Travels

Day 12 (1/1): Havana

cee_402 — Mon, 2 Jan 2017 01:56:00 GMT

Wakes up at 8 am;
Had breakfast at neighborhood joint;
Walked along Malecon and took local bus (R11) to the Fort (Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro) and back;
Checked out / Walked around Old Havana and Central Havana - Plazas , Cathedral, Capitolio Nationale etc.
Wanted to check out the Obscura but is closed till mid Jan >_<.
Had lunch at El Barrio Chino (Chinatown) right next to Capitolio. There are very few Chinese / Chinese restaurants at Chinatown. Had lunch at a 'Chinese' restaurant 'Felix Dorando'; I ordered Canton chicken combo (= soya sauce chicken, surprisingly good) and Ta had 'Hong Kong style fish fillet = fish fillet stuffed w shrimps?)
Walked along Calle Cuba to check out The Rafael Trejo - an open air training facility / gym for local boxing enthusiasts, but was closed for the day.
Rested a bit at the casa, and walked out to Vedado area for dinner. Rushed to (part of) Calle 23, known as La Rampa, just in time to have ice cream at Coppelia.
Dinner at Restaurant Waoo!!! Quite full after ice-cream, so only had snacks.

Day 11 (31/12): Vinales --> Havana

cee_402 — Sun, 1 Jan 2017 01:38:00 GMT

Had breakfast at Hostel at 7:30 am. Nice view at the courtyard.
Cambio opens at 8:30 am, so headed over to stand in line for money cambio.
Rented bikes (9:45 am) and rode to Cueva del Indio.
Visited Cueva del Indio, which includes a short motorboat ride.
Rita is not a big fan of biking, so headed back shortly and returned bike at 12:15 pm.
Shopped Souvneir (cigar, coffee) at Caracol Casa
Had lunch at El Eden (Pollo de la Cuba and Lamb de la Cuba) - unexpectedly yummy food
Took Collectivo Taxi to Havana, and dropped off luggage at Casa Orlando (Central Havana), which we booked online. The casa (building) looks kind of worn down at the exterior, but nice inside. Also, it is right by the Malecon, and has nice views once windows are opened. Host family invited us to join them for NY dinner.
Walked around Plazas at Old Havana and had dinner at neighborhood.
Returned to casa at 10-ish pm and celebrated New Year evening at Casa w Host Family and their friends. We danced / watched them dance to music and had fun. Super warm.

Day 10 (30/12): Vinales

cee_402 — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 01:12:00 GMT

Had breakfast at Don Camelo at 9:30 am (had 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, because other items quite expensive ^_^). A lot of restaurants are not opened for breakfast yet.
Took a taxi to Pinar del Rio. Ended up the famous Fabrica de Tabacos at Pinar del Rio is closed for fiesta from 28/12 - 16/1. Did a short walk at the city, plaza, and visited the Palacio de los Matrimonios (the guy there gave us a nice tour of the palacio). The Art Gallery Casa Taller looks great, but closes till 3 pm >_<.
After negotiation with the taxi driver, took us to Alejanoro Robaina Tobacco 1845 Plantation. Did a quick tour where there was a demo of 'wrapping of cigar'. We ended up buying a few AR cigars for testing and for photo ops ^_^.
Back at Vinales Downtown, we bought the tickets for the Bus Tour, which started at 3:00 pm at Pacque Vinales (w/ 18 stops). We stopped at Mural de la Prehistoria and walked back to the city.
Had drinks and watch sunset at Cafe del Mojito, which has nice decor (along Adela Azcuy)
Wanted to try dinner at Cocinita del Medio, but it was fully booked. Also closed tomorrow, so no luck trying the restaurant.
Stayed the night at Casa Julia

Day 9 (29/12): Cienfuegos --> Vinales

cee_402 — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 01:04:00 GMT

Had early breakfast at Hostal
Took Taxi Collectivo to Havana (8:15 am - 11:45 am), and shared the taxi with one guy.
At Havana, took another Taxi Collectivo from Havana to Vinales (12:15 pm -3 pm). The taxi was big and comfy, and we shared the ride w 2 other girls Lilith, Di. Driver is Raul.
Turned out the casa was quite a distance away, and is only available for 1 night. As we didn't want to move yet again, we walked around and found an available casa (Casa Julia) closer to the town, with a nice backyard, and cheap. Secured our stay at Casa Julia.
Did a short hike to Finca Raul Reyes (small tocacco farm) and Cueva de la Vaca (cave). Along the road 'Adela Azcuy', a lot of new casas being constructed.
Had Dinner at La Colonial Restaurante (Fried Chicken and Seafood Spagetti, which is super yummy)

Day 8 (28/12): Cienfuegos

cee_402 — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:51:00 GMT

Had Breakfast at Hostal. A nice big breakfast with eggs, fruit plate, pancakes.
Hostel helped arrange a taxi at 8:30 am to take us to El Nicho, where there's waterfall (2 hrs, 10:30 - 12:30 pm). Rita thought the water would be muy frio and didn't bring along any swim wear. I ended up swimming for about half an hour.
After that, taxi took us to Cementario Tomas Acea. The entance is a replica of the Parthenon in Athens. Here, the cemetery feels very peaceful and is set out like a garden with paths and fruit trees.
After that, did a City Walk, and walked to Cementario de Reina (quite small) and the Bayshore.
Had Dinner at Palacio de Valle Restaurant (Butter Lobster, Paella Mixed Seafood Rice)
Back at the hostal, when the lady at hostal heard that we are heading to Vinales tomorrow without any advanced arrangement, she was more nervous than us. She is super concerned that we have no place to stay (which Rita and I are fine with ^_^). She pulled out her telephone book and stayed up late to call the casas one by one for us. super sweet. Finally she secured a taxi to Vinales and a case for us.
Originally we planned to take the ferry to the other side, but decided to scrap the plan and leave for Vinales early in the morning.

Day 7 (27/12): Trinidad --> Cienfuegos

cee_402 — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 00:45:00 GMT

Nice City Walk in the morning: Library, Coffee Shop etc.
Had Breakfast at Local Joint (Ham Egg Hamburgers)
Took Taxi Collectivo to Ceinfuegoes at 3:30 pm, and arrived at pm. A Korean girl joined the collectivo ride. (Driver Yoam drove out of route to a gas station to grab a motor)
Dropped us off at Parque Jose Marti and neighborhood
We wanted to stay at Casa de la Amistad and try its Cola chicken, but the casa is full. Casa helped us locate another hostel at Hostel Hortensia y Ricardo
We walked around a bit, and had dinner at 1850 Grill. Tried Mixed Grill and Fish.

Day 6 (26/12): Trinidad

cee_402 — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 00:36:00 GMT

Took antique train to the Valley of the Sugar Mills. Entire trip (mostly the train ride) is from 10 am to 2:30 pm.
The Valley of the Sugar Mills is a series of three interconnected valleys (~ 12 km) outside of Trinidad, and were a centre for sugar production from the late 18th century to 19th century. It is now a UNESCO site, and most of the sugar mills are in ruins.
Back to Trinidad. Had a quick lunch (sandwich) at a local joint by Parque Cespedes.
Took a taxi to Playa Ancon. We left at around 4, and back at 6. Clear water, but LOTS of mosquitos towards sunset when we left.
Finally tried the dinner at Restaurant El Dorado with less ppl (Had Grilled Lobster and Lobster cooked in bread set meal - Total Disappointment!)
Total 2 Wifi spots at the city (the two parks)
Stayed at the same Hostel Ramon n Marbelis: 25 CUC

Day 5 (25/12): Santa Clara --> Trinidad

cee_402 — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 01:42:00 GMT

Started in morning in search of Monument of Che w/ Baby, which turned out to be a super tiny monument (well, real-size monument).
Breakfast at Local Joint (Ham / Ham w Cheese sandwiches); 3 CUC
Took taxi to Viazul bus station; 4 CUC (supposing if bicitaxi, 2 CUC each). There was a looooong line already, and luckily the staff asked those in line for Trinidad to step into the office immediately for ticket procurement;
Just in time for the Viasul bus, which departs at 11:30 am. Arrives at Trinidad at around 2 pm (3.5 hrs).
Since we didn't reserve a casa, just followed a lady around to check out her casa. We preferred a bedroom with 2 beds, and she managed to find us one. Actually casa-hunting shouldn't be that hard, coz we realized later that almost ALL houses along the roads have the blue sign indicating 'guesthouse for tourist'.
Lunch / Happy Hour (11 am - 5 pm) at 'Yemaya Taverna' (had ham Lagsuna and Hamburger w Fried Banana. Good quality)
Checked out Museo Historical Municipal. It was supposingly closed, but the person-in-charge asked us to pay (him) and then let us in. Overrated museum - nothing much to see. Maybe we are not that familiar with the country / city's history.
Visited the Tower of the Convento de San Francisco de Asis. Photo ops at tower top during sunset was very nice. Worth an encore tomorrow.
Checked out Live Music n Dance by Plaza Mayor, which starts at around 7 pm. A big crowd gathered at the plaza already. Rita and I each had a mojito (supposingly famous), and stayed till 8 pm.
Wanted to have dinner at El Dorado, but the wait is too long. Ended up we had dinner at 'Yemaya Taverna' again (This time Grilled Fillet and Grilled Pork. The grilled pork super dry, disappointed!). Had an upset stomach (from the mojito?).
Hostel Ramon n Marbelis; 25 CUC

Day 4 (24/12): Santa Clara

cee_402 — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 01:26:00 GMT

Enjoyed breakfast at rooftop of Hostel; 5 CUC
Solo quick City Walk in the morning
Managed to find another hostel (Hostel Zaida) within walking distance, nicer and cheaper w two beds. Turns out the Hostel is recommended by Trip Advisor.
Meet up Rita at 1:30 pm at Hostal Panorama, and we moved to the new hostel right away.
Had lunch at 'El Meson de Pepe' at Independence Blvd (Lobster w Black Bean Rice); 10 CUC
City Walk, Parque Videl, Che Mausoleum. Noticed a few locals playing the Cuban version of MJ (called Bingo?)
Tried local Helato (Chocolate, Naranja); 10 CUP ea
Dinner at 'Familia Restaurante' (Caramon, Pineapple n Ham Pizza, Fries. We misunderstood 'camaron' as 'calamari'. Turned out it was shrimp); 10 CUC
Went to Club Mejunje (Drag Show and Beer) for a drag show and befriended a local; Entrance Fee 2 CUC ea; Rita found the drag show boring (the singing was indeed a bit dull, and the drag queens were not attractive. Super pale performance compared to those in SF), and we left after an hour.
Headed to the park (only park with Wi-fi) to experience Xmas eve atmosphere, which was none.
Hostel Zaida (Lady w dog; on Trip Advisor); 25 CUC

Day 1-3 (21-23/12): HK --> Santa Clara

cee_402 — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 01:01:00 GMT

Day 1: HK --> Vancouver (layover 7 hrs);
Original plan was to head to Remedios immediately from Santa Clara in time for the festival of Las Parrandas (for xmas eve and xmas). However, learnt from the travel agent that the Las Parrandas was downscaled and postponed to Jan 2017 due to the recent passing of Castro. Thus after texting with Rita, decided to skip Remedios (a small town) and start the trip at Santa Clara instead.
Day 2: Vancouver --> Toronto (layover 9 hrs);
Emailed the casas I contacted earlier, and most of them are full. Fortunately, one casa (Luca of) Hostal Colibri Azul offered to send a taxi to pick me up at the airport, and help me locate an available casa (Hostal Panorama) around its corner. At that point, I am ready to take anything.
Sent Hostal Panorama address to Rita, and meet up is at 2 pm at the hostal.
Day 3: Additional delay in departure from Toronto Airport. Departs Toronto Airport at 6 pm. Arrives Santa Clara Airport at around 10 pm. The taxi pickup at the airport was a godsend!
Change 200 Euro at Airport. (Needs passport for cambio)
Taxi to Hostel; 20 CUC
Hostel Panorama; 30 CUC
Arrived at Hostel 10:30 pm
Headed to bed right away

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