Our guide said that the dry paths we were walking on would
be covered with a meter of water in the rainy season. We left the park about noon and
headed toward Mantanzas on the north side, Atlantic coast of Cuba. We drove thru miles of
citrus groves, sugar cane and other agriculture. The center of Cuba is very flat.
Mantanzas turned out to be a disappointment as it was quite industrial so we headed on
towards Havana along the coast. After several miles we saw a sign pointing towards the
ocean and a resort so we treated ourselves to a night in an all inclusive resort. It was
a change to talk to other Canadians and watch CNN in English. The American news is
depressing though.
The next day we drove to Havana in a torrential rain storm. We stopped in at the marina
and met with old friends. One took us to a town outside the city were we rented a one
room cottage built on a piece of corral stuck out into the water. With the storm waves
crashing all around it made for an interesting night. The TV only received 2 Cuban
channels and its easy to see why most people spend their evenings outside. One channel
had some really bad local singers and the other had committee reports.
Our last day in Havana we returned our car and found a nice old house nearby. In the
center of the city this house had palm trees out front and more growing in a center court
yard. It was 3 stories high and completely ceramic tiled on the floors. We had the top
suite with a sitting area, bedroom and bath with a balcony overlooking the court yard.
After dinner we made our hosts happy as they thoroughly beat us in dominoes. I never knew
there was so much skill and strategy in a simple game. Even though we had an early flight
we played till after 11PM.
We are now back on the boat and preparing to leave for Panama when the weather is right.
</pre>
