Cuba

1. Cuba Spring Break 2003

2. After flying from Fargo, ND to Chicago, IL, we continued on to Miami, FL. By the time we got through security checks, we were ready for bed at our hotel in Miami! We went straight to bed to prepare for our early morning check-in at the airport the next morning!

3. After a few hours of going through security and check-in at the Miami airport, we were ready to experience Cuba!!

4. After a quick flight, we saw a beautiful view of the Cuban landscape.

5. After waiting in line for customs, Jayne and I were happy to sit down! We were surprised by the large crowd waiting behind the fence outside the airport.

6. While waiting for our hotel rooms to be cleaned, we ate a large lunch at the National Hotel in Havana. We were excited to see a local (Jesse Ventura – below) to be pictured in the National Hotel Hall of Fame! I tried squid!!

7. We got some time to walk around Havana before our welcome dinner in the evening. The waterfall in front of the National Hotel

8. On Saturday evening, we had a wonderful welcome dinner at El Aljibe in Havana. We enjoyed the local Cuban cuisine of black beans, rice, chicken, and fried bananas! We were also introduced to their strong mini-coffees!

9. After our great meal at El Aljibe, all of us were too excited to go to sleep. So, we gathered in our hotel restaurant for a round of Mohitas. Mohitas are a Cuban drink consisting of rum, lime juice, sugar (from their sugar cane), and a mint leaf.

10. After the ‘older folks’ went to bed, we decided to explore Havana at night. We walked along the Malecon, which is a famous street in Havana. Along the Malecon is a cement wall that follows the street for many miles. The wall separates the city from the Atlantic Ocean. When the wind picks up, you can stand on the wall and get splashed by the ocean waves crashing up against it (above right).

11. Our second day was a daytrip to Veradero Beach, east of Havana. On our way to the beach, we stopped at a famous tourist area and enjoyed a beautiful view of a valley. We also got to try Cuba’s best pina coladas!

12. Our day at the beach was all we expected and then some! We had a live band, a buffet full of food, and white sand beaches all day! Aside from that, we got to go snorkeling (my highlight of the day) and I even met a new friend – Eduardo. Although he didn’t speak a word of English, he loved the attention we were willing to give him!

13. I had never been snorkeling before, but it was all that I expected plus some! Almost everyone in the group decided to give it a try.

14. I ended up with some pretty nice underwater pictures!

15. Monday morning, we received a tour of Old Havana, the original part of Havana that used to be completely surrounded by city walls Catedral de San Francisco Cuban children playing games in the square. This is basically their ‘phy ed’ The lobby of a fancy Cuban hotel

16. We had lunch in a fancy area of Havana next to the ocean. I enjoyed another Mohita as I posed for this picture with Jorge (above). This area was used to harbor many expensive ships and sailboats (right).

17. We enjoyed Monday night watching Flaminco dancers and listening to the interesting music. Flaminco dancing is a Spanish dance that is popular in Cuba. The dancers use energetic styles to paint a picture of a story for the viewer. We also got a great meal of seafood during the show. Although the meal was wonderful, we weren’t sure what to think of soup (left).

18. On Tuesday morning, we received a tour of the Cuba Art Museum and the Revolution Museum. It was very interesting to incorporate Cuban history into what we were viewing in Havana. Cuban Art Museum Truck used during the Revolution War. This truck was named the ‘Fargo’. Tank in front of the Revolution Museum

19. Every tourist book we read about Cuba mentioned the famous Cuban ‘Coppelia’ ice cream. So, on Tuesday afternoon, we had to try it. Although the ice cream was good, we were surprised to receive a valuable cultural lesson from the ice cream stand. When we approached the stand, we were asked whether we were going to pay in dollars or Cuban pesos. When we said dollars, we were sent to a stand with no line at all and we immediately got our ice cream. However, pictured in the above right is the line of Cubans waiting for ice cream, since they were paying in Cuban pesos.

20. A trip to Cuba is not complete without a ride in one of Havana’s CoCo taxis. These taxis are little yellow circular cars meant to transport Cubans from one place to another. We all piled into CoCo taxis on the way to the market for only $1 each!

21. On Tuesday evening, Jorge set us up with a trip to a baseball game in Havana. Las Tunas (a city in eastern Cuba) was taking on the Havana Industriales. Luckily the home team won, since the Cuban crowd tended to get a little fiesty (below left). Dale also took the opportunity to enjoy yet another of his wonderful Cuban cigars (above right). Jayne caught a ball during the game, so Jorge got his friend (the star of the Industriales team) to sign it after the game (below right)!

22. Another of my favorite parts of the trip occurred on Wednesday morning. Our group took a trip to a true tobacco farm. We simply pulled our bus over on the side of the road and walked right up to this little farm. Here, you can see a worker cutting tobacco and hanging it to dry (upper left), the tobacco leaves drying in a small hut, and two bulls used to pull a plow.

23. While at the tobacco farm, the farmer was more than happy to roll us a few cigars. We also got to meet the farmer’s wife and two grandchildren, and their dog, Lassie (above right). The farmer stayed in the house pictured from about January until April. The house is furnished sparsely (stove pictured above left).

24. After the tobacco farm, we headed to a coffee plantation. The government took over this land to preserve it, and it was now a prime tourist attraction. This is a map of the entire plantation. The tiny blue dot in the upper-right corner of the map is the lake you see above.

25. We ate another meal of black beans and rice at a farmer’s house on the plantation. For a change, we got half oranges for appetizers!

26. We visited a community within the coffee plantation. Farmers were forced to move here when the government took over the land. They have designated tasks and in return, they receive food and housing. The view was beautiful! Maria is one of the residents of the community. Her task is to receive coffee beans from the government, roast them, then grind them. Her son then makes the packaging for the coffee.

27. My favorite part of Las Terrazas came at the end: swimming! Our guide took us to a nice swimming area and let us cool off for a few hours. We had fun diving off the ledge and sliding down the waterfalls!

28. On the way back from the coffee plantation, we stopped at various crops along the way, including rice (top), sugar cane (right), and bananas (left)

29. After a nice day off on Thursday, Jorge thought it was time to teach us how to salsa dance. So, we headed for Rumba Habana, a local dance club for tourists. Here, they served us appetizers, a can of cola, and all the rum we could handle! After socializing for awhile, we got up the courage to try some karaoke to American songs and later on did some salsa dancing. The night ended with a performance by what we call the ‘Cuban Backstreet Boys’

30. Our last full day in Havana started with a tour of the University of Havana. We learned plenty of facts about the school system in Cuba. College is free for students who pass the entry exams and do well in high school. However, the government chooses what field you will go into based on your test results. We decided we wouldn’t like to join their system! We also wouldn’t like to climb these steps every morning for class!

31. We spent the rest of our afternoon visiting everything one last time and taking our last pictures of Havana. Erin and I in our hotel room in Havana Is that a semi? Nope – it’s a ‘camel’, a bus that holds 250+ people! Pan de Paris – we had great (cheap) pizzas and ham sandwiches here during our free meals! The large market

32. Our last evening was spent at one of the major landmarks in Havana – the castle/lighthouse on the bay. We visited the castle and lighthouse and enjoyed a great view!

33. We enjoyed one last black bean and rice meal at the Donenica Restaurant near the castle. While dining, we had some great musical entertainment. Keith, Mike, and I were even pulled up to do some dancing!

34. After our nice meal, we continued on to the castle for the celebration of the firing of the canons. The city of Havana fires the canons every night at 9:00 to symbolize when the walls to the cities were closed. The ceremony involved many guards who light fires representing various things. The guards march in (right) and then approach the wall and canons to light the fires (top)

35. Our Cuba trip ended on Saturday morning. Some of us were more willing to leave than others. I would have preferred to stay another week! After spending the entire week with our guide, Jorge, it was hard to say goodbye. However, he gave us his address and email address, so we will definitely keep in touch!