JAUNTICLES

Farmer tilling his field in Viñales Hello again, Blogonauts! Yearning for more prose and photos from Cuba? For today, let's turn our attention to the forests & farming. After we left Havana, we made our way to Las Terrazas , a village located in a forest restoration area & nature preserve. Trees planted here on the formerly denuded hills were placed on terraced hillsides, thus, Las Terrazas. The local population (about 1000 people) truly live in the boondocks. The nearest shops are at least an hour's drive away, and cars in Cuba are a luxury. Fortunately, they have a local clinic, and they grow much of their own food. Most of the residents work as farmers in the limited agricultural fields, as forestry workers, or in hotels & restaurants catering to tourists. Inevitably, we also found a couple of souvenir shops, all selling handicrafts. The view from Las Terrazas' local pub (for tourists) Have I mentioned the music? Along with the strong rum punch doled out here...

  Art in Callejón de Hamel. Note the use of painted bathtubs, used as benches in the exhibit.   Hello again, Blogonauts! (I'm halfway home, with a layover in Charlotte, but let's get started by looking over our shoulders to February 15, the beginning of the Amateur Traveler group tour of Cuba.) Our first day out began with a visit to the Callejón de Hamel, a center of Santería practice and art. Santería is an amalgam of African religions, Catholicism, and spiritism , an outgrowth of the importation of Africans to be slaves in the Caribbean. This ersatz urban renewal project was spawned by Salvador Gonzáles Escalona (1948-2021), an artist and practitioner of Santería. He was determined not to be inhibited by the lack of available materials. The alley where he lived is filled creations made from discarded materials, often covered in enamel paint intended for cars. (He seemed particularly fond of turning discarded bathtubs & sinks into benches.)   A Santería a...

  The farms in Viñales, Cuba Hello, again, Blogonauts! My apologies to you all! The time gap between my last post and this one was longer than I had planned. Once we were on the road, however, the internet proved to be almost as much of a foreigner in Cuba as I am. Not only is internet access rare, but electrical power also comes and goes, often lasting only a few hours each day. And with no electricity, there are no lights, no air conditioning, and of course, no Wi-Fi. But today, at least for now, Trinidad's electricity is still sparking, and I am speedily typing in hopes of  posting this entry before we are once again powerless. Photos, you will understand, are necessarily sparse for this Jaunticles entry. Let's just note that our tour is both fun and interesting. We're learning a lot about modern Cuba. And all of us in the group regale one another with travel tails from our treks across the planet. On Sunday, I'll return to the US, and my plan is to issue 4 or 5 Jaun...

Hello again, Blogonauts!  Even as you read my last post, I was already winging my way from Miami. The flight to Havana lasted barely more than an hour, and yet it feels like a world apart. The tour group secures rooms in privately owned/operated home-stays. My current domicile is in an apartment about 4 blocks east of the nation's glitzy capitol building. Cuba's Capitol Building The Parque de Cristo, across from my rooming house When I arrived salsa music from loudspeakers filled the air in the Parque de Cristo across the street. My goodness! It was Valentine's Day, so of course everyone feeling festive! The neighborhood is clearly vibrant, and ever since arriving, my curiosity took me wandering the narrow local streets and some broader boulevards. Street art near my temporary home An anti-alcohol display More bored Cubans?   Initial impressions suggest that many of the stereotypes about Cuba are at least partially accurate. Most of the building exteriors are ramshackle, la...