Trinidad, Cuba (March 20-21, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

Gooooood Morning said the church bells loud and clear at 6:30 yesterday. It was not a gentle reminder to get up, it was a persistent 50-gong alarm clock. No issue for most of us because we were getting ready for breakfast anyway.

Barb and I volunteered to deliver breakfast leftovers to early birds in the town square. We napkin-wrapped four meat and cheese sandwiches and two donuts and found a two-man garbage collection team only too happy to take it all off our hands. We have wasted no time implementing Pebbles’ suggestion of passing along leftovers. It’s satisfying to give the food to people living so close to the edge. So far the recipients have seemed pleased, surprised, and grateful.

Yesterday morning was spent driving to Trinidad. Being the dry season (winter) the countryside on this side of the island is brown. Our ride was on a road about a lane and a half wide with no center line or shoulders. A dirt and grass strip along both sides the road offered room for horse-drawn vehicles of various kinds. We passed fields, produce stands, grazing pastures, and a lot of small communities with dirt roads.

We arrived in Trinidad in time for a 1:00 o’clock lunch in a private room at a lovely restaurant. Having already enjoyed chicken, pulled beef, pork, and fish, everyone at my table decided to have pizza. It did not disappoint. Each lunch and dinner has been a three course meal, so our pizza was preceded by a rum-based drink, in this case a mojito, an appetizer, and bread. The pizza was served as the main course. THEN dessert. Each pizza eater got a whole pie, so we boxed up the leftovers to pass along. In this case our local guide, Vladimir, took all the pizza to a friend.

After checking into our hotel, Hotel La Calesa, we were turned loose to enjoy the afternoon on our own. For our little group, that meant checking out a few of the handicraft shops and walking to one of the historic squares in town. Dan was charmed by a vender selling two-dolls-in-one. One doll is the obvious one. If you flip her upside down a new doll wearing a different outfit appears. When I said in my best Spanish that this doll was for my son’s daughter, she was so pleased and told me about her children and grandchildren. I caught about ten percent of what she was saying but enjoyed her enthusiasm for the subject.

Today we explored Trinidad, Cuba’s best-preserved colonial city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A guided walking tour gave us an opportunity to view the Old Cathedral and other landmarks with a stop along the way at a rationing store, or bodega, to see the process of buying certain local staples. A ration card is provided to every Cuban family and guarantees they get their fair share of these items at a reduced price. Customers can also buy Cuban-produced food products, staples like rice and oil, at the going rate at bodegas. A pound of rice was seven CUP. (125 CUP or 340 CUP = $1.00) The bodega currently offers nine items that can only be purchased with a ration card and 13 non-rationed items.

We toured Palacio Cantero, the city’s history museum, which is actually a restored neoclassical mansion which overlooks a beautiful plaza. After hearing about the previous owner’s dodgy reputation and eventual return to Spain, we toured the rooms which are furnished in period pieces, many of which were imported from France, England, and Spain. A knowledgeable guide talked us through the mansion’s rooms explaining the purpose of each as well as where each item came from. It is a testament to how comfortably the ultra-wealthy lived in Cuba’s prime.

Next to the last stop: the Yudit Vidal Faife Art Gallery. It is situated in Yudit’s modest three-story home. She was charming, welcoming, and enthusiastic about her art and the work she does in the community. Her most unusual paintings are done on unvarnished canvas after she has integrated beautiful needlework into the design. Embroidery, cross stitch, and crochet add an unexpected twist to the paintings.

Our last stop of the day was at a ceramic studio where we observed a pottery demonstration and shopped in their large showroom. We bought a windchime.

Hotel
A 12-room boutique hotel ideally located near one of the squares. Its accent color was bright green.

… OK, OK, Here’s the Rest of the Story …

In April 1961, the United States orchestrated an invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion, carried out by Cuban exiles trained and supported by the CIA, aimed to overthrow Castro’s government.
It was a humiliating defeat for the United States and further heightened tensions between the two countries all the while solidifying Cuba’s commitment to socialism and its alliance with the Soviet Union.

Things got worse in 1962 when the U.S. discovered that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil that were capable of striking targets across the U.S. The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for 13 tense days ending with the removal of the missiles on the part of Russia and a pledge from the United States not to invade the island and to remove U.S. missiles in Turkey.

Over the course of the following 40 years the Soviet Union, Cuba’s primary ally, collapsed; the U.S. established permanent trade embargos against Cuba (but allowed food and medicine);
and Russia’s last military base closed.

In 2008 Fidel Castro announced his retirement, his brother Raul took over as president,
and Cuba reestablished ties with Russia.

 Miguel Diaz-Canel has been president since October 2019.

Camaguey, Cuba (March 19, 2025)

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Out of the meat, cheese, and bread left on my plate at breakfast I made a sandwich and wrapped it in a napkin. Out the door I went looking for the first hungry person I saw. It took all of a second to catch the eye of an elderly man. I approached with my sandwich which he gratefully accepted. He offered me a coin with Che’s image on it in exchange and then showed me his large, impressive Che tattoo. After I wished him a nice day and turned to leave, he asked if I had any soap or shampoo. I asked him to wait while I ran upstairs for some we had saved from other hotels. Anyway, up I trudged two flights of irregular stairs to get the toiletries and back down only to be asked for medicine for his earache and, well, maybe some small money. When I said I had no medicine and no money on me he suggested I run back upstairs. The man at the hotel door was keeping an eye on me and came over to disentangle me from my new friend’s requests. It was actually a fun interaction and a nice start to a great day.

Today was customs and culture day in one of Cuba’s initial seven communities, founded by Spanish colonists in the early 1500s. No surprise: its UNESCO-listed meandering pastel-colored alleyways ooze history but also offer a glance into modern life. We enjoyed five fun experiences.

1. The Unbak Ballet welcomed us to sit in on a warmup session. Their campus is large and impressive in spite of needing some attention in the (expensive) upkeep department. Ballet shoes and costumes are made on site, and we visited the workrooms where they improvise with what is available, not what is standard in the world of dance.

2. One of my two favorite activities of the day was a huge buffet lunch and tour of Rancho Zaragozano, an 84-acre dairy farm that also has 22 sheep, two horses, a hawk, ducks, cats, peacocks, and a dog or two. The family of six (architect dad, cardiologist mom, dentist son, veterinarian son, pregnant girlfriend of veterinarian son, and sister of the dad) share a home built by relatives in the 1930s. We feasted on pork cooked on the spit, toured the house and grounds, and heard about life on a modern-day dairy farm. Modern day in Cuba means milking by hand at 4:00 AM, taking the milk to the collection spot by horse-drawn cart, using two 1930s windmills, and bringing in extra income to cover the costs of running a farm.

3. Martha Jiménez, a renowned Camaguey artist, is known for painting and sculpting women. Not wispy women who would be welcome on a fashion-forward runway, but fun, sturdy gals who have found their voices. We visited her studio, enjoyed seeing her work, and chose a picture of a chubby threesome to take home.

4. A visit to Larios Gallery gave us my other favorite activity of the day: a peppy musical performance by students of Jose White Conservatory. Two cellos, two bases, and eight violins were played skillfully by a group of musicians who looked like they ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s. They had us spellbound with the first note.

5. A very common form of transportation is the cycle rickshaw. Some are pedal power and others are electric. After piling into them two by two we toured the highlights of Old Camaguey and enjoyed the charming atmosphere created by the impressive squares and twisting, turning streets.

Weather
84/59

... Seriously ? …

The symbol of the city is a clay pot or tinajón. Seriously.
They are everywhere, some as small as a hand, some large enough for two people to stand in.
Most are decorative, but others serve the practical purpose of collecting rainwater and keeping it fresh.

Camagüey, known for its intricate street layout, was reputedly designed this way
to confuse and deter pirates and invaders.

Cuba is shaped like an alligator swimming east.

… Famous Cubans …

Gloria Estefan, Jose Canseco, Desi Arnaz, Marco Rubio, The Office’s Oscar Nunez,
Eva Mendes, Andy Garcia, and Pitbull (a rapper George, a rapper) are Cuban.

Jeff Bezos, Ted Cruz, and Cameron Diez have Cuban fathers.

Santa Clara, Cuba (March 18, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

We were up, fed, and on the bus at 7:00 this morning anticipating a day on the road. We pulled away from the hotel just as the city was coming to life.

It was interesting to see the countryside. The divided highway was not busy at all (fuel shortages) even if you count the horse-drawn carts, scooters, bicycles, and buses. The roads were in great shape and the countryside green.

We stopped in the geographic center of Cuba to explore Santa Clara, a city known for its revolutionary history and connections with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentinian by birth and a physician, author, guerilla leader, diplomat, political activist, and military theorist by trade. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Guevara came to Cuba, rose to second-in-command during the Cuban Revolution, and played a pivotal role in the two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the corrupt U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista regime in favor of the Soviet-aligned socialist state of Fidel Castro.

After the Cuban Revolution ended in 1958, Guevara played key roles in the new government before moving on to do good works in Central America and Eastern Europe. After his remains and those of 16 other freedom fighters were discovered in a mass grave in Bolivia, he was buried here in October 1997 with full military honors. We heard his story, visited his gorgeous memorial and imposing statue, and enjoyed the small museum built to honor his life and legacy.

After lunch, we were off to Abuelitos de Fiesta, a vibrant social club for seniors in Santa Clara. Three women and three men demonstrated a couple of dances; explained how, back in the day, young women accompanied by chaperones used to use fans to communicate with prospective or current love interests; and then asked us to join them in a dance.

We passed the time on the bus napping; watching videos about sugarcane, the American mob influence in Cuba, and Castro; and listening to commentary centered around questions we asked our Cuban guide, Vladimir. We arrived at our destination, Camaguey, around 7:00 and went straight to dinner before checking into our charming hotel, a former monastery named Hotel San Juan de Dios. Thank goodness our luggage was delivered, because our room is on the third floor.

… Historical Overview …

Indigenous South Americans arrived in Cuba around the year 1000
and developed a culture and economy based on the cultivation of maize, tobacco, yucca, and cotton.

Christopher Columbus is the first European to lay eyes on Cuba.
He explored the northern coast and claimed the island for Spain in 1492.

Slaves were imported from Africa in 1526 to work the tobacco fields.
Eventually sugar became an important crop that made brutal demands on the enslaved.

Slavery was abolished in Cuba in 1886.

The United States supported Cuba’s war of independence (Spanish-American War) after Spain was blamed for an explosion aboard the USS Maine anchored in Havana Harbor.
At war’s end, control of Cuba passed from Spain
to the United States, not to Cuba, (say what?) in January 1899.

Cuba’s newly drafted constitution was approved in June 1901.
It contained provisions imposed by the U.S.
Among other things the provisions stated that Cuba would lease naval stations to the U.S.,
and if necessary, permit the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs of state
in order to preserve Cuban independence and/or assist its government
if it seemed inadequate to protect life and property.

Three and a half years after the end of the Spanish-American War,
with its new constitution in place, Cuba elected its first president.
One semi-corrupt president after another put his unique stamp on the country until January 1959.

In spite of numerous ups and downs, not to mention the debilitating global depression of the 1920s, the presidential years offered Cuba long periods of prosperity, calm, and national unity
thanks to the global demand for sugar; a blossoming tourist industry embraced predominately by Americans; expat communities, predominately American; casinos; baseball training camps; warm winters; no prohibition laws; fishing; beaches; nightlife; and relative lack of racial tension.

The last president stepped down/fled in January 1959 when Fidel Castro took over.

The early days of Castro’s administration were marked by triumphal visits
to neighboring countries including the United Staes which immediately recognized
the legitimacy of the 33-years old’s new government.

This love fest was short lived, however, once Cuba entered into a trade pact
with the Soviet Union in February 1960.
Things continued to deteriorate and in January 1961
President Eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with Havana.

Between 1959 and 1993 an estimated 1.2 million Cubans fled to the United States.
Most settled in Miami, Florida.

In 1960 Cuba allied itself with the Soviet Union, instituted communism,
and nationalized all businesses, including U.S. businesses.

Havana, Cuba (March 16-17, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

We were up and at ‘em yesterday excited to see what’s what in Cuba’s capital, home of the frozen daiquiri and the mojito. Cheers to this next adventure.

At breakfast yesterday we all chatted about our mere whisper of air conditioning overnight and cold showers in the morning. How unaccustomed we all are to blackouts. But hurray for the hotel’s generator that made electricity in our rooms possible. By midafternoon yesterday power was back on and we had cool rooms and hot showers! Power went in and out as we explored the city both days.

Havana was moved to its third and current location in late 1519 because of its natural harbor. Once riches were located in Mexico’s Yucatan, Havana served as a springboard for Spain’s conquest of the Americas and later became a stopping point for Spanish galleons returning home laden with gold. (Think pirates.) It quickly became the largest port in the Spanish West Indies. (Add more pirates!) For centuries it served as a strategic port for trade and commerce and remains the country’s main port and commercial center. Havana is the most populous city and the largest by area in Cuba as well as the second largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean. Its official population is just shy of two million.

We spent the last two days exploring this 500-year-old city. We almost had the wide boulevards to ourselves because of the current fuel shortage. We passed loads of magnificent mansions, some in great shape and many others well past their glory days just begging to be saved. There are huge, manicured roundabouts. No matter the section of town, everything was clean and tidy even if in dire need of attention. Because of fuel shortages garbage was stacked up in some parts of the city waiting to be picked up but in the meantime being blown around by ocean breezes. Sandy made the apt comment that in many ways it comes across as a city on life support.

We started exploring in the area known as Jaimanitas with a visit to the studio and residence of Cuban artist José Rodriguez Fuster. Once his naive art took off and he had made a name for himself, he decided to create something like Gaudi’s public works in Barcelona and Brâncuși’s across Romania. He chose his own neighborhood as his canvas. In 1975, after moving into a modest wood house, Fuster set about decorating his studio in colorful mosaic. Once complete, he slowly got permission to move on to neighborhood homes and businesses. Over the course of a decade, doctors’ offices, bus stops, fountains, benches, gateways, and more were enveloped in whimsical mosaic artwork. This economically depressed area, known as Fusterlandia, slowly morphed into the artists’ paradise and tourist destination it is today.

Another fun neighborhood is La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its original urban layout is still intact and boasts some 900 historic buildings in an interesting mix of architectural styles surrounding four central plazas. Think wrought-iron gates, internal courtyards, cobblestone plazas, and balconies. Thankfully building ordinances in the 19th and 20th centuries have preserved the integrity of this architectural hub.

Revolution Square celebrates Cuba’s persistent quest to be an independent country. A star-shaped 785 feet tower plus a statue of Jose Marti, an enormously influential Cuban writer, are the centerpieces. Fidel Castro gave many of his hours-long addresses here. Government buildings surround the plaza.

Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest fort in the Americas, was completed in 1577. Spain’s King Phillip granted Havana the official title of capital in 1607 necessitating the construction of city walls (no longer in existence) and more forts to protect the city.

An important symbol of Havana, El Capitol/the capital is gorgeous with its shiny gold dome. The building bears a marked resemblance to the U.S. capitol building.

Although none of us are currently cigar smokers, it was fun to visit a cigar factory and see the men and women rolling cigars and checking their quality. Cigars deemed less than ideal (three to five percent) are bundled up, set aside, and doled out (free) to the employees (up to five a day). We learned that the indigenous Taíno people were the first to cultivate tobacco, using it for ceremonial purposes and as a form of medicine. Christopher Columbus brought some back to Europe where it quickly gained popularity among the aristocracy. Slowly the cultivation of high-quality tobacco began to flourish, thanks to Cuba’s ideal climate and fertile soil. Add the craftsmanship of meticulously hand-rolling each cigar and centuries later (think 18th century) Cuba had established itself as the home of one of the most revered cigar industries in the world. Cuban cigars became and still are a symbol of luxury and indulgence. (Americans are not allowed to take any home.)

Cuba currently makes 27 brands of cigars in its state-owned factories. The factory we visited has been in existence since 1845 and currently has 300 workers producing 12,000 cigars a day. Each cigar roller has a quota based on the length and girth of the cigar they are assigned to make. Once workers reach their quota for the day, they are free to leave or to stay and make extra money by rolling more.

Ernest Hemingway was in and out of Cuba for 12 years before he and his third wife bought a home here, Finca Vigia. Besides a sizable one-story house, there’s a guest house, tower, and a pool set on a beautiful piece of property just outside of town. The Hemingways used it as a retreat to escape Idaho winters, to fish on his well-used boat, and to work. While here, Hemingway wrote Islands in the Stream, A Moveable Feast, and The Old Man and the Sea. The arrival of the Cold War meant that Hemingway was forced to decide between the United States and Cuba. He left in 1960, a year into Castro’s dictatorship. (He returned to Idaho and committed suicide in July 1961.) Today, his home-turned-museum is open to the public and made for an interesting stop. We enjoyed the furnished rooms by looking in open windows. Those who wanted photographs of the rooms had to pay an employee to taken them.

You would have wanted to be a fly on the wall when we turned our attention from sites to dabbling in a bit of culture. A visit to Club 500 offered us the chance to dance to Cuban rhythms. Oh boy! Those instructors had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Luckily our visit to the Havana Compas Dance Company after lunch was all performance, no participation. With an abundance of enthusiasm and smiling faces the dancers and musicians shared Afro-Cuban, flamenco, and other Spanish dances.

Cuba is famous for its collection of restored, still-in-use, American cars, the kind some of our group learned to drive in our youth. It is estimated that there are still 80,000 pre-1961 American cars on the road in Cuba. It was fun to meet the owner of a small shop that was started by his grandfather in 1952. The shop owner has a 1956 Plymouth and a 1958 Dodge in pristine condition that we were welcome to admire, get inside, take pictures of, and look under the hood. We were surprised to learn two things in particular: less than five percent of Cubans own cars and no American cars or car parts have been allowed in the country since President Kennedy’s embargo in 1960. That begs the question of how the cars are still on the road after decades of no spare parts. A shoutout to the mechanics who have come up with ingenious solutions to this conundrum.

Food
We have had delicious, multi-course meals at noon and night. Often we can’t eat it all. Our fabulous Gate1 logistics coordinator, Pebbles, shared a great idea: ask for a to-go box and give the food to the first person you see upon leaving the restaurant, often children. We all decided to embrace this from here on out.

Temperature
86/76 yesterday and 77/68 today with a brisk ocean breeze

The Official Exchange Rate
$1.00 = 125 CUP (Cuban peso)

The Unofficial Exchange Rate
$1.00 = 340 CUP

Obviously, those with foreign currency have a leg up.

Isla de Cuba (March 15-24, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

Americans traveling to Cuba have had to pay close attention to travel bans since 1963 when Cuba’s loyalties shifted from the United States to Russia. The U.S. government has lifted, reinstated, tightened, and expanded them numerous times. Currently Americans can travel to Cuba, solo or as part of a group, as long as their travel falls into one of twelve U.S.A.-specified categories. We are traveling with a Gate1 Discovery group under the People-to-People category. There is no category called tourism.

At 5:00 o’clock this morning Walter, Cleone, Dan, and I were in a super long line to check in at the Miami airport. Interestingly American Airlines has a dedicated Cuba-only check-in area and signage directing passengers to it. After an hour in line with fellow passengers laden with carts full of luggage and large shrink-wrapped bundles (food and medicine we were told) we showed our visas and passports and headed to a shockingly short security screening line. Breakfast in the American Express lounge and then it was time to board our one-hour flight to Cuba. After a smooth, uneventful landing our fellow passengers clapped. Happy to be home? Happy to see Grandma? Excited for some home cooking? Regardless, it was a first for me. The usual followed: slow immigration lines and luggage retrieval. A bit unusual was having our carry-ons electronically screened before exiting the airport. Perhaps that’s their version of customs. Another first for me.

A blackout was announced earlier today, so we knew before we took off that electricity would be an issue. But no water in the airport bathrooms took us by surprise. I was not too concerned when the toilet did not flush, but after soaping up my hands all I could coax out of the faucet was, literally, drops of water. I stood in front of the drips long enough to dilute the soap and called it good enough.

Upon exiting we were met by a Gate1 rep who organized a cab for us and off we went into town. Of note were three things: lots of old cars on the road per promotional materials, intersections with traffic police in place of lights because of the nationwide blackout, and a man going car-to-car selling small cones of peanuts.

After checking in to our new oceanfront, government-run hotel, Grand Aston La Habana, we strolled an entire block along the water and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Tablazo. That was followed by a cold, refreshing swim in the longest hotel pool I’ve ever seen and then downtime until our meet-and-greet dinner and orientation.

In preparation for the trip Barb and I have been reading, and highly recommend, Cuba: An American History. We, along with the others, are looking forward to seeing where all this history has taken place.

… A Few Fun Facts about this Island Nation …

The Cuban sandwich was created in the United States, not in Cuba.

Palmar de Junco Stadium was home to its first game in 1874,
making it the oldest baseball stadium in continuous use in the world.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean.

Cuba lies 95 miles off the coast of Key West.

Established in 1903, Guantanamo Bay is the longest-standing U.S. naval base in the world.

During the height of Cuba’s sugar production, The Hershey Company bought sugar plantations
and built a sugar mill, peanut oil plants, and a railway to supply its chocolate enterprises in Pennsylvania. Eventually the company controlled 60,000 acres!

Cuba comprises approximately 4,000 islands, islets, and cays

Dominos is the official game of Cuba.

Cuba is home to the world’s smallest (less than half an inch) frog and
the world’s smallest bird (two and a quarter inch long / weighing less than a dime)!

Miami, Florida (March 12-14, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

A layover in Miami seemed like a sensible idea since our connecting flight to Cuba is from here. Plus, a short stay marries up well with a Cuba adventure because Florida is home to the largest communities of Cuban Americans in the U.S. with the Miami community far larger than all the rest.

Our cab ride to the hotel was a total hoot. The driver (and his wife, for that matter) hails originally from the Dominican Republic and made his way here via New York City. He told us he’s semi-retired and loves travel and dancing. How can one marry up those two interests? Take cruises! Easy peasy. Europe is their favorite destination. We shared travel tips and recommendations all the way to the hotel. He sprinkled “Oh my gawd,” “Forget about it,” and “Are you kidding me?” throughout which made us laugh harder. His wife called and he said, “I better take this or she’ll kill me.” More chuckles.

Walter and Cleone, two of our travel buddies, met us in the lobby of our downtown hotel. We had a light dinner of fabulous beef empanadas and wings in the very unassuming hotel bar and enjoyed the cheerful energy of our fun waiter Franky who talked us into sharing a chocolate fondant dessert. He delighted in telling us we were the very first customers to enjoy this treat.

We spent two relaxing days exploring. Highlights include having a fabulous dinner with our cruise broker of many years, Annie, and her husband, Alex, both of Cuban descent; enjoying a city tour from the top deck of a hop on hop off bus; learning just enough about the free center city tram to get from place to place; cruising around the private islands in the bay at sunset; enjoying Wynwood’s street art; and relaxing before our next big adventure. A visit to the History Museum was enhanced by the knowledgeable guides leading school groups around. Among other things we picked up the gem that the development of the area was based on four Gs: gold, glory, God, and the Gulf Stream. Not exactly a highlight, but we did share sidewalk space with a delivery robot about the size of a picnic cooler.

Trivia buffs will surely appreciate these few random facts. Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in 1513 and promptly claimed the area for Spain and named it Florida. Few cities have been founded by women, so it was fun to learn that Cleveland, Ohio’s own Julia Tuttle founded Miami in the late 1800s. Port Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world with over 5 million passengers annually. Sand was dredged from the ocean floor to create many of Florida’s man-made beaches, including Miami beach. I could go on but enough already.

Although our tour group is 14 strong, we have a little contingent of eight in our friend circle. Cyd flew in from Arkansas and Barb from North Carolina last night and Sandy and Alan came down from Virginia this afternoon. Our whole group will unite in Havava.

… Come Prepared …

Other than at hotels and some restaurants, toilet paper is not provided. We’re coming prepared.

Debit, credit, and ATM cards from U.S. banks do not work in Cuba.

No need to change money, the dollar is accepted everywhere and much preferred to Cuban pesos.

Wi-Fi is available at major hotels but might not be relivable. No other service is available to Americans.

Our boarding passes are proof of the mandatory health insurance.
It is included in the price of the airline ticket.

Time to head home (January 2-3, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

Up at 6:00.
Light grab-and-go breakfast at 6:30.
Left the ship at 7:00.

Since we had the morning to kill we decided to join a tour of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego which is seven miles west of Ushuaia. We went from the ship to the park in a bus filled with fellow cruisers also killing time. The weather was on par for the area with rain, fog, wind, and rain the first half of the tour and full sun the rest. On with the gloves, hats, and coats … off with the gloves, hats, and coats.

The park is a total contrast to the white landscape in South Georgia and Antarctica; it is a lush green with zillions of beech, lenga, and coihue trees, many coated in a fuzzy green moss that thrives in this climate. It looks a lot like Spanish moss but not nearly as long. There are trails, tourist yurts, wild horses, and camping sites. The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway is located within the park. We made two stops, one at the visitor’s center where we enjoyed a quick snack and one on the shore of the Beagle Channel where we were free to stroll along the water’s edge.

Arrived at the Ushuaia airport at 11:00.
Boarded our three-hour flight to Buenos Aires at noon.
Laid over in Buenos Aires for six hours, two of which were spent in immigration and waiting for the United counter to open. The other four were spent in the lounge where we enjoyed dinner.
Boarded our 10-hour flight to Houston at 10:00 PM. We skipped dinner but had breakfast before landing.
Arrived at 4:45 AM Houston time.
Immigration and then a second breakfast in the lounge.
Boarded our three-hour flight east at 7:30 AM. Enjoyed a third breakfast on board.
Landed at 11:30.
Got home just in time for lunch. Not! We were too full of breakfast to even consider lunch.

Talk about a trip of a lifetime! Everything from the expedition ship to the food, sights, crew, staff, sites, lectures, and activities exceeded our expectations. Dan’s favorite parts of the trip were the stop in the Falklands and the zodiac landings. I have three favorites. The first is the total silence and remoteness of South Georgia and Antarctica. With the exception of the penguin and seal rookeries, there is no noise. While on land or sea, everything moves silently including the huge whales. The second is seeing the animals and birds going about their business as if we were not there. And the third is the flat-as-a-pancake sea ice as well as the ice flows that looked like lace floating on water.

I’ll close with the captain’s farewell jokes.
How do you know Santa is good at karate?
Duh, he wears a black belt.

A man called in sick over the Christmas holiday.
His manager reprimanded him for missing work.
The man replied, “Actually I didn’t miss it at all.”

… Fun Facts …

Ushuaia is not on mainland Argentine, it’s on the island of Tierra del Fuego.
This island is split with half being owned and governed by Chile and the other half by Argentina.

Using Australia as a model, prisoners were sent to Ushuaia in 1902 as forced labor
to work in the timber and to build the city, the prison, and a railway into the forest.
The prison closed in 1947.

In 1994, 40 years after it had been closed as a prison train, the track and train were revived, modernized, and used as a heritage train running from Ushuaia to the Parque Nacional del Tierra del Fuego.
It’s casually referred to as the End of the World Train.

The 19,000 mile Pan-American Highway runs all the way from Prudhoe Bay near the Arctic Ocean
in Alaska all the way here! Well, almost all the way.
The Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia has no roads, so the intrepid traveler
has to find a workaround for that 99 mile stretch.
Anyone up for a road trip?

The Dreaded Drake Passage (December 31-January 1, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 2 Comments

Happy New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year! Two days rife with the potential for extreme seas and weather are ahead of us. Everyone on board was a little anxious to see what luck, or not, we would have.

The Drake Passage is famous for shipwrecks, more than an estimated 800 of them, actually, resulting in at least 20,000 deaths. Pre-Panama Canal (1914), trade ships had no choice but to sail around the tip of South America which meant taking their chances in the stormy seas and icy conditions while rounding Cape Horn through the Drake Passage. Today’s ships and technology have brought the risk way down which is not to say the crossing is risk free. Two years ago one passenger died and eight others were injured after a breaking wave hit our sister ship, Viking Polaris, shattering eight state room windows and causing major damage.

So what’s up with this area? The Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern oceans converge here creating a zone of climatic transition where cool, humid conditions clash with dry, frigid conditions. Add to that the lack of any landmass to create resistance. Pile on the possibility of high winds, strong currents, and rogue waves. If the cards are all stacked against ya, everything can combine to make for an exhilarating 48 hours.

Needless to say, we have been hoping for bathtub-calm seas and blinding sun. Just in case, we came fully prepared for rough water with ginger tea, ginger gum, ginger chews, and a stash of Dramamine and anti-nausea pills. The weather gods were smiling on us Big Time. Sun all day yesterday and calm seas!!!! Today, our last at sea, is overcast with light drizzle and calm seas.

Once it looked like we would not be nauseated nonstop, we leaned into these last two days. After we finally got out of bed each morning we had a few administrative details to attend to. Boots had to be turned in so they could be inspected and cleaned for the next cruisers. The waterproof pants were also on loan, so we gave them back too. (The rain over-jacket and puffy liner are ours to take home.) There were surveys to fill out, packing to do, and our final bill to be settled. The days were easily filled with a galley tour, lectures, documentaries, a New Year’s Eve show, tour of the bridge, an 8:00 AM stop in front of Cape Horn, a polar plunge (with ice brought from Antarctica) for those braver and heartier than I, a recap of the cruise, a hands on plankton demonstration, and three meals a day.

We arrived in Ushuaia at 5:30 this afternoon to a welcoming 68 degrees. Summer is definitely settling in down here. Although we were free to stroll around town we chose instead to have dinner with the two couples that joined us for my birthday dinner. We shared a complimentary bottle of champagne and toasted our wonderful trip before enjoying our last multi-course meal. Then back to our rooms to throw the last few things in our suitcases before putting them in the hall at 10:00.

We were not sure what to expect when we signed up to see our last continent, but it has definitely turned us into lay ambassadors for the health and welfare of this fragile eco system.

Hold on, here’s another one:
A penguin pops into a pub and strolls up to the bar.
Penguin: Have you seen my brother?
Bartender: What does he look like?

… That’s Not Fair …

The Drake Passage is named after an English seaman even though
a Flemish expedition traversed the passage first (1616).

… Cape Horn …

Cape Horn is a narrow piece of land located on the southeast side of Hornos Island
in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southern Chile.
It is famous for marking where the Atlantic meets the Pacific.
There is a lighthouse there and a monument to all those lost at sea in the area.
The only residents are those manning the small Chilean Naval station.

The South Shetlands and Antarctica (December 27-30, 2024)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

WE HAVE ARRIVED! Time to explore a tiny piece of our last continent, the polar dessert called Antarctica, and see what all the fuss is about.

This land of extremes, almost totally covered in ice, is divided into two pieces: East Antarctica, home to the South Pole, and West Antarctica. They are separated by the Transarctic Mountains with the East being in the Eastern Hemisphere and the West being in the Western Hemisphere. The East makes up about two-thirds of the continent and in general has a more punishing climate. We have spent our time in the northwest corner of the West exploring the Antarctic Peninsula where the climate is as favorable as it gets down here.

Our days were organized around getting all of us on the water or to shore. Lectures and documentaries to augment what we were seeing were offered in the evenings. I’m a bit more of a sucker for these kinds of things than Dan, so I attended as many as possible. Lectures were offered on the history of penguin research (early 1900s); whales and how to tell them apart; birds that scavenge for penguin chicks and eggs; and krill, the keystone species in these waters. The documentaries ranged from animals that have adapted to thrive in snow to sea life in Antarctica to the fragility of this continent’s eco system to the difficulties faced by the research stations down here.

The weather, no surprise, is quite moody and fickle, so depending on the wind, ice, and the choppiness of the water at each stop we got to either go ashore or take a zodiac ride along the coast. Sun, fog, wind, snow, calm seas, and rough seas changed constantly, so outings were postponed, cancelled, and resumed from hour to hour. Besides zodiac adventures Dan and I also had three opportunities to ride in one of two special operations boats which sit higher in the water and go farther from shore.

We made five stops in and around the Antarctica Peninsula: Fort Point, Yankee Harbor, Mikkelson Harbor, Wilhelmina Bay, and Recess Cove. Viking staff provided walking sticks when stability might be an issue. All landings were wet meaning we stepped off the zodiac into ankle-deep water. Thank you Viking for the use of waterproof boots!

The views were majestic, breathtaking, and otherworldly. Glacier after glacier meeting the ocean at water’s edge. Up close they look like walls of beautifully sculpted ice. Bald mountain tops and those smothered with snow and ice form the backdrop for everything. Sun on the snow and water sparkled and cloudy weather offered shadows and lots of contrast. There were icebergs galore, large and small; specialized sea birds scanning the water for a meal; porpoising penguins, so charming … and fast; birds scouting out rookeries looking for the opportunity to swoop down, scoop up an egg, and fly away. One morning I woke to see a lone penguin standing on an ice flow right below my window. I almost expected him to wave. Snowy white sheathbills, a migrating bird that flies down nonstop from up North, blended in beautifully with the snow given away only by their black beaks and feet. Spectacular.

Going ashore is our favorite. We had the chance to visit two Gentoo penguin rookeries and see up close their nests made of rocks. The little guys walked Charlie Chaplin style feet away from us and seemed unconcerned by our presence. Some were lying belly down on snow or patches of rock while others sat on this year’s egg(s) and others goofed off near the water’s edge.

One stop we trailed one another up a snowy path to the top where we had a view of a rookery and the surrounded-by-glaciers harbor. There is a small refuge building on the island, whale bones, and a water boat used by whalers once sunk but later washed ashore where it has sat in this dry cold for close to 100 years.

My birthday brought one surprise after the next. I was up early and enjoyed the solitude of the ship and views of playful penguins congregating on huge slabs of sea ice and then abandoning them only to pop back up out of the water again and again and again. It’s impossible to get too much of this kind of cute. The sea ice near shore was intact, so the captain decided to attempt to drive the ship into the ice so that we could walk directly off the ship and onto the ice. I had no idea that was a thing. He tried two times, but the ice was too soft resulting in too many cracks, so he went to plan B which was to take us to the sea ice by zodiac. The expedition team went first to tap down a trail (by using snow shoes) on the snow covered ice. Tiny snowflakes that dissolved once they hit our jackets were mixed with sun, fog, and overcast skies. The water was as still as glass with only a soft breeze. Ideal weather. Although we’ve seen a few blows letting us know whales are in the area we had yet to see any actual whales until this afternoon and at dinner when one swam right by the window. The dining room is at water level, so it was a thrill to look up and see the huge black back humping out of the water. Speaking of dinner, Dan arranged for a table for six and asked two couples we’ve met onboard to join us. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.

Today is our last before heading back to South America, and it was glorious! The treat was actually putting our feet on the continent of Antarctica. (Up to now the stops near here are part of the South Shetland Islands. Really.) The staff went ashore and hacked steps into the snow and ice and then made a trail for us to follow. Flags were placed along the trail for our picture taking pleasure. One indicated the year, one had the map of Antarctica, one had ‘Our 7th Continent’, and one said ‘I was Here.’ We took picture at all of them. Getting to shore on the zodiacs was like riding though a sculpture garden with iceberg after iceberg all uniquely shaped by wind, sun, and water. The sun came out after lunch and stayed with us until sunset, the longest it’s hung around. Dan’s and my last adventure of the trip was taking a special operations boat ride. What did we run into but humpback whales! For the most part they swam near the surface in pairs and looked like little black submarines coming up for air. They dove and gave us glimpses of their huge backs and gorgeous tails. The big thrill was when one swam right at the boat and surfaced within inches of my side of the boat.

Around dinner time we started our return to South America. The sail-away was the best so far with gorgeous views of icebergs, sea ice, mountains blanketed in white, and calm milky aqua water. Around 10:00 the captain came on to announce that we were going to do a 180 and pursue a small pod of orcas. We did just that and had fun watching five whales for half an hour. What better way to cap off these last four days.

Sunrise: 2:40. Partly sunny and breezy. Sunset: 11:30.

From the captain:
What should you expect to pay for a good sleigh?
Answer: Nothing, it’s on the house.

… Fun Facts …

The average thickness of the ice blanketing Antarctica is 1.2 miles!

The lowest temperature ever recorded on planet Earth is -128.6 F
and it was recorded in the frozen wilderness of East Antarctica.

West Antarctica is one of the most rapidly warming areas in the world.

Seventeen major expeditions were launched from 10 countries during what it called The Heroic Age of Antarctica Exploration which started at the end of the 19th century and ended in 1917.

There is no government in Antarctica.

Christmas at Sea (December 25-26, 2024)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Before 10:30 I had watched the launch of a weather balloon, decorated cookies, attended a presentation on three species of whales, and stood in awe in front of the world’s largest iceberg, A23a. It’s the size of Rhode Island and flat on top with edges beautifully sculpted by wind and water. We cruised by very slowly which made it seem like we were sailing along a cliff for about an hour and a half.

Viking spared no effort in laying on a festive day: Christmas music, a pre-lunch spread of treats, eggnog, and hot toddies; a tour of the hanger where the submarines, kayaks, zodiacs, and special operations boats are garaged; a tour of the science lab where data is collected and analyzed; a mini-presentation on kelp; and a fabulous dinner.

Australians had the opportunity to enjoy our company at dinner tonight. Dan had a traditional meal centered on turkey, and I opted for a starter of pate and Cornish hen in a puff pastry, salad, and seared shrimp and scallops on little pearl pasta. Yum!

The crew and staff as well as a small choir of our fellow passengers capped off the day with a show in the auditorium. It was very well received by a standing room only crowd. Amateur hour at its festive finest.

Today we woke to fog, wind, mist, and seas a little more aggressive than on previous days. With anticipated landings in the South Shetland Islands we all had to do bio-security on the outerwear we wore on South Georgia. Down we all traipsed with our boots, pants, coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. It’s not like we have a lot of other commitments, so everyone took it in good humor.

Activities outside the usual reading, relaxing, and eating included retrieving our passports and a lecture on the contribution of dogs to arctic science in the late 20th century. Icebergs seemed to pop up out of nowhere and are particularly beautiful against the aqua sea and the brooding sky. It took a half hour to get past one that surprised us at dinner.

Our big event this afternoon was to have been cruising around Elephant Island, one of the South Shetlands that lies about 150 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula, our ultimate destination. It is most famous as the port in a storm that Shackleton and his crew managed to float to on ice flows after their ship Endurance was crushed by pack ice in 1916. It is barren, icy, and inhospitable with no vegetation and a reputation for horrendous storms. Last night a huge ice flow forced the captain to reroute us, so we had to bypass Elephant Island. Sad face. Safety first as Matt would say.

Sunrise was at 2:34. Seas were choppy all day with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour with 9 to 10 foot swells. 36 degrees was our high. Sunset was at 9:40.

Our joke of the day from the captain:
What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Answer: Frostbite.

… Antarctica trivia …

The sun does not set during the summer and does not rise all winter.

Plants are found on one percent of the continent.

Seventy permanent research stations situated around the continent are run by 29 different countries.
The oldest existing station was established in 1903.
These facilities are manned by 4,000 people during the summer and about 1,000 during the winter.

Ken Blaiklock holds the record for spending the most cumulative time here, 14 years. 

Eleven people have been born on the continent, the first in January 1979. 

Hard to grasp but the southern-most active volcano in the world, Mount Erebus, is here
as well as lava lakes which have held liquid magma for eons. 

More than 200 different bodies of water have been discovered beneath the ice. 

An expedition in 1911 led by Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian, was the first to reach the South Pole.

The dusty expanse of dirt known as the Dry Valleys are the driest places on earth,
so dry that snow and ice cannot accumulate.  

Antarctica is, on average, the windiest place on earth with speeds up to 200 miles per hour. 
Fingers crossed we do not have the privilege of first hand experience.

Up to four miles thick, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is the single biggest mass of ice in the world.
The continent as a whole contains about 90 percent of the planet’s freshwater ice
and around 70 percent of the total fresh water on earth!

Fossils tell us that millions of years ago Antarctica resembled a tropical forest
with huge trees, and lots of diverse wildlife.