Islazul Gran Hotel Camaguey

... toeristen. Aangezien ik zo mijn twijfels had bij dit verhaal alsnog naar mijn vorige verblijfplaats (casa Eliz) gelopen maar die bleek ook vol te zitten. Na wat telefoontjes te hebben gepleegd kon ik bij haar vriendin terecht die een straat verder woont. Aardige mensen met een zeer nette kamer voor 20 cuc. Aangezien het al tegen vijven loopt hier mijn intrek genomen voor een nacht.

08-12-2008: om 8:00 am in het nabijgelegen busstation de bus gepakt naar Camaguey. In Trinidad had ik een adres van een casa gekregen en ik zou worden opgehaald op het busstation. Op het busstation stond inderdaad iemand me op te wachten waarvan ik het idee had dat het de eigenaar was van de casa. Dit bleek echter een ...

Thursday 10th July Having arrived at just after midnight, we dropped our bags off in the ****** hotel room (it was too late to find a casa), we headed straight to the bar area for a quick pizza and a bottle of rum. We then headed up to the hotel "nightclub" which lasted about 10 minutes whilst we were there. So we played a bit of "I have never.." which is never a good idea!! Never again... We then got in a cab to "the ...

... the walkway were being used as goals. Speaking of baseball we went to a proper game at the stadium in Havana. Awesome experience. Big stadium but only several hundred people there. Baseball is the Cuban national sport so it was great to see their passion for it. We even stood up for the Cuban national anthem which plays at the beginning of games. I could really get into baseball in NZ if it were like this. Our hosts in the B n Bs we stayed at were great. Friendly, helpful and ...

... car to take us to Nuevitas, and our driver was stopped and fined on the motorway. Our fare more than compensated for the fine, and since its not really extortionate, both the drivers and the state can benefit from this kind of activity. Dragging my huge suitcase along with me (I really should have brought a backpack), we caught a local buss to a crossroad where we then flagged down a big truck to take us to Santa Lucia. After a bumpy, windy ride, we ...

... see what they could offer. Everything normal up to there. The lady was fully booked, but proposed to take us to her cousin. She walked us there, of course, in order not to loose us clients. And anyway because Cubans are nice. Up to there, everything normal. Then comes that boy on a bike. He says he's from casa something (the one we were recommended in the first place), and that we are expected there. Very rightfully, the lady says she knows nothing of that, and we start ...

... Would I dare say that Cubans think they are better than others? Well in fact, they would be truly exceptional if they did not think that. I guess I had come to expect too much. It is difficult to explain these "unpleasant" aspects. I have met many, many travellers who just skipped them with a sentence, usually containing "poor people" in it. Well it's not about judging here, but I really wanted to understand how it worked. And the deeper I was scratching, the ...

... setting where I had not been with any other foreigners for over a week, and eventually these people provided me some of the best memories of my trip! After watching a kind of fashion show, small but very professional, we headed off to a nightclub in a cave. Strangest of settings, the golden youth of Cuba: not that many foreigners, but a lot of young cubans with a lot of money (compared to other Cubans), and partying like anywhere else in the world...

... end of this range, around six months, babies want to start crawling and don't like staying in one place as much. Also, most people introduce solid food around six months. The flying food tends to create more laundry. Food prep means more things to pack. Teethed and and dangerous -- 8 months to 16 months old You're a braver person than me. Beyond weekend trips, I've never risked my sanity travelling with kids this ...

... but went off every which way, making it difficult for pirates, I'm sure, but also for gringo tourists. Our guide took us to the requisite cigar factory and rum factory and then on to the central square of the city where we were eventually turned loose.