January 29, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Trinidad, Cuba Part II with Zeb the Duck

Last time I, Zeb the Duck, shared some scenes in Trinidad, Cuba as we strolled through the streets. I saw so much. These photos are also in Trinidad. Diego Velázquez de Cuellar founded Trinidad in 1514, but in 1518 Hernan Cortes passed through recruiting mercenaries for his expedition to Mexico. The town almost disappeared.

Here I am on a horse cart.

Zeb and Channel on horse cart

My friend, Channel the bear, is with me.

These street musicians entertained us. Mom and other humans gave them some money.

Musicians on the street

We liked them.

At Las Terrazas, near Havana, we saw a food ration store. If people have money, they can purchase additional food in stores like this.

People can buy food; not this duck

In the streets we saw many horses, some of them with carts. This horse was working with the men to repair the road.

Always work to do

The famous plaza in Trinidad is Plaza Mayor. This church is by the plaza.

Near Plaza Mayor

You can see that other buildings are being restored. In 1988 Trinidad was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

These stairs are also near Plaza Mayor.

Near Plaza Mayor

We returned here one evening to listen to music. More about that later.

This is a very nice house and I liked the old car in the driveway.

Nice car

Unfortunately this street market did not have all the venders at this time.

Street market in Trinidad

I do like markets.

This elementary school was near us and the teachers and children were very friendly.

Kids in school in Trinidad

Before leaving for lunch, we gave them school supplies we brought from the U.S.

In Cuba, Casas Particulares are similar to our bed and breakfasts. We visited this Casa Particular. Maria del Carmen Reyes was the hostess. She and her husband rent to visitors. He is the horse whisperer. Horses are very important to Cuba, and he teaches people how to care for and feed them. His horse is very well behaved and he brought the horse in the house to meet us.

Horse in the house

We walked around the house and out to the patio.

I am on the stairs

There are lots of rooms for his family and for visitors. We were there in December,

Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad with Zeb and Channel

so we enjoyed his Christmas tree.

We are going to Hacienda de Manaca Iznaga for lunch. I will tell you about that next time. Visit me again at ColoradoTravelingDucks.com

January 25, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Trinidad, Cuba with Zeb the Duck

I, Zeb the Duck and my group of humans arrived in Trinidad, Cuba. Lonely Planet describes Trinidad as a one of a kind, perfectly preserved Spanish colonial settlement, where the clocks stopped ticking in 1850 and, apart from tourists, have yet to restart.

I am not sure about all that, but I have never seen this street sign anywhere else.

Horse and cart crossing

Our first morning in Trinidad we walked through town. Here are some of our observations. This is the reason for the horse cart crossing sign.

Horse and cart. I like it!

People on cobblestone streets doing daily chores.

Daily chores

These cakes look yummy.

Look so yummy

Decorated and wrapped, but mom didn’t buy one for us.

I saw everything while wandering these streets.

Busy street

Here are cars, bikes, a horse and people all mingling together. The mountains as a backdrop contribute to Trinidad’s beauty.

Trinidad has hotels, casa particulares, and hostals. Hostal Colina is bright and has flowering trees. My friend, Channel, the cutest bear, and I are enjoying the view from the hostal.

Zeb and Channel at Hostal Colina

This man is selling vegetables,

Selling vegetables

but doesn’t seem to have many customers at this moment.

This pottery store looks nice.

Pottery store

This little girl is my friend.

Our new friends

Mom and I brought small balls and candy to give as presents. This little girl’s mom said she could have the blue ball in her hand. In her other hand she has strawberry candy and butterscotch candy. Mom said we could only bring candy that was individually wrapped.

Here is an old car used as a taxi

Old cars run well as taxi

and here is one of the new taxis.

New taxi.

There is so much to see in Trinidad, so I will show you more next time. We hope you like Trinidad as much as we do. See you soon.

January 24, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Sancti Spiritus Cuba with Zeb the Duck

I, Zeb the Duck, wandered around Sancti Spiritus, Cuba on a sunny afternoon. Sancti Spiritus is one of 7 cities founded by the Spanish in 1514. Today I will show you pictures of the town.

I love this street. The street tiles are beautiful.

Street in Sancti Spiritus

Old buildings are so sturdy and majestic.

Love this building

This statue is in Parque Serafin Sanchez.

Statue in park

The park was named after a local hero in the war for independence.

This horse with a cart is patiently waiting for the driver.

Very patient horse

Love the stability of the building.

Old building

Saw this adorable dog.

So adorable

Looks just like a dog that lives with JB Duck.

This is one of many older cars and they all run!!

Great mechanics in Cuba

Cuba loves Che Guevara

Che is everywhere in Cuba

Such detail on this old iron work.

Detailed iron work

Many metal statues in Sancti Spiritus.

I love these statues

Another statue on a clock

This is my last statue in Sancti Spiritus

Zeb’s new best friend

I like my new best friend! And I like Sancti Spiritus. Be one of a few tourists that learn about this town. It is really great.

January 22, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Santa Clara, Cuba with Zeb the Duck

Leaving Havana, Santos drives us along the coast. As you can see, there is not much traffic.

Leaving Havana

We are going to Santa Clara. In Santa Clara, founded in 1689, we will visit the Mausoleum and monument of Che Guevara. We will enjoy a buffet lunch and then attend a performance by the children.

The remains of Ernesto “Che” Guevara and some of his fellow combatants were brought to Cuba, from Bolivia, and are in the mausoleum.

Mausoleum of Che Guevara

Also in this complex is a tribute to Che with his possessions and a photographic chronicle of his life.

The mausoleum complex contains a 22 foot bronze statue of Che

Che 22 feet above ground

and various political billboards.

Fidel says “We want to be like Che”

Chavez of Venezuela is our best friend

Che was killed in Bolivia in 1967, but October 17, 1997 his remains were brought to Cuba and he was buried here with full military honors. This ceremony was witnesses by hundreds of thousands of Cubans, who enjoyed the singing of school children, a speech by Fidel Castro that was followed by a cannon salute.

Che’s mausoleum is in Santa Clara as a remembrance of Che’s troops taking Santa Clara December 31, 1958, hours before Fulgencio Batista left Cuba.

Taxis in street of Santa Clara

We, humans and Duck, enjoyed a buffet lunch in Santa Clara at Los Caneyes Hotel.

Good meat dish

The music was nice,

the food was tasty

Fruit and vegetables

Chocolate dessert!

and the waiters were friendly.

A new friend

I like new friends

That is a wonderful combination!

After lunch we were entertained by the children of Compania Teatral Infantel, the Children’s Theater Company.

Almost ready

Many talented children

Leaving the theater, I liked seeing the kids in this cart.

Outside the theater, kids in cart by plaza. Cobblestone street

The cobblestone street and the plaza are very nice. We like Santa Clara.

January 20, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Fusterlandia near Havana, Cuba

Near Havana, Cuba we were speechless at Fusterlandia. This is the home of Jose Rodriguez Fuster,

Entrance to Fusterlandia

affectionately referred to as Fuster. Fuster, a Cuban from a small fishing village, is an artist.

About 30 years ago Fuster started remaking his home and his neighborhood.

First view entering Fusterlandia

He spent time in Europe and was inspired by Gaudi in Barcelona (La Familia Sagrada and Casa Batllo) and by Brancusi in Romania. I want to share some photos of Fusterlandia with you.

Looking down at pool

Big guy

What a clock

All this artwork exhausts me. I am just a little duck

According to www.havana-cultura.com more than 80 neighbors have allowed Fuster to use their homes as his canvas.

He puts his art everywhere

This is an unforgettable neighborhood.

Mom and I saw some little boys with their moms. We asked the moms if we could give them small high bounce balls and butterscotch candy. Moms said yes and the boys were happy. One of our friends had a baseball to give the boys. Cuban people love baseball. Making people happy is fun!

Fuster sells much of his work and much of that money he puts back into the neighborhood.

Fuster’s art throughout his neighborhood

We were amazed and really liked Fusterlandia. We hope you will visit Fusterlandia when you are in Havana. It is really a place to see.

January 18, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Las Terrazas in Cuba with Zeb Part II

There is so much to see here at Las Terrazas, that this duck needed more than one day to tell you about it After our wonderful lunch, we met an artist.

We visited a man that recycles paper and creates beautiful cards and pictures. Here he is in his store.

Artist recycles and uses the paper

We bought cards and pictures. This workshop is where he recycles used paper and creates his art.

His workshop

No big machines here. Just one very talented man.

Next to his workshop and store we liked these apartments.

Apartments

They look so friendly and colorful.

I thought this old tractor was great.

Tractor

I like old things.

Now we are visiting Café Maria.

Cafe Maria

This is Maria’s coffee shop. It is the town’s only coffee shop

Inside Cafe Maria

and they say that Maria is the oldest member of the community. She lives above her coffee shop.

Near the coffee shop there is a clinic. The young doctor talked to us. She was very nice. There were also some people selling jewelry and other items. We saw the ration store.

Provides food rations

People in Cuba receive some beans and other food and 5 pounds of rice for each person in their house every month. This duck had never seen a food ration store before. This lady is receiving rice that was weighed for her.

Receiving her monthly rice ration

I liked the horse with a trailer.

Horse with cart

Horse was patiently waiting. Look at this trashcan.

Love the painted trashcan

Never in my duck life have I seen a beautifully painted trashcan. This is so great.

United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Terrazas a Biosphere Reserve in 1985. This project combines sustainable development and tourism in the mountainous community in the San Juan Valley at the foot of Salon Hill. Las Terrazas consists of 5,000 hectares or about 12,355 acres. Swimming, hiking, zip line and other activities are available. This is a necessary trip when you go to Cuba.

Las Terrazas in Sierra del Rosario mountains in Cuba

Alejandro said we are going to Fusterlandia next. Hope you visit me again to see what Fusterlandia is.

January 17, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Las Terrazas Eco Village in Cuba with Zeb the Duck

I, Zeb the Duck and the humans are riding to Las Terrazas. Our first stop at Las Terrazas is by the lake for orientation and welcome beverages.

Las Terrazas Cuba

Lake at Las Terrazas Cuba

This is a beautiful location.

Las Terrazas is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. Started in 1968 as a reforestation project and eco-village. This is now a popular day trip from Havana. You can stay longer at Hotel Moka located on the property.

Our Cuban guide, Alejandro, told us it started as a small village with limited number of people allowed to live here. The village has grown, but the number of residents is still limited.

We drive to Cafetal Buenavista,

Cafetal Buenavista

the restored ruins of a 19^th century coffee plantation built in 1801 by French refugees from Haiti. This is Cuba’s oldest coffee plantation.

The restaurant has a view of the estate.

Beautiful, but where is the food??

This was used to grind coffee beans by hand.

Grind coffee beans by hand

A long and difficult process. The kitchen for the restaurant is located here in a separate building.

Kitchen is out here

Strolling through the coffee plantation I noticed this tree with red bark.

Red bark. Pretty

Red bark on trees is new to this duck. These stairs lead to the grinding stone to process coffee beans.

Stairs to coffee bean processing area

This huge tajona (grinding stone) was used to extract coffee beans from their shells.

to extract coffee beans from shells

After the tajona, the coffee beans were sun dried on huge platforms.

Platform to sun dry coffee beans

Leaving the coffee bean processing area, this basket caught my eye.

Very convenient basket

I think it is so cute!

We had lunch at this farmhouse.

Lunch was served here. Yum!

The food was so good! We had black beans and rice and ropa vieja. I love ropa vieja. The shredded beef is seasoned, but not too spicy. This is what I always order in Cuban restaurants. Yum! And, we had fresh coconut ice cream. This was my favorite meal. But, mom did not take pictures of this restaurant. I don’t know why???

Near the house with the restaurant, I sat on these rocks.

Zeb the Duck likes these rocks

Duck on a rock

They are fantastic for ducks…and humans. Las Terrazas is wonderful. I still have so much to tell you, but it will wait for another day. Be sure to read the next part of Las Terrazas here at Coloradotravelingducks.com. I will have more duck stories next time.

January 15, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Plazas of Havana with Zeb

Zeb the Duck and his group of humans explored 2 more plazas. So old and historic and so peaceful. First we discovered the Plaza de San Francisco de Asisi. The Basilica is now a museum and concert hall. Two to three times weekly choral and chamber music is performed. The inside has excellent acoustics.

This plaza is known for the beautiful Fuente de los Leones (Lions Fountain) which was built in 1836 by Giuseppe Gaggini.

Lions Fountain

On one side of the basilica is the statue of El Caballero de Paris (The Gentleman of Paris).

Rub his beard for good luck

People rub his beard for good luck.

This statue is near the entrance.

Near Basilica of St Francis

The plaza is so peaceful that couples get married here.

Beautiful wedding

Horse carriage rides are available also. We did not have enough time for a ride.

Ride in a horse carriage

The streets here are rather narrow.

We strolled down narrow streets

Walking through San Francisco Plaza we head for Plaza Vieja (old plaza). We discovered this aqueduct built between 1565 and 1592.

Aqueduct in Havana

In 1982 Old Havana was declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity and restoration began. Now this plaza is full of people

Plaza Vieja

and has many restaurants, an aquarium, a planetarium, and the Chocolate Museum.

Chocolate Museum!!

Really the chocolate museum is more a café with reasonable prices and decadent chocolate. I even saw a lady’s high heeled shoe made of chocolate. Go inside purchase chocolate and relax at a small marble table. Yum!

I, Zeb the Duck, liked this street with café tables, not cars or horses.

Cafe in the street

We saw little cafes like this everywhere.

Let’s have a snack

I like the plazas of Old Havana. You will too.

January 13, 2014 by coloradotravelingducks

Havana, Cuba with Zeb the Duck

Mom and Zeb the Duck are in Havana, Cuba. We took a charter flight from Miami to Havana. The charter flight was an American Airline flight with an American Airline flight crew.

We are in Havana, Cuba

After customs and immigration we met Alejandro, our Cuban guide. He was very nice and spoke English. Santos is our bus driver. Connie is our Friendly Planet group leader. They will be with us all week.

Our tour to Cuba was through Friendly Planet and was a people to people tour. Both the Cuban and American governments agree to permit these tours. Mom changed money at the airport. Cuba has a dual currency system. As tourists we use CUC currency (1 CUC is about equal to US $1). The Cuban people are paid in CUP currency. Each CUP is equivalent to 4 U.S. cents. Visit www.friendlyplanet.com for information and reservations to travel to Cuba from the United States.

Alejandro and Santos took us to the Used Booksellers Market.

Used Booksellers Market in Plaza de Armas, Havana

This is big outdoor market located in the Plaza de Armas, and is rather famous. Used books are sold and also old postage stamps are for sale.

Old stamps for sale at this market

The venders were very friendly and talked to us with a mixture of Spanish and English.

Nearby we saw this statue of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes.

Statue of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes

In 1868 Cespedes gave the Grito de Yara (shout of Yara) beginning the 10-year war. This was the first effort to free slaves and gain independence from Spain.

These are some photos of typical street scenes in Cuba.

Streets of Havana

Havana street

Havana after rain

I, Zeb the Duck, and my group of humans traveled around Havana. Santos drove us to Trinidad, with stops in Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos before returning to Havana. We saw so much that I will be telling you about Cuba for a few weeks. I hope you will stay with me here at ColoradoTravelingDucks.com

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