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Post by sprite on Jan 11, 2016 6:36:40 GMT -5
it's going to involve seriously pissing off my bosses, but due to a recent reorganisation i'm not sure who they are exactly, so, oh well. we're about to book 2 wks there, i'm just looking at the virtues of flying via varadero rather than havana (answer = saving 200 quid each)
now i'm off to google and see if we will be there before macdonald's. any other tips? destinations? activities that aren't suntanning or diving or tango?
great spots for mojitos?
also, my partner is now going to buy several books by hemingway. sigh.
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Post by sophie on Jan 11, 2016 11:02:13 GMT -5
Lots to do.. I was there just over a year ago, and posted a whack of pictures on fb. I haven't got time right now, but I will post some ideas later today, and oh yeah, the Hemingway places are generally overpriced or too crowded, I popped into La Florida (his favorite bad in Havana) and walked out after 30 seconds.
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Post by treehugger on Jan 11, 2016 11:51:33 GMT -5
Can I run away from home(s) and join you?
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Post by lillielangtry on Jan 11, 2016 12:56:55 GMT -5
Yep, me too please!
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Post by sprite on Jan 11, 2016 12:58:29 GMT -5
Can I run away from home(s) and join you? well, i wasn't planning to check luggage on the way out, but for you, sure. i have a duffel bag you might fit in. still no word from work. i'm not sure if the person i emailed is too angry to respond, or has passed the buck to someone else, or just read it, shrugged, and then went on to deal with something important. |
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Post by sprite on Jan 11, 2016 12:59:44 GMT -5
i won't be interested in any hemingway places. we walked by a few in spain and it was easy to see that they were just cash cows. i'm sort of interested in the difference between his experience and mine, but mostly i find him an insufferable misogynist/jerk.
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Post by sophie on Jan 11, 2016 15:18:01 GMT -5
I really enjoyed being in Havana and walking around ..and seeing change before my eyes. Walking along the Malacon is great people watching, both locals and tourists. Seeing some of the old dilapated buildings being renovated is the story of the current changes, and it is possible to see that in the streets. I found the best mojitos in Sloppy Joes in Havana, although there were other good drinks (not mojitos) in other places. Vinales is a pleasant place to stay for a few days, and possible to get local bed and breakfast; it is also easy to get from Havana. On the way to Vinales from Havana, there is an awesome orchid farm/research station. If you like orchids, it is a motherlode! Tourist transporation is still a bit iffy except on the 'gringo trail'but Vinales from Havana has regular tourist bus service.. Decent hiking in this area. If you want kickass music, Havana has it but I preferred Trinidad.. music doesn't start until about 10 pm and goes to the wee hours. Great just listening and watching the dancing. You don't have to join in, but it would make it more fun. Great hiking near Santiago de Cuba to Che's hideout. I liked the music in Santiago de Cuba also. You might find getting there a bit challenging, despite it being the second largest city in Cuba. Even though it is a tourist draw, Che's mausoleum in Santa Clara was worthwhile for me. The Bay of Pigs museum was also good, as it presented a totally different point of view for us who remember this incident. Nearby is a nice cenote for snorkelling (Playa Giron). Lots to do, but the tourist infrastsructure is weak, and if there is no tourist bus going to where you want to go, renting an old car and driver is fun. Not cheap, but fun! Don't even bother thinking about using the same buses/trains that the Cubans use.. stuffed to the gills, unreliable and uncomfortable. I had no problems anywhere, but I have heard a few pickpocketing stories.. but I know you have south american experience, and the crooks here are amateurs by comparison. I think you will have more fun by not spending time in the 'big' beach resorts, but the beaches are really fabulous. If you fly into Varadero, you may want to spend a couple of nights there at the beginning and end to just get some beach time. Varadero also has decent tourist busses to other places...but things change, and my info is just over a year old. I think 'cheers Terry' on the old WT used to go there a lot...
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Post by Bastet on Jan 11, 2016 15:42:16 GMT -5
I desperately want to go but it takes 45 hours and cost $2,500 per person last I looked - a ticket around the world might be the same. :-(
Out of curiosity, how long would you recommend as the minimum amount of time there?
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Post by sophie on Jan 11, 2016 15:52:22 GMT -5
For cost and time issues, I would recommend using an adventure type tour company..like Explore or Intrepid. Getting around on your own is either difficult or expensive. These trips are two week jaunts, include the bus. Very important detail. If you are happy on the beach, then you could do your own trip for as long as you like. Different kind of holiday.
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Post by kneazle on Jan 11, 2016 16:33:43 GMT -5
Cuba is near the top of my list of places to go, I keep looking at the Intrepid trips.
On the plus side is one of the ways to get there is Via Vancouver so I could combine meeting the Vancouver crowd as part of the trip!
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jan 11, 2016 17:25:57 GMT -5
Didn't Tulip go there? You could ask her on FB.
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Post by brodiebruce on Jan 12, 2016 6:49:35 GMT -5
Went there - last trip with a certain ex so pretty much the beginning of the end (so a few spats along the way......and no, I make no apology for mentioning her here).
Landed in Havana and caught the bus to Varadero - have to admit that wasn't huge amounts to do in Varadero and the resort the ex and I stayed in was a fair trek out. I thought it was alright as had books with me (I think I had some Kafka with me - just light holiday reading there).
Havana was nice - a bit ramshackle in places but looked like change had started even in early 2012. The Hemingway tour I did wasn't that bad/cash cow like (at the time). The Floridita (?) is worth a visit once even if you ignore the Hemingway statue in the corner).
We ate at one of the pop up restaurant type places people run in the front of their houses - that was pretty good (and the owner drank a lot of rum with me.....).
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Post by sprite on Jan 12, 2016 10:24:07 GMT -5
i like the idea of pop up restaurants. i also like the idea of salsa, but will have to find other partners--mine is convinced he has two left feet (he doesn't). maybe i can have him hypnotised.
i get the feeling that hte changes are rapid. Terry is still on LP.
flights are bastards, but starting to be excited! if work is upset, they haven't said so. immediate bosses are just like, "oh, ok."
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Post by Oweena on Jan 13, 2016 7:32:45 GMT -5
Jealous of your trip sprite.
I'm secretly crossing my fingers Cuba is on the list of options for where my job could send me next.
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cuba!!!!!
Jan 13, 2016 8:06:47 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by janeyd on Jan 13, 2016 8:06:47 GMT -5
Went 6 years ago and LOVED it. Went as an organised package tour (which is something i hate). Would have loved to do it myself - take buses and stay in local homes. Vivid memories of walking around Havana, and doing my daily jog alongside the crumbling Sea wall. Music and dancing in the streets of Trinidad. beautiful Cinfuegos. Crystal waters and great snorkling (guys sitting next to a good spot with a mask for you to rent.
Food was a bit bland in the hotels. Much better in the paleadores (peoples homes)
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Post by cakemonkey on Jan 13, 2016 9:49:24 GMT -5
I was going to add that the best food I had in Cuba was in the paleadores - definitely seek them out. One I went to in Havana had been set up like a restaurant rather than someone's front room. They had a little waiting area were you could sip mojiotos while waiting for a table (they were only allowed to, legally, serve ten people at once or something like that). It was very slick. Another one I went to was literally in someone's front room, which was interesting, but still very good food.
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Post by tzarine on Apr 16, 2016 11:43:16 GMT -5
check out tzar & tzarevich's photos loved it. went the 1st moment they let yanks in, 5 minute visa in cancun stayed @ a family's apartment in vieja went on a tour @ the cemetery in vedado stroll along the malecon took the ferry to the fortaleza explored the hotel where fidel took over went to the hemingway bars & the bar that alec guiness went in our man in havana go before the yankee cruise ships come & pizzahut & dunkin donuts hit thepointsguy.com/2015/09/travel-to-havana/ |
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Post by sprite on Apr 17, 2016 12:14:03 GMT -5
it was great, but it was just about 5 degrees too hot to get as much out of it as we wanted. we did a group tour on just one day, purely because we wanted a glimpse of that part of the country (VInales) and organisation is a bitch there. the day was lovely, but reminded me why i don't generally do bus tours. (hurry up, queue, wait, hurry up, back on the bus...)
we met a family from NZ. they'd gone to a wedding in cancun, and then piggy backed 5 days in havana to that.
flying via canada can save a lot of money, as there are tons of resort flights and they're quite cheap.
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Post by tzarine on Apr 20, 2016 19:35:57 GMT -5
must visit
museo de revoluccion
the propaganda & kitsch is great
esp the che in the jungle statue
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Post by sprite on Apr 21, 2016 12:55:31 GMT -5
that is blocked off at the minute for repairs.  we were there, and there was this choir performing--the music echoed through the whole building. hair-raisingly beautiful. but i couldn't find the damn things. also, the museum closes earlier than the guidebook says, i seem to recall. |
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Post by tzarine on May 1, 2016 13:47:32 GMT -5
& the peso cafes can be great
some of the owners are really good cooks
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