On the road again in Havana

This was Day 3 in Havana and as usual we were up at 7 a.m. and had the meagre breakfast on the upper terrace at Hotel Plaza. (At least that was MY opinion).

We boarded the bus with our guia Angel and headed for Plaza Revolucion. Much like Red Square in Moscow, this is where the official May Day Parade is held. It is a pretty awesome plaza as one looks around and sees the various heroes of the Revolution – ‘Che’ Guevara, Jose Marti, and Camilio Cienfuegos. Where is Fidel? (There are none or very few images of Fidel anywhere to be seen in Havana outside of the Museo de Revolucion). There are billboards showing Raul though….

Unfortunately this day the elevator was not functioning! On the buildings behind us were the wire sculptures of Che and Cienfuegos –

Camilo Cienfuegos (bottom), along with Che (top photo) and Fidel were the leading figures in the Revolution. Che was killed in Bolivia after the Revolution.

During his stay in Mexico, Camilo met Fidel Castro, who was organizing a revolutionary expedition that would return to Cuba to fight Batista. Thereafter Cienfuegos was one of the 82 revolutionaries who set sail aboard the boat Granma in November 1956. Allegedly, he was the last one to board the boat and was only allowed to join because of his thinness.

On October 28, 1959, Cienfuegos’s Cessna 310 (‘FAR-53’) disappeared over the ocean during a night flight from Camagüey to Havana. An immediate search was called which lasted several days, but no plane could be found.

By November the search was called off and Cienfuegos was presumed lost. He quickly became a new hero for the Cuban revolution.

Leaving Plaza Revolucion, we boarded our bus for a drive along Havana’s famous malecón…stopping for more information from our guia, Angel. These three babes followed us wherever we went…LOL

They were being followed by a not so discreet security guard  wearing sunglasses –

The plaques on the wall behind were interesting – they contained the name of some very famous Americans, like Thomas Alva Edison, Ernest Hemingway, Benjamin Spock, Helen Keller, Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow etc. Curious?

With information overload starting to kick in, we headed for a rum store…..free samples!!! The rest of our day will be detailed in the next post…. I’m off to make myself a mojito…..

The Proposed Itinerary for Cuba!

Finally we have the long awaited proposed itinerary. For those who have travelled with us before, you know that we sometimes make last minute changes if we come across something that attracts us. This is not written in stone (maybe sand…script since it is blowing here today). We are open to reasonable suggestions…don’t even think about skipping the rum and cigar factories and don’t miss those famous daiquiris and mojitos!!!!

CUBAN ADVENTURE MARCH 2 – 9, 2014

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances plans may need to be changed. In that event you will be notified…

Sunday, March 2 – Depart Merida, arriving in Havana around 530 pm. Transfer to Hotel Inglaterra, check in – FREE EVENING.

Monday, March 3 – City tour visiting Real Fuerza Castle, El Morro, Museo Bellas Artes, Plaza de Armas, Plaza San Francisco de Asis, Plaza Vieja, and Plaza Catedral. LUNCH (included) at La Bodeguita del Medio (a Hemingway haunt) FREE EVENING.

Tuesday, March 4 – Havana touring continued – Plaza Revolucion, El Capitolio. The Malecon, rum and tobacco factories, Cemetery Colon, Harris and Bros. Store. LUNCH (included) at La Mina. FREE TIME and FREE EVENING. Visit to La Flordita Bar (another Hemingway haunt).

Wednesday, March 5 – Travel to Pinar del Rio (Vinales) and visit a tobacco factory, La Cueva del Indio, Mirador los Jazmines and the ‘prehistoric’ mural.

Thursday, March 6 – Leave Havana and travel to Trinidad City. On the way we will visit Cienfuegos City and the Thomas Terry Theatre, Centro, Del Valle Palace. Arrive in Trinidad, check in at Hostal La Ronda and have dinner at Paladar La Marinera (included)

Friday, March 7 – City Tour of Trinidad, visiting Plaza Mayor, Torre Manaca Iznaga and Canchanchara Bar. FREE EVENING.

Saturday, March 8 – Leave Trinidad and return to Havana. On the way we will visit Santa Clara and the Mausoleum of Che Guevara and El Tren Blindado. Check in at the hotel again and relax before the evening show at Hotel Nacional – La Parisien (included)

Sunday, March 9 – After breakfast, fly back to Merida (or transfer to Veredero for those travelling to Canada).

NB…Breakfasts are included EVERY day! Other surprises await…

As noted in the previous posts, I will start posting the serious info about the places we will be visiting which appear in bold print above fyi…), what you need to bring, what things are good to bring for non-cash tips etc. If you have any specific questions send them to us and we will post both the questions and the answers starting after Christmas.

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