Truckin' Up the Mountain - Topes de Collantes

December 27, 2018
Trinidad, Cuba

Tour Day 5 – Soviet Army Trucks, Nature Walks, Coffee, Cigars, and Dancing

The barkeep had our welcome-cocktail glasses ready and waiting to be filled upon our arrival!  Possibly my favorite Cuban tradition. ;-) 

An early start deserves a delicious breakfast, which is the opposite of what we got (don't go to the Hotel Las Cuevas for the food). 

Today's primary activity involved a bus ride up into the mountains north of Trinidad, to the Parque Natural Topes de Collantes in the Escambray Mountains. The itinerary seemed a bit unclear. We had heard we'd be driving up the mountain in the back of a Soviet troop transporter, but the morning started with an hour-and-a-half long, slow-going bus trip, and we started wondering if the truck thing wasn't going to happen for some reason or another.

Let's Drive to Trinidad!

December 26, 2018
Trinidad, Cuba

Tour Day 4 – Havana to Cienfuegos to Trinidad

Post-lunch vibes at Villa Lagarte

One last breakfast at the Hotel Victoria, the highlights of which are the extremely friendly server who attends to us with a giant smile each morning (amazing what tips can do), and of course, the all-you-can-eat smoked salmon. Most definitely NOT the coffee. If you're at the Hotel Victoria, go to the bar for your cafe cortados.

Christmas in Havana - Tour Day 3

December 25, 2018
Havana, Cuba

Tour Day 3 – Christmas in Havana

Christmas Day in Havana

It's Christmas, our final full day in Havana, and the lightest tour schedule of our week in Cuba.

Our first, and basically only, stop today was a morning visit to an organic farm in the eastern suburbs of Havana called Alamar, near where our tour guide Linett lives. It's a quick trip via the tunnel under the La Bahia de Habana (Bay of Havana), but considering the state of maintenance of nearly everything else in Havana, I'm glad to not have to commute through it daily. In Alamar, we see many more of the typical concrete block apartments. Linett tells us that Cubans can buy their own home or apartment, but the government owns all of the land. Since citizens can't necessarily build outside the boundaries of their existing buildings, some have taken to digging out un-permitted and dangerously executed basement rooms as their family expands. Easier to be a risk taker when you have little to lose.

Cuba - To the Hills!

December 24, 2018
Havana & Outlying Areas, Cuba

Tour Day 2 – Havana and Las Terrazas
 

Enjoying the mid-day meal with our tour group at Casa del Campesino

It's Christmas Eve in Cuba, which means... almost nothing to the Cubans. While religion hasn't technically been curtailed since the "triumph of the revolution" (TOTR), it seems to have been de-prioritized. To us, it seemed like the locals had learned to start saying "Merry Christmas" just to appease the tourists. Decorations are pretty much limited to areas with tourist traffic, and holiday shopping isn't a thing (what would they buy?). 

Exploring Havana - Tour Day 1

December 23, 2018
Havana, Cuba

Tour Day 1 - Introduction to Havana
 

The spirit of Che Guevara is alive and well all over Cuba, as evidenced here in the form of a giant, lit "mural" on the face of a ministry building in Revolution Square

We met our group in the hotel lobby for a 9am start on Sunday morning. Our guide, Linett, was on time and seemed organized. Our tour comrades included Risa from Astoria, a married couple from Seattle (Susan and Carrie), and father-son travelers from Pleasant Hill (Sau-Wing) and LA (Justin).

Cuba!

December 22, 2018
Havana, Cuba

Our first photo of pre-1959 American "classic" cars!  Many, many more to follow... 

After years of exploring the possibility, we finally made it to Cuba! Why Cuba? Why now?

The "why Cuba" question is easy. Because it’s there, and where don’t we want to go? But really, also because it’s so unique. A Caribbean island, just about 100 miles from Florida, with a longstanding aura of mystery and all but forbidden for the American traveler. The buildings and cars of Havana, that glamorous American playground of the 1940’s and 1950’s, which can now be seen as archaeological relics that happen to be still in use, crumbling and patched together to bleed every last drop of use from them. Then there’s the Cuban culture. The music, dancing, rum, cigars, coffee, guayaberas.  And the chance to see a socialist dictatorship in person. Of course, visiting a Caribbean island in December is always appealing for the weather alone, but there are easier places to go for a beach vacation.

Happy Holidays from the Brookses!

December 8, 2018

Santa Rosa, CA

Happy holidays from our homestead to yours!

 Love,

Scott & Caroline