My Holiday in Anecdotes
I flew to Mexico City from Los Angeles at midnight on Air Alaska. At 1am the air hostess came around the plane (most people on board were now asleep) serving corn chips and salsa. Even funnier was that she left a packet of each on the tray tables of those who were sleeping, in case they woke up later hungry - that's what I call dedication.
Our tour group arrived late to Santa Clara ('Cuban Time' meant lunch took a while to be served). We got to the Che Guevara monument & museum half an hour before closing, but they had decided to close early because it was raining outside.
In Trinidad we had an included Salsa lesson on the roof of a beautiful casa with some very good looking instructors... About half way through the class another student stood on my foot and broke my sandal, I ended up spending the end of the lesson barefoot. In some weird coincidence, this was the third holiday in a row i've broken a pair of shoes!
At the top of a hill in Trinidad, after missing the right turn off a few times, we made it to the coolest nightclub I've ever been to. Disco Ayala is located inside a cave. Yep, a real cave. We danced the night away to Pitbull & Enrique Iglesias.
In Camaguey, we went to restaurant 1800 for a buffet meal. Over the Pumpkin Soup I ran into a fellow Kiwi (we we're a rare breed in Cuba). She was a lovely woman, but I just couldn't help but think her accent was terrible! Is that really what we sound like? I was obviously too used to hearing Spanish, or the Aussie, Brit, or Dutch accent by that point.
Also in Camaguey, a couple of us girls spent an afternoon hunting down art galleries & one particular piece grabbed my attention, if only it was for sale! It was made from used government ration books "libreta", made into a collage of Captain America. On the bottom of the collage was the famous quote by Victor Hugo (Les Meserables): "The greatness of man is not measured by his height, but intelligence and moral character". If you stop to analyse this artwork, you may find it to be quite controversial. Is America the hero or the villain?
I'm not sure if you're aware, but it gets hot in Cuba, like ridiculously hot! I was used to the cold of home, so the new extreme temperatures didn't agree with me very well. I managed to come out in a horrible heat rash and my feet swelled up like balloons, I ended up sleeping with my compression flight socks on, and had to hunt down antihistamines in Santiago de Cuba. At one point in the hunt we were flagged down by some local police who needed a ride. They helped us maneuver the bus through some narrow streets until they jumped off on the other side of town. it was 35 degrees.
We had a beautiful tour guide for our Intrepid Tour, Tatiana. At the end of our trip we made it to her hometown Baracoa where we met her family. Her brother is a taxi driver who ended up giving some of us a ride just out of town to a gorgeous beach in his old but original car. 99% of the way there the engine suddenly died. The 3 of us girls looked at each other with worry, but never fear, Carlos jumped out, lifted the bonnet, had a fiddle round, and we were soon on our way again. An ace mechanic if he did say so himself.
On my second last night in Havana, a group from my tour went out to meet some Cuban boys they had met at the beginning of their trip. I tagged along with the promise of Salsa Dancing and rum cocktails. We made it to a very cute wee salsa bar, we shared a bottle of Havana Club and I danced with a gorgeous Cuban boy who could dance like no Kiwi boy ever could. He even bought me a red rose from a lady walking around selling them individually. It was a perfect end to my time in Cuba.
I spent four days in Cancun before heading up to LA and managed an awesome day trip to the ancient Mayan city, Chichen Itza. The day consisted of a stop at a handicraft market, lunch at a hotel restaurant and finally a tour of the ancient grounds itself. When we turned up for lunch, I was not prepared for the ancient sink hole (cenote) we had arrived at. First of all I had no idea we would be visiting one of the most gorgeous places I had ever been, and sadly as a consequence I didn't have any swimwear with me! Sink holes were traditionally used by the Mayans as burial sites but this one was now a gorgeous tourist attraction. Next time i'll take my togs.
My previous Trek America tour in Alaska was spent camping in some very simple (e.g. long drops & cold showers) camp grounds, not to mention there were bears in close proximity. I knew this time around being in the lower 48 the camping wouldn't be quite so basic, but I was not prepared for my first night spent just north of Santa Barbara. We turned up to a pristine site with a swimming pool, a stunning TV room with leather couches, and bathrooms with marble benches. Obviously not all the places we stayed were quite so spiffy, but this was an awesome start. It was clearly a popular place to stay, there were a lot of RV's parked up, including one with not one but four bbq's!
This one time Alex was almost killed by an elk after getting too close to get a good photo, it turned and charged - lucky nobody was harmed!
We arrived in Portland after a few days of camping and were so glad to have a hotel with nice showers and beds. All was going well until an obviously wasted guy showed up at our Motel 6. After telling me I had a great ass, he followed me to my room and was disappointed when I wouldn't let him in. Then he tried to force his way into another girls' room saying he was told by reception he was allowed in if he paid $100. In a weird twist, he ended up calling police accusing the girl of stealing his back pack - but the cops weren't fooled and he was asked to leave the premises.
If you ever get to Portland don't be put off by the wasted guy. Get a tattoo on Hawthorne Street and peruse the vintage shops. And, while you're at it, head to Powell's Books downtown. To say this is the coolest book store i've been in is a total understatement. Let's just say I could have happily spent the day investigating each section for books i'd never heard of, and some gorgeous stationery to boot.
For two nights in Olympic National Park our facilities weren't the flashest - flushing toilets but no showers, so we headed down the road from camp to Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort to use their facilities. I didn't realise I was paying $3.26 to shower communally with a bunch of naked old Nanas. Let's just say I kept my underwear on and spent the entirety with my eyes averted!
This one time in Olympic National Park I ate a steak with blue cheese crumbled on top. It was the best steak i've ever eaten... in America.
My last stop on my big journey was Vancouver. After a long hard day shopping I was walking with a friend from Trek to her apartment to drink cider and watch a trashy movie, when out of the blue appears the most gorgeous Canadian, Ryan Gosling. Wearing matching T's and jeans, he was out for a Sunday stroll with girlfriend Eva Mendes. My trip was complete!
On my last day in Vancouver I headed down to gorgeous Stanley Park for one last long walk and some fresh air. I had forgotten all about North America's relaxed Marijuana laws. That was until my fresh air was suddenly herbaceous with the smell of weed. I kept on walking past the two gentlemen having a splif on a park bench, thinking of all the small children biking past...
Our tour group arrived late to Santa Clara ('Cuban Time' meant lunch took a while to be served). We got to the Che Guevara monument & museum half an hour before closing, but they had decided to close early because it was raining outside.
In Trinidad we had an included Salsa lesson on the roof of a beautiful casa with some very good looking instructors... About half way through the class another student stood on my foot and broke my sandal, I ended up spending the end of the lesson barefoot. In some weird coincidence, this was the third holiday in a row i've broken a pair of shoes!
At the top of a hill in Trinidad, after missing the right turn off a few times, we made it to the coolest nightclub I've ever been to. Disco Ayala is located inside a cave. Yep, a real cave. We danced the night away to Pitbull & Enrique Iglesias.
In Camaguey, we went to restaurant 1800 for a buffet meal. Over the Pumpkin Soup I ran into a fellow Kiwi (we we're a rare breed in Cuba). She was a lovely woman, but I just couldn't help but think her accent was terrible! Is that really what we sound like? I was obviously too used to hearing Spanish, or the Aussie, Brit, or Dutch accent by that point.
Also in Camaguey, a couple of us girls spent an afternoon hunting down art galleries & one particular piece grabbed my attention, if only it was for sale! It was made from used government ration books "libreta", made into a collage of Captain America. On the bottom of the collage was the famous quote by Victor Hugo (Les Meserables): "The greatness of man is not measured by his height, but intelligence and moral character". If you stop to analyse this artwork, you may find it to be quite controversial. Is America the hero or the villain?
I'm not sure if you're aware, but it gets hot in Cuba, like ridiculously hot! I was used to the cold of home, so the new extreme temperatures didn't agree with me very well. I managed to come out in a horrible heat rash and my feet swelled up like balloons, I ended up sleeping with my compression flight socks on, and had to hunt down antihistamines in Santiago de Cuba. At one point in the hunt we were flagged down by some local police who needed a ride. They helped us maneuver the bus through some narrow streets until they jumped off on the other side of town. it was 35 degrees.
We had a beautiful tour guide for our Intrepid Tour, Tatiana. At the end of our trip we made it to her hometown Baracoa where we met her family. Her brother is a taxi driver who ended up giving some of us a ride just out of town to a gorgeous beach in his old but original car. 99% of the way there the engine suddenly died. The 3 of us girls looked at each other with worry, but never fear, Carlos jumped out, lifted the bonnet, had a fiddle round, and we were soon on our way again. An ace mechanic if he did say so himself.
On my second last night in Havana, a group from my tour went out to meet some Cuban boys they had met at the beginning of their trip. I tagged along with the promise of Salsa Dancing and rum cocktails. We made it to a very cute wee salsa bar, we shared a bottle of Havana Club and I danced with a gorgeous Cuban boy who could dance like no Kiwi boy ever could. He even bought me a red rose from a lady walking around selling them individually. It was a perfect end to my time in Cuba.
I spent four days in Cancun before heading up to LA and managed an awesome day trip to the ancient Mayan city, Chichen Itza. The day consisted of a stop at a handicraft market, lunch at a hotel restaurant and finally a tour of the ancient grounds itself. When we turned up for lunch, I was not prepared for the ancient sink hole (cenote) we had arrived at. First of all I had no idea we would be visiting one of the most gorgeous places I had ever been, and sadly as a consequence I didn't have any swimwear with me! Sink holes were traditionally used by the Mayans as burial sites but this one was now a gorgeous tourist attraction. Next time i'll take my togs.
My previous Trek America tour in Alaska was spent camping in some very simple (e.g. long drops & cold showers) camp grounds, not to mention there were bears in close proximity. I knew this time around being in the lower 48 the camping wouldn't be quite so basic, but I was not prepared for my first night spent just north of Santa Barbara. We turned up to a pristine site with a swimming pool, a stunning TV room with leather couches, and bathrooms with marble benches. Obviously not all the places we stayed were quite so spiffy, but this was an awesome start. It was clearly a popular place to stay, there were a lot of RV's parked up, including one with not one but four bbq's!
This one time Alex was almost killed by an elk after getting too close to get a good photo, it turned and charged - lucky nobody was harmed!
We arrived in Portland after a few days of camping and were so glad to have a hotel with nice showers and beds. All was going well until an obviously wasted guy showed up at our Motel 6. After telling me I had a great ass, he followed me to my room and was disappointed when I wouldn't let him in. Then he tried to force his way into another girls' room saying he was told by reception he was allowed in if he paid $100. In a weird twist, he ended up calling police accusing the girl of stealing his back pack - but the cops weren't fooled and he was asked to leave the premises.
If you ever get to Portland don't be put off by the wasted guy. Get a tattoo on Hawthorne Street and peruse the vintage shops. And, while you're at it, head to Powell's Books downtown. To say this is the coolest book store i've been in is a total understatement. Let's just say I could have happily spent the day investigating each section for books i'd never heard of, and some gorgeous stationery to boot.
For two nights in Olympic National Park our facilities weren't the flashest - flushing toilets but no showers, so we headed down the road from camp to Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort to use their facilities. I didn't realise I was paying $3.26 to shower communally with a bunch of naked old Nanas. Let's just say I kept my underwear on and spent the entirety with my eyes averted!
This one time in Olympic National Park I ate a steak with blue cheese crumbled on top. It was the best steak i've ever eaten... in America.
My last stop on my big journey was Vancouver. After a long hard day shopping I was walking with a friend from Trek to her apartment to drink cider and watch a trashy movie, when out of the blue appears the most gorgeous Canadian, Ryan Gosling. Wearing matching T's and jeans, he was out for a Sunday stroll with girlfriend Eva Mendes. My trip was complete!
On my last day in Vancouver I headed down to gorgeous Stanley Park for one last long walk and some fresh air. I had forgotten all about North America's relaxed Marijuana laws. That was until my fresh air was suddenly herbaceous with the smell of weed. I kept on walking past the two gentlemen having a splif on a park bench, thinking of all the small children biking past...
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