Does anybody really know what time it is?

 This is a picture of two clocks on the wall in the internet centre at Sol Cayo Santa Maria. As you see, what was important in Cuba was the time in Havana, and the time in Moscow. After the "special period" when the Soviet Union collapsed and its massive support for Cuba was cut off, suddenly the time in Moscow didn't seem so important anymore. Both clocks are broken, which only seems appropriate. But there are plenty of echoes of Russia's significant presence there for decades, though - mostly in the multiple Cubans we've met in their 30s and 40s named Boris or Yuri or Dmitri.

We were on Cayo Santa Maria again, in fact our third time at this resort - the only one we've ever returned to, and the staff greet us like old friends.

I've posted just a few photos from the trip on Flickr. They're of a few oddities and some pics of the colony of semi-feral cats who live just outside the main buffet restaurant, between it and the pool. For the moment, they have the run of the place. Familiarity (encouraged by well-meaning, stupid guests who bring food out of the restaurant for them) and numbers may mean their future is not secure, but for the moment they live very comfortable lives.

The big adventure this time saw me leaving my CI processor battery recharger kit on the bus from the airport (don't even ask) and a frantic race to track down which bus it was on and how to get it back, aided by a patient worker with the transport company who was supposed to be getting off work but who yes, managed to track down the bus and have it return to the resort where the driver appeared on the bus steps with the kit in hand like some sort of blue-collar angel. When people rave about the people of Cuba, this is the sort of thing they are talking about. She could have said "call tomorrow". She could have said "call the lost and found". Instead she tracked down the bus - based on nothing more than our description of the guide on board - with over half a dozen calls back and forth, and got the driver back to deliver the case (the driver was likely done for the day, too).

It had been a stressful few months and we both just pretty much crashed during this stay. Nothing more ambitious than that. We needed it. Flew back in time for the first snowstorm of the season. Ah well. It's Christmas!

ronnie

Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.

Cayo Santa Maria, November-December 2012

Came home to the first snowstorm of the season.

Oh, oh, oh - we flew directly over Cape Canaveral on the flight down. Incredible view. Probably the most exciting moment of the whole trip, really, for a couple of space nuts. And neither of us with a camera accessible.

More later. Hasta pronto, amigos y amigas.

ronnie

Cayo Largo, April 2012

So I mentioned earlier that I had been on a trip; it was a return to Cayo Largo del Sur, one of our favourite places in Cuba. It's the small key off the coast of Cuba proper; most of it is a wildlife preserve with 5 small resorts on it. Compared to the main island it's very wild and undeveloped, and full of iguanas and pelicans and a myriad of other seabirds (some of which I am still trying to identify using my Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba. Which I forgot to take to Cuba).

I have (finally! So busy!) posted some photos to flikr. (I hope that link works.) They're not nearly as interesting as the trips when we visit Cuban cities and towns, but they're a small collection of some happy memories in a very special place.

ronnie

Remedios, Santa Clara

I'm finally getting around to organizing some photos from our last trip to Cuba. In the meantime, here are a couple of videos I took on our tour of Remedios and Santa Clara.

This is a pan around the Remedios town square.The large yellow church is Iglesia Mayor of San Juan Bautista, which contains 13 stunning gold altars inside (no inside photography, unfortunately). It is a feast for the eyes inside, I will tell you. Constant pirate attacks in the colonial era meant that they painted the gold over with white paint; in the early 50s, the interior was restored to its original golden splendour.


And this is a view as we drove through the town of Santa Clara.* It's a bit chaotic, as things flash by quickly on video cam as opposed to watching with your own eyes. But I think it gives a good sense of the architecture, the people, and the incredible variety of vehicles you encounter on your drive through any of the Cuban towns we've visited.

Bonus points if you catch the classic Korda photo of Che Guevera painted on a building. You can't walk a couple of blocks in Cuba without seeing one.
More to come,
ronnie

*I initially thought this was video of Remedios as well, but a viewing by me and Husband together convinced us it is Santa Clara.

Cayo Ensenachos, Santa Clara, y Remedios

As some of you have surmised, we have been away for awhile (last week to be precise). This time we stayed on Cayo Ensenachos, part of the Jardins del Rey Archipelago which we have now visited three times. We noticed big, big changes to the region and the towns we visited and passed through on this visit.

We also hired a car and spent some quality time in Remedios and - finally! - two years after the sprained ankle fiasco, I made it to Santa Clara.

I'll be posting photos of those two bustling, amazing Cuban towns on flikr over the weekend but for now, this is a picture of a can of Cristal beer, my favourite beer in the world which tastes like Cuba and which I am drinking while writing this blog post.

I see I have a lot of catch-up reading of my favourite blogs to do!

Mojo stayed at The Cat Spa, where the owner is well-qualified to deal with his current health issues. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a bad spell on Monday night and she had to call the on-call vet, and take him to his own vet on Tuesday. The consensus is that he now needs sub-q fluid more than once a week, and that smaller doses several times a week will be better for him. That saw Husband and I trekking over to the vet this evening after work to learn how to administer them to him ourselves. If he is going to have to have this done three times a week, we are not stressing him out by putting him in a carrier and trucking him to a semi-strange and unpleasant environment to have it done. I won't lie. Neither of us wanted to learn to do this and both of us hate it and are enormously nervous about it. But there you have it. I know some of you have dealt with this already and your encouragement that it will become quite routine is much appreciated.

He also had more bloodwork done when he visited his vet last week and we consulted with the vet on the results today. She says his kidney functions have mostly stabilized but she feels something else is causing his recent weight-loss and vomiting. So after laying out a number of options, from doing nothing to sending him to the veterinary school on Prince Edward Island for a complete work-up, we settled on having an ultrasound done here in town, which might show nothing or which might reveal some source of trouble which we can work on alleviating. It's worth a shot.

ronnie

Is that...? In CUBA?

Sherwood? Sherwood Harrington, is that YOU in the Daquiri Bar at the Gran Caribe Playa Blanca hotel in Cuba?

Tricksy thing! You trimmed your beard but I still recognized you!



I've posted a few more photos from the trip to flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronniecat/sets/72157626971251724/

Photos of this trip seem to be dripping out like a leaky faucet but I guess we've posted about all that's new or interesting. I included a link in one of the flickr descriptions to my blog post on our last trip to Cayo Largo, when we posted a lot of pictures of the workers' town and marina and so on. You can only take so many pictures of beaches :)

ronnie

Random iguanas and Vestigial Tails.

Photographed and explained better than I ever could, the awesome iguanas of Cayo Largo.

Iguanas are adorable, except when they're not, and they hiss! at you.

I always defer to them. Just like the cucarachas and the snakes, they were there first.

ronnie

Cayo Largo del Sur

Flew in last night via Montréal - the First Officer came on over the intercom to tell us that the Canadiens had beaten the rival Bruins in their second playoff game, to general applause - and on to Fredericton this morning. How can two weeks of doing nothing leave you so tired? If I was any tireder, I'd have to be twins.

Sleep now, details later (now! with more iguanas!)

ronnie

More Jibacoa

Yup. No American investment in Cuba. Verboten!

This photo was taken at the duty-free store at the airport in Varadero.

We also saw Red Bull everywhere this time. "Heche en Austria" of all places!

The work-around is always that the product is actually manufactured in a third country. Coca-cola is "heche en Mexico". Jesse Helms is dead. Does Dan Burton know about this?

Because Blogger makes posting photos with commentary ridiculously difficult, I've posted some more photos from Jibacoa, including a few more pictures of our visit to Santa Cruz del Norte, to my Flickr stream. You can access it here (I hope).

Two notes about this trip: first, we spoke with a Cuban about the government's plan to lay off half a million government workers and have them move to entrepreneurial pursuits. The Cuban (being a bit of a black market entrepreneur already) thought it was a fine idea!

The second note is about our fellow-travelers at the resort. Very interesting and new companions this time - a large contingent of Caribbean expats living in the UK who came on a group junket. Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Barbadians... you get the idea. From the group matriarch who seemed to be everywhere in an admirable collection of headgear, to a very well-behaved and sweet gang of little ones, a more pleasant group of fellow occupants we couldn't have hoped for. The rest were non-Caribbean Brits (Euro-Brits? White British people? What's the appropriate term in this context?), Canadians, and a few Germans.

Endlessly fascinating. Cuba, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. We're waiting with curiosity to see what the Wikileaks cables serve up about this complicated country which has gone through so much change lately.

ronnie

Santa Cruz del Norte

We took a scooter tour of Santa Cruz del Norte, a town about 1/2 hour from the resort. There were five or six of us plus our guide.

Santa Cruz del Norte is a fishing community situated on a river; it's also home to the country's largest rum distillery, about which more later.



This is the monument to Cuba's greatest cultural, social and political hero, José Martí.

He was critical to shaping Fidel Castro's politics, and you're gonna find monuments to him in every town and city in Cuba.








We went down to the docks; as someone who comes from a fishing community I was really interested in seeing the types of boats and gear they use here as compared to home.








Some graffiti near the wharves. Definitely not state-sanctioned, I don't think. Note the DJing fish.










The ubiquitous Ché.
















Part of the main street.










The Habana Club factory as seen from across the river. We'd also stopped right beside it on the road into town but I didn't get a snap. Like most industrial works in Cuba, it looked completely run-down, decrepit, and derelict, and if we had just passed it on the road we would have assumed it was entirely shut down and decaying. Instead, we are informed, it is the largest and most productive rum distillery in the country. So it goes here where there is no access to resources or tools for repair and maintenance. Viva Cuba indeed.



The ice-cream shop in town. Believe me, the Cubans love their ice-cream. There's one of these shops in every little town you pass through. A local boy waits patiently, Cuban pesos in hand, while the server gets his fix.










Part of the downtown shopping district.








One of the main local stores.

The signs translate to "Victory of the resolve, the justice and the hope"

"All for the revolution"











Buying vegetables from the back of a truck...














...and rice and beans on the sidewalk.

These stores I've photographed are stores that tourists rarely venture into. This isn't a tourist destination; it's a working Cuban community. These stores trade in Cuban Pesos - not Cuban Convertible Pesos ("tourist money").

We've seen these stores before but never went inside - it felt very voyeuristic to think of going in to gawk at what the locals can - or can't - buy. But this time, with a Cuban guide, we got a good look inside them. We visited four or five of them, the first time we've really gotten a look at how Cubans are able to shop. And what we saw was really eye-opening. We'd read about it, dozens of times. But we'd never actually seen it.

We were asked not to take photos inside, and we respected that. The stores look very much like North American "five and dime" or dry goods stores from the 1920s to the 60s - rows of shelves from floor to ceiling behind banks of glass cabinets. The first one we visited had the oddest collection of items on display - switchplates and outlet covers; automotive parts; underwear. Hanging on the walls were odd assortments of clothing - sports jerseys, spandex tights (well, that explains why everyone on the streets seems to wear them), sequined clubwear. Another we visited had furniture and appliances - all very modern. A full-sized refrigerator will set you back $780 Cuban Pesos; a television, about $300. (To put this into perspective, our guide told us that his salary converts to about $140 Cuban Convertible Pesos a year; that is about $3500 Cuban Pesos.) There were cheap glass-topped dining room and coffee tables and electric fans and a remarkably snazzy gas range.

The oddity and randomness of the items available for purchase explains a lot about the reality of purchasing power in Cuba. You may need a box of nails; but when you go to the store, the store has light switches and outlet covers, and that's about it for building materials. Come back next month to see if there are any nails. Or the month after that.

On the way back to the resort we stopped at a gen-u-wine Cuban truckstop. There was a bar, a restaurant, a shop, and three big, battered, Cuban transport trucks parked out front whose drivers were taking a break on the drive to La Habana, about another hour away. The bar claims to make "the best Piña Coladas in Cuba", and we were invited to try one - JUST ONE, the guide noted. (I'm sure he had no interest in trying to shepherd a bunch of drunk tourists back to our resort on two wheels.)

A fascinating trip and a glimpse into a bit of Cuba we hadn't seen before.

ronnie

El regreso

Our seventh trip.



This photo was taken in Santa Cruz del Norte. Yes, this was our seventh trip, but this time we saw things we had never seen before, and really got a glimpse of the real lives of Cubans. Unfortunately I came back to a very intense work situation that will eat up pretty much all of my time, including evenings, for the next several days - but much more to come later.

ronnie

A few more photos

Managed to squeeze in a visit to Signal Hill. I try to visit this spot, my favourite in St. John's, every time I get back. This is Cabot Tower.














St. John's Harbour and downtown from Signal Hill. Pretty, no?









Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America, also taken from atop Signal Hill. It's quite fun to visit here and to walk out to the point and think to yourself, "Of all the millions of people on this huge land mass right now, I'm the one closest to Europe".

It was a good trip. A success, I think. We managed to completely surprise my Dad and present him with a very expensive bottle of excellent Cuban rum which I hope he'll savour. Told him I loved him and got to hear it back, face to face. That alone was worth the trip.

ronnie

The new and the timeless

You see things like this in Newfoundland now.

No idea which rig this is. It's in Mortier Bay having repairs or maintenance being done.

It looked a HELL of a lot bigger in real life than it does in this picture. It looked massive, quite surprised us as we turned a corner.

I took a picture of the Ocean Ranger here once and made a copy for a then-boyfriend living in Toronto. He liked it so much, he put a framed enlargement on his wall and had copies made for all his brothers and sisters living in the Toronto area. And all their friends asked for copies. Newfoundlanders loved that photo (this was before the Ranger sank, obviously. It would only become more iconic from that point.) Yep, I reckon there are photos of the Ocean Ranger by me on hundreds of walls of expat Newfoundlanders from Etobicoke to Calgary.





This is tonight's view from the back deck of the place we're staying. Not too shabby. Just about to go and surprise my Dad. Should be fun.

ronnie

A double-edged sword

I'm in St. John's, NL, on my way for a trip to my tiny hometown tomorrow to surprise my Dad on his 70th birthday. (He doesn't read the blog.) It's also Canada Day, but the local newspaper, the Telegram, doesn't have the usual festive Canadiana on the front page that papers across the country will today. Instead, it had a story about commemorations of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel, which also took place on July 1, and which had a place in Newfoundlanders' hearts and culture long before the country ever became a province in 1949.

This is what Canada Day is like here. In the morning, everyone goes to the Cenotaph downtown and remembers the blackest day in the Newfoundland Regiment's history; then, after 12:00 noon, it's deemed proper to turn our thoughts to celebrating our country (and people have been doing it in a big way, all day).

I took a picture with my Blackberry that I tried to post to my blog but it failed. My BB coverage is very spotty here. Take my word for it - even on a grey, now-drizzly day, St. John's is still heartbreakingly pretty.

Tomorrow - off to the hinterlands. Probably no internet access, so see ya Saturday.

ronnie

Reflexiones de Fidel

Ever since leaving power, Fidel Castro has been occasionally - but pretty regularly - drafting lengthy essays which are faithfully published in Granma, the official state newspaper, under the title Reflexiones de Fidel (Reflections of Fidel).

CNN and other American media sometimes report breathlessly on these statements - for, indeed, they often pontificate on US policies or practices (he thought Obama was a lovely young man during the election campaign, for what it's worth) - which they always vaguely refer to as being "published in state media". It always amuses me because it sounds so mysterious and "here we are reporting from behind the mysterious Cuban curtain for you", when if they wanted to, they could actually provide their readers a direct link to the document in Granma online - in English, yet.

Anyway, when in Cuba we watch the local tv channels as much as possible and always watch the evening news, a fascinating window into the way the state communicates and propagandizes to the people.


This time we had the slightly surreal experience of watching the young anchor read the latest Reflection - in its entirety - for a good seven to ten minutes of the broadcast. It was about five printed pages long. But everyone must take the time to listen to the very, very important reflections of the Commandante.

Over the anchor's shoulder played a rotating montage of stirring photos, including the Cuban flag and an image of the Commandante himself, presumably writing one of his Reflections or something equally ponderous.

One can only imagine what it is like to be a journalist in a country like this.

We happened to be there for the island-wide municipal elections and were treated to tv coverage of that, too. Incredibly, each polling station (they showed footage from stations around the country) were manned by two Cuban youth - a girl and a boy - in their little José Martí Pioneer Organization uniforms who saluted - adorably saluted - each voter after he or she put the ballot in the box.

The voter turnout was 96%, unsurprising in a country where voting isn't mandatory-mandatory, but is mandatory.

We were also there for May Day. May Day ain't big here but you know, very big with the socialists.

And how do you get turnouts like this for the demonstrations of support for the workers?

Like this.

I'm guessing that's mandatory, too.

All of Cuba has the sense right now of being right on the cusp of... something. Something is going to change. People just aren't sure what, and how, and exactly when.

They seem more optimistic than anxious, though.

Let's keep fingers crossed.

ronnie

Regresar a Cayo Santa Maria

Guess where I've been for two weeks?

While I rest up from my extended, incredibly relaxing vacation which has left me utterly exhausted, enjoy this very interesting and related blog post over at Vestigial Tails. Little modern day update on some cold war nostalgia (or should that be notstalgia?) for all y'all.






I'll be back with more about the latest foray into the peculiar otherworld that is Cuba later, but before I go, Basement Cat vacations in Cuba. Who knew?

Sleepily,

ronnie

Florenceville [UPDATED]

Another shot, with cars for size comparison. (Also with satellite dishes for anachronism fun.) More about this later.

[UPDATE] This ark was built by the pastor of Burnham Road Cathedral, an ambitious church recently established in Florenceville, NB. (Which we also learned on this trip was named after Florence Nightingale - who knew?) To quote the church's website, "God gave Pastor Paul a vision of the Ark, showing him the location and its purpose. A few years later, in 1993, the construction began as the Lord provided."

The ark is supposedly 2/3 of the size of the biblical ark as described in Genesis, and it is a pretty impressive specimen. The ground floor hosts "healing rooms" and other facilities, and the upper level consists of dormitories for people attending the church's "School of the Spirit", some kind of bible study/religious training. (Hence the satellite dishes for television.)

Finding and photographing the ark - which we'd heard about - was the flimsy lynchpin that we hung this weekend's vacation on - really it was an excuse to spend some downtime (it's the New Brunswick Day long weekend) in a part of the province that's especially beautiful and which both of us have spent dozens of days in for work, but never together and never at our leisure. Home base was Woodstock, and we drove all around the region from there.

It was a lot of fun and sparked a lot of conversation about whether it's believable that "two of every sort" of "every living thing of all flesh" could be stored on a vessel half again as large* as the ark we saw. ("I mean, Africa alone..." I ventured. "Maybe not of every continent," Husband theorized. "Just the animals they knew." "It says 'every living thing'," I said. "Maybe the animals from other continents booked charter flights.") Not to mention the "sevens" of "every clean beast" to account for sacrifices. And seven of every fowl. And the food to feed this menangerie. And the Noah family, and the food to feed them.

Let's just say I for one wasn't persuaded. But I have to admire the effort and commitment that went into an impressive expression of the church's faith. And it was a great mini-vacation.

ronnie

*I initially wrote "1/3 larger" but Husband pointed out my error.

Upper Northampton

Woodstock. (No, not that Woodstock.)

Backfill Blogging Acadia

I mentioned in comments that I was trying out something I call "backfill blogging". I posted a photo a day while we were on vacation on the east coast of the province - near le coeur d'Acadie - with the intention of going back and filling in details of each location or activity. If you scroll down, you'll see that I've already filled in several of my earlier posts.

I've created a map to try to put the vacation into context; hope it does so.

One thing I wanted to share was the tradition of Acadians in this province of putting l'étoile d'Acadie - the star of Acadia - on their homes, to proudly proclaim their Acadian heritage. The Acadian flag features the colours of France with l'etoile added in the upper left-hand corner, and displaying a star on one's home has become a way of announcing the family's inclusion in that proud clan.

Here's a small collection of photos that demonstrate the variety of homes that show l'étoile.

You'll see these stars on homes throughout the province, which is neat; but they're particularly prevalent on the east and north borders of the province, where the Acadian culture is particularly strong.

The story of Acadians in New Brunswick is long and complicated. For too many years, they were second-class citizens in their own provinces - after they returned from their expulsion. That all began to change in New Brunswick with the passage of the Official Languages Act in 1969. Premier Louis Robichaud's legislation put French on an equal footing with English in NB and opened the gates to civil and public sector jobs wide open to francophones for the first time.

The result today of this and other social reforms is a thriving Acadian culture and a thriving French language across the province, but nowhere so much as the north and east of the province, le coeur d'Acadie.

ronnie