Jun 11th, 2013 at 3:30PM: John Yavuz Can/ Flickr
In North America, we occasionally hear stories of cruise ships spotting and assisting a raft-full of Cuban refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Australia has a similar situation with refugees from Indonesia. Now, the dead and missing numbers are not looking good for these asylum seekers, missing after their boat capsized near a territory of Australia in the Indian ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
cuba posts
Asylum Sailing To Australia Takes Deadly Turn
Jun 11th, 2013 at 3:30PM: John Yavuz Can/ Flickr
In North America, we occasionally hear stories of cruise ships spotting and assisting a raft-full of Cuban refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Australia has a similar situation with refugees from Indonesia. Now, the dead and missing numbers are not looking good for these asylum seekers, missing after their boat capsized near a territory of Australia in the Indian ...Travel To Cuba, Fame Not Required
Apr 29th, 2013 at 4:00PM: While travel to Cuba has come a long way recently, not everyone can visit as easily as Beyonce and Jay-Z who chose Havana as the place to celebrate their anniversary. Still, even for super stars, travel to Cuba is not like buying a ticket from New York to Chicago and there are a few hoops to jump through. But a new program by a trusted source might just be the answer for travelers who want to ...The US Allows You To Go To Cuba, If Your Name Is Beyonce Or Jay-Z
Apr 9th, 2013 at 4:30PM:
Cuba off limits? No way.
Forget travel restrictions... if you're Beyonce that is.
For their fifth wedding anniversary, Beyonce and Jay-Z picked Havana as the spot to celebrate their marital bliss, and were granted the right to go by the United States Treasury Department.
Although the Obama administration has eased restrictions on travel to Cuba, most Americans have to jump ...Cubans Set To Travel, Now Free To Come And Go
Jan 14th, 2013 at 3:00PM:
Starting today, travel for Cubans is a whole new ballgame, mainly because they no longer need an exit visa to leave the island nation. That might not sound like much to get excited about but for Cubans, that exit visa was seen as a major obstacle for those who wanted to travel in the past.
In the past, U.S./Cuban relations have made leaving Cuba difficult for its citizens. To get off the ...Photo Of The Day: Urban Decay In Cuba
Dec 27th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Oi from Rio de Janeiro, where I'm traveling and soaking up some serious holiday sun. Staying at a guest house in bohemian Santa Teresa, I got to talking to artists and curators from all over the world the other night about cities. We talked about cities going through urban renewal and creative renaissance, such as here in Rio, Berlin, Havana, and even Detroit. The meaning of the phrase "ruin ...Around Cuba's Bay Of Pigs In A 1929 Ford Model T Convertible
Dec 12th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Let's play a quick word association game. I say "Bay of Pigs," you tell me what comes to mind.
Fidel Castro? Communism? Failed CIA missions?
When I think of the Bay of Pigs, I think of crystal clear water stretching out as far as the eye can see. I think of black sand beaches and snorkel rentals. I think of a beautifully restored 1929 Ford Model T convertible, driven by a young man in a ...Conscious Consumption In Cuba: How To Have A More Authentic Trip While Supporting Private Businesses
Dec 7th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Flower stand in Old Havana
Until very recently, nearly every entity in Cuba was owned and operated by the government.
But in the past few years, the Cuban government has tried to promote private businesses in hopes that the shift will provide a much-needed boost to the economy. In late 2010, President Raul Castro announced that the government would start making it easier for individuals ...Stranded In Cuba
Nov 28th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
We were ready to leave Cuba. We had toasted our last mojitos, danced our last salsa steps and bid farewell to our home-stay hosts with promises to return.
But Cuba had other plans for us – or rather, Cubana Airlines did.
We arrived at Jose Marti International Airport two hours before departure. One counter was open, with a line at least one hundred deep. Yup, we were ready to ...Travel To Cuba Easier, For Cubans
Oct 17th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Travel to and from Cuba took a progressive turn this week as restrictions dating back a half-century were lifted for Cubans, allowing them to leave the island without going through a time-consuming process. It's good news for Cubans longing to travel freely in and out of their country and a step in the right direction for Americans, dreaming of a visit to Cuba.
Starting in January, Cubans ...Video Of The Day: Cuban Trapeze Artists, To The Sounds Of The Temper Trap
Aug 7th, 2012 at 6:30PM:
With the Olympics in full swing, it's easy to focus on the athletes' accomplishments - the scores, the times, the medal counts - instead of celebrating the journey that brought them to London in the first place. Though not specific to the Olympic Games, this music video from Australian rock band The Temper Trap chronicles a journey that is probably familiar to many Olympians, particularly ...
US Tourist Ordered To Pay $6500 For Cuba Trip From 14 Years Ago
Aug 1st, 2012 at 5:00PM: Think your past won't come back to haunt you? A U.S. tourist has agreed to pay a $6,500 fine for taking an unauthorized trip to Cuba 14 years ago.
According to Reuters, Zachary Sanders, 38, had been living and teaching English in Mexico in 1998 when he decided to take a trip to Cuba. Sanders was 23 at the time, and had wanted to learn about how a socialist country worked in practice.
"I had ...Rescue By Cruise Ship Not A Happy Event
Jul 1st, 2012 at 4:00PM: We might think that being rescued by a cruise ship, after floating in the ocean for days or weeks, would be a good thing. Cuban refugees, commonly found on or close to routes traveled by cruise ships, are brought aboard to be cared for. Cheering passengers feel good about it all but for the refugees, a hot meal on a cruise ship is about the last thing in the world they want.
It's called the ...Cuba's Classic Cars: Catch Them While You Can
Jun 28th, 2012 at 10:30AM:
There are few places in the world where you can find modern Toyotas sharing the streets with Model T's, and Cuba is one of them. The country's abundance of classic cars may be the result of historic trade restrictions, but it's also a key element of Cuba's romantic, stuck-in-time ambience.
Why does Cuba boast so many classic cars? Until last October, Cuban residents were forbidden from ...Havana In Seven Mojitos
Jun 22nd, 2012 at 12:00PM:
"My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in La Floridita," wrote Ernest Hemingway of his infamous drinking exploits in Havana. "Ernesto," as the Cubans call him, was a big fan of the rum, lime and mint-based cocktail, as evidenced by the slew of drinking holes throughout Cuba where he was reported to have drunk himself silly.
Indeed, sipping mojitos is a big part of the tourist ...Summer Hotspot: Havana, Cuba
Apr 11th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
Havana's crumbling mansions, cobblestoned streets and vibrant salsa beats have long been a mystery to Americans kept off Cuba's shores by historic trade bans.
But in the past year, travel to Cuba has become much easier, starting with the lifting of certain restrictions by the Obama administration last January. That move was followed in April by a new set of Treasury Department guidelines, ...Video Of The Day: 'Incubation' And 15 Days In Cuba
Apr 10th, 2012 at 6:30PM:
"I wanted to see Cuba before it changes," starts off "Incubation," a short travel film by French multimedia artist Guillaume Le Berre. "But I'm the one that has been changed."
Through photos and videos captured over a 15-day trip, Le Berre offers a nostalgic look at life in modern-day Cuba. Some of the images are expected: smiling children playing baseball, grand automobiles from the 1950s, ...
Travel Expert Brings Local Flavor To Guidebooks, Video
Apr 3rd, 2012 at 5:00PM:
Known worldwide as travel editor for CBS News, Peter Greenberg has traveled the planet bringing far away places into living rooms for decades. Now, Greenberg shares his expertise on destinations around the globe in his new "Like a Local" series of guidebooks, videos and travel tips that go on sale April 16.
Teaming with Michelin, Greenberg is releasing the series of "Like a Local" travel ...Blogger Jessica Marati
Dec 5th, 2011 at 10:00AM: Introducing another new blogger at Gadling, Jessica Marati...
Where was your photo taken: This photo was taken on my family's beach in the southern part of Guam, the tiny Pacific island territory where I grew up. It's probably one of my favorite places on the face of the earth.
Where do you live now: I'm based in New York, but I've spent the last several months living in Phnom Penh, where ...Friendly Planet Travel begins offering authorized travel to Cuba
Oct 31st, 2011 at 11:00AM: After several years, Americans are now able to travel to Cuba again under a new program from the U.S. Treasury Department. The aim of the program is to help Americans interact with locals of Cuba through educational exchanges focused on art, culture, music, and more.
As one of a handful of travel operators who have been granted a people-to-people license, Friendly Planet Travel will be ...Encounters in Cuba: Meeting the horse whisperer of Trinidad
Oct 26th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
"The map," philosopher Alfred Korzybski famously observed, "is not the territory." His words rarely seemed more apt than in Cuba: a country where the warmth of the people and the beauty of the landscape belie fifty years of bad American press.
As U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba loosen up, more and more travelers will fall in love with our island neighbor to the south. They will discover, ...
