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Showing posts with label Cuba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cuba. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Casa Javier, Habana
S.Lazaro 24, Prado y Carcel, Centro Habana - 0053 52836814 - 0053 78606231
The lovely casa in Vinales recommended a casa particular in Habana. But their toilet needed fixing and she sent us to one of their neighbours. Thats how we ended up at Javiers place. We got a huge and tall room with tiny bathroom and even a kitchen. It even had a air condition with climate control! The second bed was quite crap, so we took turns for sleeping in the more comfy one.
The casa is between the Malecon/sea and the Prado, we found it every night ^^
We paid 25CHF/US$ for the room. Ah Javier is propably gay, but we didn't mind ;)
The lovely casa in Vinales recommended a casa particular in Habana. But their toilet needed fixing and she sent us to one of their neighbours. Thats how we ended up at Javiers place. We got a huge and tall room with tiny bathroom and even a kitchen. It even had a air condition with climate control! The second bed was quite crap, so we took turns for sleeping in the more comfy one.
The casa is between the Malecon/sea and the Prado, we found it every night ^^
We paid 25CHF/US$ for the room. Ah Javier is propably gay, but we didn't mind ;)
Casa Dario y Tuti, Viñales
Calle Salvador Cisneros #48, Viñales / daymita@correocuba.cu / 53 ‐ 52 78 37 50 / 048 ‐ 79 60 22
Having allready spent three nights in Viñales we wanted a casa closer to the “city centre”. So we went to look around and found a place with a room on the first floor with a tiny balcony the first time we were in Viñales.
But this place was occupied when we got back from Playa Maria La Gorda and we had to settle for the casa next door. Which turned out even better! The room was nice and the backyard was really nice. There where sunchairs and a cross between a big fountain/tiny pool. But we didn’t went swimming... ;)
The night cost us 20CHF/US$ and 3CHF/US$ per person for breakfast. The dinner was excellent! I had the best cuban lobster at this casa, a bargain for 12CHF/US$!
Having allready spent three nights in Viñales we wanted a casa closer to the “city centre”. So we went to look around and found a place with a room on the first floor with a tiny balcony the first time we were in Viñales.
But this place was occupied when we got back from Playa Maria La Gorda and we had to settle for the casa next door. Which turned out even better! The room was nice and the backyard was really nice. There where sunchairs and a cross between a big fountain/tiny pool. But we didn’t went swimming... ;)
The night cost us 20CHF/US$ and 3CHF/US$ per person for breakfast. The dinner was excellent! I had the best cuban lobster at this casa, a bargain for 12CHF/US$!
Hotel Playa Maria La Gorda, Playa Maria La Gorda
Beside the diving and the sunsets there is nothing to recommend here.
All of the buildings have seen better days. The fist room we got had a broken toilet, which they were still trying to fix 3 days later, Cuba!
We payed 54CHF/US$ for our room with sea view, another would cost 5CHF/US$ less. Breakfast was included, dinner cost us another 12CHF/US$ each! Quite a ripoff, especially for the poor food we got. But as on the the Isla de Juventud, there isn’t anything nearby. If you want to go diving you have to stay here...
All of the buildings have seen better days. The fist room we got had a broken toilet, which they were still trying to fix 3 days later, Cuba!
We payed 54CHF/US$ for our room with sea view, another would cost 5CHF/US$ less. Breakfast was included, dinner cost us another 12CHF/US$ each! Quite a ripoff, especially for the poor food we got. But as on the the Isla de Juventud, there isn’t anything nearby. If you want to go diving you have to stay here...
Casa Yaneris y Yudan, Viñales
Calle 9na, 2da y 4ta, #4, Rpto La Colchoneria, Viñales
This casa was a recommendation from the casa in Habana. Off the main road we had a small independent casa which was quiet and clean. We paid only 15CHF/US$ for the night. Breakfast was 4CHF/US$ and dinner between 8 and 10CHF/US$ per person.
This casa was a recommendation from the casa in Habana. Off the main road we had a small independent casa which was quiet and clean. We paid only 15CHF/US$ for the night. Breakfast was 4CHF/US$ and dinner between 8 and 10CHF/US$ per person.
Hotel Velasco, Matanzas
Next to parque libertad
Quite nicely restored colonial building, with tall but a little cramped rooms. Our room smelled a bit from the "washthingy" next door, but we had a scale in the bathroom (I’m only 45kg! lol).
The night cost us 46CHF/US$, so not so cheap.
Quite nicely restored colonial building, with tall but a little cramped rooms. Our room smelled a bit from the "washthingy" next door, but we had a scale in the bathroom (I’m only 45kg! lol).
The night cost us 46CHF/US$, so not so cheap.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Soroa and then Habana (20.5.2013 - 26.5.2013)
In Soroa we took a hike uphill for the view. Afterwards we skipped the orchid garden and wanted to have a drink at the bar on top of another hill. But we sadly came too late, a couple of years it seemed, as the place was abandoned and in shambles. So we settled for a swim in the Hotel pool full of cubans ;)
The owner of the casa we stayed owned a 1958 Ford Fairlane, with which he drove us the next day to Las Terrazas. We wanted to stay there for a night or two to visit the park but the hotel didn't have any free rooms left. Having run out of Peso I had do exchange my last US$ as there was no ATM in sight. So we gave Julio a call and he drove us all the way to Habana in his old car.
The first night in Habana we did a little bar tour through Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. Later we decided a bottle of rum from the store would be cheaper and we settled down in the nearby park with it. As we where sitting there we thought there where quite a lot of ugly women smiling at us, till two siblings on the bench next to us told us this was the place where all the gays and cross dressers would meet...
The next day was all about getting some cash! All the ATMs we found wouldn't accept any of our 4 different creditcards, so in the end Patrick exchanged his last couple of €uros. Afterwards we took a walk through the city and bought some groceries so we could cook some nice al dente spagetti! In the evening we went out in the old town again. The evening was still young when half of Habana Vieja had a power failure. So all the bars were closed and we wandered around in the dark streets till we found a bar with some candles lit and the staff having a great time playing music with their cell phones.
The next day was the third day in a row we where broke again! In the end we finally found a bank where they would accept one of our creditcards, yeah! Having some money to spend we went to eat in one of the fancy restaurant on the tourist strip and ordered a lobster boat, two lobster tails stuck into each other and covered in shrimps. Super tasty! ;)
Having enough of the smog and the heat we decided to spend the next day at the beach. So we headed to the Playas del Este. We wandered aimlessly along the beach and managed to see not a single tourist during the whole day! But there where plenty of cubans having a great time, bringing coolers full of beer and barbecue equipment to the beach.
That evening when we were walking around we saw that one of the hotels had a rooftop terrace and soon afterwards we found us smoking a cuban cigar and drinking a mojito in a nice lounge overlooking the old town. Despite its nice location, service and atmosphere it wasn't expensive, actually it was quite cheap compared to the bars around this part of town.
The next and last day in cuba we wanted to spend it like the other tourists, so Patrick bought a hat ;) Afterwards we wanted to take a trip on the tourist-hop-on-hop-off-double-decker-bus, which supposedly should run till 9pm. But as this is cuba the woman in the tourist office hat 5 in the afternoon told us it would only run for another hour... As we really wanted to see something else than the old town we ended up in one of the restored/maintained old american convertibles. So we drank the bottle of rum and cola we planned on drinking on the bus in the back of the shiny blue Pontiac while driving through town. We drove around the placa de la revolution, took a picture of Che and Cienfuegos and of the Jose Marti concrete thing. We had a great time and when we left the car the bottle was empty ;)
This time we wanted to visit the rooftop bar of another hotel, but the security guide in the lobby didn't wanted us to enter. So we ran past him into the elevator, but he reached us before the door could close and we had to leave... ;)
The rooftop bar we stayed the night before didn't mind us entering so we spent our last hours in cuba there lounging and watching the stars go by.
The owner of the casa we stayed owned a 1958 Ford Fairlane, with which he drove us the next day to Las Terrazas. We wanted to stay there for a night or two to visit the park but the hotel didn't have any free rooms left. Having run out of Peso I had do exchange my last US$ as there was no ATM in sight. So we gave Julio a call and he drove us all the way to Habana in his old car.
The first night in Habana we did a little bar tour through Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. Later we decided a bottle of rum from the store would be cheaper and we settled down in the nearby park with it. As we where sitting there we thought there where quite a lot of ugly women smiling at us, till two siblings on the bench next to us told us this was the place where all the gays and cross dressers would meet...
The next day was all about getting some cash! All the ATMs we found wouldn't accept any of our 4 different creditcards, so in the end Patrick exchanged his last couple of €uros. Afterwards we took a walk through the city and bought some groceries so we could cook some nice al dente spagetti! In the evening we went out in the old town again. The evening was still young when half of Habana Vieja had a power failure. So all the bars were closed and we wandered around in the dark streets till we found a bar with some candles lit and the staff having a great time playing music with their cell phones.
The next day was the third day in a row we where broke again! In the end we finally found a bank where they would accept one of our creditcards, yeah! Having some money to spend we went to eat in one of the fancy restaurant on the tourist strip and ordered a lobster boat, two lobster tails stuck into each other and covered in shrimps. Super tasty! ;)
Having enough of the smog and the heat we decided to spend the next day at the beach. So we headed to the Playas del Este. We wandered aimlessly along the beach and managed to see not a single tourist during the whole day! But there where plenty of cubans having a great time, bringing coolers full of beer and barbecue equipment to the beach.
That evening when we were walking around we saw that one of the hotels had a rooftop terrace and soon afterwards we found us smoking a cuban cigar and drinking a mojito in a nice lounge overlooking the old town. Despite its nice location, service and atmosphere it wasn't expensive, actually it was quite cheap compared to the bars around this part of town.
The next and last day in cuba we wanted to spend it like the other tourists, so Patrick bought a hat ;) Afterwards we wanted to take a trip on the tourist-hop-on-hop-off-double-decker-bus, which supposedly should run till 9pm. But as this is cuba the woman in the tourist office hat 5 in the afternoon told us it would only run for another hour... As we really wanted to see something else than the old town we ended up in one of the restored/maintained old american convertibles. So we drank the bottle of rum and cola we planned on drinking on the bus in the back of the shiny blue Pontiac while driving through town. We drove around the placa de la revolution, took a picture of Che and Cienfuegos and of the Jose Marti concrete thing. We had a great time and when we left the car the bottle was empty ;)
This time we wanted to visit the rooftop bar of another hotel, but the security guide in the lobby didn't wanted us to enter. So we ran past him into the elevator, but he reached us before the door could close and we had to leave... ;)
The rooftop bar we stayed the night before didn't mind us entering so we spent our last hours in cuba there lounging and watching the stars go by.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Playa Maria La Gorda and back to Vienales (13.05.2013 ‐ 19.05.2013)
With enough (too much?) time on our hands we decided to head further southwest to Playa Maria La Gorda. Patrick wanted to make his Open Water Certification here, but they didn’t have any guide books left, Cuba!
I bougth a five dives package for 195CHF/US$ and Patrick came along on two shallow dives. There wasn’t much to do here beside enjoying the sunsets with a bottle of rum and a cigar in front of our room. Thats how we met Sophie and Cedric from Geneva, from which we inherited a couple of fake Cohibas, thx again!
As the hotel was quite in bad shape and the food quite crap we left after three nights and headed back to Vienales. This time we were better prepared and headed to a casa we’ve seen before. Sadly/Luckily it was occupied and we settled for the one next door.
Which turned out super nice! Huge patio, with sunchairs and a big fountain/small pool. We skipped the swimming in the pool but enjoyed the Piña Coladas and the super tasty food! One of the nicest casas so far!
This time we rented two bikes and drove around in the valley. It was quite a lovely ride, espacially with the stops to drink a Mojito on each possibilty ^^
The next day we headed to Cayo Levisa. White sand and nothing to do all day =)
This time we rented two bikes and drove around in the valley. It was quite a lovely ride, espacially with the stops to drink a Mojito on each possibilty ^^
The next day we headed to Cayo Levisa. White sand and nothing to do all day =)
Still Cayo Juita was nicer ;)
That saturday evening we went out to party in Vienales! We bought a bottle of rum and a bottle of TuKola for not even 10CHF/US$ in the local disco ;)
The next day was all hangover treatment till we took a cab to Soroa in the afternoon.
UNIDOS, VIGLIANTES Y COMBATIVOS
From Matanzas to Vienales (08.05.2013 ‐ 12.05.2013)
Patrick and I took the train from Matanzas to Habana, at 2.80CHF/US$ a bargain ;) The bumpy ride was quite fun although we weren’t too sad when we finally arrived in Habana 4 hours later. As I wasn’t fit at all, having around 38° fever and Patrick still a bit jet lagged we skipped the party and went sleeping early. The next day we had to get up early to catch the bus to Vienales.
Why do all the busses have to leave so early?!
In Vienales we got a recommended casa for 15CHF/US$ the night, were we stayed three nights. We did the typical touristy thing and went horseback ridding =) After four hours with some stops to drink a coco loco (coconut split open with added rum and honey), visit a tobacco farm (where we didn’t buy anything to the great dissapointment of the farmer) and a went swimming in a murky lake we were quite glad to walk on our own two legs again.
In the evening we met two german sisters we knew from the bus, Sosîa and Esther. So we shared a bottle of rum and decided to share a cab the next day to Cayo Juita. Cayo Juita turned out to be the nicest beach I’ve seen so far in Cuba. Endless white sand and bleached drift wood lying in the surf, definatly a must see.
Also there weren’t too many people around and we went to lay under the shade of a three in the sand, so we skipped the charge for shade and sun chair.
In the evening we met two german sisters we knew from the bus, Sosîa and Esther. So we shared a bottle of rum and decided to share a cab the next day to Cayo Juita. Cayo Juita turned out to be the nicest beach I’ve seen so far in Cuba. Endless white sand and bleached drift wood lying in the surf, definatly a must see.
Also there weren’t too many people around and we went to lay under the shade of a three in the sand, so we skipped the charge for shade and sun chair.
CON LA GUARDIA EN ALTO
Isla de Juventud, back and forth (03.05.2013 ‐ 07.05.2013)
Having read that the best diving is supposed to be on the Isla de Juventud, I decided to spend the rest of my days till my buddy arrives there. After a short night in a grubby casa in Habana I took the bus and ferry to the island. As all the dive spots are on the other side of the island, I had to stay in the hotel there. At least I got a nice huge bungalow with a clean bath and proper water pressure ;)
The first day there was too much wind to go diving so I got to know the other six hotel guests, a group from Brazil. The next day a swiss couple arrived and we could go diving, which was okay, not super great but okay. So we were 9 hotel guests for probably three times as many staff and around 100 rooms and bungalows.
As Jonas and his five girls would fly to Habana and I hoped also to find a place on the plane there was no more diving. When we arrived at the tiny airport the security dude told me the airplane was full and if I wanted to fly the next morning at 7 I had to buy a ticket in the tourist office wich was all ready closed and would open at 8 in the morning... Which was probably full as well as the plane only cost little more than the ferry/bus combo.
Having met a german couple on the way to the island and again on the beach, they told me to go draw a number for the ferry. Thats how I ended up at 5:30 in the morning the next day in a stuffy hall with my tiny paper and the number 547. They would start at 238 this morning and counting up till the boat was full. But today there were only 20 places left! The rest of the 200 places were booked up 3 months in advance.
As everybody just kept sitting, I waited also and around 9am they decided there would be another boat the next day! Again they were counting up numbers, but luckily many hadn’t showed up or given up earlier. The last call was for numbers till 560 so I barely made it on the boat. It only took me six hours to buy me a ticket to leave the island...
The rest of the day I spent on the beach and drank the best mojito (and also one of the cheapest, 1.50CHF/US$) so far. Actually I drank several of them and the barkeeper kept coming over with the bottle to fill the glas again =)
The first day there was too much wind to go diving so I got to know the other six hotel guests, a group from Brazil. The next day a swiss couple arrived and we could go diving, which was okay, not super great but okay. So we were 9 hotel guests for probably three times as many staff and around 100 rooms and bungalows.
As Jonas and his five girls would fly to Habana and I hoped also to find a place on the plane there was no more diving. When we arrived at the tiny airport the security dude told me the airplane was full and if I wanted to fly the next morning at 7 I had to buy a ticket in the tourist office wich was all ready closed and would open at 8 in the morning... Which was probably full as well as the plane only cost little more than the ferry/bus combo.
Having met a german couple on the way to the island and again on the beach, they told me to go draw a number for the ferry. Thats how I ended up at 5:30 in the morning the next day in a stuffy hall with my tiny paper and the number 547. They would start at 238 this morning and counting up till the boat was full. But today there were only 20 places left! The rest of the 200 places were booked up 3 months in advance.
As everybody just kept sitting, I waited also and around 9am they decided there would be another boat the next day! Again they were counting up numbers, but luckily many hadn’t showed up or given up earlier. The last call was for numbers till 560 so I barely made it on the boat. It only took me six hours to buy me a ticket to leave the island...
The rest of the day I spent on the beach and drank the best mojito (and also one of the cheapest, 1.50CHF/US$) so far. Actually I drank several of them and the barkeeper kept coming over with the bottle to fill the glas again =)
So again, I got up early the next day (with a little hangover) and thought I would maybe even make it in time to the airport to meet my friend. But the 8:00 on the ticket wasn’t the time of departure but the time of “boarding”. Just as on the way to the island I had to show my passport several times, get my pocketknife and toeclipper out of the bag (for which I would get another piece of paper to collect them again on arrival, from a guy wearing a hard hat and swimming west inside a building o_O), get my bags scanned and wait for some hours more. The boat this time wasn’t a fast one though, five hours later, frozen to death at 17° we arrived to learn the busses for Habana would arrive in two and a half hour! As I had to meet my friend in Matanzas anyway, I asked around and got a unofficial cab to there directly. An hour later I was at the hotel bar and completely exhausted.
LIBERTAD A LOS CINCO
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Friends - Patrick
Patrick, aka Winston, is an old buddy and fellow Cuba Libre enthusiast. When he heard I would travel to the homeland of rum he decided to join me for sure. We had some great times on Fidels island before flying over to the Yucatan peninsula. He got shortly after certified as a scuba diver came with us to explore the cenotes in Tulum.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Casa Particular Nestor, Santiago de Cuba
I lost the card so I don't know the real name nor the adress, it is next to the corner of Desiderio Mesnir and Mariano Corona.
It was a nice and help full family. I had to ring to get in, but they didn't mind me coming home in the middle of the night, or at least didn't say anything ;) Also Nestor drove me to the immigration office on his DDR built motorbike, nice!
I had a huge room with aircon (and tiny windows) for 20CHF/US$ the night and the meals were between 5 and 7CHF/US$.
It was a nice and help full family. I had to ring to get in, but they didn't mind me coming home in the middle of the night, or at least didn't say anything ;) Also Nestor drove me to the immigration office on his DDR built motorbike, nice!
I had a huge room with aircon (and tiny windows) for 20CHF/US$ the night and the meals were between 5 and 7CHF/US$.
Santiago de Cuba & Baracoa
After Holguin I left for Santiago. I wanted to take the Viazul bus but couldn't buy the ticket before. First they told me to be at the station at 8:45, then the muchacho said to wait till 9:00, then he left. Later he told to wait till 9:30 and so on. There was a young Italian couple and a french guy waiting, so in the end we took a cab together. But just as we drove away from the bus station the bus arrived...
In Santiago de Cuba I visited the old town, which looks like it is falling apart any time after years of pirate and hurricane attacks. I took a cab out to the Castillo de Morro which guards the entrance to the bay. Lovely view and there is a little pirate museum inside, all in español though. In the evening I went out with Gilbert, the french math prof to party. It's just strange when a bottle of rum in the disco costs the same as a single drink back home.
Next was Baracoa, the first city and capital in Cuba. Described as a little town out of touch with the world it can't live up to its reputation. Of course the city is cute but I was expecting something half the size or less. Nevertheless its surrounded by national parks, so I had to take a trip there. Our group had nice guide which knew all the plants, birds and lizards and how they could be used as medicine (the plants ;). There was even the usual jump form the waterfall ;) Later we lounged at the beach, I don't know the name but it was all white sand and turquoise water.
This is the most western part of my trip, now it gets back to the north-east.
VIVA FIDEL
In Santiago de Cuba I visited the old town, which looks like it is falling apart any time after years of pirate and hurricane attacks. I took a cab out to the Castillo de Morro which guards the entrance to the bay. Lovely view and there is a little pirate museum inside, all in español though. In the evening I went out with Gilbert, the french math prof to party. It's just strange when a bottle of rum in the disco costs the same as a single drink back home.
Next was Baracoa, the first city and capital in Cuba. Described as a little town out of touch with the world it can't live up to its reputation. Of course the city is cute but I was expecting something half the size or less. Nevertheless its surrounded by national parks, so I had to take a trip there. Our group had nice guide which knew all the plants, birds and lizards and how they could be used as medicine (the plants ;). There was even the usual jump form the waterfall ;) Later we lounged at the beach, I don't know the name but it was all white sand and turquoise water.
This is the most western part of my trip, now it gets back to the north-east.
VIVA FIDEL
Casa Particular Sra. Nereida Concepción Hdz., Holguin
For 20CHF/US$ I got a clean room with my own bathroom, balcony, air condition and entrance.
Calle Arias No.310 e/ Victoria z Mendieta
Calle Arias No.310 e/ Victoria z Mendieta
Friday, April 19, 2013
Casa Particular Hostel Juana, Guardalavaca
Friends recommended the Villa Bely but it was booked out. I tried my luck in one of the many casa particulares along the road. For 25CHF/US$ (they wanted 30 first..) i got my own room with air con in an apartamento on the first floor.They cooked me a decent dinner for 5CHF/US$.
Casa Particular Los Hermanos, Gibara
As this casa was in an old building of the colonial area all the rooms (including the doors) were about 4m tall. The rooms were clustered around a tiny patio with rocking chairs and the whole house was nicely restored. I had my own tiny bathroom and two fans, but the night was cool enough (first time i wore my sweater apart form the airplane/bus). A night cost me 20CHF/US$ and dinner was 8CHF/US$.
Hotel Herradura, Varadero
Not really worth the 50CHF/US$ as the room and the whole hotel looked like it would fall apart if not for the rusty nails and boards that seemed to hold everything together. Nevertheless it was clean, had air con and I could store my luggage after checkout as the bus station is just nearby.
So far
I lounged at the beach in Varadero (got sunburned), spent a freezing night in one of the chinesemade
overnight busses to Holguin, spent two days with friends of my mother in Holguin were the showed me around and let me take part in there everyday life.
For example buying groceries, on sunday the national supermarket (or how it is called) gets ice cream. But till we arrived there the line was allready longer than the amount it had to sell. We then tried to buy some platanos (plantain) for which we had to visit 5 different market stands. Of course they were all spread around the innercity...
After Holguin I left for Gibara, a sleepy old town with much of its buildings still dating back to the colonial area. I saw maybe three to four cars and propably twice as many horse carriages, but transport is another blogpost on its own. In the evening the streets which lay empty all day began to fill and there was even a band playing.
The next day I took a mecanico back to Holguin and then a Bus/Truck to Guardalavaca. I went diving (not extraordinary but okay) and visited the friend of the family at work in one one of the all-inclusive-hotels. I just walked in as if I would stay there and found him bi chance working at the Havana Club Bar, where I enjoyed drinks for free ^^
Two nights was enough on this tourist strip and the next day I took a mecanico back to Holguin, got my old casa particular and now I’m writing this.
VIVA LA REVOLUCION
overnight busses to Holguin, spent two days with friends of my mother in Holguin were the showed me around and let me take part in there everyday life.
For example buying groceries, on sunday the national supermarket (or how it is called) gets ice cream. But till we arrived there the line was allready longer than the amount it had to sell. We then tried to buy some platanos (plantain) for which we had to visit 5 different market stands. Of course they were all spread around the innercity...
After Holguin I left for Gibara, a sleepy old town with much of its buildings still dating back to the colonial area. I saw maybe three to four cars and propably twice as many horse carriages, but transport is another blogpost on its own. In the evening the streets which lay empty all day began to fill and there was even a band playing.
The next day I took a mecanico back to Holguin and then a Bus/Truck to Guardalavaca. I went diving (not extraordinary but okay) and visited the friend of the family at work in one one of the all-inclusive-hotels. I just walked in as if I would stay there and found him bi chance working at the Havana Club Bar, where I enjoyed drinks for free ^^
Two nights was enough on this tourist strip and the next day I took a mecanico back to Holguin, got my old casa particular and now I’m writing this.
VIVA LA REVOLUCION
Sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow
Because I’m lazy I didn’t wanted the have a ordinary blog with a lot of text an such. Just some pictures with GPS coordinates so everbody knew when and were they were taken and thats it. I would leave the blogging to my better half ;)
But my plans or should I say my non existing plans were shattered on the infrastructure or should I say the missing infrastructure in cuba. Internet access is something truly uncommon on this island as far i can tell. That my rundown hotel for the first two nights in Varadero or my casa particular in Holguin didn’t have any internet access was not surprising. But then I learned that the only Internet access was to be found in special governement internet cafes and in the finer (say expensive) hotels. And in both places on special workstations for which you have to buy a little prepaid card, scratch of the account name and passwort and login. No big deal you may think, but with a city the size of Holguin (300’000 inhabitants) there was only one internet cafe. Luckily most of the cubans can’t afford the 3CHF/US$ for 30min so I didn’t had to wait long till one of the 7 stations was free to use. Prepared I had exported some pictures on a USB stick which I wanted to upload, but behold... it took more than 20min for just one!
So this is my excuse why you haven’t heard from me so far and propably wont till I leave this island. This is also the reason the website is still a work in progress as I can’t use my own shiny MacBook and all my tools.
I still try to write down in different post, hope it's not too confusing ;)
PATRIA O MUERTO
But my plans or should I say my non existing plans were shattered on the infrastructure or should I say the missing infrastructure in cuba. Internet access is something truly uncommon on this island as far i can tell. That my rundown hotel for the first two nights in Varadero or my casa particular in Holguin didn’t have any internet access was not surprising. But then I learned that the only Internet access was to be found in special governement internet cafes and in the finer (say expensive) hotels. And in both places on special workstations for which you have to buy a little prepaid card, scratch of the account name and passwort and login. No big deal you may think, but with a city the size of Holguin (300’000 inhabitants) there was only one internet cafe. Luckily most of the cubans can’t afford the 3CHF/US$ for 30min so I didn’t had to wait long till one of the 7 stations was free to use. Prepared I had exported some pictures on a USB stick which I wanted to upload, but behold... it took more than 20min for just one!
So this is my excuse why you haven’t heard from me so far and propably wont till I leave this island. This is also the reason the website is still a work in progress as I can’t use my own shiny MacBook and all my tools.
I still try to write down in different post, hope it's not too confusing ;)
PATRIA O MUERTO
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