Fork Included
TD Admin
Part 2!
This entire trip was under my supervision, my friend, who has traveled very little in his lifetime, pretty much gave me full trust in administrating this experience. I felt like a parent giving him “spending” money, singing papers, and planning how we spend our time. It is to be understood though that I am on vacation too, and certain things are allowed to slip up.
Tuesday night (after the catamaran) was booze filled, to say the least. I learned a new drinking game called “Flip Cup”, which goes as follows.
You get a rectangular table with preferably straight edges, and 2 teams line up on either side, each person with a cup of beer in their hands. The more the better, however as the night goes on organizing a large group of drunken buffalo can get rather troublesome. The two people at the edge of the table cheers each other, slam the cups on the table, and then chug, followed by putting the cup at the edge of the table right side up, and then flipping it with a finger so that it lands back on the table upside down without toppling over. If you succeed, the person next on your team repeats the ritual. The team that finishes this simple yet frustrating endeavor wins; only there are no losers, as the team that didn’t finish in time has to down their remaining drinks anyway, so really everyone gets happy drunk with lots of AHHH’s and YEEAHH’s along the way.
The bartenders had to administer our dose of beer in plastic cups, one by one, at a very slow rate. Finally they gave up, and just gave us a case of beer, something that technically they were strictly prohibited from doing. I am not aware if any bribing was involved, I would not be surprised, but the end results is that our table at one point had more beer cans on it that I could count. Here is a photo from very early on in the night.
That night btw was when my friend discovered the “RUM COFFEE” drink, after deciding that his coffee needed a little more kick in the pants, he asked the bartender to give it a splash of rum. For better or for worse, the bartenders there do not understand proportions, and so, a new drink was born.
The end results is that we got to bed very late and very drunk, and had our alarms set to 7:00 AM, so that we had enough time to get ready, have breakfast, and make our 8:30 bus pick up to Havana!
I forced my friend to hit the showers first, I don’t know what it is but it takes him longer than a girl to get ready, for anything. After he got dressed I sent him to have breakfast, because food consumption is another activity which he likes to take his time with, bordering on annoyance.
The phone rings just as I come out of the shower. Let me tell you that unexpected calls to your room while on vacation never lead to anything pleasant. “Hi, are you scheduled for the Havana Tour trip? The bus is here.”. I look at my watch and its 7:55, I erroneously convinced myself that the tour was at 8:30 when it fact, as it turns out, it was 8:00.
I ran like a bullet to the buffet, grabbed my buddy and told him to go pack his junk and to be quick about it. I grabbed a single slice of tomato that was on his plate, and a croissant on the way out, that ladies and gentlemen, was my breakfast.
I ran to the lobby and found our gracious tour guide. Thankfully we were not the only ones crawling out of bed, it seems tardiness is expected in Cuba, something that would generally agitate me.
10 minutes later we were on the bus and ready to rock.
On the way to Havana we drove through Matanzas (I have an unexplained urge to compare it to the Bronx), and made a pit stop at some random fruit stand.
Transportation, or lack of it, is a very big social problem in Cuba. More work would be done quicker if people could get to where they need to go in an organized and timely fashion. I get pissed of when I come to work 5 minutes late because I caught a red wave, these people would spend hours just waiting for something to pick them up.
When I saw this truck, something inside of me exploded in a happy feeling of awe, respect, and a distant link to LEGO. On another forum where I posted this image, it was mentioned that perhaps this is a much better alternative to “busses”, simply have trucks that carry around passenger carts, but that is a tale for the engineers.
This was taken out of my window, pressed up against the glass to minimize flare. The downside of taking guided tours is that you cant stop to look around when you want to. Perhaps next time, when I’ll visit Cuba on my own terms.
This was taken somewhere between Motanzas and Havana along the northern coast. We stopped for a quick washroom break, I snatched up some quick carbs in the form of a 40 cent chocolate bar and a 4 dollar can of Red Bull, half of which I ended up spilling because I am a dumb ass like that.
The rock formation proved to be both beautiful and dangerous, if this was ANYWHERE in the states, I can put down a stack of monopoly money that there would be at least some sort of railing, and maybe even an overweight lady watching over incase some idiot decided that today is the day. My friend thought it was some sort of volcanic formation, my father (being a geologist) explained to me that it is simply the case where the strong waves and wind wash away the more fragile and lose particles, leaving behind a cavern like surface.
We saw a huge wave crash against the side, so we spent the next 5 minutes hoping to catch it again, it didn’t come, and the bus was calling.
HAVANA! (or the tourist side of it)
Since I am not behind the wheel (ohh how I wish I was), we must follow the other robots around a predetermined path of tourism awe and glamour. I am bit more advanced for this sort of thing, and was slightly disappointed. I have been to my share of tourist traps in other parts of the world and it gets boring after while.
We were taken to “the capital”, kind of like a White House knock off, only I didn’t see a single politician or FBI agents, and most certainly I was allowed to photograph stuff.
I ventured into the middle of the road and comfortably took this picture amidst the traffic, one thing I like about Cuba is that if you are in some ones way they will go around you, simple I know!
Havana, I have been told, has 2 million people. I was born and raised in a city of 10 million, so I can appreciate a crowd, and Havana has it (again, at least the tourist section)
I don’t know what this is, Cuba is not a place where I would expect to see a street beggar, but here he is, in all his beggar glory, making a beat with a salt shaker.
This shot, courtesy of my friend, kind of captured the feeling of “The Capital”, which he snapped off before we hopped back on the bus, a tourist trap in all its glory.
http://mischivo.zenfolio.com/p36206475/ead369c6
Up next, revolution square!
What a joke, really. Granted my bench mark is Moscow’s Red Square, but still, come on guys, could have built something a bit more interesting.
Photography was difficult, almost nothing “hidden” to photograph, almost every single angle either provided you with a postcard snap, or just a bad photo.
Here is an example of said “bad photo”
And here are the postcard snaps
I had to pay a Peso to run up to that spiral monument to the Gods, only my photo attempts were ruined by flare and a lack of inspiration.
My personal detour held up the bus group, soon as I got on the bus we were on our way, little rascal I am yes yes.
We were taken to yet another tourist trap, the cigar factory, where apperantly you can get some decent cigars. We were given a tour of it, or I should say we were packed into the storefront, and “recommended” to purchase a few of their “competitively priced” wares.
I don’t smoke cigars, and I didn’t feel like bringing any back for all my friends that don’t smoke. So we used the time to shoot the surrounding area.
I had more but they ended up overexposed
http://mischivo.zenfolio.com/p36206475/e7cbccfb
Back on the bus we go, lunch time.
We were driven to a part of Havana where successful people lived back when those with money were allowed to shower themselves with luxury.
The food was horrible, however, much like on the catamaran, I got a double dose of meat thanks to my vegetarian friend
I have no photos of this experience, just couldn’t find an interesting angle.
and off to the “Old Havana”
Here we were given a choice, of following the tour guide or “get lost”, we opted to get lost and were told to un-lose ourselves at the Cathedral in an hour and a half.
We picked a direction and went with it. My overall experience of old Havana was pleasant but not ecstatic.
I was offered cigars 14 times, “coca” 8 times, and weed 7 times. Guess the white pale skin and camera gear really gave me away, not to self, do not attempt to become an undercover investigator.
Some idiot was brazen enough to ask me for my hat, explaining to me with profound conviction that “you do not wear these kinds of hats in your country”, referring to my adorable straw hat which has been with me for two Cuba trips now and all of my camping adventures.
Fool.
The tourist industry really is annoying at times. I am not one to go with the flow, their tactics are lost on me, and quite frankly annoy me. I am not one of those simple minded father of 3 with a “I love USA” t-shirt buying cheap coral bracelets and necklaces for his family, with the customary wooden Cuban license plate or fish on a plaque.
My friend however did break down and buy a fresh coconut, while I broke down and bought an ice cream.
Other than that, we took the long way to the cathedral, saw many interesting things, and left with a general impression that this is a good place to visit if not rushed.
Havana is a city that needs a dedicated guide and 3-4 days to really see the whole city.
This was an interesting scene, there was a fellow Cuban on the ground talking to mr.moustache. I took my sweet time changing my lens and they were not bothered at all.
No I did not tip, but i did give them a hearty thumb’s up.
Sleeping in the Shade
Every city has it!
Some snaps
We made our way to the Cathedral as agreed, met with the tourguide and were told that now we “get free time” in the marketplace (which we just explored)
So basically we found a nice place to sit and killed time, at this point we were rather exhausted and running out of inspiration.
Just before leaving I got a chance to walk the water front, and took this:
The drive back was non stop, and dozed off, but I wasn’t tired, just glad that I finally got to see Havana, and made a promise to come back one day for a week to spend just there.
Stay tuned for the final part 3!
This entire trip was under my supervision, my friend, who has traveled very little in his lifetime, pretty much gave me full trust in administrating this experience. I felt like a parent giving him “spending” money, singing papers, and planning how we spend our time. It is to be understood though that I am on vacation too, and certain things are allowed to slip up.
Tuesday night (after the catamaran) was booze filled, to say the least. I learned a new drinking game called “Flip Cup”, which goes as follows.
You get a rectangular table with preferably straight edges, and 2 teams line up on either side, each person with a cup of beer in their hands. The more the better, however as the night goes on organizing a large group of drunken buffalo can get rather troublesome. The two people at the edge of the table cheers each other, slam the cups on the table, and then chug, followed by putting the cup at the edge of the table right side up, and then flipping it with a finger so that it lands back on the table upside down without toppling over. If you succeed, the person next on your team repeats the ritual. The team that finishes this simple yet frustrating endeavor wins; only there are no losers, as the team that didn’t finish in time has to down their remaining drinks anyway, so really everyone gets happy drunk with lots of AHHH’s and YEEAHH’s along the way.
The bartenders had to administer our dose of beer in plastic cups, one by one, at a very slow rate. Finally they gave up, and just gave us a case of beer, something that technically they were strictly prohibited from doing. I am not aware if any bribing was involved, I would not be surprised, but the end results is that our table at one point had more beer cans on it that I could count. Here is a photo from very early on in the night.
That night btw was when my friend discovered the “RUM COFFEE” drink, after deciding that his coffee needed a little more kick in the pants, he asked the bartender to give it a splash of rum. For better or for worse, the bartenders there do not understand proportions, and so, a new drink was born.
The end results is that we got to bed very late and very drunk, and had our alarms set to 7:00 AM, so that we had enough time to get ready, have breakfast, and make our 8:30 bus pick up to Havana!
I forced my friend to hit the showers first, I don’t know what it is but it takes him longer than a girl to get ready, for anything. After he got dressed I sent him to have breakfast, because food consumption is another activity which he likes to take his time with, bordering on annoyance.
The phone rings just as I come out of the shower. Let me tell you that unexpected calls to your room while on vacation never lead to anything pleasant. “Hi, are you scheduled for the Havana Tour trip? The bus is here.”. I look at my watch and its 7:55, I erroneously convinced myself that the tour was at 8:30 when it fact, as it turns out, it was 8:00.
I ran like a bullet to the buffet, grabbed my buddy and told him to go pack his junk and to be quick about it. I grabbed a single slice of tomato that was on his plate, and a croissant on the way out, that ladies and gentlemen, was my breakfast.
I ran to the lobby and found our gracious tour guide. Thankfully we were not the only ones crawling out of bed, it seems tardiness is expected in Cuba, something that would generally agitate me.
10 minutes later we were on the bus and ready to rock.
On the way to Havana we drove through Matanzas (I have an unexplained urge to compare it to the Bronx), and made a pit stop at some random fruit stand.
Transportation, or lack of it, is a very big social problem in Cuba. More work would be done quicker if people could get to where they need to go in an organized and timely fashion. I get pissed of when I come to work 5 minutes late because I caught a red wave, these people would spend hours just waiting for something to pick them up.
When I saw this truck, something inside of me exploded in a happy feeling of awe, respect, and a distant link to LEGO. On another forum where I posted this image, it was mentioned that perhaps this is a much better alternative to “busses”, simply have trucks that carry around passenger carts, but that is a tale for the engineers.
This was taken out of my window, pressed up against the glass to minimize flare. The downside of taking guided tours is that you cant stop to look around when you want to. Perhaps next time, when I’ll visit Cuba on my own terms.
This was taken somewhere between Motanzas and Havana along the northern coast. We stopped for a quick washroom break, I snatched up some quick carbs in the form of a 40 cent chocolate bar and a 4 dollar can of Red Bull, half of which I ended up spilling because I am a dumb ass like that.
The rock formation proved to be both beautiful and dangerous, if this was ANYWHERE in the states, I can put down a stack of monopoly money that there would be at least some sort of railing, and maybe even an overweight lady watching over incase some idiot decided that today is the day. My friend thought it was some sort of volcanic formation, my father (being a geologist) explained to me that it is simply the case where the strong waves and wind wash away the more fragile and lose particles, leaving behind a cavern like surface.
We saw a huge wave crash against the side, so we spent the next 5 minutes hoping to catch it again, it didn’t come, and the bus was calling.
HAVANA! (or the tourist side of it)
Since I am not behind the wheel (ohh how I wish I was), we must follow the other robots around a predetermined path of tourism awe and glamour. I am bit more advanced for this sort of thing, and was slightly disappointed. I have been to my share of tourist traps in other parts of the world and it gets boring after while.
We were taken to “the capital”, kind of like a White House knock off, only I didn’t see a single politician or FBI agents, and most certainly I was allowed to photograph stuff.
I ventured into the middle of the road and comfortably took this picture amidst the traffic, one thing I like about Cuba is that if you are in some ones way they will go around you, simple I know!
Havana, I have been told, has 2 million people. I was born and raised in a city of 10 million, so I can appreciate a crowd, and Havana has it (again, at least the tourist section)
I don’t know what this is, Cuba is not a place where I would expect to see a street beggar, but here he is, in all his beggar glory, making a beat with a salt shaker.
This shot, courtesy of my friend, kind of captured the feeling of “The Capital”, which he snapped off before we hopped back on the bus, a tourist trap in all its glory.
http://mischivo.zenfolio.com/p36206475/ead369c6
Up next, revolution square!
What a joke, really. Granted my bench mark is Moscow’s Red Square, but still, come on guys, could have built something a bit more interesting.
Photography was difficult, almost nothing “hidden” to photograph, almost every single angle either provided you with a postcard snap, or just a bad photo.
Here is an example of said “bad photo”
And here are the postcard snaps
I had to pay a Peso to run up to that spiral monument to the Gods, only my photo attempts were ruined by flare and a lack of inspiration.
My personal detour held up the bus group, soon as I got on the bus we were on our way, little rascal I am yes yes.
We were taken to yet another tourist trap, the cigar factory, where apperantly you can get some decent cigars. We were given a tour of it, or I should say we were packed into the storefront, and “recommended” to purchase a few of their “competitively priced” wares.
I don’t smoke cigars, and I didn’t feel like bringing any back for all my friends that don’t smoke. So we used the time to shoot the surrounding area.
I had more but they ended up overexposed
http://mischivo.zenfolio.com/p36206475/e7cbccfb
Back on the bus we go, lunch time.
We were driven to a part of Havana where successful people lived back when those with money were allowed to shower themselves with luxury.
The food was horrible, however, much like on the catamaran, I got a double dose of meat thanks to my vegetarian friend
I have no photos of this experience, just couldn’t find an interesting angle.
and off to the “Old Havana”
Here we were given a choice, of following the tour guide or “get lost”, we opted to get lost and were told to un-lose ourselves at the Cathedral in an hour and a half.
We picked a direction and went with it. My overall experience of old Havana was pleasant but not ecstatic.
I was offered cigars 14 times, “coca” 8 times, and weed 7 times. Guess the white pale skin and camera gear really gave me away, not to self, do not attempt to become an undercover investigator.
Some idiot was brazen enough to ask me for my hat, explaining to me with profound conviction that “you do not wear these kinds of hats in your country”, referring to my adorable straw hat which has been with me for two Cuba trips now and all of my camping adventures.
Fool.
The tourist industry really is annoying at times. I am not one to go with the flow, their tactics are lost on me, and quite frankly annoy me. I am not one of those simple minded father of 3 with a “I love USA” t-shirt buying cheap coral bracelets and necklaces for his family, with the customary wooden Cuban license plate or fish on a plaque.
My friend however did break down and buy a fresh coconut, while I broke down and bought an ice cream.
Other than that, we took the long way to the cathedral, saw many interesting things, and left with a general impression that this is a good place to visit if not rushed.
Havana is a city that needs a dedicated guide and 3-4 days to really see the whole city.
This was an interesting scene, there was a fellow Cuban on the ground talking to mr.moustache. I took my sweet time changing my lens and they were not bothered at all.
No I did not tip, but i did give them a hearty thumb’s up.
Sleeping in the Shade
Every city has it!
Some snaps
We made our way to the Cathedral as agreed, met with the tourguide and were told that now we “get free time” in the marketplace (which we just explored)
So basically we found a nice place to sit and killed time, at this point we were rather exhausted and running out of inspiration.
Just before leaving I got a chance to walk the water front, and took this:
The drive back was non stop, and dozed off, but I wasn’t tired, just glad that I finally got to see Havana, and made a promise to come back one day for a week to spend just there.
Stay tuned for the final part 3!
