It's like yesterday never happened. Up at 6:30am, in queues at the bus station by 7:10am, then on the bus from 7:50-5:30pm. This isn’t the first time we have observed the bus drivers (there are always 2 on a bus) stopping at a home, going in and then 10 minutes later emerging, boarding the bus and driving off. Are they having a quickie with their mistress? Do they rent a spot to take their required break? What on earth are they doing? Sometimes they stop th...

I'm sitting here alone at the most popular bar in Trinidad, Cuba. Usually there is a good 10-person line-up waiting to get into this hopping spot. It’s Sunday at about 6:00pm and I have tucked myself into a corner while Jim takes advantage of the 'golden hour’ lighting for photography. I’m pretending I am Hemmingway (lookatpg139)as I sip on my delicious daiquiri and write. I pretend I am in a medieval pub (not that Hemmingway was from medieval ...

Another city, and one with little draw for us, we arrived via a squished-in collectivo taxi sharing with a couple from Victoria, BC, Canada. The trip was four hours in duration, driving at mad speeds with no seatbelts, dodging potholes and bumpy roads that were like a multi-media piece of art. We got to know Casey and Jim. I'm on a mission to find people from other places to house-share with us so am collecting email addresses. I mention this possibility of hou...

Feeling more grounded in our Cuba-life, we prepared to move from Havana to Vinales, a small town in the Pinar del Rio province. As we waited in anticipation for the taxi we had arranged outside the bus station the day prior, time ticked away and, with allowance for Cuban time, after two hours we assumed the guy was not going to show up. Being peak tourist season, we were fearful we would not get a bus ticket on the day of. With our luggage in tow and me with a ...