Today was the first formal day of my Cuba tour and I would be joining the group and leaving Havana. I went down for breakfast in my Casa and didnt think to take my camera thinking it wouldnt be much. Wrong!

It was almost a buffet laden with rounds of food. First they brought a plate with carefully arranged fruit slices. There was pineapple, orange, and local fruits I wasnt familiar with. At the table were two other young girls also from the US but on a different tour from me. They were curious what I paid for flights as there are few direct options from the States.

After the fruits they brought and assortment of breads and cake slices along with local fruit juices. They then prepared an egg breakfast. I had to ask for no pork when I saw the other girls had pork served on theirs. It was a bigger meal than expected and I knew to bring my camera for next time.

Last night a welcome letter had been left on the main table with instructions to meet at 9am. There were three letters as different guests at this Casa were on different tours with the same tour company.

I always get nervous with these pickups when it goes past 9.15 and still nobody is there. One of the guides for the other parties arrived so I asked him to call my guide who said he was a few blocks away picking up passenger.

I also only just found out from the two girls at breakfast that the Casa had wifi as I was led to believe there was hardly any internet in Cuba. I uploaded a pic or two to show I had arrived safely as my guide arrived by 9.25.

We had a minivan that holds upto 20 people. I was expecting our group size to be 12 as thats what it said on the website and that it was also sold out. I want to the back row right away to claim my favourite spot before we picked up more passengers but I was the last one.

After rushing to the back I turned round to face the passengers and only saw grey heads. Oh no, I was on another seniors tour! Not that I dont get along with seniors but seeing the two young girls at breakfast I somehow thought this would be a younger crowd. Sitting the row ahead of me was a lady from Burlington Ontario and New Zealand both about my age so we had a bit of a mix.

As we drove out of town our guide did the tour introductions. His name was Aniorland Garcia so told us to call him A,G. Wouldnt 'Ani' have been easier? He said he was trained as an engineer and that his monthly salary was $17 USD back then. The highest paid professionals only make $80 USD/month.

After driving out of the city we made our first stop on the highway so would get make a washroom break and properly meet the group members. There were two older American couples from Boston and Virginia. There was also a retired lady from London Uk, so being a former Londoner myself we instantly 'got' each others style of speech and humour which was a refreshing change.

We passed a strange hamlet named Australia after a group of Australians who settled there prior to the revolution.

There was another lady my age from Chicago and a strange man who sat at the front and was a double of Che Guevara. I thought he was part of the group but later I learnt he was another guide hitching a ride to another town.

Our first stop was at the Bay of Pigs where we could rent snorkles, flippers, and scuba goggles. I hadnt paid attention to the itinerary before that there was a swimming stop as my towel and trunks were in my luggage in the back and I was wearing my contacts.

After for lunch we went to a local restaurant. I ordered a flat chicken meal for $8P + $1P Drink + $1P tip. Despite being an island we were told fish is the most expensive item as fishing boats are highly regulated as a means of escape. I was also able to break my $50P bills for smaller notes.

Our next stop was to the Bay of Pigs Museum. Entrance was $2P + $1P for Camera + $1P for a film. I opted out of the film remembering the war propaganda movie I'd seen in Vietnam about how the "evil imperialist American aggressor attacked the peaceful peasant farmers".

The museum was nice but it seemed like the rest were inside watching the movie for about half an hour. I'd walked around the museum, went outside, bought souvenirs, but they still hadnt ended the movie. Must have been quite some epic!.