Gaviota Playa Coco Cayo Coco

... of a pedalo or a canoe to explore the crystal clear picture postcard waters. Snorkelling was also a habitual practice along with drinking rum punch, speaking Spanish to the hotel staff and eating the amazing food. The real Cuba would come in a week's time.<br>

... a tower so that he could watch them. Sounding like a laugh, we hit it. There wasn't much to see, just a tower that's 44 metres high, the views were great. Old sugar cane country everywhere. We hung out, watching the sky turn from dark gray to blue, and then we came down. We had a quick look in the old house as well, and just like everywhere else, this place sold the same **** !!!<br><br>Back in the car, we headed back to Trinidad, this time, no detours !!!

First time off the North American continent, in the 1970s. Loved the palm trees and the Caribbean white sand and clear blue ocean. No big hotels on the beach in the 70s: now it's a major tourist destination, so I'm glad we enjoyed it before the Americans snuck in!

... was very blustery and the day was getting cooler so we gave another swim a miss. We were all tired from the big day in the sun so we had had dinner at our casa. The following day we drove back east to Remedios, where we had breakfast on the square and people-watched. Then we drove south through lots of small towns. We pulled over for a pit stop at one of them and Clay, Greg and I stumbled upon a bakery where we got a massive batch of warm breadrolls for the ...

... made reservations for dinner at the Sun King on deck 11:- 2 hours of individual attention and fancily displayed food, I had Surf and Turf, Gary did fillet Mignon. Dessert was a chocolate lovers delight, even the Troll loved it. We then spent the evening packing our suitcases to leave outside our room by 11PM so stewards could take them all down at night and group by debarkation numbers.

... br>Out in nearby streets lined with pink-blossoming trees and very staid apartment blocks, a light-hearted crowd gathered in a fair-like atmosphere to celebrate May Day. We were very clearly the only non-locals in attendance and, unlike Trinidad, we sensed absolutely none of the signs that we were about as welcome as a **** in a crowded lift. A band was playing on a stage, a goat-drawn carriage was giving rides for small children and a number of trailers were ...

... nowadays. One of the teams uses polka as its theme music, which explains the odd sonic oompahs around town. On one of our strolls around Remedios` leafy central plaza, we run into the Argentinean couple from Trinidad, Gimena and Leandro. They're just visiting for a few hours from Santa Clara and have already run out of options; there are only three open "attractions" in town, after all. We have them over for a drink in our living room -- Frank, ever the ...

I wake bewildered, a truck rumbling past my head. Strange walls, heat. Cuba, it suddenly occurs to me. But in the predawn, it's not the island but dead classmates that occupy me. Mark Crawford, a high school character, died the day we left on our trip. As I packed clothes, blood packed in his head, an aneurysm. What can you say about someone? Does a catalogue of features, shared experiences, convey anything real ...

... and tripling on handlebars and rat traps, Cubans have lots of improvised child seats. Kids dangle from the centre bar, the back wheel, the front handlebars. The variety and ingenuity is great. Our lodgings are the most beautiful I've seen; I thought we were stopping at a museum when Hermes dropped us off last night. We have our own vestibule, living room, dining room, bathroom and bedroom, all ...

... bloody bug splattering in a matter of seconds. The dopey cop looked at one passport (still managing to pinch my visa) then decided to leave us alone to our pain, probally because what we were suffering was more than punishment enough for breaking the no camping law. In the morning we got one back on the island by sending the girls into the resort to steal breakfast, they even managed to reserve a table for 10 for the evenings 5 star banquate but we were in no shape to stay another night.