I was up and bouncing after nine gorgeous hours of sleep. Today we wanted to find a few things, the Cigar Factory which we found but decided not to take the tour as they wanted Matt to surrender his super expensive camera on an unmanned desk as he couldn't take it around. It was a simple hard No, so we headed to ChinaTown instead, sat in a park, found the flat iron building built by the same architect which put up the New York equivalent. We had lemon tart in a Chinese Cafe which was delicious and then a cheeky ice cocktail (Dacquery?) in Hemmingway's local and stayed for lunch too. Walked home in the hot rain - in Matt's words "even my eyeballs are wet".
Week 3 - Tuesday
Well the water stopped flowing after dinner on Monday, so first thing Tuesday I texted the apartment manager, who in turn called the building manager and an hour later the apartment manager was climbing up and over the roof with a giant spanner and no fear of heights/safety gear. The giant spanner did the trick and we had ALL the water back. I celebrated by buying veggies and giant avocados that are bigger than my hands (melon sized) it will be Avocado Everything for the next few days.
We walked to John Lennon's park and Matt's sun glasses were too small - see Matt doesn't have a big head. Had a long walk home while the Sun beat us. Had the most expensive Orange juice so far in one stop off point.
Lots of thunder here but no rain. Matt took a timelapse from the balcony of the setting sun.
Avocado on roll for dinner, followed by Rum and peaches.
Sunday of week 2
Double figures. I woke up in double figures, even the street had exhausted its music and was almost subdued and I started to worry until 10:30am, and it all resumed with renewed energy and all was well with the world again. Imagine every house in your street having a party, with windows thrown open to release the beats - that's what it is like here ALL the time.
We wanted to walk in a different direction today, and we got toasty hot, armed as I was with frozen bottled water giving way to the heat and a Big Fan, I had taken ten steps outside and knew it was going to be a heatwave. We pointed out feet in the direction of Revolution Square but the Map then lost how to get there, we were 30 mins into our walk and burning so fell into a bar to have cold beer and ice ice cold air conditioning. The map then offered us John Lennon Park and to one side Big Burger restaurant. Why not have lunch first then head to the park in one big circle and lots of stops was good with me.
The Big Burger place had great chips (the first we have had since Iceland) I then had cheese/tom pizza and Matt ordered 2 x burgers but only one turned up. He was happy with just the one and helped me finish off the pizza.
We then put on our walking feets to find John Lennon Park and was soon followed by a dog with more bones I could count. He followed us for a while, and I asked a street vendor for food but he didn't understand. I then found another larger street stall and one person spoke English, and it is here that the dog then got a bowl of cold water (from Matt) and a freshly cooked juicy burger and bun and left her to eat. She is still on my mind now. Maybe I can go back tomorrow and take more cooked burgers.
We stopped at the park then headed home - 45 minutes away but took close to an hour. 7 miles walking and all I want to do now is sleep.
Week 3 - Monday
It was a stay near to home type of day. We had walked our feets off the past week, and the heat was starting to kick us all over Havana, so we retreated to the cool sanctuary of the apartment, and walked up to the Market for a Beer. The day was filled with reading and eLearning - Rock and Roll.
Saturday of Week 2
Last night was a party - a street party - competing noise blasted through every wall. There has been a festival for the past week so maybe it is all linked to that. We have 5 rooms in this appartment and every room blasted out different songs. Disco party in the bathroom was my favorite. We knew we wouldnt be able to sleep but weirdly we did! Those noise cancelling headphones are amazing. There was a party over the back, and man alive it turned into a slap fight about 11pm, many raised voices but the word "Maria" was frequently shouted so we think it was all about Maria. This soon settled and we were out like lights waking way past the cockerals.
We needed more supplies, and after picking up a handful, I made Matt a Burger and he was mighty pleased and hasnt stopped grinning since.
We walked up to the market, and on the way I picked up the tiniest kitten who just walked up to us squeaking. There are a whole pile in a nice park and my heart was torn - I just wanted to race back to the appt and empty the fridge (sadly Matt's burgers were in his tummy so were safe). I vowed to go back after the shop and find something to feed them, but on the return journey a lovely lady was feeding them all and I was relieved indeed. When did I turn into a cat lady? I think I am missing Wombat way too much. At the market we haggled so I could pick out a few things to bring back home, and then we accidentally fell into a Bar and we had two beers, it is easy to say beer and stick up two fingers and repeat a second time for the next round. The walk home was a bit of a blur (Matt took care of crossing roads for us).
Oh yes and now I have eggs.. Eggcellent. Eggciting. Honestly the basics are hard to find.
Friday of Week 2
After a few hours sleep we are watching the sun rise. Today we are meandering past the capital and heading into proper old town.
As I type this at the end of the day, street vendors are blowing whistles outside and sending out tannoy messages, none of which I understand. This street is filled with loud competing music and as it is Friday night, will probably last all evening so I am breaking out the Rum and joining in.
We stocked up on essentials - to be honest it is mostly pasta and veggies. There are no chain stores or fast food places and street vendor food is eaten while batting away flies. Flies are everywhere and I swear there are more of them than people. Matt and I spotted a mighty giant cockroach today which made a beeline for a veggie store and no one flinched. That then is a hard no. I am craving beans on toast, or simply chunky buttered bread or heck a bowl of Cheerios.
Today we were smart and had bottled water before setting off. The bottle was empty 30 minutes in. We did though find a working ATM (YEY!!) apparently they are out of action more than in. We went to Hemingway's pub. The people are friendly, and we must have said no to about a dozen or more offers of a taxi.
We went to the Museum of Revolution and I needed a fan as my other has broken, and the seller wanted 10 CUC (I shook my head and said no, too much) and immediately was offered 5 CUC. We also had a lime/mint drink to cool down.
With throbbing feets we headed home and even MapMe was confused in the heat but we eventually made it. We met a family asking for 1 dollar, and a group of young girls from that family skipped after us, so I gave them a giant silver coin and they jubilantly raced back to the family as if they were holding gold, I felt guilty and immediately wanted to give them more as their reaction was so unexpected (there is always tomorrow). That coin = 1 Peso CUC = 24 local Pesos CUP. We still cant get our head around their currency. We think 0.13 of a local peso gets them a loaf of bread so the girls had 24 of them to spend.
Tomorrow is the weekend.
Thursday of Week 2
So, it is averaging 32 degrees hot here, a little on the boil side and I would be happer if it was a simmering 27 degrees and that is how we start our days at 6am
Today we free roamed into Old Town, a good 35 mins gentle meandering that took about an hour if you add in stopping for photography. We we aiming for the cigar factory to see how it was all made, this was the place you bought cigars, we were lead across marbel floors to an understairs cupboard where boxes were shown and prices negotiated. An hour into the start of our day and we needed water and a cool shady respite of a cafe, and Matt had a couple of mini chocolate coissants. The Center has the Capitol building where Putin paid for gold layers to be added to the dome.
Next stop was an art gallery but we never quite got there as we fell into a 2 hour car tour that included stops to pick up proper rum, the kind you use to toast special events, some Churchill cigars, a Holiday Hat for Matt to add to his colletion and many facts by an affable cuban who had spent many years in America. We had mojetots at a bar. The many facts of our tour included the Telegraph Hotel which sent the first telegraph, a street of embassys including one for North Korea and the UK, Hemmingways Hotel, many buildings owned/built by the maffia. We learnt the average wage is 25-35 dollars per month, that schooling was compulsory as was joining the army - 1 year if you are in higher level education or 3 years if you were a skilled laborer. This happens when you are 20. A new constitution was signed in which meant that the prime minister was referred to as the President but you dont vote for them, you vote for the party. The President is a young fellow and his term lasts four years. You cant be President if you are over 60.
The town (well every street we have seen so far leading into the capitol building) is a mix of bright colours over buildings, old cars that are lovingly restored. Some buildings are beautiful but many buildings are just about standing upright with the help of layers of dirt and dust. Music fills every street and weaves everyone together. We are frequently approached with greetings of "Happy Holidays, followed swiftly by where are you from, then either asking if want a taxi, or help to find somewhere or to buy a big cigar which we know are fake replicas. Everyone is warm and friendly and I am picking up words in spanish.
The waves of hot air are filled with spices or the smell of very ripe cooking bins and if you are near one when a bag is thrown in, a cloud of flies will momentarily fill the sky as they are displaced before and settling back in to feast.
We queued for an age to get to the ATM, and they are not many of them across the capital. People queue outside shops for supplies but they can't shop like we do. They stand behind glass cases and can't really reach any shelves. Matt found a camera store and a good camera costs 4000 cuc (about 3300 pounds).
We used MapMe to find our way home again, and in the heat, each step felt sticky. We found a little corner cafe full of fans and ordered queso pizza which is a simple cheese pizza, they didnt have water but we pointed at cans of orange juice and we chugged down two.
The evening was gentle and planning the scavenger hunt for tomorrow which needs to include a holiday hat as I am getting roasted. There was a rare blast of rain, with fat hot dropplets, and humidity is 82 percent.
Wednesday of Week 2
The first day of feeling like we are not alien and we know the local layout. We are heading into Old Town later this evening to properly explore further afield and then get a taxi home. Matt returned home with some interesting meat, and I got pasta, veggies and pine nuts for this evening.
Had a funny moment as Matt threw some pine nuts into his mouth.. and promptly expelled them. They are NOT pine notes. Will boil them later to work out what they are.
We went out in the evening and found Old Town.
Tuesday of Week 2
Woke with a monster headache that throbbed until lunchtime, we had to drink water and lots of it. Our first mission was to find food. We are 30 minutes walk from old town and little shops are set up with a handful of items beind glass counters you have point to.
Here there are many free roaming dogs and cats, both equally lethargic.
Street stalls sell fruit and veggies. We made a few small trips out in the first day mainly to orientate ourselves as GPS does not work. The first trip snagged us old bananas and a pineapple. The second trip snagged us bread rolls (10 for 1 CUC = 1 dollar) and a fruit pie. We felt like champions. Almost everything you point at costs 1 or 2 CUCs We then found a mini-market with much pointing we had Cuban Rum, Pasta, milk and coffee. In between trips we drank our body weight in water and slept as the heat sapped all of our energy.
Matt hooked up the laptop to the TV and we had ourselves some films to watch. Outside the children did their homework at tables and chairs in the cooler night air then recited their work.
Monday of Week 2
e have taken to offline blogging.... ready to upload in the one precious hour we have each day.
Monday
This was our last day in Tororonto and we made the most of it with a lie in, cooked breakfast and leftover pizza then threw suitcases into the trunk. The TomTom didnt want to work for a bit which made things exciting. We stopped off at the local shop to stock up on loo paper, antibacterial hand sanitiser and tumtums (the hard core necessities for Cuba if we accidentally drink not boiled water).
We were on our way to Ball Falls which are scenic tame waterfalls, and a nod to my maiden nickname as I tend to fall over more than stay upright on holiday. We were hampered on our mission by a street party as it was Thanksgiving - so many stalls and garage sales, it felt if all of Canada had congregated in one street. Heading away from the mass-garden party and seeing signs for Ball Falls we grew optimistic until State Troupers blocked the entrance. Someone must have warned them that I was on the way.
We then snaked through countryside to the Town of Whitby with it's own police force, train station and Walmart Superstore. There is going to be a photostorm of all the Whitby things we captured, my favourite is a flag at a monument and a Whitby Audio sign.
The car was dropped off, the best car hire experience we have ever had, I felt a pang leaving it behind. We found vegan burgers and settled in to wait for the plane. We met a person who owned a bar so will pop by and say hi later this week. RESULT! Our Marmite and Mapel Syrup was waved into Cuba ! We had to fill in two forms on the plane and most of the questions were confusing. We were blasted with antibacterial spray (rude!) before disembarking and a WALL of heat hit us at 11:30pm. Matt's scarf, hat and coat were quickly pulled off and stuffed into a bag.
Milo was waiting to pick us up in a little green car. I have no idea how two big suitcases were put in. We arrived at the apartment about 1am ish and it was a blur of trying to get the door to work, and the wifi (door fixed wifi had to wait until Tuesday lunchtime with a strict 1 hour use). We were too awake to sleep at 2am. The car drive was so alien the dark picked out buildings and the old timeless cars weaved between people walking in the road. It is place where people mainly own the road. The buildings are a mix of new hotels and faded elegence.
In Cuba!
Man alive it is hot! Got here early hours of today. Apartment is good and cool. Spent yesterday in Whitby Canada.
We have a few supplies and pointing, nodding and smiling goes a long way (or I am freaking them all out)
Wifi very poor and sketchy so only infrequent one line updates
Over and out
Day 8 - Yellow Bugs & Giant Ants
I woke to find Matt hunting for his kindle…. it was in the bed. He was WiDE Awake and keen to in tell me he had just finished a book…. I just buried my head back in the pillow making grumpy noises.
Today’s walk culminated in just under 17 thousand steps up and down hills, and across bridges and my feet are cartoon throbbing. Powered by Nitro coffee from Starbucks I made it home again.
While out, we saw waves of Canada Geese flying overhead making that unique sound they have. The neighbourhood has a lack of cats and dogs but an almighty nutload of squirrals - mainly black and very squirrally. You could play the mission impossible theme by their movements. They are EVERYWHERE.
Ants - there are terrifyingly large, the length of a large thumb nail and one chased me out of a room.
Today we went to the Falls, then took a yellow bug up a tower to see the Falls from up on high, watched an exhibition about crazy people going to impossible lengths to throw themselves over the falls in home-made tubs, balls and barrels, fascinated by a group of Amish people who Matt spoke to - it was odd to see them file into a 3D/4D movie. We then then walked over the Rainbow Bridge connecting Canada and America. At one point in the day I was split in two with one foot on either side of the Line and in both countries simultaneously.
Home for Pizza - it is the eve of Thanksgiving in Canada (which is a month earlier compared to America) and to check-in for our flights to Cuba at 8pm tomorrow. As I write this, it is 2.03 am your time, and 9.03pm mine. You are already in tomorrow.
WAY Up High….
Day 7 - Niagara, Canada
The days are starting to blur a little, it doesn’t help that I am catching up a day or so behind… so only myself to blame.
We had a good long sleep in a double ginormous bed, and woke after nearly 12 hours to rain but that didn’t deter us at all - as we have been to Iceland and we are gritty. We put on our walking shoes and wore our feet down to our knees exploring the area. There is a steep hill leading down to the Niagara Falls (we are going to have to climb back up it later). The sky was teenage-moody but it made the falls a deep green. We were not really aiming for the Falls, and had planned to go back later when the sun made an appearance but there you have it.. We turned into tourists and snapped away like crazy.
I picked up a cheeky bottle of maple syrup (the proper stuff) to have on pancakes later but really I am more taken with the bottle as it is shaped like a maple leaf.
We then headed home to rest for a few hours and I got the washing done. In the evening we headed back to the Knucklehead and Matt drank me under the table (4 buds) ending the night with a shot of tequila. Home and sound asleep by 11pm.
Apparently this 167 ft monster is shrinking by a foot a year.
Day 6 - Iceland hop to Canada
The day started at 2:40 am and we were in the car by 3.07am. The wind was howling. there are no street lights unless you are in the city and to add to the fun, the roads were gravel. A good 3 hours were ahead of us and the wind walloped the car a few times to kick it closer to the airport. We didn’t see a car for the first hour and 20 minutes, and then a smattering before a deluge at Reykjavik.
The flight was very uncomfortable, I did expect more from Air Canada. Squished elbows and knees. for 5 and a half hours.
We picked up a wonderful car at Enterprise and pointed it to the School House and we were not disappointed. I will upload a video later. We took a long overdue bimble to the end of the street and had a bud in Knucklesomething pub.
We have lept back in time but it has already been the longest day - 5 hours behind Iceland and 6 for the UK.
Day 5 - Last full day in Iceland
The cold didn’t let up, topping 3 degrees. The house is cosy warm with thick walls insulating from the harshest of winds and nippyness.
The last day we meandered from one village to another (a cinanbun at the bakery) which was mighty tasty compared to the offer of dried shark meat that is hung for months, looks orange from the outside and super white when you cut into it, it still looked jelly like and whilst tempted, one prod with a stick and it wobbled I decided to give it a pass. Apparently these sharks are no longer hunted and the family now buy sharks caught in the nets which is quite rare as they live between 1 and 3km down in the deep ocean. They don’t have bones, and their spine is cartilage. They have layers of teeth that grow in rows that become saws when chopping up the meats when eating. Not much is known about these sharks, but unless the fish is dried (still jelly blocks), it is poisonous. The museum was dedicated to the family way of life, and had all manner of things on display.
We then popped back to the village with the giant famous hill that looks like a sorting hat. Coffee fended off the rain, then back home to pack and an early night. The wind today is horrendous and really whipped up a storm, howling through the house, not conducive to sleeping. We decided to be on the road by 3am.
Day 4 - Thermals
Eee by Eck, it’s nippy out there. If you open the door your ears get grated. There is only one thing for it - Stay In Bed or break out The Thermals. Thermals it is. Now I am toasty.
We took a right not a left and found a busy village.
Day 3 - Ends of the Earth
The day woke up to scrambled eggs on toast and horses fighting outside. This soon settled and I threw together lunch and we pointed the car at a national park. Snæfellsjökull National Park to be precise. It was one big loop then home again.
We did stop for lunch so the sandwiches became a mid-afternoon snack.
Some of the winds held open the doors for us, another gust stole a Twiddly and took it over the edge of a cliff. Don’t worry folks, we have plenty left.
I recorded 7 and a bit minutes to home to show you how remote we are…. i will figure out how to get it from my phone to here and then upload if it is possible. If not, then you have a treat in store for you the next time there is coffee and cake in the offering.
Day 2 - The Moon and the Hill
After killing bacon for Matt (the cooker seems to go from not cooking food to Burn in 2.8 seconds flat) and pouring milk over cheerios for me, we planned the day ahead.
We would travel to the nearest town about 30 minutes away (see we really ARE in the middle of nowhere facing the sea) and explore.
The landscape was nothing like I have ever seen. Behind us are fierce mountains in front water and drove to the nearest town that started with a few miles of gravel roads through moon landscapes and then lakes. The number 1 road seems to hug the shoreline. We stopped a few times to hop out and snap pictures. Today is full of waterfalls, one cascading into another.
I met a friendly dog on a walk to one waterfall, thinking he belonged to another couple who only stopped to chat and give Matt a piece of his tripod back. The dog stayed near and I played fetch with a favourite stone he kept bringing back to me until I threw it and it broke in half. Not long after he was on a mission and darted off. That was a dog who knew exactly where he was going. If I name the dog I get to keep him so I didnt.
We then went into town, our rust bucket of a car seems to eat the petrol, we stopped for coffee and yoghurt and then found a famous mountain [the Hill]. I can’t tell you where we went as I can’t pronounce it never mind spell where we are. Just trust me, we are still in Iceland. I will look it all up to fill in the blanks later.
I managed not to burn the beetroot burgers and chips for dinner, quite nice but now I really do need to sleep.
Day 1 - Slingshot to Iceland
Well that was exciting, It was the second alarm that woke me at 3am, see you always need a backup.
I threw myself into clothes and then into the taxi pickup and only then did my heart stop hammering, nothing like a rush. The taxi turned into a boat to get us to the airport, as the rain sounded like radio static. We were being whipped by the tail end of a storm.
Sailed through the airport security and had a couple of hours to kill so we fell into breakfast of smashed avocado and baby spuds. Matt and I both wore our headphones blasting music as the lady at the next door table kept stiffing really really unpleasantly while we ordered food. Three toilets later we are on the totsy BA plane which is proud to offer M&S sandwiches. We had water and badly needed sleep. Matt fell asleep before takeoff. I sucked polos as my ears were popping and feel there will be ear-drama later.
As the plane levelled out, the second ear popped. Champion, my ears have equalised, so now for shut eye.
We landed early and quite hard.. as there was a medical emergency on board. The plane was super silent while everyone remained seated for 30 minutes whilst medical crews boarded and helped a person at the front of the plane and then everyone gently disembarked. Normally it is a free for all when disembarking. Not this time.
We have got a taste of the Iceland life as everything seems to turn at a much reduced pace. Our suitcases took the slow route to us, mine turned up a good 20 minutes after Matt’s just as I was thinking about sharing his t-shirts. We picked up a bus to the car rental called SAD Cars. I know that is going to bite us later. We took a ticket, waited 40 mins or so, then another hour for the car to turn up. It was a bit of an old boy with rusted out wheels and a shocking lack of wanting to move anywhere. We also met a lad from America and talked politics - he can’t explain Trump and we can’t explain what the heck is happening with Brexit.
So the hour journey to the holiday home took 3 hours. It is quite scenic and we went through the longest tunnel that climbed and dipped its way through mountains. We stopped at a superstore to stock up for few meals that cost about 9400 kr (48 pounds). 1 kr is about 0.0066 pence. The little lake I thought was in front of the house was in fact the sea. THE SEA. We called the lady to sort out the house as we had rented one house on Expedia but she thought we should be in another. That was quickly sorted and we are staying put in a lovely red house not a one bedroomed room. We are in the middle of nowhere. There is no sound apart from the freezer and I may be forced to unplug it. We were greeted by a heard of horses by the house. Time for sleep and tomorrow.
Pasta/pesto and bourbons for dinner.
The Day Before
Saturday morning started before the sun came up…. this is normal for holidays as there is SOOOOO much to finish. Wombat was running around while I pulled together his teddy and toys, and all manner of food and treats. Four bags of hay but they are all different. Wom was taken to Niki who will be his holiday mum for a few weeks. His great home has had an upgrade and how he can jump up two levels.
I then fitted in some shopping, and went out for two things and came back with two bags… and pretty much packed it all.
An early night was called for… but didnt happen. I was a bit restless and woke a few times looking for Wombat. We were up at 3am, and in the car before 4am…. the journey was a little hairy as we water surfed to the airport.