Checked into a casa in the Old Town this time round for a change, right in the middle of all the action. It was quite a cool old building with marble stairs and a balcony - that we didn't stand on for any length of time - overlooking a busy street which was really cool to hear everything going on, salsa music coming out of people's apartments, people chatting in the street, bicycle bells ringing, sellers.....you name it! Spent the rest of our time hanging out wi...

In the morning we finally left Vinales for Havana en route to the beaches at Playas del Este. Briefly considered abandoning plans to head out there when we reached Havana in the pouring rain but suddenly got a call on my mobile from our Kiwi friend Jodi who was at the beach with her two mates! Had a right result with our next taxi, when a beautiful purple Chevy rocked up for the price of a regular cab! After a bit of a hassle trying to find a casa in Guanabo, t...

Decided to splash out a bit and book into the all inclusive resort at the very far western tip of the island called Maria La Gorda so that we could do some diving which was meant to be world class. So were pretty chuffed as we settled into our very luxurious cabana with crisp white sheets, fluffy towels and cable TV! They can't get eggs or milk, but Celebrity Reality Rehab they can provide! The beach was OK, although not a patch on Cayo Levisa, but the diving w...

Very long 7 hour taxi ride, including 4 hours in a nice little peugeot and 3 bone-shaking hours in a battered Lada, and we pulled into the little town of Vinales - tobacco country! Failed to locate our pre-arranged casa but managed to find ourselves a fab place with a sunny balcony, hot showers and comfy beds....we were starting to think that comfy beds were all US owned! Had tasty casa dinner with two fellow guests - a highly irritating Aussie couple - befor...

Spent a few days roaming the town....a super cute, rambling town with colourful houses, cobbly streets and beautiful old spanish churches, then headed to the nearby Playa Ancon beach which was great and so different from the dodgy beach in Cienfuegos. Tanned to the max, we were ready to hit the hut for New Year's celebrations! Had a traditional feast of pork, with real crackling!, yucca with garlic and beans..of course!Then headed off to complete a bar crawl of...