Hotel Escuela Telegrafo Bayamo

... Cuban people.  It is so easy to be discouraged travelling through the country as it is somedays a constant hassle from touts pulling your heart strings and then asking you for clothes, money or just about anything you possess and they don't and the guilt lies with the truth that a  lot of people don't have anything besides a roof over their head and basic food yet we seem to have cupboards of possessions and ...

... 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 ...

... Museo del Ron en het Plaza del Marte. Dit alles is gelegen op slechts enkele minuten lopen van mijn casa, dus ik zit prima centraal. Onderweg nog een aantal portugezen tegengekomen die ik ook al in de bus was tegengekomen. Zij gaan morgen naar la Gran Piedra en vroegen of ik zin heb om mee te gaan. Dit schijnt een monoliet te zijn van ruim 1200 meter waarvan je een prachtig uitzicht schijnt te hebben en ...

... 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 ...

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...!!!

... Moira & Gordon when I head to Baracoa and after a long and winding 6 hour bus journey through amazing green and luscious scenery, we arrive at the town and I'm left wondering how the guide book can call this dilapidated little place the jewel of Cuba's crown. We drive down the length of the Malecon (sea front promenade) which is initially lined with little Casas but soon turns into the backs of derelict, yet inhabited (!), buildings and far from fulfils my expectations. The ...

My second morning in Trinidad, the first in my new Casa, started with breakfast on the sun-scattered patio: Fresh mango, fruta bomba (you can't say Papaya over here as it means female genitalia!), guava (which I've decided I really don't like - a rare thing for me) and banana. Eggs however I like them, fresh bread, freshly squeezed juice and coffee con leche (effectively a latte). Some would say this is heaven, and if it is, it's cheap at only a couple of quid! I'm starting ...

... to have a bit of brekkie, and then get kicke out of the hotel because they w**e full that night. We w**e going to leave anyway! The hotel manag** then rang some old woman up and got h** to the hotel to p**suade us to stay at h** casa particulaire near** town. We decided to go for it, and it ended up a pretty good move as it meant we got to meet these 3 girls from Oxford Uni who w**e staying next door. They w**e intrigued ...

... locals! However I doubt I learnt any useful vocabulary on this trekrethe words for kill, gun-shooting, suicide, dictator, dangerous etc. will not help me much on my travels, but they're sure cool to know! No photos I'm afraid; we weren't allowed to bring cameras, but trust me, the views were breath-taking, and we even managed to catch a glimpse of the national bird, the tocorro, which bears the same colours as the cuban flag!

... up spending the rest of the evening simply exploring the hotel and its grounds. It has the largest aquariums in the world, based on the lost city of Atlantis. It also turned out that Darren was a studying veternarian who had a huge interest in sealife (he was a posh boy form Beverley Hills - 90210 no less!!)so it was cool he could tell us about it all. We ended up leaving the hotel at gone 2am and getting a stretched limo home!! Was crazy!