Playa Coco Cayo Coco

Arriving at the airport we were greeted with isolated thunderstorms and humid weather- checked in at our hotel and collapsed in our rooms after the 16 journey from our front door. My family and I did very little here in the first week except the occasional ...

We had a day free, so we decided to go exploring in the car we had, and 70K's away was the next place to visit<br><br>Sancti Spiritus<br><br>After a drive through the usual political billboarded countryside, we arrived at our destination. We also did our usual drive around in circles, but this time, we were not lost but we were unable to find a way into the main square. Actually, it was closed as there seemed to be a carnival going on, so we parked up ...

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!

... of just over $1, which fed us all for lunch and then some! We ate them by the side of the road while looking across fields of tobacco crop - I never realized they were such small plants with such big leaves! The drive was very scenic and took us to some villages that rarely see tourists - we got quite a few stares! We took a road less travelled up through the mountains and stopped at the crest where a cute little wooden bar was conveniently located, so we sat ...

... 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.

... beer. For three national pesos (&#8364;0.10) I was able to buy a large 700ml aluminium can that had been fashioned by removing the top of one Cristal beer can and the bottom of a second and fusing the two together. For only three more national pesos I could have it filled up. <br><br>My Grandad was a bit of a demon for the old home brew and so at exactly 12:30pm, the time his funeral had begun at home fourteen hours earlier, I was able to slip away from ...

... watching the endless procession of bikes stream past our front row living room seats, and talking with Frank's extended family. Once again we are blessed with hosts who spoils us. We're invited to a family birthday party, served plentiful and delicious food, and made to feel very much at home. The daughter, Beatrice, helps Lucy pat the turtle on an hourly basis. Lucy has named it Maria, and sings the "West Side Story" song to it. Our daughter Emma (left behind ...

... about me, really. Roosters are crowing false declarations of dawn. I sit and think about the dead until the cries are true. The rapid day catches me up. Mark Crawford annoyed me sometimes. Can I write that about someone dead? Is the truth necessary or just hurtful? Do I lack the courage to write things that are real? Mark didn't. That impulse to do what seems right in the moment, even if it might be wrong, he ...

... 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 ...

... I from managing to drag thier beach chairs to sea to relax out of reach of the mosquitos in the afternoon thunder. We decided to camp up the road in what seemed to be a nice enough shoe covered beach that turned out to be Tokyo for mosquitos. We set up camp and went for a feed becase the rain made it imposible to make a fire. By 8pm the mosquitos had passed the word and swarmed like fat kids to a crashed donut truck. The noise was a terrorfiying hum as they swarmed the tent, the only ...