#SHE LANDED IN CUBA!

Man oh man where do I begin!

I’d be lying if I said I was not worried about making it to Cuba.  I prepared myself for the worse, possibly being told, I was not eligible to visit and receive a visa, however, that was not the case.  The sense of relief fell over me, roughly 50%.  I still had to make it through the visit!

“Spanglish” is not a language for Cuba, which I thought would be possible for me, if I decided to go solo.  Thank God for my friend Guildia being there.  We quickly learned that we could not speak broken Spanish to the people of Cuba.  I was also told by my friend from high school, Milly (who has family in Cuba), that “Spanglish” will not work in Cuba.  She was 100% correct.  I later learned, even if it did, it came at a price.

Our ride from the airport was very interesting.  We obtained an eager driver whose brother seemed to be the boss of all the drivers of this particular “taxi company”, and assigned us to him.

As we merged onto the highway, we instantly noticed the vintage cars, that still work considering how old they are! Funny enough, all I kept repeating was “do you know how much these cars would go for in the USA?!” 

Trying to snap pictures of the vintage cars whizzing by became a task within itself but it was nice to see first hand. We had smiles on our faces, that slowly disappeared.

Our taxi driver's car began to do a little jolting and slowing down.  This car was breaking down, in 80+ degree weather, on the side of the highway, where cars and huge extra long buses kept whizzing on by.  He gets out, does a few tinkering things to the engine,

and we are on our way, only for it to break down again within 5 minutes.  All we could do is laugh at the fact that Farah, put into the universe before we got in the car, “watch this car break down on the way”.

It did, 3 times!  Thanks Farah!  Excited is not the word to explain how happy we were to have made it to our Airbnb.

I opted for an Airbnb this time, because cost wise, it was the most effective, for such a short stay.  The 4 hotels that Americans are allowed to stay in, are very overpriced as well as, they are not necessarily "supporting the Cuban people".  You support the Cuban people more, in the private sector, by staying in an Airbnb.

Our Airbnb was within a building that on the outside, looked a little run down as well as, the design seemed a little confusing.

The staircase and hallway were tight and narrow. The elevator said it could fit 5 people, but with the 3 of us, it really can only fit 3 people.  This building was petite.

  We arrived to the 7th floor and our apartment was nice!

The view from the windows were awesome as well as the breeze that came straight in from the ocean 3 blocks over.

No need for us to use air conditioning.  It is a comfy and quaint 2 bedroom apartment, with beds that left plenty of room for us to sleep comfortably.  I am very big on cleanliness and this apartment, delivered that perfectly! Praise!

Just a note:  WiFi is not free in Cuba.  Everyone has to pay so although most Airbnb’s may say wifi is included, it is sorta, but at an extra fee.  Depending on where you are, pricing ranges from 1 to 2CUC per hour.  There is also the option to buy wifi cards outside which seemed to be linked to specific connections and are available for use in designated areas, near the bigger hotels or restaurants, who have the bandwidth to to support the phones and computers being used, for those who cannot afford the hook up within their homes.  Once we finally sat down in our apartment, we waited for the WiFi to be set up for about 30 minutes.  Once connected, we immediately notified who we could, that we made it safely and were stepping out to seek food, before we disconnect.

Our host gave us many tips and information before he left.  One of them was that we should not let anyone lead us to a restaurant for food because it is a hustle.  Basically, these people say they know a great spot to eat, escort you there, and then shake hands with the owners.  We were informed that the cost is passed onto the customer in the pricing of the food.  This restaurant we ended up at, had great ambiance, and even some people online said the food was great, but, I have to sternly, disagree.

La Familia is a restaurant that is hosted atop a casa particular in Old Havana.  The food was overly priced and had no flavor at all!  We salted and oiled our food like crazy.  I had pictures of the food but deleted them. The only selling point of the restaurant was that they include a Mojito with your meal. 

The Mojito was the best part of the meal.  We ate it because we were starving and just no time to continue the search.  We also learned that at these particular restaurants, they suddenly do not have majority of what is listed on the menu.  The menu may have a list of 30 different options, but you are left to select the basic 4! UGH! We saw our escort return, with another group of people and high five the manager. I wanted to trip him down those steps for this terrible meal!  They had a little performance going on which they should’ve just kept that hidden as well.  Our waitress was a little rude.  A huge thumbs down.

We take our time walking back to the apartment and take in more night time sights of Old Havana. It was lit up just beautifully!  Lost those pictures, deleting by accident. UGH!  But it is definitely a site to see, IN PERSON!

Once back at the apartment, because I did not sleep the night before, I turned myself into bed because I just couldn’t go anymore. I’m getting old and I cherish my sleep! It's 10pm 😂!

If your interested in visiting any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com

An independent travel agent for TropicalTravel.net - We don't only book to the Caribbean
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#SHE VISITED A SCHOOL & PARTIED...WITH THE MAASAI - FINAL DAY

Zanzibar Friday 9am, 2am NYC
Skuli ya Kairo GIVE School

My friends pitched the idea of visiting a local school.  With me, to be honest, I didn't get it at first.  I do feel that when you visit, particularly a school anywhere, there is intent, such as bringing supplies with you, having some type of cash to donate (which you have to watch for, due to corrupt individuals who may work at the school and not apply the monetary donation to the needs of the school, but to their pockets) as well as, what can YOU apply that will help further this school.  I do feel that my exposure and experiences with having had traveled enough, and being surrounded by friends from different countries, you pay attention to details that are told you, however, it is something that I do suggest for most, to SEE for themselves and not just go based on word of mouth.

I was nervous about visiting the school, I have to admit, as looking at our surroundings and where we were located, there were parts that could use some assistance in bettering their lives, according to my understanding of "bettering" a persons life, or societies thoughts, per se.  However, there were some folks who were content and happy with the way they lived so, who are we to come from outside, and assume they need more or anything at all?

I have been to places where I have visited schools, and the staff have blatantly asked for money for them, and not towards what could be improved at the location where children spend most of their day.  Yes, I have to say, most teachers around the world, are underpaid.  But those who have a passion for seeing young minds grow, not only come out of their own pockets for supplies, but boast about how they make due with what they have, and how they can improve their students lives, with just a little more help with additional items.

We visited the Kairo GIVE school.  This school was solely built off of donations and volunteer work from the GIVE organization.  They take 6 months of their time to spend in the village, continuing to build the school, with in between breaks taking place locally within Zanzibar.  It's almost like a volunteer vacation LOL.  I liked the concept, especially since the funding for the project, actually went to the school and not the governments pockets.  We later also learned that prior to this school being built, the students would have have to walk to the nearest school, which happened to be 3-4 miles away, on their primary school feet.  No buses, car ride, or even money for a taxi.

We later found out, after this school was solely built off of donations, the government is now in control of the school, so it is technically a public school.  
We met with a few staff, which included the Head Mistress, a couple teachers and of course, the cutest faces ever!

We chatted with the staff, which I managed to record, gaining further insight into their lives and the lives of their students, and the benefits that have been presented to the students in the region.

Zanzibar 12pm, 5 pm NYC
Private Pool time

We returned to the resort and decided to just take the final day to just sit and relax.  Thanks to my bff, she was shown where there was another pool on the property that was sort of a private pool.  Not as much activity by it like the main pool.  It's hot, quite, and perfect for a photoshoot or a book to read, with music playing.

As time rolls by, a few other people come to the pool and we suddenly look up to notice, we have a bottle of wine being delivered to us.  No, we didn't request it :-).  Just a nice gesture, and right on time because, I was running out of my own Barcardi to sip on.

(I do not own the rights to this music, playing in the background)

Zanzibar 8:30pm, 1pm NYC
Surprise Private Dinner on the beach
We proceeded to our usual spot for dinner, late, because we knew we had more time to eat, so we took our casual time to come to dinner.  Once we arrived, we were escorted to sit somewhere else.  Well well well!  I did mention to the girls that I wanted to have a final dinner on the beach if possible, before we left, only for this special dinner to have been offered to us as a nice gesture! BOY OH BOY was is it a shock and and just a final "wish" I wanted fulfilled. :-)

 Our dinner consisted of a 4 course meal, with menus specially printed for each of us.

 

What's funny is earlier in the day, when we moved to the chairs that faced the beach, we watched the staff put the set up together and just kept looking at it in awe.  Just real flowers, leaves, vines, and kept saying "whoever is eating there tonight is lucky".  It turned out to be us LOL.


Maasai Compound
Once our big dinner was finished, we went freshened up little, and proceeded to head out for our final night with our friends, to a nearby club, called Waikiki.  They made a scene at the door, like it was super packed at this outdoor spot only for it to be, the total opposite.  A very nice beachfront, outdoor club, it was filled with many European tourists and...the Maasai!  The girls even noticed one that they made friends with earlier in the day.  When he realized they recognized him, he was shocked, because, he was not in his traditional garb.

Sam

As the time went on and the festivities at Wakiki was beginning to wind down, we could hear better music coming from a location a very short walk away.  I said "let's go there, the music is way better".

Upon approach, we realize we were on a compound, where everyone looked alike.  It was a Maasai compound, with a fully stocked bar, dance floor, disco lights, live DJ, and plenty Maasai tribesmen with a few stragglers who had also just left Waikiki.  I was wondering why we didn't come here to begin with!  We had a shot of, I have no clue what, I believe some type of local cognac, took in the sights, and danced a little, when we were not being surrounded closely by the Masaai LOL.  Fun and awkward at the same time.  It's part of there way of interacting.


It was an awesome close to our 7 day adventure.  Hugs were embraced that night and with a little sadness after making new friends who live so far away, we have gladly been welcomed back with open arms!  A different kind of welcome.

If your interested in visiting Africa or any other parts of the world, and want to get booked (payment plan options available), along with further information, e-mail me at ChristinaCtravels@gmail.com

An independent travel agent for TropicalTravel.net - We don't only book to the Caribbean
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