Trinidad - Cuba

Trinidad – Cuba

Post published:6 January 2018
Post category:Cuba North America

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One of the best preserved colonial cities in the Caribbean

On this day trip from our base Varadero, we would come to discover not just one, but three cities: Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos. While Santa Clara was brief just to visit the Monument and Mausoleum of Che Guevara, (we would return to this city in the next days), it was still nice to see such beautiful Spanish colonial architecture that later we would enjoy as no other with Trinidad especially. The only drawback we had was time limitation. For sure it would have been nice to count with one more day for each of the cities but that was not optional if we wanted to continue on a wider tour towards the eastern end of Cuba with Santiago the end point for this trip.

The best we could do, and strongly recommended to anyone falling in similar circumstances than us with time constraints, is to pre-book a full day trip to this places. Varadero seemed to be the perfect base for doing this, and it worked just perfect! As originally thought and planned. In fact we did not really believed there would be enough time for visiting every place but it really was, with a nice guided tour in English where no major sight was missed at all. Should you wish to know more on this sort of organised tours as the one we did, here is the info for our tour operator Cuba Travel Network.

Trinidad is considered the jewel of Cuba. A colonial masterpiece almost intact ever since its foundation, and with the addition of beautiful architecture through the centuries so perfectly preserved that it feels more like an open-air museum on every corner. Adding to this it was the largest and most important centre of sugar production in the 18th and 19th centuries; all left an important patrimony and heritage not just the wealthy mansions for the land owners, but the countless sugar cane mills in the nearby Valle de los Ingenios. Both the city and the valley are listed UNESCO World Heritage sites. (more…)

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Varadero - Cuba

Varadero – Cuba

Post published:5 January 2018
Post category:Cuba North America

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Playa Azul

Leaving behind Havana where we’ve spent the first 5 days in the country visiting such a vibrant capital city and some excursions that we did nearby, it’s time for an in-between well deserved winter rest by the Caribbean. Sun, beach, pools and a fabulous all-inclusive resort in Varadero for the next 5 days. Yet I have to correct myself that after all, it was 4 days enjoying doing nothing, and a 5th super busy from the very early wake up call to the late at night return to the resort in a full day excursion to some of the most fascinating and historical cities in Cuba: Trinidad and Cienfuegos. And well, sun and beach did I say? I shall correct that. This time of the year it is also “winter” in Cuba, and while the chances of still having the wonderful 30 degrees and sun are truly high, was not in our luck. The horrible winter storms coming down from Canada and the USA were heavily affecting the Caribbean countries too, so we got half of the days pretty awful, the other half great though.

Varadero at the end of the day is just that, the great warm water beaches and the resorts therefore not much complications in here, and a little bit of history anyway. It’s a long and narrow strip where at the very east is the Punta Hicacos, the northernmost point in the island of Cuba, and while anyone might think of Varadero as just resorts, that’s not entire true. There is a large natural reserve, the Hicacos Point Natural Park home to dozens of birds and reptiles, and the remains of one of the very first salt mines ever constructed by the Spanish in the New World, known as La Calavera which provided salt to all the galleons in Latin America back then. On top of course, in the resorts and in between them, nice gardens and lush vegetation complements the area in a very similar way that is Cancun, for those who’ve been there then you will see the resemblance.

Now being honest with you, yes, we did enjoy this place a lot. Yes we would recommend to anyone for sure, however our initial idea was not for coming here but instead to Cayo Coco or Cayo Guillermo as our preferred choice. It was very sad and unfortunate the Hurricane Irma in September 2017 devastated most of such paradisaical cays, destroying hotels, the airports, the beach, the infrastructures…just everything. It was a bit risky to get there still at few months after the disaster since most of the places were still under restoration. The only unaffected beach destination to consider was Varadero. A domino effect in the bad luck because, where else would the other thousands of tourists can go? Of course, Varadero. We paid the “unnecessary” premium because of the huge demand. (more…)

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Vinales Valley - Cuba

Vinales – Cuba

Post published:2 January 2018
Post category:Cuba North America

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Tobacco plantation land

Still tired upon recently landing in Havana at the start of this trip, but it was either this date or never to come to the west of the country and visit the UNESCO World Heritage listed Viñales Valley and the amazing landscapes of the tobacco plantations. Unfortunately the tours from Havana are not daily hence the reason it was for us only feasible on this day. We knew there was not going to be time to plan a tour that includes a day or two in this region, and even if enough time is what I had, I would have never consider in doing so and preferred to booked an organised tour here and visit as much as possible all in the same day. After all, for us spending any further day in that region was not really necessary considering we were going to be visiting the entire country.

Just a few notes for this place, since it’s better described below in what’s included in a tour: This is the region where the best tobacco in the world grows, and from where the most expensive and famed cigar brands take the plant. Halfway into the journey from Havana and the landscape start to change for beautiful tobacco plantations and wooden houses, by the backdrop setting of the mountains, however this is only a small sample of what’s about to come. The truly amazing landscapes are at the Viñales Valley where you will find the famous karst mountains, one of only 3 places on earth having this same formations.

In the subject that relates to tobacco, I need to explain you something very important. Basically you tour guide will strongly emphasise and encourage you to buy cigars in this region, especially at the shops they will bring you in Pinar del Rio claiming that it’s the cheapest shops where to get the good cigars in the whole of Cuba. That’s fine and it’s true, however it’s extremely difficult to 100% know what you are buying is the right deal or not. Of course the most desired cigars are the Cohiba Esplendidos. These are very precious in the Western World (say Europe for example), and might be very tempting to buy in Pinar if you are thinking in selling afterwards. Well be careful and don’t be fooled, from personal experience we got a box of 15 Cohiba, but when we brought them to an expert to take a look hoping for a trade deal, we found out one was having already a bug that could spread to all other cigars, and the use of green leaves which in a Cohiba this is NOT possible. So yeah, there you go, like anywhere else in the world no matter whatever they try to sell you, it’s difficult to trust 100% that you are getting the real thing. The cigars were still valuable don’t take me wrong, however I would recommend you to buy them at a state shop. (more…)

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Havana - Cuba

Havana – Cuba

Post published:1 January 2018
Post category:Cuba North America

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Rome of the Caribbean, Paris of the Antilles

One last flight and trip for the year 2017, the beginning of a longer holiday until mid January. A year full of surprises and great travelling experiences which will be hard to beat to such an extent as this one. 91 planes, 21 countries, 7 of which never been before, and 92 cities. If this sounds mad and crazy, let me tell you in the year 2016 that was 99 flights; my all time record, yet the combination of kilometres in the air were 144577. 2017 topped anything I’ve ever done before with 186422. Yes, I keep a record of every single flight I’ve done in my life with all its details:, airport names, flight number, booking reference, aircraft model, airline, date, time of departure and arrival, miles, kilometres and even the cost for each flight. If I would only manage to calculate the hours in the air that would come to a shock I am sure.

Anyway, statistics apart, now it’s time for what really matters: the capital city of Cuba, Havana, or La Habana as it is known across the non-English speaking world. For so many years one of the most desired trips ever, but always been so in generally “prohibitive” in prices during the time of the year we wanted to go, December/January hence the reason why we usually went instead during this period of the year to Central America. Nevertheless, even though we managed to grab a nice flight deal with Iberia, the hotel situation was a very different story. In Cuba, you will end up in one of the most expensive places considering the already lower than average standards, quality and service you will receive.

With Havana being the starting point for a big trip discovering the entire country west to east, you won’t want to leave. This city is somewhat unique, like the country itself, a real time capsule, for the good and for the bad, where even some of the bad things you will experience are memorable part of the trip, many turned into beauty. The 4th largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean (or the West Indies as it’s also referred this region too), is also the city with the most number of historic sights, splendid colonial architecture and some of the nicest and warmest people with the most relaxed and most peaceful life. No rush for anything. Beware and learn about this, just simply merge with the locals and chill-out; everything takes its time, probably way too long; however as a tourist you should take advantage from this and enjoy the peaceful snail-speed life. Welcome back in time to the 1950’s. (more…)

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Buffalo - USA

Buffalo – USA

Post published:9 December 2017
Post category:North America USA

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The Queen City, City of Light

Although not originally in my plans, it was a terrible temptation not to come here and let the occasion go. After all, what other occasion I will see to reach Buffalo? Perhaps no other than returning to the Niagara Falls in the American side then. So as the plan developed when I was researching information about the Niagara Falls, it turned to our luck that during the Christmas season they do a show of lights projections in the falls, visible anyway when at dusk. So what to do the rest of the day after visiting the falls in the morning and waiting for the night to come? Buffalo seemed to be the right choice. At only 35 kilometres from the falls, and although considering the border crossing since we came from Canada side, it was way, way worth it. The very good side around this region are distances. We were barely 170 kilometres from our base, Toronto. And even the border to cross into the USA took little over 15 minutes altogether! Returning into Canada took around 5.

Now, Buffalo you might ask, why? Well, believe it or not this is one of the cities long time in my wish list. There are more such cities I wish to visit in the USA alone, for example Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore, Portland… I am heavily in love with industrial architecture and everything to do with the art-deco style and movement. Some of these cities are simply unique jewels on this, with Buffalo no exception.

Further to this, if you see its perfect urban plan, legacy from the early 1800’s where avenues and wide tree-lined streets radiate and meet at grand squares and a grid system branching out from downtown, you immediately appreciate a city with a great taste for design. This is the work of Joseph Ellicott, the same architect of Washington D.C. The only difference between one with another are the buildings. While in the nation’s capital these are grand neo-classical structures, generally low-rise; Buffalo was the playground of architectural styles being the most imposing the art-deco.
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Niagara - Canada

Niagara Falls – Canada

Post published:9 December 2017
Post category:Canada North America USA

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The most powerful waterfall in North America

A first time ever trip to Canada could not be without coming to one of the most spectacular natural places on the planet, the Niagara Falls. So yes, while planning Toronto I did know this will have to be also part of the deal on the trip, even considering our rather very short time, just 4 days in total. Still, good enough to enjoy both beautiful Toronto over the Christmas period and the awesome falls. In this case, with 2 different views, one during the day time, and the other during the night with the amazing Christmas light show installation. Now this was the real deal, the truly winter wonderland.

Before I continue, let me also add some notes in here about the falls itself for someone like us, having been to the grandest of the waterfalls in the planet, the Iguazu. Niagara is when comparing, tiny. In height and especially size, however the major drawback I see in Niagara are the hideous, horrifying constructions right on the edges of the falls! How on earth did this get allowed remains a mystery. It is actually hard to even capture a nice picture without anything man-made visible. But building high-rise buildings, hotels and casinos by the edge is just very, very wrong. How to turn one of the most impressive natural heritages in the planet into an amusement park, that’s all they’ve done. Whenever you get to Iguazu, and likewise my friends who have been to Victoria Falls in Africa, you are completely surrounded by nature, where man-made structures are restricted to the minimum in order to enjoy what you are really supposed to enjoy, the nature at its finest.

The falls are shared by both Canada and the United States of America. The best side is the Canadian from where you can enjoy the horseshoe in its grandest and luckily to everyone, without any hideous extra construction. You will enjoy an absolute clear view; although when looking towards the American Fall from this same side (Canadian), you get to also see the viewing point towers and hotels by the edge. Worst is the Canadian side in this though from the USA side, with views to all the high-rise buildings, viewing towers, casinos and other paraphernalia built by the edge, and a limited view towards the horseshoe. (more…)

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Toronto - Canada

Toronto – Canada

Post published:8 December 2017
Post category:Canada North America

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The New York of Canada

As unexpected as it sounds, planning a trip to Canada this year was never considered, however returning one more time to New York City was the plan to enjoy once again the Christmas rush and feeling in December. But with such sky-high air fares and way over an already higher average fare for a hotel, it was definitely not optional. Instead, why not Toronto? I cannot believe it I gave it a miss for such a long time. Now all I am thinking is in returning, see more, and enjoy the city in another season other than winter, and other places in this huge country. What a great choice for coming here! And no matter how cold it was (well actually not much colder than back in London anyway), it was still well worth it and not just for Toronto itself, but for being able to see the Niagara Falls during the winter and the Christmas light display during the evening and nights in December, and a brief visit to Buffalo in the USA with a dinner at the mandatory Anchor Bar, the birthplace in 1964 of the now worldwide dish fried chicken wings.

So with Canada, I mark the country 88 visited. I know Canada is vast, and Toronto and Niagara as just a tiny point in the immensity of the country, but that’s another number anyway to add in the list. And from today, it is just 2 weeks to be in country 89, Cuba. From the deep of the winter cold, to the nice summer weather in the Caribbean. How wonderful is to travel. I wish I could be on holidays the rest of my life just travelling.

Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and one of the 4 largest in North America considering its metropolitan area and population. While originally settle by indigenous people, the first Europeans to come were the French, who built the Fort Rouillé in the area now occupied by the Exhibition grounds in the mid 1700’s, however it were the British who truly developed it from 1793, who named it York until 1834 when it was renamed as Toronto. Nowadays, it is said to be one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world, often ranking among the top 3 in the list. (more…)

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Agrigento - Italy

Agrigento – Italy

Post published:3 December 2017
Post category:Europe Italy Southern Europe

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Ancient Akragas. The Valley of the Temples

Approaching the end of the year, however not the end of the trips for this year yet. Still some more to come even though it’s just days before the Christmas time, and exciting for another great trip to come over New Year’s Eve and the first two weeks of January escaping the freezing and ugly weather in Europe for some beached in the Caribbean and an amazing cultural heritage everywhere in Cuba! For now, this is way another incredible trip whatsoever. No need to travel very far to reach some of the most unique and incredible places on earth from one of the once most fascinating and developed ancient civilization, the Greek. Agrigento was back then, Akragas; one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia. Sicily is Italy, that’s for sure, however over the past millennia this has not been the case and before the Romans, the Greek were here, among other past civilizations.

Reaching this place becomes a rush of excitement since it’s one of this key destinations for any ancient civilization lover. It is, and it will be, as when I finally get to reach Persepolis or the Machu Picchu, or when I walked past the siq into the “Treasury” building in Petra. Here you will find some of the most elaborate, large and best preserved Greek temples from this civilization, comparable to these of another former Magna Graecia jewels, Paestum (southern Italy).

A magnificent city founded around 580 BC, it developed prosperously being one of the richest and most important cities of the Greek Colony, once of the oldest democracies in the world until the Carthaginians in 406 BC overthrew it to never recover. Thereafter disputed between the Carthaginians and the Romans during both Punic Wars, it fully became part of Rome in 210 BC who renamed it Agrigentum. Both Greek and Latin were the official languages for many centuries afterwards until the fall of Rome changing hands to the Vandalic and Ostrogothic kingdoms before the Byzantine Empire. Lastly the Normans during the entire medieval period until the unification of Italy in 1860 leaded by Giuseppe Garibaldi. (more…)

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