Travels with John and Susan: January 2016

Cuba Cruise - Day 7 - Cienfuegos, Cuba

Thursday, January 14, 2016 was our last day in Cuba and another busy one. We went on a tour bus to see the town of Cienfuegos, founded in 1819, a maritime city lying on the shores of a massive bay. We started our tour driving down the tree-lined Paseo del Prado Boulevard. Here, we saw some of the nicest homes and buildings on our trip.

Paseo del Prado Boulevard

A mid 20th century modernist style home

A fancy social club

Some fancy restaurant, hotel or social club

Then back to reality. . .

Look at how the vines have grown from street level to cover the roof area

We then stopped at the Graphic Society of Cienfuegos where we viewed their artwork and had an opportunity to meet with the artists who offer programs for children with special needs. The homes across the street were painted up with very colorful murals.

Transporting some kind of plants

Corky handing out gifts to the locals

A musical family?

The dogs were watching us

Cuban musicians entertained us as we viewed the art

This artist had an interesting headpiece

They painted bodies as well as pictures, too

Our next stop was at the Plaza de Arnas, the traditional central square of Cienfuegos.

Beautiful iron works

Our guide explaining some of the history of Cienfuegos

A unique tree with African origins

The Theatre

An old Chevy and Ford parked near the bandstand

Want to buy a Cuban license plate?

An interesting small museum with a spiral staircase worth exploring.

I climbed to the top to see the city from high

A spiral staircase leads to the next level

Pat enjoying the view with our ship in the background

Me too

One more spiral staircase to go

The plaza from the top of the minaret

Another view of Cienfuegos from above

Pat in another level on the roof

Then we walked down some streets loaded with vendors and stores.

Susan crossing the street

We had lunch at a local outdoor restaurant with Pat, Corky and Darlene

After lunch, we decided to use some local transportation (a horse-drawn wagon) to get back to the ship. He took all five of us on an hour long ride around parts of Cienfuegos that we hadn't seen and dropped us off at the ship. What a great ending to an awesome week!

Our transportation awaits

Down a residential street

Pat, Darlene and Corky enjoying the ride

Some residential homes. The white sign denotes rental property

The stadium where the Cienfuegos Elephants baseball team play

Nice baseball art

They also do gymnastics there

Back on the ship, we bid a fond farewell to Cuba. This has been an informative and enjoyable cruise. The people of Cuba were warm and friendly and we saw so many interesting things. Would we return? You bet!

Farewell Cienfuegos!

We're on our way back to Jamaica

The view aft from our room

The last castle/fortress to be seen

I know it says Welcome Socialists, but we're leaving

Cuba Cruise - Day 6 - Maria la Gorda, Cuba

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 began with a tender ride to the beach at Maria la Gorda. This remote and popular dive spot at the far west end of Cuba is set on a gorgeous bay full of coral and other marine life. We then boarded a dive boat to go snorkeling. Unfortunately, the weather was very dark and cloudy that prevented us from seeing much under the water.

The tender brings more tourists

The beautiful beach that we never went onto

The dive boat Captain was a character

Since there was no town to visit at this port, we spent the rest of the rainy day on the ship.

Cuba Cruise - Day 5 - Havana, Cuba

Tuesday, January 12, 2016 started with a walk around Havana on our own to explore some new areas that we didn't have time to look at yesterday and also to do a little souvenir shopping.

The Hotel Raquel

Beautiful wooden doors

A typical Havana side street

We did a brief tour of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza which is Havana's oldest fortress from 1577.

What is a fortress without a moat?

Those are ceramic pieces that look like turtle shells.

The inside staircase

Some of the armaments

After lunch on the ship, we boarded a bus for an afternoon tour to see more of Havana.

The Capital of Cuba building

Sloppy Joe's Bar

Our first stop was at Museum of the Revolution housed in the former Presidential Palace.

A tank is on display

The three leaders of the revolution: Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara

Batista's and Castro's Presidential office

The Gold Phone given to Batista by AT&T

Jose Marti

Simon Bolivar

The museum's interior courtyard

The interior of the museum's dome

The last room before exiting the museum had this "interesting" bit of art about the Ring of Cretins:

Batista: Thank you, cretin, for helping us to MAKE the revolution.
Ronald Reagan: Thank you, cretin, for helping us to STRENGTHEN the revolution.

George Bush Sr.: Thanks, cretin, because you helped us to CONSOLIDATE our revolution.
G.W. Bush: Thank you, cretin, for helping us to MAKE SOCIALISM IRREVOCABLE.

A large (about 6 feet tall) pencil sketch of present day Fidel Castro

Outside of the museum was a small glass building which housed the Granma, the vessel in which Fidel Castro sailed from Mexico back to Cuba with his guerrilla army in 1959.

About 5;00, we departed Havana and enjoyed the scenic Havana Bay and the El Morro Castle and lighthouse, completed in 1774. This is the largest fortress in the Americas.