Islazul Hotel La Ronda Trinidad

... nahegelegenen Strand machen. Nachts v**wandelt sich die Stadt dann in ein kleines Netz aus v**schiedenen Musikshows, und auch hi** koennen wir wied** die Meist** des Salsa beim Huefte-schwingen bewund**n. Durch die warmen Temp**aturen geht die Party unt** freiem Himmel bis spaet in die Nacht, und die Stimmung ist sup**. <br><br>Am letzten Tag machen wir uns auf zum Strand, d** kaum ...

... I forgot to put one in my wallet like some of the vendors do. Bag? Out comes the wallet and he unfolds two plastic bags and gives me one. One block down the Maceo I ran into a cookie man and stocked up on 5 which cost me 10CUP but should only have cost 5. Three cookies later I got back to the casa to unload my loot and squaff down a Bucanero (beer) to wet the whistle and cool the senses. Browsing is one of my favourite pastimes so off again to the art galleries where I ...

... so I can't think of clear and witty things to amuse you, my readers. I have responsibilities. I remember running out into the Mexican midnight once to search the pharmacies for vitamins. Now I come prepared. To be honest there probably is a bit of resentment at selling to foreigners at dirt cheap prices, though it usually stays below the surface, reflected only in surly behavior. Cubans are not big on 'Thank yous' anyway; I guess it's not ...

... Additionally, we would hate to have bought these cigars in Cuba as gifts only to have them conviscated. Silly maybe, but I really wanted to buy Cuban cigars in Cuba. My concern wasn't really the risk of losing out on the money spent on them in the event customs decided to hold onto them. The solution to our problem, we thought, was to chat to someone with an unbiased opinion.<br><br>Though Carlos' opinion would've been great, the language barrier was somewhat of a problem so ...

... I asked. He turned to me and extended his hand, I could feel the years of hard labor as I clasped it and he answered "Me gusta mucho y muchas gracias", I like it much and thank you much. The horse stomped the ground again and the cowboy, without any perceivable movement or command, allowed the horse to turn and head home. As they moved off together, the cowboy did not lower the photo or remove his attention from it. I sat for a long Cuba time ...

... a small fountain and next to a tiny shrubbery plot we peruse the very simple menu. I settle on 'stew with fried beef', which is two thin pieces of steak, some white rice and four corn fritters. Norah's 'espagetti neapolitana' is plain spaghetti with a tiny amount of a tomato sauce in the centre. We drink bottled water and have two tasty milk flans for dessert. With another two bottles of water to take away, the whole thing comes to just over 8 pesos - 5 pounds. We stroll back to ...

... slabs of fried chicken, dirty blackish rice with black beans, and a sort of a salad (cabbage, tomato, cucumber) were plenty for both of us. We didn't even finish! Jinetero tried to sell me cigars. I wanted cohibas ( a lighter, nicer smoke) and I told himn that but of course he didn't listen so instead I bargained him down on some Patagas from 15 to 8 for 5. Of course he still would have made money! Astrid was in search of live music to drink by and at ...

... really doesn't encourage efficiency and it wasn't unusual to go into a shop and find that the person on the till just walked away into a back room for no apparent reason (still in sight doing nothing) and left you waiting. Anyway not to worry about all that. The next day we checked out the museum of the revolution and the capitol building (ironically almost an exact replica of the US Capitol), and a few of the other sights and sounds. By this stage we had ...

... drivers if they see them carrying tourists, so what they end up doing is to drop you off a street before your hotel, and you walk the rest. One night I even went to the Casa de la Musica, which was a great experience. Sona and I decided that it was time for us to put on our dancing shoes and get ourselves out of the hotel and for once really go for the dancing experience of a lifetime. And it was well worth it, we ended up dancing 5 hours none stop and met some locals ...

... like it would continue to improve.<br><br>I spent the afternoon wandering around the beautiful UNESCO town, taking some great photos. After dinner I met Lee and Pailin for a few beers at the Casa de la Musica. This soon turned into a MASSIVE night! After a while we found a guide in Pepe, who took us to a house party that had it all - Mojitos, a Salsa band, locals, and a chevy parked in the backyard! Fantastic! When this wound up we went to Palenque, another salsa bar in the centre ...