Blau Costa Verde Rafael Freyre

... gereden (waar ik ook al op de heenweg zat). Hier word ik wederom hartelijk ontvangen en ik krijg gelijk een cubaanse "lekkernij" voorgeschoteld. Het smaakt nogal bitter maar als je honger hebt eet je alles. Bij buurvrouw ...

... later werd ik opgehaald door ene Gustavo die prima engels sprak en een kamer vrij had. Het avondeten kan ik nuttigen bij de buurvrouw aangezien er hier geen maaltijden worden geserveerd. Wat opvalt is dat allees prima is te regelen en er altijd wel iemand is die met een oplossing komt zolang er maar wordt betaald. Diezelfde avond overigens prima gegeten in de patio van buurvrouw Anna die ook een casa particulare heeft. 10-12-2008: vandaag doorgebracht ...

... Once we reached our hotel we left our bags and my mom and I went straight to the Scuba Dive shop next door to see if we could go diving that day, but it turns out we couldn't because they already left. So my mom signed us up for four dives and a Shark Dive with Bull Sharks for our week stay.

... returning from Cuba Dan and I, along with our cousin and her boyfriend, set off on a 3-day road trip to New York City - but that's a whole other travelogue (if I ever decide to make one for it). Cuba was such an amazing adventure and I can't wait to go back some day. We got the best of both worlds there - sunshine and adventuring. Please see the next entry, the epilogue, to read my final thoughts and find out what finally happened with my luggage! 3D Flags

... painful, but every bit worth the experience. Life goal to swim with dolphins: NOW COMPLETE! There was a dolphin show included in the tour as well, so we had a few more beers and some fries until it was time for the show to begin. Before the show started, the announcer said that this would be the best dolphin show we would see anywhere in the world. Now, I have seen dolphin shows in Toronto, Niagra Falls, Orlando and Vancouver, so I was a bit skeptical when he said that - but sure ...

... a resort is nice, but THIS is what it is all about to me. Seeing a different culture, a diverse way of life that is so completely different from my own. Every fibre in my being burned while seeing this - the complete amazement of it all. All I wanted to do was jump off the bus, explore the village and talk with the locals. Words can't even begin to describe what it was like being there and seeing this little village. I've been to the USA, England ...

... my luggage), I went back to the room and crawled back into bed. Dan was still sleeping, so I took most of this morning to catch up on some much needed shut-eye. This was the last of the relaxing days. From here on out, we were going on our tours and doing some adventuring. We woke up around 1:00pm once our headaches had subsided and decided that we should go snorkeling. We strapped on the ...

... We drank together all night and joked about the differences between our countries (ass = bottom). During the afternoon, Dan and I bought a bottle of rum for our room, so after we were done at the bar for the evening, we went to our villa patio and drank until 5 or 6 in the morning. Even though we are brothers, Dan and I had only known each other for a year at that time, so we had a great drunken talk & bonding experience that night.

... river) *Dolphin Swim The Havana tour was my first choice, but unfortunately we were already too late to book the tour for this week, and another tour wasn't offered during our stay. I really wanted to see a large Cuban city during our visit, so we decided on going to Santiago. It has always been a dream of mine to swim with dolphins and the Jungle Adventure tour looked cool as hell in the pictures the ...

... my mind. I had never been in such a climate in my life and I definitely wasn't prepared for it. I immediately started perspiring - and I NEVER sweat. Within about 5 minutes my body temperature started to adjust to it and it didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore, in fact, it started to feel really really good. We entered the "airport" and proceeded to stand in line to go through customs. We had to show our passports and tourist VISAS to the gate attendants (who were carrying huge ...