“Will this be the ship that carries me away?” It’s a question my grandfather asked himself as a boy in Ireland. An uncle had sailed away to America. He earned enough to afford to return home, cabin passage, on fine … Continue reading Cruise Blogs.
October 2, 2016 Post 0, Milepost 0. This is a series of blog posts on our trip to Cuba on the cruise ship Adonia run by Fathom Cruises. It is the first cruise ship licensed to travel directly from … Continue reading Cuba 2016
October 3, 2016 As a kid I used to read Scholastic Magazines as part of my social studies program. They were a mix of history and current affairs laced with a lot of 50s Americanism. These magazines first interested me … Continue reading C.U. in CUBA
October 3, 2016 I normally do not like organized tours, and our Old Havana (Havana Vieja) walking tour reminds me why. While the guide is good, it is largely a standing tour, listening while the guide explains some aspect of … Continue reading Havana Vieja
We got back to the ship, showered and went out into the cool of the evening. Our p2p obligations discharged for the day, we were ready to strike out on our own. I found a 1955 Chevy Bel Air convertible, … Continue reading Crusin’ the Malecon
I’ll take a break here and just sit back and enjoy the eye candy of old cars cruising through Cuba. After the revolution the state allowed people who owned cars before the revolution to keep them and even sell them. … Continue reading Cuban Eye Candy (Classic Cars)
We stopped back at the ship for a quick run to the buffet before heading out for the 9:30 show at the Café Taberna. The Café serves dinner but Lonely Planet warned us off the food there. But the mojitos … Continue reading Havana Night
October 4, 2016 Much of our trip to Cuba is defined by conditions set by the late Senator Jesse Helms in the Helms-Burton act. The act limits the conditions under which Americans can travel to Cuba. We are here on … Continue reading Sustainable Propaganda (But Nice Pictures)
Our bus tour took us through different neighborhoods of Havana, through the Miramar and Vedado neighborhoods and we arrived at the pier in time to do a little shopping. At each place we stopped the seller said “See you Saturday.” … Continue reading Sailing into a Havana Sunset.
October 5, This is my first Sea Interlude, a sea day between Havana and Cienfuegos. I like to use Sea Interludes to process what I’ve seen but that isn’t happening today. There’s too much going on. The Cuban band is … Continue reading First Sea Interlude
October 6 In many ways Cuba is not the type of Communist country I am used to. I have traveled in the Soviet Union before the collapse and have visited various parts of the old Soviet empire both before and … Continue reading Cooperative Farm, Cowboys and Cheese
After the cooperative farm we are supposed to have lunch at a restaurant between the farm and town, about 20 km out of town. When we get there two other buses from our ship are at the restaurant. There is … Continue reading Waiting for Lunch in Cienfuegos, Communist Problem Solving
We had about 15 minutes in the Cienfuegos main square, time for a peak into the Thomas Terry Theatre lobby and a walk around Jose Marti Square. I had a good view of the Art Nouveau skyline from the deck … Continue reading Cienfuegos Art Nouveau
The sail out took us past a number of villages and past the old Spanish fortifications guarding the harbor. Normally the ship sails out of the harbor just after noon. Today it was at supper time and people in the … Continue reading Cienfuegos Sail Out
October 7 This is our second sea day, but I have more time to write and process today, there will be three Sea Interludes today. So all told we will have 4 Sea Interludes, just like Peter Grimes. Today’s first, … Continue reading The Second Sea Interlude — Revolutionary Graphics
My third Sea Interlude is about music. There is live music wherever we go in Cuba. There is Cuban music on the ship, at every restaurant where we ate, on the streets, in cafes and music to welcome us to … Continue reading Our Third and Fourth Sea Interludes
On Saturday, our final day in Cuba the “Impact” team had organized another p2p event for our extra day but Suzi and I both decided that after Cienfuegos we had enough of buses, even very nice air-conditioned Chinese buses, so … Continue reading We Flee the Ghost of Jesse Helms, in a Studebaker
After the castle Luan dropped us off at the Artisan’s market, which has a display of old steam locomotives sitting outside the artisans hall. Inside the arts and crafts vary in quality and style. There is the normal tourist art, … Continue reading Artists and Locomotives
From there we walked through Havana Vieja. We stopped at a small square and bought some fried bread from a vendor. The man sitting on the bench across from us is a drummer at the Tropicana. He loves his job … Continue reading A Final Walk Through Havana
Finally it’s time to go. The Captain comes on the speakers before we sail out telling us that it will be a rough ride into Miami because of the tag end of Hurricane Matthew but for us it seems like … Continue reading Cuban Coda