Due to lack of computers (or laziness on my part to not spen time in internet cafes) I am actually typing this blog from Mexico!! I handwrote my blog around cuba, so now for the typing up!! Hope you enjoy hearing about my adventures!!

Day 1

Arrived in Havana at around 2am, and got a cab to the Hotel Plaza. It is a really beautiful hotel, a lot better than the hostels i have been staying in recently!! I am sharing my room with another girl called Alice! Ironic or what!! I didn´t get up too much as i was exhausted from the travelling the day before and the fact that we are starting travelling straight away tomorrow! At 6:30pm we had our first group meeting. Our tour leader is called Rudulpho, or Roddy and in the group there is Dave and Philipa, Joe and Joy, Matthew and Claire, Ian and Jill, Eddy and Louise, Alice, Marki, Ellen and myself. After the meeting we went for a group meal in the hotel Florida which was really nice! Went to bed after the meeting as we leave at 9am

Day 2

Had breakfast at the Hotel Plaza and then started the drive towards Santa Clara. This is known as Che´s city and is home to Che´s monumnt and memorial. We had lunch at a hotel along the way and then went to see the monument. Unfortunately his statue is covered in scaffolding but was still amazing to see! We went into the memorial where the remains of Che Guavera and 39 other men who died along side him in Bolivia are. We also went into the museum where you could see Che´s personal affects such as his medical degree. After this we went to see our casa´s for the night, I am sharing with Alice and Carolyn. We went for a wander around the main square but due to it being Sunday, a lot of places were closed. We had dinner in the casa, pork chops, rice, beans, chips etc which was a lot of amazing food! I feel i may become sick of rice and beans over the next two weeks!! That night we went to the main square again for music, but due to the baseball final still being played the music didn´t start til quite late. We went to a local bar and had Cuba Libre´s which were nice, cheap and very strong!!

Day 3

We drove on again into Cuba towards Trinidad. We made a stop at Cienfuegos, which is one of the most modern and industrialised towns in Cuba. It was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at an old house and had a drink on the roof terrace to get some of our first views of the caribbean sea! We went to the main town to look for lunch but found no where!! We drove on to Trinidad where we hav new casas and i am sharing with alice and carolyn again. We went for a walk around the town and then had our first salsa lesson!! It was amazing!! There were two teachers who taught us the basic steps of 123. We ate in the casa again tonight and had fish which was superb, really meaty! We met as a group at 9pm and went to the Casa De Musica, an open air stage with no entrance fee, but salsa all night! There were a lot of locals there that proved we need more salsa lessons!! It was a great eveing fuelled by many mojio´s!!

Day 4

Today we went for a nature walk but to get to the trail we rode horses!! It was really incredible but my ankles and inner thighs are sporting huge bruises which are certainly not attractive!! My horse was a chocolate brown colour and behaved itself most of the time!! We got to teh nature walk where Roddy pointed out Cubas national bird and then explained that the trails were created by slaves in past colonial times. We were walking for about an hour, going up hill and crossing rivers til we got to a waterfall where you could go swimming and see the caves at the back. Marki had a few problems but we eventually headed back and had our horse ride home. We got back and tried some of the 5 peso pizzas and ice creams which were good! We then went for another walk around and then our second salsa lesson. we learnt to do some twists and turns today which wa great fun but very very tiring especially after our long day! Myself, Alice and Carolyn went to a local private restaurant that the guide book had suggested that was really nice. We then went to the Casa De Musica again where there seemed to eb more tourists than locals!

Day 5

We went to teh beach today. the day started out cloudy but the sun definitely picked up whilst we were there. Went for a swim in the caribbean sea, teh water was so blue almost the same colour as the blue lagoon. we spent 3 hours at the beach before returning to Trinidad. Alice and myself went for peso pizzas and a explore of the museums etc. I tried to find a bank that would accept cards but had no luck!! Must remember that if i return to Cuba must have cash or Visa cards!! We went to the Museo Historica which is an old large house that was owned by a rich family before the revolution. The look out point from the top of the museum gave some amazing views over trinidad but to get to the top and down was a dangerous trip!! They don´t really hav health and safety here!! We went to see teh old nunnery and then went shopping!! I bought Jaz some amazing dresses and Alice bought a crochet dress for herself. We went back to a bar called Chachanchara which Roddy had taken us to for cocktails, before heading back to the casa. I got slightly sunburnt but it just adds to the bruises from yesterday!! We had a group meal at the meeting point casa with a buffet of six different main courses, four fish and 2 meat. There was a guitar player who played throughout and Ellen started to sing along with him!! The amount of food was incredible. We then went to the club in the cave!! It was a long steep hike up the hill but it was worth it. They played a mix of music, salsa and chart. The cubans appear to be fans of the Black Eyed Peas. they even played "cry for you" by September!! They ahd a big screen above teh bar and the dj booth was huge. It cost 3 CUC´s to get in plus a free drink. marki had a dance off with one of the locals and OMG is she an amazing dancer!! The girl has some moves!!

Day 6

We have a long drive today, 6 hours. We made a stop along the way to a small town to see an old tower. It looks out over the valley of the sugar mills. We stopped for lunch at "Finca el Oasis", the only restaurant in teh area. The food was good but you waited a long time to get any! Had a ham sandwich and chips and the most amazing ice cream called a tandem! We arrived in Camaguey and went on a biktaxi tour of the city. Unfortunately teh ballet is not on tonight but this is the home to the second ballet of cuba. Our hotel is out of the centre of town. It has a swimming pool which is horrendous but the rooms are nice and clean so can´t complain! We went out for dinner to a private restuarant and had lamb. It is was ok but not as good as other meals we have had. decided to not go out tonight as the day was tiring enough!!

Day 7

An early start today at 8:30am!! Not our normal 9!! We had breakfast at the hotel and then left to go to Santiago de Cuba. We stopped for lunch at Augusto´s home province of Holguin and had pizza and ice cream before getting back on the bus to finish our six hours of travelling!! We went to a fort in the evening to watch the sunset before heading back to the casa for dinner. Annoyingly my camera ran out of battery just before they shot teh cannon but i got some views of the sunset. We were a bit late for dinner but had a whole spread laid out for us! We went out this evening just to a hotel bar where there was live music for some drinks. The casa we are staying in is really beautiful and is the meeting point so we won´t be late here!! The owner speaks really good Englisha nd is called William.