Author: thelasthurrahsite

As I still can’t get my laptop (where many photos are stored) to connect to the internet I just managed to take a few photos of where I am staying on my iPad

 

 

before the wind picked up and the rain came! Both of these contributed to a dreadful night’s sleep. More than a few times I was woken by what seemed to be large rocks crashing onto the roof. Naturally, I thought I was about to be murdered but it turned out to be fruit, the size of horse chestnuts, blown off the trees in the storm.

Memories of sightseeing in the rain in Canada sprang to mind so, nothing ventured etc I embarked on a whistle stop tour of the island. It appears to be largely unspoilt with people living simple and uncomplicated lives and then in the middle of nowhere, round a corner you come across this:

Somewhat unbelievably, this is a discotheque – or, rather, was until the government closed it down as, quelle surprise, it was being used for money laundering!

The rained had eased a little when I stopped at Oak Ridge where I was taken by boat for a trip through the mangroves.

It is said that some of these strange waterways were dug out by pirates as they created ideal hiding places from the authorities. Iguanas abound here but I didn’t see any as, apparently, they don’t like wet weather! Neither did I see, I am happy to say, any snakes (mainly boa constrictors!) which, at certain times of the year, are much in evidence as they like feeding on young birds. Yuk!

Out in the open again, numerous ‘holiday homes’ mostly owned by Americans were pointed out to me.  The huge villa in the picture is occupied only for about 1 week a year!  Having seen the conditions in which some of the poorer people live here, I’m surprised there is not more trouble between the locals and the holiday home owners.

My water journey ended back in Oak Ridge which is, itself, something of a ‘water town’

Transport by boat is often the only way of getting to/from many of the waterside dwellings here.

One more stop before returning to my ‘hut’ was at BJ’s bar and restaurant owned by a sweet old American lady of the same name who knew Anne Jennings, the writer of Roatan Odyssey I was telling you about earlier.

The forecast for tomorrow is much the same as today so lounging on the beach is not an option. I will have to go exploring again!

Have a good week y’all.

Richard

 

A visit to Cuba has been on my wish list for some time and I’m delighted that I finally made the visit. It’s an exciting and vibrant place. Lots of history, lots of culture, lots of music and a country that has yet to lose its identity to the more commercial side of international tourism. In fact, it’s in a bit of a time warp. Smoking is still allowed indoors in public places. Credit cards are not universally accepted. The Internet is pay by card, by the hour. English is not always spoken or understood (no bad thing!) and some of the public facilities are still very much in the 20th if not the 19th century!

At first, I thought the locals were a little stand-offish but I concluded that some of them are just reserved in front of foreigners as, amongst themselves, they seem exuberant, happy and tactile. Lots of kissing and cuddling in public!

Although Cuba is, clearly, a low  wage economy, unlike in Canada I saw no homeless, no obvious drug abuse. The 1959 communist revolution is claimed to have been good for the country and the locals appear proud of what has been achieved during Fidel Castro’s presidency although it is acknowledged that, during his time in office, Cuba was quite a repressed society. His brother who is now in charge has a more liberal attitude. So the country is opening up and tourism recognised as important to the future growth of the economy rather than as a necessary evil. Embracing mass tourism whilst at the same time retaining a national identity will not be easy for Cuba. Fingers crossed!

My last memory of Cuba will be of a not so philosophical discussion I had with a Cuban who seemed remarkably well informed about the dreaded Brexit. I was trying to explain to him that the fall In the value of the pund meant that everything on my travels was a lot more expensive than hitherto. “But the pound is the strongest currency in the world” he countered. “After all, the Cuban $ rate to the US$ is app 0.90, to the Euro is app 1.11 but to the pound is 1.17. So you see, it’s the strongest”. At this point I lost the will to live so had another beer!

The departure of my flight (via Panama City and San Pedro Sula, Honduras) was delayed for more than 1 hour because a tow truck to move the plane off the stand couldn’t be found! I’ve experienced delays caused by missing passengers, air traffic control problems and even technical issues but never, ever because of a missing tow truck! Anyway, we finally got going and, luckily, I just caught the connecting flight in Panama City – and so did my luggage which was a bit of a surprise.

Looking out of the plane’s window over Panama, I saw the most amazing sight. At one point, flying at 36,000 ft above sea level you can see both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans at the same time.  Awesome! Panama is, for sure, a very thin country.

The last leg of my journey was a 35 minute hop to Roatan Island just off the coast of mainland Honduras. Some of you might know why this place is on my bucket list. The mother of a friend of ours lived here in the 1960s as a kind of female, treasure hunting Indiana Jones. She wrote a book (Roatan Odyssey) about her swashbuckling and pioneering adventures which, in part, I found quite spellbinding. So, as I was in the area (Cuba), I thought I would drop by and see the place for myself. It’s what you do when you are living the life of , as someone called me, Phileas Fairhurst!

This time I’ve shunned hotels and settled for a more Robinson Crusoe existence in a one bedroom ‘hut’ directly on the beach. I would show you a picture but, as ever, I have internet problems and can’t log onto my laptop where all my pics are stored. Hopefully, with Derek’s arms’ length help, this problem can be solved soon so I can share the atmosphere of this place with you more graphically.

Until then

Richard.

P.S. Another great win for Liverpool, I see!

 

 

 

 

 

I think I may have inadvertently published the un-edited version of today’s events. Here is the final version.

The thought of the hotel’s evening buffet made the decision for me. So, back to Old Havana I went where I had a most enjoyable evening, people watching, listening to music

and generally enjoying the sights and sounds of this elegant part of Cuba.

I was persuaded to try a certain restaurant by its ‘salesman’ on the street although I was a touch concerned when he led me into some back alley, through a kitchen (of some other restaurant, I think!) and up a dark and dingy stairway. My fears were totally unfounded as I emerged into one of the smaller eateries I have ever visited , packed with  Cubans swaying and singing along to the inevitable live band (squeezed in at the back). I ate and drank well (for app £16) and was having a truly wonderfully relaxed time until two very drunk, late twenty something American girls walked (or rather stumbled) in. We’ve all been there, I suppose, but there’s nothing more likely to kill a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere stone dead than the entrance of loud, inebriated souls who think they are being terribly funny. I suspect they won’t have been quite so jolly this morning.

As this was likely to be my last visit to this fine part of Havana, I treated myself to a taxi ride back to the hotel in a 60 year old Chevrolet (or was it a Cadillac?).

The driver told me this car belonged to his grandfather so, even though it was a real gas guzzler and expensive to run/maintain, as long as he could still get parts, he would never sell it.  As the average wage in Cuba is app US$50 per month this must be quite a challenge. Not surprisingly, many people have two or even three jobs to make a decent living. My driver is a fully qualified civil engineer

As I travelled in such ostentatious and old fashioned luxury last night, I avoided the line of taxis waiting outside the hotel today

 

and settled on a more modest form of transport

to the last on my list of ‘Things to do in Cuba’ – a visit to a cigar factory passing, on the way slightly less elegant abodes than in Old Havana.

The factory -at least from the outside –  is quite an impressive, early 20^th century building.

The inside, though is more reminiscent of the inside of a prison (not that I have been to many!). You know the sort of thing I mean: metal walkways with ‘rooms’ off! Perhaps not surprisingly, during the tour, we were not allowed to take pictures  other than some description of the cigar brands made

but our guide was quite forthcoming with some facts and figures. 600 workers making 20,000 cigars a day, all by hand. It’s easy to see why cigars are so expensive. It’s very labour intensive work. I was expecting that the air inside the factory would be drenched in the smell of cigars – especially as some of the workers were smoking (they are given 5 free cigars a day)-  but, amazingly this was not the case. For sure it was hot but there was little or no aroma. Strange.

On the way back to the hotel I again passed many splendid old colonial houses in desperate need of some TLC

and came across a bronze sculpture that is, apparently, of John Lennon. Weird!

 

Well, that’s me done here. Next stop : Roatan island in Honduras. It’s relatively close to Cuba but, for whatever reason my routing means a full day’s travel to get there. No gain without pain!

Host la luega again!

Richard

No, we’re not talking about me (although we might be). We’re talking about Ernest Hemingway who lived in Cuba for more than twenty years, moving back to the States only when the revolution happened here in 1959. So, no trip to Cuba would be complete without a visit to Hemingway’s residence, located just outside Havana.

It’s a beautiful single storey building set in around 10 acres of lush tropical garden

Visitors to this ‘museum’ are not allowed into the house itself as the place is full of priceless memorabilia and preserved almost exactly as he left it. However, through open windows and doors you can get a pretty good idea of, for example, the living area

and the ground floor study where he did some of his writing.

His preferred place for penning great literary works was, however, at the top a tower adjacent to the main house

where not only could he write in peace but also had a pretty good view of Havana and on a good day, some say, Florida in the far distance

Although there is a separate guest annexe, many of his guests stayed in the twin bedded spare bedroom in the main house itself. The likes of Errol Flynn, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra have all stayed here (although not at the same time I was informed!). It seems strange that such super stars of the day might sleep in fairly simple accommodation.

 

Apparently, during his time in Cuba, Hemingway owned 57 cats and 9 dogs! He clearly favoured dogs and gave them decent burials when they passed on

but no such luxury was afforded to the moggies, it would seem.

Hemingway was an avid fisherman and inveterate hunter, witnessed by the numerous trophies on the walls of the house. In fact, arguably his most famous novel, Old Man and the Sea was inspired by the many fishing trips he took in his own boat.

Hemingway was loved not only for his writing but also for his gung ho, adventurous and daredevil lifestyle. But there was a darker side to his character which rarely surfaced. He had a troubled childhood, suffered from bipolar disorder and, at the age of 63, committed suicide. His memory certainly lives on though, especially in this wonderfully well kept memorial to him.

Yet more music on the way out,

and I was not in the least bit tempted to jump into this taxi back to the hotel as I had doubts  if it would make it!

Last day here tomorrow.

 

Richard

Last evening started well. I arranged a massage before hitting the town but got the hour wrong and arrived 1 hour too late! Undaunted, I jumped into a jalopy and went back to the old city to do some more exploring although thirst soon overcame me. So I sat down in what I thought was a bar in the famous Plaza Vieja

only to be told, after waiting many minutes, that this was a café and only served soft drinks. Too embarrassed to leave, I ordered a water. Embarrassment deserted me, however, after close to 10 minutes when nothing had arrived. So I left!

In eager search of a thirst quenching ale (Cristal is the local beer of choice – in fact I think it’s the only one) I settled on a bistro in the beautiful Plaza de Armas where not only my thirst was quickly slated but also I had the most amazing bouillabaisse + spice type dish, accompanied, of course, by surprisingly good quality music – all for under £20. Unforgettable but over too quickly!

I had been told and had read that the Malecon, the 9km long sea wall walkway from old Havana back towards my hotel was THE happening place in an evening, full of loving couples out for a stroll, happy families enjoying the cooler evening air, young lads in search of nothing and young ladies in search of something. The downside of having a big breakfast and little or no lunch is that thirst and hunger strike early in the evening. So it was only 2030 when I hit this Havana hot spot

where I certainly saw a few families and a number of fishermen trying their luck over the sea wall but precious little else (OK, so it was a Sunday). So I hailed a taxi and headed back to my hotel. I really must adjust my body clock to Spanish/Cuban style and stay out later!

On returning to my hotel, the lure of more Cristal beer was too great as was listening to yet more live music. I am now the proud owner of a CD by the ‘4 Dimensions’ who are playing here.

 

 

Fusterlandia is …. well I’m not sure what it is! Tucked away in suburban Havana it’s a sort of ceramic art museum

It was probably once a private residence but has been transformed into some sort of crazy ceramic sculpture museum with an art gallery inside

 

 

The neighbours are catching on and the house opposite, interestingly called ‘Princess Diana’, is now being similarly transformed.

Just as I was about to leave this strange place, a whole bunch of Americans rolled up in some splendid old motors. I legged it.

 

Back at the hotel I prepared to publish my daily blog and sort out a few emails only to be told there were no internet cards left and, furthermore, nobody had any idea when more might arrive. Very helpful! I was, however, told I could buy some at the local Telecoms office down the street (it didn’t seem to occur to them that, as part of good customer service, they could do the same), so off I trekked. When I eventually found the place, there must have been more than 50 people waiting to be served so I gave up and trudged back to the hotel where I explained my dilemma to the PR guy whose desk is in the lobby. He was very, very understanding but couldn’t help, of course,  although he did say that if I went to the Montemar Aparthotel, app 750m away I could buy some there which I did – at more than double the price that I have been paying! Hey ho but at least walking around in this part of Havana is not an unpleasant experience.

 

Maybe I’ll have a little lie down by the pool tomorrow.

 

R

I’ve felt quite lost without my Kindle but have managed to master downloading books onto my laptop – the only problem being that in strong light, it’s almost impossible to read anything! But the problem was sort of solved when I found a second hand copy of a 450 page Patricia Cornwell novel sitting amongst a load of revolutionary tomes in one of the beautiful plazas that abound in Old Havana. Ms Cornwell is not my favourite author but she will have to do for the moment

Everywhere you look there are beautiful old houses often with beautiful courtyards.

It is amazing to think that many of these European styled buildings and wonderful plazas in this part of Havana date back as far as the mid  16^th century, only a few decades after Cuba was first occupied by the Spanish. I have to keep reminding myself that I am in the Caribbean and not the more historic parts of Florence, Madrid or Seville.

For sure, Havana relies heavily on tourism and must continue to do so as it’s a big and increasing revenue earner. But there are no overt signs of commercialism. I am happy to report that I have not seen a single Macdonalds – yet. As the doors open to let American tourists in, let’s hope that, somehow, it can stay this way.

Only a few steps away from the busier tourist streets, I found this man happily teaching kids how to model in clay

And this young lad learning his art by trying to copy pictures that are for sale on the pavement. Lovely!

 

Before I came here I thought there may only be a few of the classic old gas guzzling cars left and these would be exclusively for the use of tourists.

This is only partly true as there are still many of the clapped out monsters around used solely for personal use. Later, I am going to take one and head into Old Havana again to see what it looks like at night. It could be interesting!

Hasta mañana

Richard

 

 

 

There is something about communist or newly post- communist countries when it comes to the art of service. They don’t quite get it – yet! My hotel certainly has the outward appearance of a luxury dwelling (albeit at a reasonable price).

but something is lacking. The public areas (and, in fact my room) are a little ‘cold’, echo-y and impersonal. There is little ‘warmth’ in the place. Few pictures on the walls, no personal touches. The staff – and there are plenty of them –are friendly and helpful enough when you engage them but they don’t naturally engage with you. After my free (with one free drink) dinner which was filling rather than memorable, I had a couple of beers at the bar. 3 customers waiting to be served + 4 bar staff talking among themselves and/or watching the Cuban equivalent of MTV which did, I have to say, include some rather splendid looking ladies!

In the local supermarket

the accent is, once again, on local social interaction rather than service. It is clearly THE meeting place not only between customers but also between staff and customers. The checkout is, therefore, a very long process. And just when you think you are free to go, you have to have another check. The security guard at the entrance inspects the goods in your bag against the till receipt just to make sure you haven’t nicked anything. Interesting!

I’ll have to make another visit to Old Havana, a World Heritage site, as there is just so much to see. It’s an assault on the senses. The old colonial buildings are amazing

although some are in better shape than others

But there are signs of some renovation work

but there’s still a long way to go

but there is no rush when there are the semi hypnotic sounds of Latin American music everywhere

It’s almost overwhelming, so enough for today. As I said, I will have to come back. In the meantime, here’s one little fellow who was not fazed by all going on around him

Until my feet stop hurting

R

 

It was a sense of déjà vu on my flight to Havana:  tired old plane, tired  old crew .In fact the lady doing the safety demonstration couldn’t stop yawning throughout. Nevertheless, as there was alcohol on board I quickly relaxed and fell into conversation with a splendid Cuban who was clearly slightly the worse for wear. We soon became very close friends to the point he invited me to go salsa dancing as soon as we landed. Despite the boldness of the alcohol, sleep deprivation won the day so I made my excuses. Needless to say, in the general melee on arrival at Havana airport, I never saw this gentleman again!

Havana airport reminded me instantly of the Philippines when I visited way back in the day (maybe it’s still like that; we shall see). In short, complete chaos with endless form filling, luggage arriving on the wrong carousel, local officials telling us to go ‘there’ only to be told  when we got ‘there’ that we had to go somewhere else. This would have been so much fun if a) I wasn’t so tired and b) if I wasn’t so desperate for the loo. B) should have been easily solved but the first two toilets I found were locked.

My joy on arrival at the hotel was quickly shattered when I was told that, despite my confirmed booking, there was no room for me! I was not a happy bunny but what could I do when all I wanted was to sleep? So I begrudgingly accepted the offer of putting me up in a ‘similar’ hotel for 1 night and they proudly added they would pay for the taxi fare there and back. Clearly their  generosity knows no bounds! A taxi was duly provided – a rickety old but very Classic 1948 Chevrolet!! Sadly, my camera was not to hand but something similar (but in much better condition!) was parked outside the hotel this morning.

The Spanish word for ‘similar’ is ‘similar’ but the Cuban Spanish word must be totally different.  There was nothing wrong with the El Bosque ( apart from the fact that Wifi was advertised at the reception desk but there was none anywhere in the hotel) though I was none too impressed when this ‘similar’ hotel had a bathroom like this:

And aircon and ‘cupboards’ like this:

Whereas, the next day I had a bathroom, cupboards and aircon like this  in my £70 a night luxury accommodation.

 

Very quickly, though, the land of nod took over and, having been awake for 38 hours, I slept for 10!

By the time I got back to my original hotel, checked in, tried to sort out problems with the internet, argued for compensation about last night’s fiasco (I got a room upgrade and a few free dinners!), replaced my non working room keys – twice and had a walk to the supermarcado and back, there has been very little time for anything else except, of course, eat and drink. If there are no further disasters I might even get round twosome sightseeing tomorrow.

Have a good weekend y’all

R

 

As my Havana flight didn’t leave until 2330 last night, I was banking on getting a late hotel check out but that was not to be as the hotel claimed they were fully booked. So, having mooched around downtown Vancouver for a while, as soon as it started raining (of course) I  moved on to the airport arriving a full 6 hours before my scheduled departure. Deep joy!

After studying the fish for a while

I settled down to watch the whole of the Clinton v Trump bear fight. OMG! If it wasn’t so serious it would be funny. Two grown ups acting like children, hurling insults at each other (albeit in quite a one sided way). I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of them had said “Ya boo sucks to you” to which the other would, of course, have replied “And with knobs on”! Trump is an odious bully (and, I suspect, a pathological liar) although the mediator (if that’s what he was called) was underwhelming as he did little to shut Trump up. But then he works for Fox News which is, of course, fairly right wing. How Clinton didn’t deck The Trump Lump is beyond me. She must have very thick skin! The loser in all of this is, of course, political democracy. Putin must be giggling all his way to the Kremlin!

Air Mexico cannot be called a state of the art airline. Nevertheless, our aged 737 (along with the aged crew whose capabilities didn’t stretch to offering alcohol and only a modest breakfast) sped through the skies and arrived in Mexico City after 5 sleepless hours at 0630hrs . The film about Eddie the Eagle (in Spanish) kept me mildly amused so the time passed reasonably quickly. As Mexico City was merely a transit stop en route to Havana, I fully expected to whiz through any controls there might be and then settle down somewhere to wait for my flight at 18.25 this evening – a mere 12 hours after arrival. Wrong! Mexico City must be the only major international airport in the world that doesn’t have any separate transit facilities. So I had to join the immigration queue.

Some two hours later I emerged battered but unbowed only to find that, in my dazed state, I had left my Kindle on the plane. Ugh! A thorough search (or so they said) revealed nothing so I can only assume that either someone has nicked it or that, with the time it took for me to discover the loss, the plane had already left for another destination. Either way it’s a real bummer as I was looking forward to putting my feet up for the odd day in Havana and finishing my current read, Shantaram. So, I fiddled around with my iPad and learnt how to download books on to that medium but the internet is such pants in Mexico City airport that I have struggled to send emails, never mind downloading something to read! OK, I thought, I will watch some UK TV on FilmOn but that is blocked in Mexico because of ‘unsuitable content’.Midsummer Murders unsuitable? I don’t think so!

Mexico City has a population of 21 million most of whom seem to be at the airport today. So, in the event that I have sporadic internet connection, no book and no Kindle (boo hoo!), to try and stay awake until boarding, I will indulge in a spot of people watching. There’s plenty of opportunity!

Hasta mañana

Richard

The disadvantage of buying relatively cheap round the world air tickets is that flight connections are not always the best. The alternative, though, would have broken the bank! So, in a few hours I say ‘goodbye’ to Canada and ‘hello’ to Cuba with a long, long stopover in Mexico City. Hey Ho!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit to British Colombia and will, apart from the appalling weather, be leaving with fond memories. Downtown Vancouver is a stunning mix of the new

often dotted with community garden projects

close to quiet, leafy residential areas such as near my hotel.

Clearly, Vancouver  is a wealthy city – or certainly the parts I have seen. Yet, curiously, mixed in among all the high rise blocks, smart shops and restaurants are a worrying number of homeless on the streets.

Most of the sightseeing I have done  has been  on foot as  I didn’t quite get the hang of public transport and taxis seem to in very short supply! And the other thing that has confused and surprised me completely is that prices quoted always seem to be net of taxes.. This has thrown my budgeting totally awry as, for example, in the two hotels I stayed at I paid app 17.5% more than the prices quoted (and agreed!) on the internet. Or, put another way, a meal with a published  price of, say, £30 ends up costing more than £40 when you add the 17.5% plus a tip!  Hopefully, this is not the case everywhere I visit because if it is I will be staying in mud huts pretty soon!

Out of Vancouver and into the mountains is awesome. Endless pine covered hills and mountains many of which rise majestically out of vast dark, deep lakes and suddenly disappear to become enormous green and fertile plains.

Driving around in this great big country is easy although running out of fuel must be an occupational hazard. There are very few filling stations on the major roads. And when you find one and go to fill up, be careful which pump to use. The green one often means diesel!!

So, now it’s time to move on although I was very much tempted to stay for a while longer to enjoy some of the nightlife!

But, as it’s started raining…..again, I will depart.

Until I’m warm,

Richard

Newsflash! I’ve just checked the weather in Havana and…..it’s raining.  As Victor Meldrew would say: ‘I don’t believe it’!