Independence, Revolution and Victory...

The only currency available to foreigners in Cuba is the Convertable Peso, commonly known as the CUC. We were able to buy CUCs at the hotel. We were told there are few banks selling CUCs in Havana, and at one, we noticed a long queue outside. 1 CUC = 1 USD, so we suppose this is a pegged rate. Funny how the currency is tied to that of an enemy country!

Cubans earn non-convertable pesos (CUP), and shops catering mainly to locals only accept CUPs. 1 CUC = 25 CUP. We don't know if locals can buy CUC, but they can certainly sell them and buy with them.

With Lindblad catering to our every need, we had little cause to use CUC except for the mandatory CUC0.25 tip in bathrooms and the occasional CUC1 needed to buy off someone insisting on selling you something. Most of our fellow expeditioners were much more enthusiastic shoppers than we, and spent hundreds if not thousands of CUCs on souvenirs, local art (which can be really quite good), cigars (which were sometimes smoked real time) and Santiago de Cuba rum.

Jeff Philippe was the expedition leader for the Havana component of our Cuban tour.

Our breakfasts were mostly taken at the Hotel, while lunches and dinners over several days were at a wide variety of restaurants. These meals were invariably way beyond the means of most Cubans and (we heard) even the quality and quantity of the food was specified by the government, lest tourists come to believe there are food shortages.

Our restaurants were in spectacular or interesting locations, like in old forts, atop tall buildings, or on the waterfront. And, after a while, the meals suffered a degree of repetitiveness. We had lots of chicken, then pork, lobster and maybe beef. Preparation and presentation was quite variable. Accompanying vegetables or salads were pretty limp. Vegetarian options were always available.

Sometimes we could have "local Cuban food" which was something like shredded beef with a brown rice mixed with beans. Such meals were usually quite delicious - it's probably always a good idea to eat local food!

One feature of every restaurant meal, without fail, was a band of musicians with varying interpretations of the Buena Vista Social Club. All bands had CDs and maybe DVDs to sell, and we were pressured to buy them for about CUC10. If we didn't buy, we were expected to tip the band, a "requirement" which caused some embarrassment until we worked out the drill.

Our people to people obligation led to our guides covering recent Cuban history extensively, and we were taken to monuments and museums celebrating Cuba's independence and the revolution. Of particular interest (to both the guides and our American co-expeditioners) was the shambles of the USA Bay of Pigs invasion. It seemed to us two Aussies (we were the only non-Americans in our entire expedition) that the intention was to politely rub American noses into the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs, but those we asked took it in very good spirits and appreciated a refresher on the shame of the past.

The former Presidential Palace, now Revolutionary Museum and the most stunning edifice in Havana.

We covered, but didn't dwell on the time up to Cuba's wars of independence, but it was all new information to us! Our potted understanding (given here to aid our own memory) is that...

• Prior to the "arrival" of the Spanish, Cuba was occupied by three American Indian tribes.
• Christopher Columbus signalled the end of that era with his arrival in 1492, claiming the island for Spain.
• In the 1510's, the Spanish started establishing villages, including Havana in 1515.
• European diseases all but wiped out the natives, and slaves had to be imported to provide cheap labour, just like in the rest of the Caribbean.
• The European Seven years War resulted in invasion by the English, who, during their 11 month supremacy in 1762, transformed Cuba by opening up trade with the American mainland and the Caribbean.
• The Haitian slave revolt led to thousands of French overlords coming to Cuba around 1790, accelerating slavery here, and leading to rapid expansion.
• A rebellion in 1868 was the start of 10 years of war as Cubans attempted to free their island from the yoke of Spain. There were massive casualties, and in the end the rebels lost by Spain promised greater autonomy.
• 1892 saw the Spanish Cuban American War and the rise of the (now) national hero Joseph Marti who united Cuban expats in the quest for independence.
• In 1902, Spain surrended to the USA who granted Cuba independence but slyly retained significant powers including the rights to a permanent military presence at Guantanamo Bay.

Ornate reception room of the former Presidential Palace.

Apparently everyone in this van died in the hail of revolutionary bullets.

The first half of the 20th Century saw great expansion as US interests developed the country while trying to manage unstable governments. The Mafia, largely free of US control here, made great inroads in Cuba. In 1933, Fulgencio Batista seized power in the Sergeant's Revolt and dominated politics for about a quarter of a century. Srong socialism applied in the Batista era but the seeds of revolution were sewn by strong labour unions but high unemployment and a persecuted middle class.

Bullet holes in the wall of the then Presidential Palace mark the 1958 Revolution.

The 1959 Revolution was led by Fidel Castro. But we see and learn in Cuba that collaborators Che Guevara and Camillo Cienfuegos are equally celebrated. Cubans fondly remember Marti for his role in independence, but it seems that the true modern heroes in their hearts are Castro, Guevara and Cienfuegos. Their portraits and memorials are everywhere, and posters and billboards (there is no commercial advertising in Cuba) are everywhere full of "revolución para siempre" sentiment.

Giant memorial to Jose Marti, the father of Cuba's second independence war.

Che Guevara at Independence Square.

And Camillo Cienfuegos on an adjacent government building.

There can be no doubt from our visit that Cubans are profoundly proud of their revolution. During our stay in Havana (and, we expect, beyond) we were shown numerous examples of the benefits of socialism under Castro. In particular, we learn (repeatedly) of the excellence of universal Cuban free education and free healthcare. These particular topics are justifiably sources of Cuban pride, but we suspect that our local guides take particular pleasure at extolling them to the American audience, given the high cost and highly publicised inequities of both in the USA!

How totally free education works, as explained in the exquisite ceremonial room of the University of Havana.

Stunning sculpture of the revered revolutionary leader.

Castro nationalised US assets which Batiste had encouraged, inevitably aligning Cuba more with the USSR, and when, in 1962, the US uncovered nuclear missiles in Cuba and provided the impetus for the next great source of Cuban pride, the abortive US invasion at the Bahía de Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs. The CIA exploited disaffected Cubans who had made it to the USA and established a counter-revolutionary force which struck at the Bay in April 1961, south-east of Havana, but were humiliatingly defeated within three days. This Cuban Missile Crisis had famously brought the world to the brink of nuclear war for a short while.

Museums generally in Cuba seem to have no difficulty in mocking the American leaders associated with the Bay of Pigs.

World's longest cigar rolled in Castro's honour, at a "tobacco cafe".

Lighting up a fresh Cuban cigar.

Debris from a cigar rolling demonstration.

The debacle seriously embarrassed the Kennedy administration, strengthening Fidel Castro's reputation and hold on power. Moreover, it cemented the enmity between the USA and Cuba, and added an extra dimension of strong pride amongst Cubans, opening vast new opportunities for cartoonists and on political billboards. It is only in recent years, that the icy relationship has started to thaw, hence our expedition!

Our first sight of Havana...

A lot of gears had to mesh before this trip to Cuba could come together. As Aussies, we have been able to enter Cuba as tourists for years, as long as we entered via some other country than the USA. But we wanted to take advantage of the comfort and organisation that Lindblad - National Geographic offered, so we had to comply with the particular requirements imposed by President Barack Obama's administration on American citizens.

Pina-colada kiosk offering enticements in the search for customers.

Until recently, Americans could not legally visit Cuba except under stringent conditions, but in 2015 Obama relaxed these conditions although they still have strict requirements. Basically, pure tourism is not allowed, but travel for educational and research purposes are permittable. Lindblad developed this itinerary to meet a people to people specification, under which we would be learning of Cuba's history and culture by meeting and interacting with locals.

Initially, there was a complication with our visa. While we could enter Cuba freely, only Americans could get visas to enter from the USA. The Cuban emabsssy in Canberra confirmed this. Lindblad were marketing this expedition to Australians, so we advised them of this Catch 22, and they and American Airways somehow negotiated a resolution with US and Cuban authorities. Now, travellers of all nationalities can get their visa (at Miami airport), with the one exception being people born in Cuba.

Powerful symbol of Havana, the lighthouse at the Castle of Tres Reyes del Morro.

This all went smoothly at Miami airport. We had been warned of lengthy delays on arrival at Havana on arrival after the 45 minute hop from Miami, but (to the surprise of Lindblad staff) this did not occur. Our passage through immigration and customs was speedy, professional and courteous, although it did take a while for our bags to come off the conveyor (and one passenger's bag got lost for a while). The 40 Lindblad expeditioners boarded two very new and quite luxurious tourist coaches, emblazoned with transtur livery. We were to learn that this state-owned company appears to be the dominant player in a bourgening tourist market in Cuba, and that a very large fleet of such Yutono buses in various sizes was part of a Chinese government assistance package.

We were part of the first season of Lindblad's expeditions to Cuba, and from the outset we could see how they go about fulfilling their people to people obligations. The first way they do so is by making extensive use of local guides, native Cubans. Our main guides were Lazaro, Edgar and Ariel. They spoke excellent English, and (we learned) they had fantastic knowledge of Cuba, its history, its culture, how it is governed, and all of its quirks. The local guides worked for state-owned HavanaTour, but it's obvious that Lindblad have gone to a lot of trouble to select the best available.

Edgar, our local guide, hamming it up in front of an old town water fountain.

First impressions as we drove into Havana from the airport? It's no surprise, but the place looks very poor. Roads are in poor conditions, buildings are various states of repair, with none looking very good at all. Traffic in Havana, a city of 2 million or a pretty small footprint, is remarkably light, despite the poor roads, a reflection of the poverty of the residents and their huge reliance on formal and informal means of public transport. All cars are ancient, but we knew that would be the case.

For such a densely populated city, Havana streets are busy with old cars, but remarkably free of congestion.

On approaches to the CBD, block after block of what were once glorious neoclassical European style buildings all seemed to be derelict, although many were evidently still occupied. We were told that this sad state of affairs followed the 1958-9 Revolution and was thought to be an unintended consequence of the 1960 Urban Reform Law which basically decreed "no eviction - no demolition". As part of the socialist revolution, residents of individual apartments suddenly became the property's owners, but apparently, nothing was done to create responsibility for building common areas, structurals, roofing etc - hence widespread great neglect is manifestly apparent.

The 1960 "no demolition" law leaves much 17thC architecture in deplorable condition.

But the "no eviction" law menas many are still occupied.

Our digs for 4 nights in Havana was the Hotel Nacional, a grand palace built in the glory days of 1930. The hotel is billed as 5 star, but it fell somewhat short of that stature in reality. But what it lacked in modern facilities and service standards, it easily made up for in style and grandeur and a spectacular location on the Malecón in the inner district of Vedado. To stay there is to move back 50+ years in time. A magnificent hotel which will surely undergo a massive internal refurbishment soon. The WiFi worked though!

Hotel Nacional de Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico from a lunchtime restaurant.

Afternoon mohitos at the Hotel Nacional, with spectacular view of the Castle and lighthouse at del Morro.

Proud display of the Cuban flag at the Nacional's main entrance, a classic taxi awaiting a passenger.

The hotel is proud of the long line of famous guests who have stayed there. Our welcome mohito was held in the Hall of Fame which features walls of photographs of important guests, including, for the Aussies, Errol Flynn.

At least 3 of those 4 Cuban-made grandfather clocks in the Nacional lobby are still working.

Havana is a very old city - it was first established in 1511 as one of 7 villages started by the Spanish, after Christopher Columbus "discovered" the island in 1492. Havana was to become the jewel in Spain's Central and South American empire.

Old Spanish Havana faces the new city across the entrance to the harbour.

The predominant architecture in the downtown areas of Havana is twofold. Spanish style fortifications dating up to the 1800's characterise the waterfront, very reminiscent of our recollection of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Fabulous buildings of baroque and neoclassical style abound in Havana Vieja, built around numerous sunny piazzas.

The moat at fort San Carlos de la Cabana.

Well preserved fort at Cojimar, Ernest Hemingway's favoured fishing village.

Drawbridge mechanism at fort San Carlos de la Cabana.

Lonely soul, desperate for shade, at Forteleza de San Carlos de la Cabana.

A guide described the architecture of Havana as like an onion. From the old core of fortifications, there's the layer of Spanish classicism, ringed by American inspired art deco and modern styles of the first half of the 20th Century, and then (post Revolution) the hideous geometrical concrete monstrosities of Soviet "breeze block" apartment blocks.

Undercover juliet balcony in Cathedral Square.

We look forward to seeing a lot more of Havana!

Homes of the rich and famous...

Spectacular aerial view of Biscayne Bay south with the Venetian Causeway at bottom right and Miami Beach along the horizon. By Marc Averette - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Miami's waterways look so interesting from the air and on the map, we thought we'd better do a quick tour of Biscayne Bay. Grayline picked us up near our hotel in South Beach, but it turned out that everyone else on the pretty full bus was doing an Everglades tour. We were the only ones they dropped at the Miami waterfront pier. There were about a dozen others on the boat Island Wind with us.

Boarding the Biscayne Bay tour.

It's obviously the off season, and the cool windy weather would have discouraged walk-ins too. On board, it was fine, but all of us tended to look for shelter from the gale as we sailed around the southern part of Biscayne Bay. Poor Carlos, the boat's barman, didn't sell a single drink or snack.

Apartments on the fully private Fisher Island.

The first language of none of our fellow tourists on the Island Wind was English. They spoke to each other in French or Spanish. Al, our guide, was obviously hispanic, but talked to us in excellent idiomatic English. In fact, English is definitely a minority language in Miami generally - everyone seems capable of some English, but it seems to be no-one's language of choice.

Fellow passenger's GoPro is missing the Henry Flagler Memorial to a Miami pioneer and a founder of Standard Oil.

We didn't know it beforehand, but the focus of the cruise was the homes of the rich and famous who are presumably the only ones who can afford the megabuck waterfront properties which ring the artificial Venetian Islands. Al knew them all and had humourous anecdotes about each owner. We're not so besotted by celebrity, and forgot who owned what house almost immediately. Many celebrities we hadn't actually heard of, some were Cuban and Mexican. The houses were stunning, but no-one seemed to be at home in any of them.

Al hammed it up quite well, and was clearly fascinated by the celebrities and their megabuck mansions.

Apparently this was Al Capone's boathouse.

Al told us this one mansion is owned by the inventor of Viagra - we had thought a British team had developed the drug - maybe they moved here?

It was more interesting to enjoy the scenery and the skylines of downtown Miami and Miami Beach. We passed 6 huge cruise ships lined up head to tail at the port. Al told us that this is the world's biggest cruise ship terminal. On the other side of the port is the container terminal and the merchant vessel berths, entirely empty except for one modest ship.

Six gigantic cruise ships lined up at Miami port.

Every tourist harbour has to have a jet boat attraction!

Very quiet at the Port of Miami.

We saw the 1925 Venetian Causeway, a road with a couple of low level opening bridges which links Miami to Miami Beach (an island). Apparently, this road follows the original 1912 2.5 mile wooden Collins Bridge which first opened up the beach to development that long ago.

Far from the maddening crowd, luxury apartments at the southern tip of Miami Beach.

Back at the Marina, the waterfront area is cruise ship central. It's probably just a short shuttle ride from the berths to here, and the area was packed with souvenir stalls, ice cream shops, bars and restaurants, not to mention the people off those ships. And we were taken back to South Beach in a Grayline bus with just us two on board!

We could have done a pirate ship tour!

Patriotic display at the Hotel Intercontinental in Miami.

Giant oak (?) tree shades our transportation back to Miami Beach.

The glory of South Beach...

This is our third visit to Miami, and we spent five nights here to get over our jet lag before setting out for Cuba. This time the weather varied from warm to cool (the southern fringe of the bad storms affecting the north), with some persistent light rain on one day. It was very windy throughout. Apart from the rainy day, skies were mostly blue with quite photogenic cloud formations. Afternoons got stormy.

Ocean Ave has some of the prettiest art deco examples.

The art deco architecture of South Miami Beach remains its greatest appeal, for us. Walking around this area provides endless pleasant surprises, and an interesting new building appears, tastefully painted in delicate pastels. No doubt, city ordinances protect this architecture.

Even modest apartments can feature neat art deco features and colour enhancements.

Very appealing pastel colour schemes adorn many buildings in South Beach.

Apparently, the term art deco derives from the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Artes Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, and that style was adopted fulsomely in rebuilding the young resort city after a hurricane in 1926 destroyed it and killed 400 people. Some 800 art deco buildings are registered in the area.

Moon rising over the Ritz Plaza at sunset.

Even newer buildings along Collins Ave adopt a faux art deco style.

This building is regarded by some as the best example of art deco. It reveals that the so-appealing pastel coloration is not an essential feature of the genre! The building now houses the Bass Museum of Modern Art.

Our hotel in Collins Ave is quite near the Lincoln Steet Mall which on Sunday, one of our jet-lag recovery days, was abuzz with market stalls (local crafts, art deco artifacts and fresh produce) and open-air restaurants. We managed to find good coffee and food, but the crowding and noise made the whole experience a bit unpleasant. The gusty wind added to the discomfort, the outdoor cafes having to struggle to keep umbrellas up and things on the table.

High hazard flags warn of dangerous surf conditions.

Determined beachgoers scurry for protection from the strong breezes.

The beach is an incredible attraction to tourists here, and even now, in winter, it entertains a modest crowd up and down its long length. But the beach-goers have to be determined. The wide sandy area is a windswept wasteland. People grimly try to protect themselves from the uncomfortable and neverending blast. There is almost no-one in the water, and the surf is quite rough and unruly, stirred up by the wind. Red flags on every lifeguard station (maybe 100m apart for many kilometers) signify "high hazard". Even in this season, each and every one of those lifeguard stations appears to be manned.

Enjoyment of a brief period of sunny respite from the unpleasant winds.

We enjoyed a takeaway dinner and beer on the front balcony of our Collins Ave hotel, cool enough for jackets.

Our first deicing...

You're never to old to experience something you haven't seen before. Our connecting flight from Dallas - Fort Wirth to Miami required de-icing before it could take off. Now, we've heard of aircraft de-icing before, but we had no concept of what it entailed. Now, we've seen it in action - what a drama this must have been before modern equipment was developed to facilitate it! Huge, fully enclosed for winter, cherry-picker type trucks circle the aeroplane pressure hosing what must be an anti-freeze solution all over the wings and flaps. This process takes about 20 minutes per plane, and makes for spectacular viewing, at least until the windows get splettered with the orange or green sudsy liquid. (Different formulations are used depending on whether it's still snowing.)

Why was this needed? It never gets this cold in Texas, does it? Well apparently it does, when the USA is experiencing another huge polar vortex just like the one which followed us down the Mississippi River some years ago (see earlier Blog posts). And it must happen often enough that this airport is well equipped to handle it.

On the deicing pod, the green die indicates the formulation applied during a snowfall, and shows the operator where he has treated.

We landed at DFW in poor visibility with a heavy snow falling and in just sub-zero temperatures. These conditions can freeze up the flaps and the accumulated snow and ice adds unnecessary weight. Deicing is done on a pod remote to the terminal where the dangerously slippery liquid overflow can be better contained and doesn't pose a risk for workers around the gates. Routine, maybe, for experienced American travellers, but a total novelty for us.

Not snowing any more, so our plane was treated with orange anti-freeze liquid.

Our deicing was obviously successful, because we made it to Miami only about 2 hours late. En route, live TV news on the American Airways 'plane told us of a gun outrage at Fort Lauderdale Airport only several hours beforehand. Fort Lauderdale is Miami's #2 airport, so we were lucky to be flying to the city's #1 airport.

Off to Central America...

Our next major expedition starts next month and is going to be three back to back expeditions with Lindblad - National Geographic, the same outfit which took us to Antarctica 12 months ago. We had such a good time with L-NG, and really appreciated their focus on small groups, quality experiences, conservation, and photography. That last is very important - organised tours which don't have a photography bent are, we fear, prone to rush around too much, and miss the all important lighting conditions at dawn and dusk. We don't want to be on a bus, so to speak, when the light is the best. NG always send photo-professionals on their expeditions, and we like to see their emphasis on being at the right place at the right time, to get those fabulous shots. You've only got to look at a National Geographic magazine to see what we mean.

Each of our expeditions is ship based, but with L-NG's zodiacs, we expect a lot of excursions to land and for snorkelling. Some nights, especially in Cuba, we spend in hotels. The ships are small to very small, with from a total of 44 up to 96 guests on board. The NG-Orion that took us to Antarctica had 102 guests, so these littler guys will be another step down that particular ladder. We think we will enjoy these sub-100 boats!

Our first expedition will be to Cuba, part in Havana, and part on the NG-Panorama II from which we can visit coastal towns and parks, and do some snorkelling, it seems. It seems strange to "do" Cuba by boat, and it wasn't our first choice. Another NG (no Lindblad) expedition to Cuba at about the same time looked very good too, but they couldn't guarantee it would go ahead early enough for us to commit. This expedition will be under the auspices of Barack Obama's people-to-people study tours. As Aussies, we can visit Cuba as normal tourists, but this is an American venture, so we're doing it their way. In the Washington Post, Tom Popper said "the intent [of person-to-person tours] is to not just do tourist activities but to meet Cuban people and to exchange, talk about life in the United States, learn about life in Cuba." We'll see how that pans out. Anyway, the Panorama II is irrestistable, just look at its pic (!), and we're sure to have a good time!

The NG-Panorama II, launched in 2004, is a 50m two-masted sailing ship particularly equipped for itineraries in warm climates.

Next, we'll be on board the 62 passenger NG-Sea Lion for our bucket-list traverse of the Panama Canal and from there to Costa Rica. While waiting for this expedition to start, we'll hang out in Panama City. We've picked a hotel with a good view of the canal, so we hope we can relax on the balcony, some tequila cocktail in hand, and watch a busy parade of ships passing through this iconic waterway. And at the other end, we'll spend a few days in San Jose, Costa Rica, before flying to Ecuador.

The 46m 630 ton NG-Sea Lion built in 1982 was extensively refurbished in 2015.

After a few days in Guayaquil (we've been practicing the pronunciation of this town, the biggest in Ecuador), we'll be picked up again by Lindblad for a charter flight to Baltra or Santa Cruz (we think) on the Galapagos Islands. There we board the 96 guest NG-Endeavour II for an itinerary around these famous islands. From there, we return to Guayaquil then Miami, and back home.

The 72m 2716ton NG-Endeavour II was launched in 2005, renovated in 2016, and is currently devoted to Galapagos expeditions.