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 t...

Wandering back towards Plaza Vieja where my guesthouse was is an apartment building in one corner where you can pay $2P to take an elevator to the roof. I thought this was just a rooftop terrace but turned out to be quite interesting.There was an enclosed room on the roof where I was told to sit and wait. I didnt know what for and her explanation wasnt clear but I was tired and took the opportunity to sit and have a snack from my bag.We were then led into a darke...

It was now about 2pm. Having left my bags in my Casa I was going on my afternoon walking tour. A Casa is a family owned guesthouse like a B&B. The Government has allowed people to rent out rooms in their home, part of the local homestay experience on this tour.I only had half day today, and half day on my last day to explore Havana as I couldnt arrange extra days off work with other trips planned for the year. The Casa where I am staying is just off Plaza Vie...

One of the most popular destinations for Canadians to head for their winter vacations is Cuba. In the 20 odd years I've lived here the thought of going for one week to an all inclusive resort and just lying on the beach had no appeal for me while I was more interested in history, architecture, and culture.With the US sanctions regime against Cuba Canadian tourists were always sought after with bus and tv ads making this one of the most popular winter destinations...

This morning I was returning home to Canada and had a flight connection via Hong Kong. I was awake from 4am so watching a Russian retro film in low volume.Breakfast didnt start till 7am so I went down from 6.45 to see if they would let me in as I had to leave the hotel as close to 7 as possible.I left by 7.15 and made my way to the metro. There were some homeless people sleeping in the street so I left some of my small paper bills with each of them on my way out....