Cuba diving - heels, cigars, rum and revolutions

Hello from the Carribean man! (and carribean woman)

After our brief stint in Mexico City to avoid capture by the US immigration service, we touched down in Havana. We stayed in a Casa Particulares, which is a bit like staying with a family and having bed and breakfast but with only two bedrooms, as this is all the government will allow. We stayed with a lovely family, Alleyn and her daughters Amanda, Amelia, Ameya and son Andy. We think she may move on to the letter B for the next child!

Again we met up with some other couchsurfers who were in Cuba at the time and hung out on the famous Malecon drinking rum and coke, although in Cuba they drink rum then a coke chaser! We also wandered around the old town and drunk several Daquiri´s at Ernest Hemingway favourite bar, La Floridita. However, when we found out they were half price next door, we moved sharpish (despite not being able to see Hemingways bronze bust from there. The barmaid had a low cut top on though to make up for it).

As a communist country, Cuba is the most different place we have been to so far. Most of the things in Cuba were made or grown there. Everything is used until it is broken and then fixed again, and as a result there are hundreds of classic 1950´s cars still being used. Mobile phones were only allowed 2 years ago, and the internet is only to be used by tourists. if the locals want to use it they get charged double! it even has two currencies, one for the locals and the other for Castro to tax the tourists with!

Amercia and its large conglomerates have not been allowed to trade with Cuba since about 50 or so years ago (since Kennedy was in power) and therefore there are no fast food chains, hideous advertising or mass obesity there! (no offense to our american pals!).

The downside of this is there are only a few food shops with little in them, although plenty of cheap rum and cigars, cooking oil and toilet rolls available.

Whilst we were there we visited the Museum De La Revolution and saw Castro and Che Guevera lead Cuba into the revolution. And we also saw Granma. This is actually the tiny boat he and his 80 men sailed to the island on from Mexico - and not his mother's mother. After that we watched the world cup final in a bar with David, Enrique, Natalie and Paul and several other couchsurfers. Its fair to say there were not many dutch fans in there, so the result made everyone very happy.

We then spent a couple of days in Viñales, the tobacco growing region also wonderful for trekking into the limestone hills (geology reference from the resident geologist). On the bus journey there with our American casa mate - Mark we met 2 more Americans. Hi to Jen and Daniel and hope you have a good trip in Cuba.

Although after an hour of a salsa lesson on our first day there, our calves were killing us and we were walking like a bunch of old cubans - so went to the local big fancy hotel and looked out onto the town whilst drinking rum.

Hello to Mark and thanks to David for helping to arrange our acommodation and making our stay in Cuba as good as it was. We hope all our good friends keep in touch, and wish them much felicidad! ( Spanish for happiness)

Much Cuban love, Urvy & Pete.

XXX