During my time in Cuba, I grew increasingly obsessed with those colorful, old, refurbished American cars that would go galumphing down narrow urban streets. I mean, who wouldn't? I'm not even a car lover, but these clunky vehicles give Havana its character and speaks volumes ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Cuba
Cool Lust-Collazo photo exhibition in Havana
During my time in Cuba, I grew increasingly obsessed with those colorful, old, refurbished American cars that would go galumphing down narrow urban streets. I mean, who wouldn't? I'm not even a car lover, but these clunky vehicles give Havana its character and speaks volumes ...Gadling TAKE FIVE: April 25-- May 1
During a week of swine flu travel news, and May Day, there have been other tidbits of interest. Here at Gadling, Catherine Bodry is back to blog some more. In her first post after her year hiatus she shares her #1 item she won't leave home without when she travels.
Along ...Travel guidebooks: Choosing the one that's just right
My Cuba travel companions and I accomplished the ultimate travel guidebook experiment during the first week of our travels. We each decided to bring a different Cuba guide with us to test which guidebook reigned supreme (kind of like the Iron Chef: Cuba). I was never a good ...Gadling Take FIVE: Week of April 18-- April 24
When I read through Gadling posts each week, there's this potpourri of options. Jon Bowermaster has traded Antarctica for the Maldives, Tynan has been roughing it on a cruise ship and Mike has the scoop on the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. This week let's hone in on places ...Cuba Libre: Travel observations and tips
Cuba is one of the most distinct places in the world. I can say this with complete certainty having traveled to nearly 50 countries on this globe and never encountered anything like it. During the brief two weeks I was there, I was able to enjoy the hospitality of a most ...Talking Travel (and Cuba) with award-winning travel journalist Christopher P. Baker
Christopher Baker is the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year and has visited Cuba more than 30 times. He's personally met with Fidel Castro, as well as leading members of the Cuban government and is personally acquainted with key figures within Cuba as well as ...Cuba Libre: Baracoa
Cuba Libre: Santiago de Cuba
Since it is almost on the other side of the island from Cuba's most popular destination, Havana, few tourists make the long journey to Santiago de Cuba. The few who do, however, are treated to a unique cultural experience, as Santiago de Cuba has a strong Afro-Cuban history ...Photo of the Day (4.18.09)
My Cuba Libre posts will be ending in a few days, but until they do, I feel it's only appropriate to continue with my Cuba-themed posts! Our photo of the day comes to us from JKEvgen, who snapped this gem five years ago in Havana. This photo really captures how timeless ...Cuba Libre: Trinidad
From Havana to Trinidad The 8 hour bus ride to Trinidad was pretty uneventful, as the road is pretty flat and straight. We passed a lot of farm land and occasionally parts of the southern coast. There were just two notable sites along the way: Playa Giron (a.k.a. the Bay ...Cuba Libre: Havana - Part 2
Having spent only two days in Havana and entirely in the old part of the city and only having two more days before hitting the road to Trinidad to meet up with the boys, I still had a lot of ground to cover. The beach Havana is full of great seaside and beach. If the ...Gadling Take FIVE: Week of April 11--April 17
How wonderful to be in the middle of April when the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining. By now, you've noticed Gadling has a brand new look. Kudos to the design team! We're pleased as punch. With wider photos, Karen can show off her photography expertise all that much ...Cuba Libre: Being sick and discovering "Cash Cab" in Cuba
[Though this might look like the U.S. Capitol, it is actually Havana's Capitolio. The strange resemblance makes even stranger sense when you get to the "Cash Cab" comparison at the end of this post.] Peter and Frank planned to leave for Trinidad on Monday, leaving Lora and ...Cuba Libre: Havana - Part One
The old part of Havana (Habana Vieja, they call it) reminded me a great deal of Cartagena with its fairly well-preserved colonial and often brightly colored buildings. In just our first two days in Havana, however, I was most astounded by the Cuban people. Lora's guidebook ...Cuba Libre: High-end hotels and money in Havana
So the Melia Habana Resort. We were not aware such luxurious resorts were available for just $50 a night! Had I not come with Lora there would be no chance to stay in such a place. Regardless, we pretty much decided to stay in Havana for the entire week. We arrived at 1 ...Cuba Libre: First impressions of Cuba
I am usually so unprepared when it comes to my travels, and this trip was no different. I assumed Varadero was a municipality of Habana. Instead, it's a city in a whole other region of Cuba and a 2 hour drive from the city of Habana. Luckily, our package through the travel ...Cuba Libre: Preparing for a trip to Cuba
The biggest step when planning any trip is buying the ticket there. When it came to Cuba, the purchase was intensified by all of the concerns I mentioned in my post yesterday. The timing couldn't have been better, though, as Lora is currently living and working in Toronto, ...Travel guide to Cuba
Cuba is a timeless place in more ways than one. Time has basically stood still for fifty years, and there is little anyone can do about it except Castro - and I'm not talking about Fidel, I'm talking about his brother Raúl. Since Fidel took the reigns fifty years ...Cuba Libre: The U.S.-Cuba trade embargo
It was five years ago exactly that Cuba became for me a possible travel destination. My colleague Lora suggested we spend our spring break there and I thought it was a pretty novel idea. I had been to Vietnam the year before during spring break, and learned far more by ...Cuba Libre: Is travel to Cuba easing for some or all Americans?
[This slogan, the first one I spotted in central Havana, reads, "Revolution is: not to lie -- ever -- or violate ethical principles." Is there room for compromise between the U.S. and Cuba? Only time will tell.] On the heels of my own journey to Cuba, news has hit the fan ...
