Nicaragua

You are correct, this cannot be Nicaragua! In the crazy world of airline connections it is far cheaper to get to Managua from Cancun going via Houston, so that's what we did. Our original plan had been to stop in Mexico to see the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, but the logistics involved and the thought of trekking around a huge site in the severe heat convinced us that a stop in Texas in a proper hotel with a grade A steak dinner was preferable, what a good decision. We arrived the day after the worst flooding in 15 years and lots of water was visible from the air on approach but the Galleria, where we stayed was dry.

We arrived in Managua after dark (probably a good idea) and after a taxi ride and short boat journey reached our destination, Jicaro Island Eco Lodge.
This tranquil setting among the birds and the frogs, with views across Lake Nicaragua to the volcano has been our retreat for the last 4 days, with the exception of a trip into nearby Granada, the former capital.

It has been a great place to relax, enjoy excellent food, sit by the pool and update this blog.
Mission accomplished and we leave for Costa Rica by bus in the morning.

Fidel and Che

We are not fond of bus tours and finding a car to rent is not always easy so we hired a car and driver to take us west to Pinar Del Rio, the Jurassic area. Our first stop was at the Robaina tobacco plantation, one of 27 producers all of whom must sell at least 90% of their crop to the government, the rest they can keep but not sell. Then it was on to the caves and gigantic mogotes (boulders) of the beautiful Vinales Valley. Apparently Steven Spielberg wanted to film some Jurassic scenes here and we could see why but it never happened.

We had the best (and cheapest) fish dinner of our entire time in Cuba in Vinales and capped it off with a night of salsa music at the local dance hall. In Cuba when they say that music starts at 9:30 that means the band start arriving then to set up, but it was worth the wait as we saw some great dancers.

The next day we had to drive back near Havana to get to the Peninsula de Zapata and there were 2 unexpected events: the first was that we picked up the driver's girlfriend (not his wife) who was to accompany us for the next 2 days and then we pulled off the road down a bumpy track for the first of 3 clandestine refuelling stops. On each occasion a man would appear out of a barn or trees with a jerrycan of gasoline to fill up the tank. The girlfriend (never did get her name) advised us that this was highly illegal and it sure felt like it!

The national highway is actually a pretty good road most of the time but you can't go far without a reminder of the 'success' of the Revolution and the benefits of working together for Socialism. These billboards are  'autographed' more or less equally by Fidel or Che Guevara:

There is not much to see on this flat, uninteresting stretch but it does lead to Playa Giron on The Bay of Pigs, scene of the defeat of the CIA led American invasion in April 1961 which forever immortalised Castro and of which you cannot spend one day in Cuba without seeing a reminder. In typical Cuban fashion the museum was closed, no explanation given. On to the industrial city of Cienfuegos where we spent the night and struggled to find a decent meal, give it a miss.

At the other end of the spectrum is the charming city of Trinidad de Cuba.

This World Heritage site benefits hugely from being a pedestrian only zone where all the cobblestone streets are protected. Unlike all the other cities where it can be hard to enjoy the surroundings and the colonial architecture without breathing in fumes or dodging the traffic Trinidad can be explored at leisure, the streets are lined with pastel painted houses and the central square is delightful and clean.
A climb up the church tower is essential for a view over the town, the sea and the mountains to the north. That night we joined a large crowd primarily made up of tourists for a salsa session on the central steps.

In the morning we queued for tickets on the tourist train to Manaca - Iznaga. It is advertised as a steam train but sadly it was diesel, and it trundled and squeaked along for an hour before depositing us in a small town which was a former sugar cane estate. The main objective of this exercise appears to be to leave you trapped in the clutches of the souvenir sellers who, to be fair, usually leave you alone when you say 'No, thank you.' We thought these cigar smoking, bongo playing chaps were rather splendid but we didn't buy one.

The last town on this leg was Canta Clara which we reached after a pretty drive through the central mountains. El 'Che' is one of the most iconic figures of the last century, not only in Cuba but globally, his image can be found everywhere on all types of merchandise. He was a man of principle, a doctor and a rebel leader of Battalion 8, whose defeat of Batista's troops by derailing a train in Santa Clara cemented his place in Cuban history. There is a large monument dedicated to his memory just outside the city. A close ally of Castro he died fighting in Bolivia at the height of his popularity and one can only imagine what he would think of the country today, because from what we saw you could hardly say that communism has been a success. While in Havana we met a young family (in a bar of course), the father was a well known actor/musician and the 14 year old daughter spoke quite good English. When we asked her what she wanted to do (career wise) her response was immediate: " I just want to get out of here."

    

Havana

"Timeworn but magnificent, dilapidated but dignified, fun yet maddeningly frustrating", quote from a travel writer.

Many people seem to have a fascination for Cuba and I suppose we were no different. In the early 50's Havana certainly had a reputation as a swinging city where you could find and do just about anything. Inside the Art Deco Hotel Nacional, Havana's most illustrious, is a bar/museum with murals of the glory days when stars of stage, screen, sports and politics flocked there to gamble, party and dance the night away. It's not quite like that anymore!
The reality of Havana today is one of past reputation, pollution and decay. Even the aforementioned Hotel Nacional has no water in the swimming pool but still advertises itself as 6 star. Thousands of once beautiful buildings are crumbling, many streets have no tarmac, manhole covers lay open where people have dipped their buckets to get water and everyone, everyone is doing their best to take your money. We stayed in modest accommodation, some more comfortable than others but it did give us the opportunity to meet and talk to people more directly than if we were at major hotels.

                                                Hotel Nacional is still magnificent at night.

A number of people have said that Cuba is changing and you need to go there soon before it does. We do not understand that logic because it is going to take so long to change that it will not be much different in our lifetime, there are already lots of tourists. On the day we left, Castro officially stepped down after addressing parliament but his brother Raul will continue, the old guard is not making way for any younger blood and the political columnist Perez said this: " Anyone who thought there would be change now was dreaming". That is very sad because many people we talked to believe that it is going to change, perhaps the visit of President Obama and The Rolling Stones led them to believe that it was imminent. The state still owns and controls every major business, there is little incentive which is probably why everyone sees the tourist as the best source of income.

With Unesco's help some restoration is taking place particularly in the centre along the Zulueta and Avenida Monserrate.
Not surprisingly one of the first buildings to get a makeover is the Museum of the Revolution.

But there's no money to save this magnificent but dilapidated wreck and others like it:

The city is famous for it's vintage cars, all American pre 1956. Most of them are real bangers but some have been restored and repainted and are used as taxis. There are various points in the city where they line up to be admired. A definite highlight for us.

Havana Vieja (Old Havana) is very lively and probably the area where tourists spend the most time.
A walk down Mercaderes will take you past a number of interesting plazas, restaurants and bars. Hotel Ambos Mundos was a Hemingway favourite and it's a place where you can get internet and a cold beer but on both of our visits there was no water in the toilets. Live music emanates from many restaurants and it is fun to sit and people watch, someone will usually start dancing day or night.
Art is plentiful and street art is a good way to dress up the decaying facades, although much of the painting for sale we found to be gaudy and not to our taste.

There is definitely a vibrancy to this city and for a short time one can just about handle the noise, the diesel fumes and the smell of the rubbish, but after 3 busy days it was time to get into the countryside.


  

Portugal

Our last blog in November promised something new but at that time we didn't know exactly what it would look like, only that we had bought a restaurant which was under renovation. You can see it on www.leboissauvage.ch
Opening day was December 20th, 2105 the beginning of peak season and to say that our daughter Ashley and her partner Darren went in at the deep end is an understatement. It was busy from day one, which necessitated us to go back to work in a number of capacities: dishwashing, waiter, laundry lady, chauffeur and handyman. Astra was also in Switzerland for a while and she too was drafted in to serve tables and help in the bar. It was great fun to lend a hand and be involved but by the end of February a break was needed.
After a few days of golf in the Algarve with some English mates I met Clare in Lisbon and we stayed in Oitavos, Cascais on the Atlantic coast, visiting the palaces of Sintra before driving north for some wine tasting in the Upper Douro. The Douro River flows through some very steep valleys which over the centuries have been terraced to create a dramatic landscape of vineyards not dissimilar to those of the Valais in Switzerland. Summer temperatures can exceed 40 degrees producing rich grapes which have traditionally been used to make Port Wine but more recently the winemakers have started to produce excellent wines in the traditional way. The Sandeman Quinta (estate):

For centuries the port barrels were loaded onto sailboats to be transported to the warehouses at Gaia opposite Porto. The complete history of this trade is beautifully illustrated in tile on the walls of the train station at Pinhoa, the major town for the shipment of the barrels.

We had lunch and toured the estate of Dirk Niepoort, one of the world's most recognised winemakers.  Next we drove down river to Porto where we took a river tour, visited the port caves and walked the central area. The colourful medieval Ribeira district of Porto:

The next stage of this venture took us into Northwest Spain where we spent one night in the sprawling city of Vigo before heading for Santiago de Compostela. This ancient city has been the final destination for pilgrims for centuries and in modern times approximately 200,000 people a year make the journey and if they complete at least the final 100 kilometres on foot or horseback they receive the Compostela Certificate at the cathedral. Unfortunately the magnificent cathedral facade was partially covered in scaffolding but we were fortunate to have booked in to the Parador Hotel Reyes immediately next door. Originally a hospital for pilgrims since 1499 it considers itself to be the world's oldest hotel. It is a truly beautiful building inside and out with a stunning vaulted ceiling dining room and this beautifully carved entrance.

We thought we were finished as we headed back to Lisbon but the baroque city of Braga was not far off our route so we stopped there for a few hours. Described by some travel writers as "one of the best cities in Europe that you've never heard of" is an accurate assessment. There is much interesting architecture on either side of wide boulevards with beautiful gardens and just outside the city the cathedral complex of Bom Jesus do Monte with its extraordinary staircase provides magnificent views over the city, which is a gem not to be missed.

Our final day was in Lisbon where we took a tram tour and did a lot of walking before the flight to Geneva. I should mention that Clare's route was from Geneva to London Gatwick to Lisbon and back to Geneva, 3 flights for a grand total of $110.00, thank God for low cost airlines!