#13 Visit my sponsor child in Mozambique

Every since I can remember, I’ve always hoped that one day I could sponsor a child from a less privileged country than my own and provide some hope for a better life.  I then wanted to be able to go and visit my child’s village and see the progress the community has made from my contributions.  It was because of this dream that when I began full-time work 3 years ago, I contacted World Vision and was put in touch with a beautiful Mozambican boy named Jocate.   Finally, earlier this year in March, I got to fulfil my entire dream – to visit Jocate and his beautiful family in his little village in northern Mozambique. 

Welcome song! 

                             

                                   Beautiful Jocate stole my <3

I can’t really describe the feeling when you meet someone that has been a part of your life, virtually but not physically – a drawing on your fridge or a picture on your mantelpiece – for the very first time.  The overall visit was an incredible experience and something that I’ll cherish forever – and I hope it’ll be the same for Jocate and his family.  I look forward to when I can return to Mozambique and visit Jocate again, to watch him grow up to be a young man. 

Learning to write his name...

I arrived into Nampula, the financial capital of Mozambique.  I didn’t know what I expected but I was definitely surprised when I arrived from Nairobi in Kenya.  The main streets were dirt, not bitumen, littered with potholes and scattered with wooden stalls with hundreds of locals selling produce and household items.  For someone coming from a very lucky country as Australia, this was a complete culture shock for me – Mozambique definitely still has a long way to go before it gets completely “westernised” (something which I believe is actually a benefit to the country).  I learnt from my WV guide that the government is trying to minimise the westernisation and limiting expatriates from setting up businesses and taking money out of the country.  They are attempting to plant these opportunities in the minds of locals to set up similar businesses, keeping the economic growth for the locals who need it and the country to prosper.  I really hope the government continues this – even if it is only for the selfish reason of seeing Jocate benefit from the country’s development. 

Having some lunch...delicious!

We headed off from Nampula the next day on a 2 hour drive.  Once I arrived at the WV office, we had a quick debrief before we heading to Jocate’s community.  We stopped at the school, approximately 2km from his house.  Here, we jumped on some motorbikes – my first time on one – for the short trip.  While I only had to hold on while one of the community members drove, it was still a crazy, local experience and extremely fun…that is of course, until I almost fell off into a massive water puddle!!!

Arriving into Jocate’s community, I was welcomed with a song and dance! The kids were so incredibly adorable and I wanted to hug them all :-) However, the first child cried at the sight of me!!! I must be that ugly! Later I was told that none of the children had ever seen a white person before (yeah that’s right, not yellow but white!) and so that’s why she was crying!! Bless!

Receiving gifts from the wonderful family!

We got to share a communal meal on blankets, where I felt a little strange as I was the only one eating with a spoon! They all must have thought I was so weird…while Jocate spoke his local tribal language, I had a translator with me, who could also talk Portuguese (the official language of Mozambique), making me feel a little stupid for only knowing my mothertongue! But it was great being able to communicate with Jocate and his family through the translator.  Jocate’s father works in the fields, farming peanuts, corn and sugar cane.  He would love to see all his children become teachers so they can teach younger children in the community. 

This was tough work!

Jocate is 10 years old and absolutely loves football!  Yes, I’ve been told by my passionate man that soccer is indeed “football” and that Australian football is rubbish….so yes, Jocate loves football.  He is learning Portuguese at school and I he showed me all his school books while I was there. I even got to teach him how to write his name – but he always had trouble with the letter e!! One of the great things for Jocate and the other kids in the community is that the school is only 2kms away, which is extremely close for African standards.  They can walk to school very easily.  The school is great; everyone has clothes, pens and books; but of course, the community always needs more! The only thing I would love to see is some desks for the kids, as they sit in between each other’s’ straightened legs on the dirt floor.  It must be difficult to write in their books that way - unless of course, they use each other’s’ backs!! :-)

I was also shown the water bore that has been installed close to the village where they can pump fresh water – I even got to try pumping it myself :-) Jocate’s dad told me that when it rains though, they are able to get fresh water by digging a hole next to the river and extracting from there.  So clever!  WV has also set up a healthcare community that is run by community members, primarily to help people infected with HIV.  It’s a great way to take medical care closer to the people. 

Learning at school....couldn't understand!

I had the most amazing time visiting Jocate and his family and am counting down the days when I can return! If anyone has been thinking about sponsoring a child, please just do it! It has a tremendous impact on African villages and communities and it’s always the best feeling to give something to those less fortunate than ourselves.  I can’t wait to watch Jocate grow up and see where he goes and what he does in his life.  Knowing that I can help him financially and also provide guidance and support, that’s the best thing for me! <3

Gorilla trekking is up next, so until then

xxx

A Month in Nicaragua...

So I left you last when I told you about the extremely crazy trek we made from El Salvador to Leon, Nicaragua.  It was here we started our month long adventure through the country.  I had high expectations for Nicaragua, with many of my friends telling me it’s the best one in Central America – cheapest, friendliest and the most things to do.  While I agree the country is full of amazing things to see and do, I wasn’t sold on the rest.  Our time was still a lot of fun, but our adventure was full of ups and downs, highlights and disappointments, nothing was overly “cheap” (obviously yes, to Australia, but not to the rest of the region) and to be honest, the locals were the rudest we’d met so far.  Saying that though, every trip is an experience and we still made the absolute most of our time and we still have some interesting tales to share!



Sunsets in Nicaragua are breathtaking!

After spending our first night in Leon, we decided to head straight to the beach at Las Penitas, so David can surf a little more and I could sunbake…and it was much hotter in Nicaragua, so I honestly just wanted some water close by! But after spending an hour finding somewhere to stay, to then find the bathroom not working, we were already a little annoyed.  The staff didn’t want to help rectify the situation and after witnessing David lose his temper for the first time, we found ourselves on the street, without a place to sleep at 7pm.  We proceeded to head to another hostel where we slept on the most horrible dorm beds, in a hot, stuffy room for the night, and promptly gave up on the beach and headed back to Leon. 

Half-way up on the first day

From Leon we organised a 2 day/1 night volcano trek with a local, non-profit organisation, Quetzaltrekkers.  This is a great company where all the workers are volunteers (even paying for their own board and food) and all the proceeds go to help child projects in the local area.  It was due to this we chose to trek with these guys, and we had an absolute blast! The first day we hiked Cerro Negro outside of Leon, to do the infamous Volcano Boarding down the other side.  David and I decided to race, and me, thinking I’d chosen the faster side (based on everyone before us), was oozing with confidence.  However, I got off to a horrible start, slowly cruising down and then once I picked up speed, found myself turning sideways! Not the best when you have volcano rocks flying into your face!! David thought I was in front of him so he just kept going faster and faster…he didn’t need to bother! But, he did manage to get the fastest speed of the group that day :-)

After this bit of fun, we then trekked off with our backpacks to hike to the top of Volcano El Hoyo, where we camped for the night.  We made it to the top in time for sunset and it was absolutely beautiful! Photos couldn’t do it justice!  The next day we saw the sunrise, another incredible view, before we headed down to a volcanic lake for a much needed swim (or I should say, bath) before bussing it back to Leon.  This trek was a wonderful experience and one of our highlights in Nicaragua!



Granada Cathedral

From Leon we headed into the mountains for a few days to Matagalpa and Jinotega.  Reviews of the area boast about beautiful towns and surrounding landscapes, but to be honest, it wasn’t an area to rave about.  The coffee was good, it was a nice change to a little cooler temperature, but apart from that, not a “must-see” in Nicaragua.  Because of this, we didn’t stay here long and headed to Granada, a beautiful colonial city full of a lot of history and gorgeous buildings.  Our time here was incredible and we had a great time sightseeing through the city – churches, Cathedral, old train station, markets, etc. 

 

Before the drinks started at Sunday Funday!

By this stage it was getting late in the week and so that meant it was time to head off to San Juan Del Sur at the south of the country just in time for Sunday Funday!  I’d heard about this epic pool party with a bunch of tourists in SJDS and it was something not to be missed.  This is where we met back up with quite a few of our El Tunco (El Salvador) family members, Tony, Andy, Tobie, Simon and Tom, with a new addition of Frankie.  But while I had a great time (I was drunk), it was extremely expensive ($30 for entry and a t-shirt) before you had even bought drinks and is basically just a group of drunk people in a hostel area near a pool…pretty confident you could probably do that yourself?? Don’t get me wrong, if you’re in SJDS to party, hook up, or both, it’s a great place for it – we just thought our money probably could have been better spent…The next day we spent the day at playa Hermosa south of SJDS.  It was a secluded, beautiful beach and had a little bit of surf for David to have some fun…for me, it was hammock time with a book as I was hungover :-) - now that’s a surprise isn’t it, this old body ain’t what it used to be!! 

All the boys after our "ordeal"...being tough and stuff

Afterwards, as a family, the group headed to the island of Ometepe.  It was pretty amazing, with two volcanoes making up the island, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.  It is an island to chill out, hike a volcano or cruise around.  Our first night here wasn’t the best experience we’ve ever had – got attacked by some locals walking in a dark street.  Lucky for us, we were unhurt and somehow I managed to keep my bag with all our belongings inside…how, I have no idea! As bad as the experience was, we realised we’d become a little complacent about where we were travelling and needing to be aware of the situation better…probably a good thing to realise before heading to Africa!!  Saying this, we had a great couple of days – one day we rode bicycles to the middle of the two volcanoes to some natural springs.  David was kept entertained like a 12 year old kid with the rope swing into the water!!  The next day we hired a scooter and tripped around the entire island.  It was an awesome day on the bike! :-)



David and his pretty pink bike :-)

Our next stop was another highlight of our trip for me – the Corn Islands.  We decided to mission out to the Corn Islands via land and boat, making the journey much more interesting, and as we missed the once-weekly ferry from the mainland to the Corn Islands (and we were also advised not to take it due to the vomiting of everyone and animals on-board with you), we ended up flying from Bluefields, which made the trip not much cheaper than if we flew from Managua! But it was an experience and after hearing stories of travellers who had taken the boat, I’m very glad for spending the extra cash!

The Corn Islands are just for relaxing…and scuba diving of course!! We spent all our time on Little Corn Island, which while it is smaller, boasts beautiful, white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters.  It’s so small you can walk around it in an hour or so, or take a day like we did, and stop along the island at the numerous beach spots.  We managed to find a secluded beach, which was so lovely! The best thing about here was waking up to the ocean, right at the front of the hostel.  It was the best way to shower in the morning! If you go here, you definitely have to try the seafood Rondon – so incredibly delicious!!



Ometepe - on one volcanic side, with view of the other!

By this stage we were running out of time to get to Panama where we ended our Central America journey.  Therefore, we made our last stop in San Carlos, near the border of Costa Rica.  We decided to stop here as we were told El Castillo castle on the San Juan River was a must see.  Now don’t get me wrong, it was a nice castle and cool to read the history, but it wasn’t amazing…sometimes I wish we find these things without having expectations – things are always better without having an already pre-conceived idea of what it’s going to be like! 

So Nicaragua was a country of lots of variety, many interesting, fun, funny and horrible experiences but overall, was a great adventure!  While I probably wouldn’t return here, it is definitely a destination to check out and create memories of your own!



Beaches are perfection here...can't help but fall in love <3

That’s my last check-in for our Central America trip.  Next up is Africa!!
Until then,

xxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little El Salvador

From Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, we jumped on a shuttle to get us down to playa (beach) El Tunco in El Salvador.  The smallest country in Central America, El Salvador is often skipped by the common traveller, but we found it to be a destination we quite enjoyed for some R&R time.  While you’re here, you need to try a pupusa (stuffed tortilla), a cheap local dining option and on the coast, the ceviche – yum yum yum! 

Now, the locals are less friendly here compared to Guatemala and you often notice security guards with large rifles hanging from their necks, but the relaxed atmosphere of El Tunco on the pacific coast, makes you see past these things.  The nightlife is pretty epic here on the weekend, while during the week, it’s a vibe of chilled-out surfer dudes, looking for the best waves and the tastiest seafood. 

Our first night in El Tunco - new family and Triple J's hottest 100!! 

We arrived in El Tunco just in time for Australia Day and Triple J’s hottest 100 countdown! Of course, we instantly found an Aussie family (plus several other adopted ones) for the night, to celebrate as only us Aussies do.  However, after being awake from 4am that morning, David and I didn’t even make it to the top 10 – it being 2am and only number 13 playing on the streamed radio!! Damn the time difference making things so difficult!!  But never mind, because the next day was Australia Day, Central America time, so we got a second chance…this time we cooked up a nice Aussie Day feast of snags from the barbie and sat around drinking beers and rum.  Tough day!

Kisses the sun "good night" on the beach

In El Tunco our days just consisted of surfing (well, David surfed, while I lazed), being hungover, eating lots of seafood and one day we managed to organise ourselves (as a group of 14) to hike to a waterfall and go jumping and swimming there.  The hike was a mission and some of us almost cracked our heads open a few times, but the water was beautiful and cold and the waterfall was a nice ending to the hike. Well…that was until we had to hike back out, making us all hot and bothered once again.  Lucky the surf was a 2 minute walk from the hostel….

Our crazy waterfall/hike crew (Lucy in the background!!)

After a chilled but very full 4 days, we decided we’d better break up the family as we needed to get going on our travels if we wanted to see more of the country.  That’s why we took off with my fellow Aussie chick, Lucy and headed to Santa Ana, the second biggest city in El Salvador (after the capital).  The trip itself was an adventure as it was David’s and my first chicken bus experience – and wasn’t it one! Crammed in so you can hardly breathe, people yelling at you in Spanish, preaching religion or trying to sell you the latest gadgets or some fast, cheap food – anything goes on the chicken buses.  It’s boiling hot, you have way too many clothes on and bags to watch but it’s an experience in itself just to see the craziness of everyday life for an El Salvadorian!

Now when we arrived in Santa Ana, the first thought we all had was that it is not at all pretty and nor did it feel very safe – but the hostel we found – INCREDIBLE!  The type of hostel that is so well planned out, and run exceptionally well, Casa Verde (Greenhouse) was everything you want in a stay – clean, cheap, equipped kitchens (yes, that’s a plural – they had 2!), movie room, quiet (or drunk-at-night) room, pool, laundry, cheap drinks, helpful information and it was close to everything! If you go to Santa Ana, you have to stay here!

Volcan Santa Ana

So while the best thing about Santa Ana city itself was the hostel, it did have a few beautiful volcanoes close by to hike up and get amazing views, and is very close to the Ruta de las Flores (route of the flowers).  We ended up climbing Volcan Santa Ana one day (getting ripped off with payment, of course!) and then headed to the Ruta de las Flores to check out all the hype! Now the towns along the route were relaxed and the bus trip between them very beautiful but there still wasn’t that much to do there.  Nonetheless, we had a lovely time exploring the quiet communities and seeing local living, while taking some chill-out time. 

Checking the delicious food options in the markets of Juiyaya (where I tried frog!)

Ataco - a cute town on Ruta de las Flores!

We spent an overnight stay halfway along in a town called Juiyaya – yeah good luck trying to pronounce it! This is where we went on a hunt for iguana skewers, guinea pig and frogs – all delicacies that the guide books tell us are available here.  While we did get lucky with the frog – and it was delicious by the way – the others we couldn’t find (but I do continue to try and find these all the way through the rest of Central America…but with 3 days left, have had no luck!).  It was here in Juiyaya that I also decided to cook David a curry dinner…however, somehow I forgot I was cooking curry, threw in a couple of birdseye chillis, and almost gave David a heart attack with the heat!! My bad….need to train this one to handle spicy food haha

We ended our short time (only 10 days) in El Salvador with a night just outside the capital in Santa Tecla and then started our 13 hour trek of 2 taxis, 5 chicken buses, 1 tuk tuk and 2 border crossings the next morning to get to our next country on the list, Nicaragua!

The Nicaraguan journey was an exciting and interesting one, so keep watching for the next update!

xx

The Remains of Guatemala

David and I enjoying Tikal

So in my last Guatemalan post, I told you quickly about a sexy Spanish man….well it was because of this guy that my first visit to Guatemala ended a week early, so I could go and see him again in Mexico….I know, how sweet, love <3, blah blah. But it was all ok as after changing my plans completely and joining David in Spain for Christmas – I know, what was I thinking?! – I came back to Central to continue through the travels I’d already planned (but on a much smaller timeframe).  After my trek through Cuba at the beginning of the year, I had my incredible guy join me in Mexico and my Central trip now suddenly became doubly better (and I didn’t think it could get any better!).

So after 6 weeks (2 weeks in Mexico, 1 week in Spain, 2 weeks in Cuba and 1 week in Belize), I was finally back in Guatemala, my favourite country (so far) in Central America.  We began our journey in the North in Flores and Tikal.  Wow.  Flores itself was pretty and an easy, safe place to relax, but the real attraction was the ruins of Tikal.  Tikal is not even a “town” as such, just existent because of the incredible ruins that are still intact there, which is why we stayed in Flores. 

 

The "main" temple of the Tikal ruins

Walking through the ruins of Tikal, it’s like a big jungle, with paths carefully paved for tourists to visit each site easily.  There are a massive amount of intact areas and in a full day, we didn’t see everything!  But the main temples and attractions were enough to really see Tikal and we spent our time enjoying the green scenery, the monkeys in the park and walking around some of the less “touristic” ruins.  Because the area is so large, you can get lost and feel like you’re the only people visiting Tikal, when in fact, the area is swarmed with visitors every day.  If you would like to learn about the Mayan history in relation to the ruins, I recommend taking a guided tour, but otherwise do what we did and explore and research on your own. 

 

After Tikal we headed south to Semuc Champey, Lanquin.  This entailed a horrendous full day bus trek for about 300km of road, but once we arrived, all was forgotten.  The landscape was just beautiful – and we hadn’t even got to the park yet!! Here we stayed at a hostel called Zephyr Lodge.  Now, the set-up was incredible, with little huts for the rooms and bathrooms opening into nature.  However, the staff were incredibly rude, the food and drinks overpriced and overall a big party place.  It depends on what you’re after during your stay, either way we enjoyed the place but because of some factors, it wasn’t something to rave about. 

 

The next day we took a tour with the hostel into the park.  First we visited some caves.  Full of water, we trekked/swam our way in to the end and got to cannonball into the last opening before turning around again.  A few small spots, but being claustrophobic myself, not too bad!  And then onto the thing we came for, Semuc Champey.  Semuc Champey is a lime bridge with a natural formation of water holes.  It’s incredible to see and wonderful and fresh to swim in, especially after the hike to the mirador (lookout) to view the area from above.  This is definitely a must-see when in Guatemala, despite being a pain to get to – it was one of my favourite days in the country!

Photos just can't do this place justice - Semuc Champey!

 

Down to Lake Atitlan we headed the next day, on another 10 hour journey, yuk!  But we were told there weren’t many people in our bus so there would be plenty of room, and if we walked to the agency instead of waiting to be picked up, we’d get the first seats.  Sweet.  Well, that was a lie.  We were actually the last, leaving me to sit upright in a chair as the “back” consisted of a hard piece that finished around the mid of my back…But, thinking quickly, at the next stop I asked my driver in my broken Spanish if I could jump in the front cab.  He didn’t seem too thrilled with it, but since I didn’t understand what he was saying, I just jumped on up and ended up having the best 10 hour bus trip!! Advice given J

 

We arrived at Lake Atitlan at San Pedro – a little town, re-known for its party nature, but chosen for its accessibility to other parts of the lake and our onward journey.  Now Lake Atitlan is huge, I mean, it takes an hour on a boat just to cross a small portion of it!  One day we took off to explore Santiago, another village on the edge of the lake, and home to Maximo, a strange saint vs. devil monument thing.  Ok, now don’t judge me, this wasn’t my idea – David has some strange liking to these voodoo religion things that I have no understanding of, but hey, got to be a good girlfriend sometimes, right??  But I’m not that good a girlfriend to actually go in.  Well…that was until a drunk Guatemalan guy came to harass me and when I politely walked away, screamed after me “hey, woman!!”…yeah because that’s going to make me stop and listen…

 

Anyway on the way to Santiago, the water was extremely choppy.  I mean, you would think we were in the ocean.  David and I got absolutely drenched.  I stepped off the boat and I could wring out my clothes and water just came pouring out.  Good day to wear white shorts, just saying.  So my advice to you is sit at the very back of the boat, near the driver – they were the only people who didn’t get wet!!

Enjoying the views of Lake Atitlan

Other than that, David and I spent our time at the Lake to upwind, relax and catch up on some R&R time, and what better way to do it than to stay in a hostel with hot tubs.  Mikaso Hostel is a little walk away from the main area (which is great when you don’t want to be sucked into the party atmosphere of San Pedro), and they have two hot tubs on the roof of their place, overlooking the lake.  It was so relaxing, sitting in the hot tub, under the stars, sipping on a beer.  Tough life.  We had some incredible vegetarian food here (I think the place was called Home? – but it was next door to the Irish place, The Clover) – was cheap, delicious and a refreshing change from the Central American diet of rice, beans and meat of your choice.  Lake Atitlan can give you whatever you’re after – some relaxation, parties, much needed vegetable hit and also they have several volcanoes that you can climb – so it’s a place you have to visit while you’re in Guatemala. 

Lake Atitlan rounded out our last day in the country and it was a wonderful way to finish our time there.  Guatemala stole my heart (which is probably half contributed to the adorable kiddies at the orphanage) and it’s definitely a country I can’t wait to return to! We headed on out of the lake directly en-route to the beach in El Salvador J

Stayed tuned for the El Salvadorian news…

xxx

 

The Backpacker's Guide to Cuba

Cuba has always been a place of intrigue and interest to backpackers and with the recent reconciliation talks with the US, this little Caribbean country is now high on a lot of travellers’ bucket lists.  Hence, along with my two side-kicks, Irina and Oskar, I have put together a list of things that will help you backpack your way through Cuba and get the most bang for your buck.  So whether you’re a novice backpacker, been doing it for years or just a budget conscious tourist, this guide is perfect for you!

However, before I begin, I’d like to stress that while it’s great to travel cheap and barter when you think you’re getting ripped off, these people are living on absolute pennies in a country where prices continue to increase.  If you still think you’re getting a good deal and would be willing to pay $5 for that necklace in any other country, then maybe it’s ok not to barter to the absolute limits just because you know you can.  A substantial tip for an incredible meal under $2, is not much compared to what you would pay elsewhere.  Just a little humanitarian pep talk! :-) Ok, on to the tips…

The awesome threesome - great travel buddies :-)

1.       Travel with someone else

In Cuba, there are no such things as hostels.  Ok, well in Havana they have “hostels” where you can pay by the bed, but it is just an apartment building with bunk beds.  Saying that, anywhere else in Cuba, you stay at Casa Particulares, which are guesthouses and you pay by the room.  Therefore, if you have 2 or 3 or even 4 of you, you can end up saving a lot of money!

2.       But, if you want to travel solo

My advice if you don’t like travelling with friends/family, you’ve got 3 options.  Number 1 – budget more for your accommodation (because you are looking at $20-30 a night, compared to the $8-10 I paid).  Option 2 – stay at the “hostels” in Havana and find a travel buddy that way for the rest of Cuba.  Or the 3^rd option - which is interesting - is try Couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing (anywhere else in the world) is a free mode of accommodation where you can stay with locals on their couch and you can see the sights from a local’s perspective.  In Cuba you still have to pay but I believe it is cheaper than a Casa.

3.       Talk to the locals

The best way to save money is to talk to the locals!! They are the ones that know the best and cheapest places to eat, they are the ones who know the “real” prices of things and they are the ones who can give you a better cultural experience to boot! We met a guy in line for a bar who went and bought us a bottle of rum and mixers for $5; we met a couple who led us to our favourite restaurant in Santa Clara and a local man (the one looking after his mum on a minimal pension) who introduced us to the 5 peso ice cream bowls!! Win! J




Enjoying our $5CUP ice cream bowls!

4.       Carry both currencies

In Cuba they have 2 currencies – Cuban CUC (pronounced Cook) (1: 1 USD) and the Cuban CUP (national pesos).  They are a lot of things you can only pay with in CUC – accommodation, bus tickets, taxi fares and your departure tax.  Anything else, I guarantee you can find somewhere where you can pay with CUP.  In some places, this price is just the exact exchange value from the CUC price (i.e. for rum, cigarettes and other shopping), but in restaurants this can mean a lot of savings for you.  Always change a decent amount of CUC into CUP (exchange rate at time of writing is 1:24 (CUC:CUP)) and ask to pay in CUP every time.  This leads me to my next tip…

5.       Always ask for the CUP menu at restaurants



Meeting a serenading local in Havana

When you arrive at a restaurant that you see locals in, they most definitely have a CUP menu or “locals” menu.  We discovered a very popular restaurant for locals in Santa Clara, where locals would line up for 2-3 hours for a table.  Being so popular, we thought we’d try it, but when we entered, a serving of lasagne was $5CUC!  For Cubans, this is incredibly expensive for a meal and so we asked to see the National Peso (CUP) menu.  The same serving of lasagne was now only 20CUP (under $1)!  Always ask for the local menu as you pay the local prices! We also managed to get a 3 course meal, including a tip for $2!

6.       Use your Casa Particulares’ expertise

The ladies that run the Casa Particulares know things.  They are the best people to ask about transport around the town, cheap places to eat or drink and also where to stay in the next town! Often they will call and book you a room in the next place and organise pick up from the bus station.  It’s easy, convenient and you know you’re getting a good price! Also, most casas offer cheap breakfast options from $2-5!  It’s normally heartier, tastier and cheaper than what you would find in the street.

We loved our Casa "mum" in Santa Clara! <3

7.       Catch the local buses

Any local buses in Havana costs 40c CUP (0.0125c CUC).  Therefore, look like a local and just pay the bus driver the smallest coin you have.  Locals pay this way too as it’s not often you have 40c CUP in your pocket!! The buses are crowded, sweltering hot and painfully slow but we all know it’s worth it compared to a $5 CUC taxi ride!  

8.       Buy Internet cards where it’s cheapest

Cuba is a country of disconnect.  They have recently got some internet places set up but it’s expensive, slow and often very crowded so you have to wait a while.  So my first sugestion is to avoid internet in general, but if you really need to connect, research the places along your route that offer cheaper internet.  All internet stations and one hotel in Havana that offers wifi (at time of writing) use the same internet cards.  However, in Havana they are $8CUC for an hour, Trinidad $6CUC and Santa Clara $4.50CUC.  Therefore, if you know you’re going to need the internet, buy cards at a cheaper location to take with you to the most expensive places.

9.       Catch route taxis where possible



Catching our first route taxi in Havana

In some places like Havana, they have taxis going back and forward on a route (normally one long street) and will stop to pick you up and take you anywhere you want on the route.  For us, it allowed us to travel from our hostel to the centre (Parque Central) for only $10CUP (under 30c CUC).  It’s cheaper and convenient and you get to travel in those cool 1950’s cars!!

10.   Bring necessities

Bring anything you need for your vacation – soap, deodorant, tampons, etc – with you to Cuba.  Chances are you won’t find them in Cuba to purchase at all and if you do, they are extremely overpriced, so worth the extra weight in the backpack! 

 

11.   You can barter with anything



Even bread was hard to find!...And given it without a bag...

Take cheap sunnies or jewellery, pens/pencils, etc to use to barter with instead of money.  They love everything that they can’t easily buy in Cuba so whatever you have and don’t really need, barter away!  I never tried it as I had nothing to offer but I’ve heard this is a great way to avoid spending extra money.  If anyone does try it, I would love to hear how you went! Good luck! 

12.   Only carry minimal money when trying to barter for something particular

The first price offered for things in Cuba is never the final price, taxis included.  I always figure out how much I want to spend for something and then just take that amount when I’m bartering.  That way, I can show the person that that’s all the money I have and 9 times out of 10, they’ll agree to your price.  I particular find this is useful at the end of your trip when you don’t want to get more money exchanged or out of an ATM.  For example, my last day in Havana and I had to get to the airport – no public transport there exists.  The original price of the taxi was $25CUC.  I managed to only pay $16CUC, just by asking for him to help me as I only had $16CUC left.  Sure enough, no problem!

13.   Carry enough foreign currency for the duration of your trip

ATM’s can be found in the major places but normally only accept VISA and no American Cards whatsoever.  They attract large withdrawals fees and are often out of money or have limited withdrawals amounts, meaning that you often have to go back a couple of times.  To avoid this and save some money, I recommend taking foreign currency with you to exchange at the bank.  The exchange rates are pretty close to the real thing and there are plenty of offices around.  However, DO NOT take US dollars – it attracts a 10% surcharge to exchange and so instead of an almost 1:1 conversion, you get only 88c CUC for every US$1!  Euros and Mexican Pesos are the best currencies to take if you can get your hands on them. 

That’s the summary of the things I found most useful to save some cash while travelling in Cuba.  If you’ve been to Cuba and have some more tips, please comment here so others can read about them.  Prepare yourself for the culture shock, apply these few tips and you’ll have an incredible (and cheap) trip through Cuba!!

Hablamos pronto!
xxxx

 

 

Crazy Cuba!

Relaxing in a hammock in my hostel in Cancun, Mexico, I begin talking to my fellow hammock-ers, Irina and Oskar about our travel plans.  This is back in December and I knew I was heading to Spain to meet the boy’s parents (I know, crazy!) but I still had 2 weeks before he returned to Central to join me travelling to do…something.  I didn’t want to stay in Cancun (as much as the hammocks were awesome) so I was thinking about what I could do to “waste” my time.  I was thinking out loud when I mentioned I’d love to check out Cuba.  Not surprisingly, Irina and Oskar also wanted to check out the country.  So….after knowing each other for only 24 hours, the next morning we were taken to a Cuban travel agent (thanks Hermes!) and we booked our tickets for less than 2 weeks later!! Woohoo!

We arrived in Cuba just in time to depart the year that was, 2014.  A year of incredible highs and lows for me, but most certainly a year that ended extremely well.  Cuba was the perfect way to top it off!  It was an incredible experience and a place I’d love to return to in the future to go and explore more.  It was interesting, extremely different, frustrating at times and very much patience draining (which you all know I have none of to start with!!).



The "supermarkets" in Cuba

So happy with our ice cream bowls! :)

We managed to eat 5 peso (20c) ice cream bowls (5 scoops with sauce and biscuits); drink 1 peso (4c) milkshakes; buy bottles of rum for $5 and catch local buses for 40c peso (under 2c).  We drank way too many home-made mojitos, met a lot of friendly locals who we are still in contact with and gained a particular skill for discovering peso restaurants to eat at!  We learnt there were “tourist” menus and “local” menus very quickly and so to ensure we paid in local prices, we managed to convince people we were living in Cuba.  This was achieved by Irina and I staying mute and letting Oskar (the only one who can talk Spanish properly) do all the talking!! Supermarkets in Cuba are for drunks and people who want to kill their lungs (as they only sold rum and cigarettes normally), so I guess for us they were perfect! J But seriously, it is the most difficult country I’ve ever travelled to, to find food from somewhere other than restaurants.  Irina and I got a lot of Cuban attention, one guy even asking to buy us from Oskar, which made walking around tiring at times.  But all in all the country is definitely somewhere that should be on everyone’s bucket list – just make sure you’re prepared for the culture shock!

Havana

We arrived into the capital, Havana, at night and were taken to our “hostel”.  As we pulled up outside a bland looking locked up building in a deserted street, we started to think our taxi driver was trying to scam us.  However, he was right.  Our hostel was actually a little apartment building where the rooms had bunk beds crammed in.  Very soon we realised that this was the closest to a hostel we’d find in Cuba. 


Expected view in Havana

 

Got my signature pic with Che Guevara

The next day we went exploring and while walking through the main “tourist” area of Havana near Parque Central and down Obispo Street, you see exactly what you imagine – fancy 1950’s cars, colourful buildings and lots of people.  But look to your left or right and you see the different side of Cuba, the broken streets, the beggers, the dirty garbage littering the sidewalks.  It’s a completely different world and opens your eyes to the hardship Cuban’s have been facing ever since the disconnect with arguably the world’s most powerful nation.  Talking to the locals, we met a doctor working for as little as $25 a month; taxi drivers that were qualified engineers or lawyers, just trying to make ends meet; a man looking after his disabled and elderly mother who requires full-time care, scrapping by on only 200 national pesos (approx. $8) a month for the 2 of them! It was eye-opening, heart breaking but also a little overwhelming and humbling to see how generous these people still were, when they literally had nothing. 
We spent NYE in our “hostel”, making our own mojitos (thanks to $5 bottles of Havana Club rum), while we waited for the antics to take off in Cuba (nothing begins until midnight on NYE).   Around 11pm we heading downstairs to join others from another hostel and continued drinking mojitos in the park across the street until we were herded up by our Cuban friend and loaded into a taxi to be taken to a festival of sorts.  However, it was basically a small amount of people in a very large area listening to techno music and we were not feeling the vibe.  Silly us, because after we left, we then spent the next 2 hours trying to find something lively in Havana to keep us entertained for the night, to no avail.  By 4am, we were tired and sobering up pretty quickly and so decided to call it a night.  Despite the taxi trek around town in the early morning, NYE was a pretty awesome start to 2015!

Getting ready to send off 2014!

Santa Clara

A couple of days later, we heading off to Santa Clara.  During a pit stop near Australia (I know, almost made it home!), we were sitting on the curb talking nonsense as normal, when we see our bus start leaving.  Running after it in a mad scurry, we managed not to be left behind in the middle of nowhere and continued on our journey!!  Arriving into Santa Clara, the atmosphere was just different.  It was a much more relaxed town, with less hassle from Cubans and a much more accepting culture.  This is the part of Cuba where transvestites are well known and is home to Cuba’s only drag show! We arrived on a Saturday hoping to catch a glimpse of this show, but turns out we were a week too late (only showing twice a month).  Despite that, we made friends with some locals, saw some very pretty trannies and even managed a picture or two!!  It was a refreshing change to see how accepting everyone was of each other’s choices.

So close to home!! Only 1km away

Picture with a trannie - Oskar was a little happppyyyy!

We spent 4 days in Santa Clara and had a ball! We managed to make friends with some Cubans; got to taste the worst Italian food any of us have ever tried (imagine lasagne with very little pasta or meat, instead just cheesy flour chucks); tried some incredible local food for as little as $2 for a 3 course meal; discovered Havaianas (when we couldn’t even buy milk!); were dubbed nicknames – mine being the “China girl”; and had a drunken midnight dinner with some Russians we met at the table next to us! We also drank too many homemade mojitos, where we ended up raiding the mint from our casa’s garden (we were given permission) and then in our drunken states decided to leave the limes and used mint in a pot plant, because you know, that makes them invisible! Our time in Santa Clara was definitely the highlight of the trip so far!

Trinidad

But then we arrived in Trinidad and I fell in love.  Most likely the most touristic part of Cuba but you can definitely see why.  Dubbed UNESCO protection in 2008, Trinidad is a town that has been preserved with the classic array of coloured buildings, beautiful galvanised steel windows and cobblestone streets.  The locals are friendly, the variety of food choices much more abundant here and there are many places to let your hair down and go dancing!

Beautiful streets of Trinidad

Our first night in Trinidad was lovely after meeting a bunch of new friends on the bus en-route.  So at dinner that night we had a very international group - one Danish, one Swedish, one German, one Argentinian, one Korean, two French and two Australians! After dinner we went and checked out Casa de la Musica where they have live music and a massive dance floor where locals and tourists alike can dance rumba, salsa or any other mix of hip-shaking! Was a lovely night!!



Our international dinner!

One of our favourite places was the “pina colada place” (as named by us), where they made incredible pina coladas for $2 for takeaway.  So we’d buy some and chill on the steps at the bottom of Casa de la Musica and listen to the music coming from above.  Here we also found the best street food of roast pulled pork buns with tomato – incredible! So delicious and fresh and only 10 pesos (40c)! But weird things do happen in Cuba – we bought ice cream in a cup but weren’t given spoons so walking down the street we were licking the ice cream out of the cup with our tongues – definitely got a few stares!

One of our days we biked to the beach from Trinidad (only 14kms away) but managed to find a beautiful secluded spot along the way where we could stop and swim and sunbake for a little while.  It was very beautiful.  The only strange thing we found, that I guess is going along with everything else we found in Cuba – there was no ice cream to be found at any shop at the beach! I think we’ve come to realise that what you would assume to be “expected” anywhere else in the world, in Cuba this can’t be assumed!

Biking fun out to the beach

The band at Casa de la Musica

Our last night together before trekking back for a short sleep in Havana and then leaving Cuba was spent again at Casa de la Musica.  We managed to buy a bottle of Havana Club and mixers for only $15 and so as you can imagine, we don’t really remember much!  There was a lot of falling over, water fights, breaking glasses, arguing with arrogant German guys, dancing salsa and eating too much food! It was a lovely way to end our trip together!

Thanks Irina and Oskar for an awesome start to 2015! Cuba was definitely an interesting adventure and I loved sharing it with you guys!

Keep checking back here for my next blog instalment specifically for backpackers – The Backpackers Guide to Cuba.

Until next time

xxx