April 14 – 25th, 2018

One of the many perks of being Canadian is our access to Cuba.  No travel restrictions for this lady, unlike my American counterparts.  Thus, I have been to this country once before.  Many, many years ago when I was a wee newly graduated nurse.  My graduation present was a trip to Cuba with the then boyfriend at the time.  This first trip was the ususal boring lay on the beach and do nothing kind of trip and my love of humanity, culture and travel had not fully blossomed yet.  This beach vacation allowed me to see Varadero and not much else.  Looking back I fully regret not taking advantage of this first trip and seeing more of the country, so I put Cuba back on my travel list.

It took several years for this to come to fruition…(more like 15 years), my first visit was 2003 and my second opportunity came this year 2018 with the help of my good friends at The Heart of Travel.

This wonderful travel company has been my go to for touring the Latin American countries.  I have seen Guatemala and Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with these lovely ladies.  I highly recommend them if you are interested in Latin America.  They also do tours to Peru, Oxaca and Mexico City.  – end of shameless plug.

TRAVEL TIP: Not just to plug my friends at Heart of Travel, but just to ease your visit to this amazing country.  Travel to Cuba by Americans was only a recent development – there are several restrictions that make traveling there still difficult as you will read later. I highly recommend my American friends to have your future Cuba trip organized by a travel company.  It doesn’t have to be with The Heart of Travel, but an well-versed travel company will save you a lot of grief, I promise.

Our itinerary through the Heart of Travel had us using Havana as our home base with excursions to the Vinales Valley, Tarara Beach, as well as Cienfuegos and Trinidad (if you did the extension).

My flight to Havana…na..na..na was quite the journey.  I flew a red-eye from LAX to Mexico City then  hopped on a flight to Cancun then from there had to figure out how to obtain my Cuban tourist visa at 4am when all the kiosks were closed.  I waited at my gate which wasn’t manned until 9:00 for my scheduled 8:30am flight.  As soon as a human was behind that gate desk I found out I needed to purchase it at the initial check in gate ie. before security.  She said my flight was late so I still had time to run over there buy it and get through security again.  I was skeptical and panicked but ran as fast as I could.  The teleprompters kept saying my flight was “Boarding”, despite already being 30 minutes late, thus making my race to get out of security that much more difficult… I pleaded with the security guy telling him I needed to get out to get a tourist visa and he kept saying your flight is boarding already in his broken english.  I pleaded with him and he let me out,  I bought my tourist visa for $25 USD then rushed to go back through the security line.  Just picture me rocking back and forth as if I had a full bladder and had to pee 6 hours ago…that’s how anxious and panicked I was to make my way back through the airport to catch my flight that was in the mid-boarding process.  I raced through the duty free and weaved through the crowds at half-marathon race pace, just in time to make it on my flight to Havana…phew.

My travels wouldn’t be complete without some hiccup during the flight there or back… like customs delays and deportations… so I was glad I got it out of the way at the start of the trip.

TRAVEL TIP : if your flight takes you through different stopovers. You can only purchase your visa in the country you will be entering Cuba from so despite not having to exit the secured area for your connecting flights you may have to exit just to purchase your visa so ask around when you get there.

Havana…na…na…na

I arrived in hot and humid Havana and was met by Emily – with the Heart of Travel team.  First time in my travels to arrive at the airport with someone holding a sign with my name on it.  I felt so fancy.  I got dropped off at the casa particulare (bed and breakfast) in La Habana Vieja district of Havana.  Since I had been up almost 24 hours I chose to nap until the rest of the crew arrived later that afternoon.

Side note:  The interesting thing about accommodations in Cuba is that the freedom to stay in Cuba has been limited by Mr. Donald Trump.  I learned he has provided a list of hotels that Americans are not allowed to utilize for accomodations (as they are government run and Mr. Trump does not want American funds to go directly to the Cuban government…a valid decision in my opinion, but also limiting accomodations to these small local bed and breakfasts).

I woke up refreshed and met up with the rest of the group traveling with Heart of Travel. We walked from the casa particulare through the Arte Barrio area and ate at a very cute restaurant where I was cliché and had my first of many Mojito’s in the birth country of said drink.

We strolled the main square around our casa particulare and took in our new surroundings. We admired the colonial buildings slowly crumbling away, some still inhabited by the local people.

We had an amazing supper at the casa particulare.  More food than we could eat, which seemed to be a theme for most of the meals on this trip.

Our night ended with a visit to the iconic El Floridita that night to have their Daiquiri made famous by Ernest Hemingway.  The place was packed as there was live music and a ton of tourists in their to attempt to sample the same.

A great ending to the first day in Cuba.

I won’t bore you with a play by play of our itinerary, but I will make note of the key highlights.  I wanted to make special note of the flexibility and accomodating nature of our tour guides and drivers.

Our second day was a fantastic walking tour of Havana led by our spit fire of a tour guide named Lidyz (Lee-Deeze).  She was educated as an architect yet made more income as a tour guide.  She showed us her home country with such passion and knowledge that kept your attention peaked.

Old Havana Walking Tour

La Fabrica de Arte Cubano

An ultra hip hangout consisting of an art gallery and cocktail bar in one complex.  Great vibe at this place and the local artists that are showcased changes every few months.  There is a cover charge and I am guessing this place can have a line up or two to get in on the right night.

Havana Club Rum Museum

A short tour of the Havana Club rum museum was a delightful way to learn about the history of one of Cuba’s well known iconic products.  The production of rum from cane sugar and the establishment of the numerous distilleries in the country were briefly discussed followed by a tasting of their 7 year old rum.  (I won’t lie, I like my rum in mixed drinks like Mojito’s, Daiquiris’ and Cuba libre’s, so drinking it straight up is not my jam – I gave my share to the birthday girl Emily – Sharing is Caring).

Cristo Project

An inner city dump turned into an organic farm.  It took a lot of dedication and support to remove all the trash and establish the organic farm practices.

Ernest Hemingway’s residence – Finca Vigia

We toured around Ernest Hemingway’s elaborate residence.  The views from the top of the estate were spectacular. Mr. Hemingway had quite the elaborate pad.

Fusterlandia

A street full of art.  I kid you not, this started at one house by one artist named Jose Fuster.  Mosaic art with hints of Gaudi and Picasso.  His influence was infectious and the community embraced his influence and the art has overflowed into several side streets and encaptured the neighborhood.

Cannon Ceremony

Another Cuban tradition is the nightly canon ceremony.  Located in the fortress of San Carlos de la Cabana (UNESCO World Heritage site) where there is a very interesting Che Guevara museum.

Tarara Beach Clean Up

A short bus ride from Havana, we found ourselves at Tarara Beach.  Before we soaked our toes in the ocean we did a small beach clean up.  The amount of trash littering the oceans all over the world has been a hot social topic as of late.  The amount of litter polluting this shore made this small effort extremely gratifying and also disheartening as 100% of the trash was man made.  The oceans needs our help and the more people that refrain from plastic products and make the socially responsible choices the better off our planet will be.

Buena Vista Social Club

This was a great night of live music and good food.  For some reason I don’t have pictures from it, except one (a great pic of Ron).  I could have left it out, but I felt it was such a cool experience that I had to mention it.  Cuban live music is definitely a fun time.

Viñales Valley

Road trip…to the heart of tobacco and coffee production in the country,  the Vinales Valley captured all our hearts.  The picturesque homes with the rocking chairs on the patios, the amazingly friendly locals and the gorgeous views for days were only a few of the highlights of this area.  The nightly street fair on the main street was also a fun time as were all the delicious meals.

Organic Tobacco Farm

A tour of an organic tobacco farm with a demonstration of how this iconic Cuban export is made.  From the types of leaves that distinguish a regular Cuban cigar from a Cohiba.

Organic Coffee Farm

Fantastic meal at an Organic Farm

Home-cooked pork roast in the Valley

There’s absolutely nothing better than a home-cooked meal with good people.

A visit to a modern-day mural of prehistoric animals that served the best pina colada I have ever had.

Cave Boat Tour

Cienfuegos & Trinidad Extension

There was an optional 4 day excursion that I chose to participate in.  I loved the relaxed nature of this trip and it continued into the extension to Cienfuegos and Trinidad.

Bay of Pigs

I had hopes of going on at least one dive while in Cuba, but unfortunately I was the only diver and our itinerary was rather time limited.  Snorkeling was a great alternative though.

Museo Giron

Palacio del Valle

Local watering hole visit

Horseback Riding Adventures

Club in an Underground Cave

Playa Ancón

Classic Car Tour

Our Cuban vacation would not be complete without the classic car tour.  The American classic cars that Cuba is known for is something I did not realize was such a widespread phenomena.  I figured it was just a few cars here and there, not the hundreds that roam the streets of Cuba on the regular.  The outer shells of these American classics are beautiful to behold, what I found more interesting was the inner workings of these classic cars.  Due to the embargo, access to American car parts was limited, thus almost all of these classic cars are modified and improved with foreign parts.

To say we had “good eats” on this trip is a complete understatement.   The meals were amazing, comforting and delicious.  From home cooked meals to organic farms or small road side restaurants and larger city bistros. Every meal was fantastic.  With my favorite meal being the last meal we had on the beach at sunset in Trinidad before will headed back to Havana and back to our everyday lives.

El Dandy Bar Y Galeria

Ultra hipster joint serving cold beer, cocktails and delicious food.  Beautiful pictures of old bars in Havana drape the walls.

Frente

Amazing cocktails on the rooftop.  Very modern, hipster joint,

Cafe Laurent

Roof top restaurant with a beautiful view.

More food stops than I can describe.  Hunger was definitely NOT an issue on this trip.

These trips are so much fun and good for the soul, it is such a blessing to meet amazing people both locals and in our own tour group.  All walks of life sharing in what the world has to offer.

I am a firm believer in savoring  and enjoying each moment. Cuba will be thought of fondly.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away.