Home From Away

Two weeks away ended late last night with surreal familiarity of coming home. We’ve done this enough to know how dreary Vancouver is after time away. Wisely, my husband softened transition from 11 days in Cuba with 3 in Toronto for Caribana before flying home. Caribana, the largest Caribbean Festival in North America helped, but didn’t cure longing for Cuba.

I’ll need a few days to process Cuban ponders – three cities, over 1,000 kilometers by taxi between them, hundreds of kilometers walked along cobblestone streets – a lot to digest.

Carnival in Santiago de Cuba

Valle de la Prehistoria, a sprawling 60s era theme park located in Parque de Baconao, twenty Km outside Santiago de Cuba.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/baconao-park

Changing of the guard at Castro’s grave in Santiago de Cuba.

Fusterlandia – https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fusterlandia

Havana

 

Cuba Calling….

Ah vacation, weeks of planning, simmering expectation and promise about to become reality. This time next week we’ll be in Havana at Mercure Sevilla (pictured below)

Three nights in Havana, a flight to Santiago de Cuba later, four nights at Casa Granda to experience Carnival.

Next we hire a driver to take us to Trinidad de Cuba, a distance of roughly 600 Km. The fact we have to spend 3 nights at “all inclusive” pictured below, is over shadowed by adventure of driving there.

Time to hire another driver, back to Havana for two nights at Estancia Bohemia –

From Havana, a flight to Toronto for Caribana –

Home on August 4th.

Words fail to describe how much Notes needs a vacation. I’m exhausted, Cuba promises to put everything right.