Hotel Carrusel Sierra Maestra Bayamo

... and stumbled to our casa quite late. A few  days later we bumped into one of the students at the bus terminal.  He wanted to give us a reggaton CD that he and his friends recorded at a studio.  He waited for more than an hour for his friend to bring the cd to us and he insisted we took extra fruit for our bus journey.  It is these types of incidents which there were several that you really feel the warmth of ...

13-12-2008: na het nemen van wat foto's van het standbeeld van Generaal Antonia Maceo (streedt voor onafhankelijkheid tegen de spanjaarden) de bus genomen naar Holguin. Omstreeks 13:30 aangekomen en per bicitaxi naar casa ...

... bij een andere vorm van amusement waar muziek de hoofdrol speelt. Verder staan hier ook een aantal gebouwen van cultureel en architectonisch belang zoals hotel Casa Granda, de cathedral de la Asuncion en het stadhuis waar Fidel Castro zijn 1e toespraak hield voor het cubaanse volk. Verder een bezoekje gebracht aan de Plaza de Dolores (gezellig pleintje met wat terrasjes waar wat muzikanten staan te spelen), het ...

09-12-2008: omstreeks 12:00 am richting het busstation gegaan voor de bus naar Holguin die om 13:15 zal vertrekken. Inmiddels heb ik al een paar adressen gekregen van de eigenaresse van de casa in Camaguey. De bis van Viazul vertrekt wederom precies op tijd en rond vijven aangekomen in Holguin. Op het station een bici-taxi genomen naar het opgegeven adres maar deze casa bleek vol. Uiteraard wist zij nog wel iemand die een kamer te huur had en een paar ...

Le pire trajet en bus de ma vie: 9h et malade comme un chien... un mec monte je ne sais plus dans quelle ville et s´assoit à côté de moi, peux pas lui parler, enfin si je lui parle mais pas très bien! il s´appelle Christian. 2 jours à Santiago ou j´ai un peu planée mais bien quand même. je recroise Christian dans la rue. Départ pour Baracoa à 7h lundi 18 matin, je recroise Christian à la oficina Viazul, décidemment Viazul...!!!

... amp; Gordon and Klaas & Annelies and I'm reminded what it is that I love about traveling. My remaining days in Santiago are pretty much all about relaxing and enjoying the company of new found friends. I manage the energy to have a look around the oldest house in Cuba which, considering its pre-Shakespeare is in very good nick. I even get the opportunity to play chess with some locals, which is more the kind of experience I enjoy. I'm a day behind Klaas & Annelies ...

... with an Irish couple early the next morning. I vow to make it Cubatur's problem and leave them my rucksack while I hunt for a Casa but they have none of it and send me to Havanatur (which happens to be back where I came from). Instead I head to Moira and Gordons hotel to leave them a message and the kind receptionist also allows me to leave my rucksack. Calling in on K&A, their Casa owner recommends his sister-in-law to me and I move into Virginias for the next 3 nights.

... Also on the flight, I got talking to some cool black Cuban guy who was an int**national Badminton umpire. Unfortunately Hector kept saying to Ben "don't trust the ******s" - what, the guy who was a laugh, and int**esting?? Hector was a ****! Once we landed safely (just about), me and Ben made our excuses and jumped in some random black dude's car and got a lift to our hotel. The guy was pretty sound, 21, and whacked up the ...

One definite highlight of our trip to Cuba was climbing the Commandancia de la Plata, in the Sierra Maestre Ridge, where Fidel and his revolutionnaries hid for over a year, planning their attack on Batista. The trek was a very *******e both because of the heat and humidity, and the fact that we had a Spanish only speaking guide! You were right Rika, I have actually managed to pick up Spanish by sheer need to communicate with ...

... Senor Frogs. We ended up being there until midnight, dancing and drinking with some people we met. When it was time to leave Sharon and I weren't ready to call it a night and so we (along with this chap called Darren) headed off to a nightclub in a hotel that a taxi driver told us about on another island, Atlantis on Paradise Island. Words cannot describe how immense this hotel is - look it up on the internet and see for yourself! We ...