The city of lights and sunlight

Wednesday, July 4th 2018

Paris, France

I am slowly waking up on the airplane. The cabin lights are back on and the smell of coffee fills the cabin. Current time is unknown. 

My coffee cup is teeny tiny and I shamelessly ask for multiple refills. After breakfast I spend a few minutes brushing my teeth, moisturizing and getting my stuff back together. I find one of socks across the aisle, 2 rows back. Oops. 

Eventually we land and I am one of the first people off the plane. I immediately find an ATM to grab some Euros for my cab into town. Eventually I hit the line for immigration and it is very long. After about 15 minutes of not moving, one of the airport personnel waves me into a new line that is moving much faster. She pulls me to the front and then the man in the passport window calls me forward. He gives me a stamp and waves me through. I’m not sure what just happened, but I am pretty happy about it. 

By the time I make it to baggage claim, my bag is just coming down the carousel. I walk outside and get a cab immediately. I show the cabbie the name for my hotel and he says that he doesn’t know it. I’m a little thrown off, but I know that I have the address somewhere and just tell him to head towards the Musee d’Orsay. Eventually I find the address and show it to him. We sit in traffic for at least an hour. When we get to the center of town my driver is mad and aggressive. Eventually he stops on one of the main roads and says that he can not get closer to the hotel and that I need to walk. He does a terrible job of giving me directions and then drives off. 

I try to connect to wifi on my phone to get directions, but I have no luck. I see the Musee d’Orsay a block up and head in that direction. Eventually I am able to get onto their wifi and download walking directions to our hotel, which is a few blocks away. I’m feeling angry at that cab driver and am sure that feeling is mutual. After 15 minutes of dragging my bag over cobblestone, I arrive at the hotel. I know that Sarah has already checked in so I ask the front desk for a key. Instead she calls Sarah down into the lobby to meet me. Oh well, I’m here!

Sarah shows me our incredibly small hotel room and waits patiently while I put on makeup, brush my hair and change shoes. It’s about 6pm and we decide to walk up to the river and see the Eiffel tower before a late dinner. Our walk up the Seine is very nice. The weather is astoundingly beautiful and the bright orange sunlight is casting long shadows of the overly ornate bridges onto the pedestrian path. There are locals and tourists everywhere. Vendors are selling bottles of wine out of rolly carts and the mood is upbeat. 

Eventually we hit the Eiffel tower. There is some construction, so it takes us a few minutes to find the actual entrance. We buy tickets to go to the top and then wait in line for what seems like forever. Finally, when we arrive at the top, the view is amazing. The sun is just setting and the whole town looks pink and white. The City of Lights has lived up to its name and the sun hasn’t even set yet. They are selling glasses of champagne at the very top and I opt buy some from me and Sarah. After all, what’s one more line at this point? 

After 2 glasses of champagne and about 100 pictures, we head back down to find some dinner. We are both famished and it’s nearly 10pm. We decide to not be picky about dinner and grab a table at the first cafe that we find. We sit outside, with a view of the Eiffel tower and its periodically sparkling lights. We start with a carafe of Bordeaux and a cheese plate. I feel that the cheese is a little larger than I expected, but everything tastes fine. I order the duck, which proves to the be the best duck I’ve ever eaten. Sarah orders a steak and is lukewarm about it. After dinner we drink more wine and are happily buzzed as we walk back down the river in the crisp evening air.  

We end up in bed by 1am and agree to a late start tomorrow. 

Seat 1A

Tuesday, July 3rd 2018

Los Angeles, CA and Paris, France

It’s around 4pm PST and I am packing up from work to leave for my summer vacation in France. I am very excited and have plenty of time to spare so I opt for an Uber Pool from downtown to the airport. When my driver picks me up I am the only one in the car. We may need to pick someone else up, but I have so much time that I almost don’t care. Just as we are about to get onto the highway I am notified that we will be adding a passenger. As we progress to the next pick up point, traffic increases tenfold. To make matters worse, my driver seems to constantly be in the wrong lane. A full hour later we are finally leaving downtown and on our way to the airport. This is the last time I ever take a rideshare to the airport. 

When we arrive at LAX I still have 2 hours before my flight leaves. I booked my ticket almost 6 months ago and opted for the economy premium ticket. Since then I received a notification that our aircraft has been changed and my new seat number will be 1A. I am cautiously optimistic about this development.

I use the premium check in lane and don’t have to wait at all. The guy that checks my bag looks at me with great excitement and says “yeah, you’re going to France!”. I smile; after all, he’s right. 

I still have about an hour and a half to kill so I go check out the One World Lounge. I have not been in an airport lounge since I was a little kid, so I’m not completely sure what to expect. 

Holy crap, this place is beautiful. I start out with a full lap. The lighting is low, the seats are spread out appropriately, there are 2 full bars, a buffet, a dessert bar, self serve coffee, soda and wine. Whoa. Self serve, complimentary wine. There is not even a tip jar. This place is so classy. 

I’m not very enthused by the food so I grab a small plate of nuts and pour myself a glass of Chardonnay. I settle into a large chair and can’t stop smiling. I spend my time listening to music and catching the odd Pokemon on Pokemon Go. I have a book and a few movies, but I am more interested in taking in the moment. 

Eventually I have to leave the lounge to board the plane. I grab 2 liters of water from a small newsstand. Boarding is delayed for about an hour, but I’m not stressed. In fact, I’m a little drunk and a lot happy. 

When we finally board, I am shown to seat 1A. I am so happy with this seat that I want to jump out of my skin. Instead, I say thank you and agree to glass of champagne. 

This is seat is actual first class. There is enough space on the floor in front of my seat for me to lay down on the floor completely. I restrain myself and focus on people watching instead. Most of first class is filled with a group that is clearly traveling together. When the women in seat 1B arrives she looks across the aisle at her husband and sighs in an overly exasperated way. He responds, “we don’t have to sit next to each other”. I stare ahead, holding in laughter. 

My neighbor in 1B is vegan and keep telling the flight attendant about her requirements. Meanwhile, I am basically drunk and tearing apart strips of beef jerky using my teeth and bare hands. This meat is very tough and I am thinking it’s a good thing there is a lot of space up here. 

The plane ride goes smoothly. I finished up the Netflix series, Love and play a few rounds of Plants versus Zombies on my iPad. Eventually I drift off to sleep. 

Chairs made of marble

Saturday, December 9th 2017

Habana, Cuba and Los Angeles, CA

It’s 9am and sheets of rain are pounding on the roof and window. It’s my last day in Cuba. Due to American Airlines consolidating flights, Laura and Andrew departed 10 hours ahead of schedule. I silently curse the airline industry and praise Alaska Airlines for sticking to their schedule in the midst of declining travel to Cuba. My plane will leave, as planned, at 6pm. 

My room is cool and it smells like rain. I opt to stay in bed for another hour. At 10am the rain is still pouring down. 

I slowly start organizing my bag. I decide to leave behind a few items for our host, including my blue Nike hat. I take a quick shower. The water is cold and I wonder if it’s actually rain. While I am washing my face Yasmina surprises me by knocking on the bathroom door. She asks if I want coffee, but I decline. 

Around 11am I lug my bags down the stairs and check in with Yasmina. She agrees to have a driver pick me up at 3pm and offers me her umbrella for the day. She is very nice, but I decline the umbrella. 

My plan was to take a cab to Fusterlandia, an outdoor art installation and then to Cementerio de Colin. When I step outside the streets are totally empty and all of the gutters are flooding. Change of plans. 

I jog between overhangs to Plaza Catedral and pick the fanciest restaurant I can find. I am the only one there, so I take the best table. The restaurant is beautiful. The ceilings are high and everything is made of marble, even parts of the chair. An extremely formal waiter approaches to take my order. I decide to order a beer and two appetizers. I know it’s unconventional but I can not eat anymore pork and rice. I order seafood stew and a side of mushrooms. The waiter looks confused, but I stand my ground. 

I use our remaining wifi minutes to check in with a few people. At one point I try to log into my work email a few times, but my access is denied (later I’ll find out that I triggered a security event, which interrupted Saturday plans for at least 2 IT workers). 

My food takes a while, so I end up ordering another beer. The waiter tells me that the beer is strong and I tell him that it’s okay, I am strong too. For a guy with one customer, he’s pretty judgmental. 

Eventually my food arrives. It turns out that my side of mushrooms is actually a creamy soup. Now I have two very large bowls of soup in front of me. Luckily, I am drunk enough to not care. I take my time working through my food. I eat every bite and feel strongly this is the best meal of the trip. 

After lunch I still have an hour and half to kill. The rain continues. 

I dash from overhang to overhang around the square and land at the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. I pay 1 CUC to enter and am immediately charmed. The bottom half is mix of information panels explaining how the earth was made and representing each of the main different geological periods. The top half is full of random taxidermy and nearly one fourth of the space is dedicated to the cockroaches of Cuba. All of the information cards are in Spanish, so I spend some time attempting to read them. I amuse myself by making up translations for some of the words I don’t know. 

After the museum, I have time for quick cup of coffee. I duck into a charming, little cafeteria and order a cup of black coffee. A Canadian couple sits a table near me and I can hear them trying to figure out their agenda for the next few days. 

As soon I arrive back at Yasmina's, my driver arrives 10 minutes early. He leads me to his awesome, vintage Ford; the engine is so loud that we can not talk. I am relieved to sit silently. At one point he yells over the engine that I will be leaving from Terminal 2 and I yell back that it’s Terminal 3. He feels strongly that it’s Terminal 2, but eventually agrees to take me to 3. 

I arrive so early that the check in booth is not even open yet. After waiting for 30 minutes, I get through check in and security and have plenty of time at the gate. I order a few mini sandwiches and another beer. I spend my time reading and making laps through the duty free shop. 

My plane boards on time and the trip back to LAX is smooth. 

When I approach the customs officer I am feeling nervous. I was grandfathered into the People to People general travel license, but it no longer exists as of last month. I am legal, but I really do not want to explain myself. The officer views my passport and says “You’re coming from Mexico”. I think this is a trick and immediately correct him. “No, Cuba”. He lets out a small groan. After a long pause, he replies “okay, have a nice day”. This is not the first time that my compulsive honesty has annoyed customs officials.

I easily grab my bag and make it through the last checkpoint into LA. I am feeling very accomplished and also glad to be home. 

Yasmina's staircase

Friday, December 8th 2017

Trinidad and Habana, Cuba

It’s 7:30am and we are gathering for Darnel’s amazing coffee before our 8am departure to Habana. Once we all have coffee in hand, Darnel and I go over our bill for the mini bar. We drank all of the beer and most of the soda. Our bill comes out to 12 CUCs. 

By 7:55am, Yusmani, our driver, is knocking on the door. By 7:59 we are on our way. The car ride is long and I spend most of it watching Netflix on my iPad. At one point, Yusmani pulls over to pee on the side of the road. While we are waiting patiently, a police officer approaches our parked car. Oh crap, we quickly nominate Laura to talk and roll down the window. Laura manages to sputter out something to the effect of "bano de la naturaleza", which translates to "nature's toilet". Soon Yusmani comes running back to the car and we all laugh. 

At the halfway point we meet up with Hickli again and switch into his boat of a car. Andrew sits up front and explains that we need a place to stay in Habana. Hickli is all business and it's taken care of in 5 minutes flat.

Eventually, we arrive at our casa particular in Habana. Hickli asks if we want to look around first and we all get the feeling that we should. We enter into a shell of a building and into another building inside of it. We are led up a marble staircase, which is significantly tilted to one side. 

Hickli introduces us to Yasmina, who shows us the first room. The ceiling is low, but there is an AC unit and lots of space. She says that she needs to clean the second room, but shows it to us anyways. There are toys and clothes strewn everywhere. This is clearly a child’s room and I feel terrible about taking it. None of us are sure what to do, but we are uncomfortable refusing the house so we just smile and nod.  

Yasmina asks if we want coffee and I automatically say yes and then immediately regret my decision. It takes 20 minutes to make the coffee and the boiling water is raising the temperature in the whole apartment.

Once we’ve fully displaced Yasmina and her son, we head into town for lunch. We pick the first restaurant that we see (they are all starting to taste the same anyways).

After lunch, we walk to our old neighborhood to visit the shopping square that Pablo showed us on our first day. First things first, we all buy a few bottles of rum. Next Laura and Andrew go into the the cigar shop. There is conflicting information on how many cigars you can bring back to the US. I sit outside while Laura and Andrew figure everything out. I feel like I should be buying more cigars, but, honestly, I just don't want them.  

Next, we walk slowly back to our house while looking for tshirts. I am surprised by the lack of souvenirs in Habana. Eventually I find a t-shirt and canvas bag; I successfully negotiate the price down by 5 CUCs. It's our last day in Cuba and I am finally getting the hang of things!

Once we drop our stuff off, it is getting to be late afternoon and we have nothing left to do. We find a table on the front porch of a large water-facing bar and start to peruse their extremely complicated drink menu. When the server finally arrives he explains that they only have mojitos. Alright, tres mojitos!

20 minutes later, we see our server walking towards the bar carrying a large bag of ice on his back. I think to myself that I don’t even want ice but am gracious when our drinks finally arrive. Around 8pm, we decide to walk over to La Buena Vista Social Club. We we arrive it comes to light that (A) tickets are 80 CUCs each and (B) there are no tickets left. We ask if we can sit in the bar for appetizers and drinks and they oblige. 

This place is pretty cool, but compared to everything else, it is grossly overpriced. I end up ordering a sangria and we all split an appetizer. We have a nice time and decide to head back to our side of town for dinner. By the time we get there, it’s late. We pick the first restaurant we see. The service is slow and we finish 2 rounds beer before we get our food. Somewhere amidst fatigue, dehydration and Yasmina’s tilted staircase, I get the idea that nothing in Habana is structurally sound, including our current balcony. I study the balconies on the building across the street intently. I am sure that our table is going to crash down to street-level any minute.  

After surviving dinner, we make the short walk back to our casa particular. Upon approach of our titled marble staircase we all quietly take out our phones for pictures. For the last time, we ascend the staircase. 

I have officially met my limit for crumbling infrastructure and overcooked meat and I am glad this is our last night in Cuba. 

When I enter my room, it is only partially cleaned. I think that I will never fall asleep, but I am out the second my head hits the pillow. 

Rum, coconuts and ice cream

Thursday, December 7th 2017

Trinidad, Cuba

It’s 9am EDT and I am waking up for our last full day in Trinidad. After driving across the country and hiking through the rain forest I am feeling like we have finally earned our beach day! My spirits are high as I bound into the courtyard for breakfast. Eventually, I am joined by a tired Andrew and a sick Laura. Laura looks and sounds markedly worse than yesterday. I really feel bad for her but secretly hope that she’ll come to the beach anyways. 

Darnel serves us another exceptional breakfast, while we ponder the day. As soon as we are done eating, Laura announces that she will not be leaving the house and I totally understand. Oh well, this is my chance to bond with Andrew! We take about 30 minutes to get ready and then reconvene in the living room. 

Previously we had discussed riding bicycles, but given the heat, we decide it would be better to take a cab. Getting a cab is easy, even with our extremely limited skills in Spanish. The ride out to the beach is about 20 minutes. The road is narrow and covered in direct sunlight. I am happy we are not on bikes. 

Soon we arrive at Playa Ancon. Our driver says that he’ll wait for us and we try to negotiate a time. He says it doesn’t matter and to just come find him when we are ready to leave. I think this is an inefficient way to run a taxi business, but I keep that thought to myself. 

First things first, we take a few minutes to walk the length of the beach. It’s mostly empty and the sand is fine and almost white. The water is warm and bright blue. The beach is interspersed with little hut shaped bars and small sailboats offering snorkeling tours. I vote for a snorkeling tour and Andrew seconds the motion. We go and talk to one of the sailboat guys he tells us to go check into a small hut up the beach. We are instructed to leave all of our stuff in the hut. We are both uncomfortable with this, but end up doing it anyways. Eventually, it’s time to leave and we awkwardly climb onto the tiny sailboat with a small group of other tourists. 

Our guide takes us about 50 feet out into the ocean and then provides each of us with goggles and a snorkel. We hop into the water and spend the next 30 minutes swimming around. The water is really warm, which is nice, but my goggles are enormous and keep filling up with water. In between emptying my goggles, I see lots of tropical fish and coral. When it’s time to head back, I am a little relieved. 

Back on dry land, I announce my mission to drink rum from a coconut. We walk up to a hut bar and do not see the coconut drink on the menu. They take our order for regular drinks and then explain that the seating at the tables are for hotel guests and that we have to go sit on the sand. 

Right when we sit down, a guy selling coconut drinks approaches us. We tell him that we just ordered from the bar. He says that he’ll come back later and instructs us to buy from him and not the bar. I agree. His coconuts look awesome. 

Soon our bar drinks are delivered and we are officially on beach vacation! We stare at the ocean and talk about our time in Cuba. At one point a tall Australian woman approaches us and asks if we have plans for dinner. We tell her no and she hands us a smudged up business card from the restaurant where she ate last night. She says that it’s really good and that we should go. I put the card in my bag. This is so random. 

Eventually our drinks run dry. I look around, but our coconut guy is nowhere in sight. I get up to go look for him but end up walking back to the hut bar. Even though they do not have coconut drinks on the menu, I tell them that I want one and they agree to make it (it’s starting to seem like menus really don't matter here). 

Man, this drink is strong. Inevitably, our old guy returns and I cleverly hide my drink from the hut bar. I almost sneak it past him but he sees the straw poking out from underneath my towel. He points at my drink and laughs hysterically. I can’t help but laugh too. Cubans have a way of laughing at you and with you at the same time. 

Around 1pm we are ready to go check in with Laura. We approach the parking lot full of cab drivers and our original driver emerges from the crowd. He drives us back to our house for the same rate. Logistics are surprisingly easy here.

When get back to the house, Laura is sitting in front of the AC. Her room is at least 40 degree cooler than outside and she still looks very sick. She agrees to look for restaurants for lunch, while Andrew and I get ready. After about 20 minutes we reconvene in the courtyard. Laura has found a restaurant in her guidebook with confirmed air conditioning and we unanimously agree this is a good idea. 

At the San Jose restaurant we are seated immediately. Our table is receiving adequate air flow and we are within line of sight of a TV playing soap operas. We are trying hard not to stare at the TV, but we are tired and running out of conversation. We start out with a round of El Presidents. After 8 days in the Cuban heat we are slowly coming around to idea of light beer. When it’s time to order I opt for fried plantains and a pork chop. I am drunk, famished and overly excited for lunch.

We all enjoy our long lunch and once we are done, we head over to the main square to buy souvenirs. I end up with a t-shirt and a handful of cigars. On the way back we stop at an open air market. I spot an art gallery and we duck in to take a look around. The art looks original and the smaller pieces are reasonably priced. I take about 20 minutes to pick out 2 small paintings of roosters. I attempt to negotiate on price, but end up paying the sticker price. Oh well, I now own Cuban art! Yay!

After shopping, it’s still hot outside and we all agree that a siesta is in order. Around 5pm, Andrew and I decide to take a walk around the newer part of Trinidad and check out Parque Central Cespedes. When we arrive, there are a handful of municipal buildings and a group of teenagers accessing wifi on their phones. Yep, we’ve pretty much seen all of Trinidad.  

We walk back to the house and around 6pm we are ready for dinner. Andrew tells the story about the tall Australian and her restaurant recommendation; Laura agrees that we have to go there. 

By 6:15 we are being seated at Taberna Don Madeley. The restaurant is completely empty. Our server is very friendly and recommends 5 different cocktails. We are overwhelmed and order the first one that she mentioned (they are all different combinations of rum, lime and sugar anyways). Our meal ends up being very tasty. I have to give Cuba credit for having extremely good service in every single restaurant. It’s the kind of place where there are at least 3 servers per table and you can just think about what you want and someone will bring it to you. 

After dinner we walk over to a little ice cream store for dessert. Laura has been contemplating ice cream since we arrived in Trinidad. This is her coconut drink. 

After dinner we decide to make the most of our last night in Trinidad. Laura is still sick, but we resolve to make a lap around the main square to see if anything is happening. In this moment, I truly love my very sick friend.

We spot a rooftop bar with live music. We climb up two flights of steps and a small ladder to get to the roof and then we have practically walk through the band to get to a table. Once we are seated, we settle on a round of canchancharas. The band is awesome and does a great job of playing just loud enough. We lounge around Paladar El Criollo for the rest of the evening. The music is good, the breeze is cool and there’s just the right amount of rum in my cocktail. 

Around 11pm we call it a night and head back to our house. On the way back Andrew sprains his ankle and I immediately feel great empathy due to my great-sprain in 2016 in New York. He hobbles back to the house like a champ and we are all asleep way before midnight.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Cuba. I like it here but I am also getting tired of rice and humidity. 

The communist hospital hotel

Wednesday, December 6th 2017

Trinidad, Cuba

It’s 9am EDT and I am waking up for our first full day in Trinidad. By 9:25 we are all gathered in the courtyard for our 9:30am breakfast. At 9:26 Darnel materializes from our kitchen with a plate of fruit and toast. Wait a minute, how did he get in there?

The entire breakfast spread includes scrambled eggs, cheese, meat, toast, fruit and a plate of breakfast sandwiches. To top things off, Darnel brings us a large thermos filled with piping hot coffee. This breakfast is amazing!

As soon as Darnel leaves, Laura announces that she may be getting sick. I feel bad for her, today is the most active day of entire trip. She says that she still wants to hike and I am happy that she is going to power through. After breakfast we take a few minutes to pack up for our day hike. 

By 10am our driver, Johnny, is waiting outside in his green and white classic Ford from 1957. He even has a small Cuban flag attached to the hood! Johnny is tall with a head full of hair gel. His t-shirt is way too tight and I feel like he could drive us right into to set of Grease. I really like this guy. 

Johnny will be showing us around Topes de Collantes today, which is a nature reserve, located about 30 minutes outside of Trinidad. Andrew takes the front seat and Laura and I hop into the biggest backseat I have ever seen in my life. Everything about today is awesome. 

The drive out of town is nice. The car is incredibly loud, so no one has to stress about making small talk in Spanish. Once we get to the nature reserve we start driving uphill. The engine is whining as the car slows to a crawl. At one point, we pull over next to a small group of guys with buckets on the side of the road. They quickly surround the car and add water to the engine. They are all very friendly with Johnny and I find the camaraderie charming. 

Eventually we make it to a lookout point. We have to walk up a few flights of steps and on way up we pass by a vendor selling bananas (I take note this is the 3rd Cuban we have encountered who is selling stuff on stairs). At the top, the view is very impressive. We can see the ocean and everything in between is a dark shade of green. 

Once we rejoin Johnny, he drives us the rest of the way to the trailhead for a short hike down to Salto del Caburni. The entire hike is 3 miles, roundtrip, and Johnny will be waiting for us when we’re done. We start out walking down a paved road, which passes by some very brightly colored houses and the remains of 2 story concrete building. There is also an abandoned hospital that has been converted into a hotel. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about that building feels very communist. We also pass several vendors who are selling bandanas and water. 

When we finally hit the trail, it starts out flat and easy. As we progress the air becomes increasingly humid and is filled with bugs. The path is mostly downhill, but we are still drenched in sweat. Laura is starting to cough more and blow her nose. This can not be comfortable. 

Eventually, we make it to the bottom of the hill and are rewarded with a beautiful waterfall and a little river running past it. We take a quick break and some European tourists take pictures of us. I am not looking forward to hiking back up that hill, but it has to be done. We make pretty good time coming back up. It’s incredibly hot and we are covered in a thick past of sunscreen, bug spray and sweat. We all keep our heads down and focus on getting out of this rain forest. 

I am relieved when we finally break out of the woods and back onto the sun drenched concrete road. Laura thinks this is the worst part, but I silently disagree. After we get to the top and before we hit line of sight with Johnny, we take a break under a tree. We are trying to dry off before getting back in the car. It doesn’t work, and, eventually, we apologetically climb back into the car. 

The drive back is nice as the cool breeze blows through the car windows. On the way back into town we have to stop at a checkpoint; everything goes smoothly. When we arrive at the house, we unanimously decide it’s time for a siesta and agree to meet up at 4pm for some of our refrigerator-beer and an early dinner. 

At 4pm I am finally cooled down and wander into the kitchen for my beverage. I sit in the courtyard and read for a few minutes before Andrew joins me. Eventually Laura drags herself outside as well. I notice a random staircase going up the back of our courtyard and decide to go explore. The staircase goes onto our roof, which has a clothesline and furniture. It also connects to our neighbor's roof on the left and the house behind us. I make note of this for later, when the sun is gone. 

Around 5pm we are getting hungry and opt for dinner at Taberna La Bojita. The dining room is set up like an old beer hall and the menu has all sorts of creative tapas. Even though multiple fans are blowing directly on us, we are already beginning to sweat to again. We order a round of cold beer and then start exploring the menu. We end up with an eclectic mix of shrimp skewers, pizza, olives, cheese and french fries. The food is delicious and we eat every bite. 

After dinner we look for somewhere cool to sit and listen to music. We try to find somewhere new, but end up back at La Casa de La Cerveza. We grab a table in the corner and a round of El Presidentes. There is an old dog sleeping in the middle of the dance floor. 

As the sun sets, the atmosphere becomes more lively and we become more energetic. Around 9pm we decide to head back to our rooftop and enjoy a night cap. The cool night air is extra breezy and we get a nice view of the neighborhood. We have a couple of rounds of rum and drunkenly talk about communism and until we are no longer making any sense. I am having fun and we are probably staying up later than we should. Around midnight we are all stumbling off to bed. Tomorrow is our beach day and I have been looking forward to it since we arrived!

Would you like a guide in English?

Tuesday, December 5th 2017

Habana, Cuba and Trinidad, Cuba

It’s 6:30am EDT and I am waking up after my first good night of sleep in Cuba. It’s early, but I barely notice since I went to sleep at 9pm. I quickly get ready for the day and finish packing up for our trip to Trinidad. At 7am, I meet up with Laura and Andrew for attempt #2 at accessing Cuba’s wifi. We walk a block over to the closest hot spot and easily access the Internet. It only takes a few minutes to pull up our check in instructions for our next Airbnb. It tells us to call a local number upon arrival. Ugh; this is annoying. We speculate that our driver will have a cell.

We make a quick pass by several cafes, but none of them are open yet. When we get back to the Airbnb, Manny is waiting with a small pot of coffee. I could hug him right now. 

By 7:25am our driver, Hickli is waiting for us outside. He is driving a maroon Volga and his shirt is at least two sizes too small. Andrew offers to sit in the front seat again and Laura and I take him up on it. The backseat of this car is unbelievably comfortable. Hickli is polite to us, but he is all business. Once we hit the road, his cell phone is ringing every 5 minutes. He answers each call with a curt “dime” (which translates to “tell me”) and is talking a mile a minute. The entire drive is going to be 4 hours. Within 10 minutes my shoes are off and my iPad is out.

About two and half hours into our drive Hickli pulls over in a dirt parking lot and tells us to get out and take our bags. I was unprepared for this stop and am frantically trying to get my shoes back on. We think that we are switching cars, but it’s not clear. Once we are out of the car Hickli introduces us to his brother, who is named Yusmani. We are switching cars (whew). Hickli explains why several times, but we don’t understand. We quickly pile into Yusmani’s Volkswagen to continue our journey. Yusmani is a lot nicer than his brother, but his car is definitely smaller. 

After another 2 hours on the road, we arrive in Trinidad. Andrew gives Yusmani the address of our Airbnb but he can not seem to find it. We drive around the narrow cobblestone roads of Trinidad while Yusmani talks to all of the pedestrians. Finally, we find the house. When he pulls over, Laura asks if he can call our host for us. Yusmani dials the phone number and then hands the phone to Laura. She manages to explain that we have arrived and our host promises to come right over.

Just as Yusmani is finished unloading our bags, we are greeted by Darnel, our next host. Darnel quickly shows us into our house for the next 3 nights. We have the entire place to ourselves and it’s totally awesome. There are 2 bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, a large living room, a kitchen, which is stocked with beer and Coke, and a small outdoor courtyard. We set up breakfast service with Darnel and also ask if he can help us find a driver to go to Topes de Collantes tomorrow. He says that he’ll have someone over by 10am. I am slowly getting used to booking activities in the absence of Yelp reviews.

Once Darnel leaves, we only take a few minutes to settle in. It’s nearly 12:30 and we are ready for lunch. The main square is a few blocks from our house and we walk in that direction. It is definitely hot in Trinidad. We pass a plethora of restaurants, but they all look the same. Eventually we settle on a place called Shango. We enter through large stone arches into a dining room with 20 foot walls on all sides and no roof. The restaurant is mostly empty and we all huddle together in a sliver of shade. Our server turns on several fans and points them all at our table. 

I order coffee and a sandwich and our food takes nearly 30 minutes to arrive. It’s okay though, we are just happy to be out of the car. After a long lunch we wander over to Plaza Mayor, which is the main square. Each side of the square has some version of a museum. After a quick lap, we unanimously vote for a visit to the museum of architecture. The entrance fee is one CUC each and the woman at the front desk asks us if we would like a guide in English. We all shrug yes and she says that she’ll be right back. After a few minutes she emerges from the back room with another women that will our “guide in English”. Oh well, maybe we’ll learn something! 

Our guide walks us through several rooms. The museum is laid out like an old house. She points out different kinds of windows, keys and door knockers. Inside is mostly marble and the temperature is substantially cooler than outside. Next we are shown to the courtyard, which is located behind the house. Our guide points out that the main kitchen was traditionally located outside and also shows us a replica of a very old shower that looks like a steampunk art project. The entire tour is over in about 30 minutes. We provide a small tip for our “guide in English” as she retreats to the back room. 

Next we stop in a few stores surrounding the square. I note the best place to buy bottled water and we all vow to return for souvenirs in the next two days. 

Next we go to Covento de San Francisco de Asis, which houses a small tower that boasts the best view of Trinidad. When we arrive, we learn this is also a museum of natural history. We pay our entry fee of 3 CUCs each and then we pay 2 extra CUCs so that we can take pictures. We immediately find the stairs to the tower. They are incredibly narrow and there is not enough room to pass by anyone traveling in the opposite direction. Luckily the stairwell is empty as we slowly climb to the top. After a few flights of steps we find a small gift shop in a room off to the side. We continue our climb only to find a smaller, presumably more exclusive, gift shop a few more flights up. Eventually we get to the last set of steps, which is actually a ladder. Once we’re at the top we are greeted with an amazing view and nice breeze. We take turns taking pictures of each other and looking over Trinidad and into the valley surrounding it. Eventually we head back down the treacherous steps. We take a few minutes to look around the museum of natural history. The captions are only in Spanish and, honestly, it’s not super interesting. 

Now that we have officially toured the city center, we decide it’s okay to find somewhere to sit and order some cold beer. We start out at La Casa de Musica, which is a small group of bars and restaurants situated on a large hill, which has been terraced into 5 different levels. We go to the top terrace and try to order Bucaneros, but they have ran out. We have to settle for Cristal and I am grumpy about it. 

After one round of drinks we decide to move on to La Casa de la Cerveza, which is a large, outdoor beer garden, surrounded by collapsed walls from a previous structure. They do not have Bucanero either, so we end up ordering El Presidentes. The bar is just crowded enough to be lively and the tall walls, which surround the garden provide nice shade. We end up hanging out for a few rounds. As the sun starts to set, we head back to our house to change for dinner. 

For dinner, we opt for a place called Paladar Sol Y Son. Our pre-trip research showed this is the best restaurant in Trinidad. We are worried that we may not get in, but decide to try anyways. When we arrive, we are seated immediately. Most of the dining room is situated in a cobblestone courtyard that is sprinkled with old statues and fountains. The ambiance is very nice. I start out with a sangria and end up ordering some version of pork and rice. The food is good, but the ambiance is really making the meal for me. 

After dinner we walk back over to the main square. We are not sure where to go, so we order a round of beer from a street vendor and sit on the lowest terrace at Casa de la Musica. A few teenagers are running around, but, otherwise, there is not much going on. 

Around 10:30pm we are pretty tired and head back to our house for the night. Tomorrow we have plans to hike and I am already scared of the humidity. Oh well, off to bed!