Bus Pass Wanderers

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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Ship to shore
21 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
A quick getaway from the ship. We were off by 8.20 and found our taxi waiting at the gate. An hour and a half later we were dropped at the Hotel Colonial and soon checked in by very friendly staff who printed out a map for us showing the route to the eye clinic where I had booked for my injection.
We sat over a coffee and caught up with emails etc and then ambled through this busy, bustling city towards the clinic. We stopped for lunch ( our first Costa Rican 'Plato del Dia', a hearty meal with soft drink for about £3) and then went to the eye clinic.
Doctor Rubinstein was very helpful, he did some of his training at Stoke Mandeville, and the injection was done, enough said!
We wandered back through the shopping streets, stopped for tea in the National Theatre and then back to our room.
We ended up in a very local restaurant that night for a small snack before an early night lulled to sleep by the constant din of car horns!!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
San Jose in a day
22 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
We had one day to see the sights so set off for our first stop, the National Museum of Costa Rica. The ticket was expensive but if you included all three of the cities main museums it worked out a bit cheaper. Did we really want to go to the Jade Museum? So we started at the National. 2.5 hours later we thought coffee was in order so walked the 100m to the Jade museum and sat in the coffee shop. Well while we are here we may as well take a quick look! 2 hours later we emerged back into daylight absolutely delighted with all that we had seen!
The last of the trio was under the National Theatre so we walked there and took in the theatre tour which fortunately was only 45min. This gave us just time for an hour round the Gold Museum before the obligatory 4pm cup of tea!
Well another 2 hours later we surfaced having seen a huge collection of priceless gold, bank notes and coins all beautifully displayed in this underground 'vault'.
At last Chris had her cup of tea and we went back to our hotel to await the arrival of Chris's sister, Tricia and husband, Graham.
They made it by 7pm and we all walked to a local restaurant for a bite before turning in for the night ready for an early start in the morning.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Take the Rough with the Smooth
23 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
An early start! We (all 4 of us now Tricia and Graham have joined us) were picked up at 6.30 and drove the busy road north towards Limon. This was smooth and a pretty modern highway so no problem. However shortly after the breakfast stop we turned off and stated the 20km journey to the boat landing stage. That 20km took over an hour of rocknroll potholed road so I was feeling very queezy by the time we reached the boats.
It took nearly three hours to reach the lodge stopping to see wildlife regularly and at the last village called Tortuguera after which the national park is named. No roads lead to it, just the delta canal system so things are a bit more expensive but two bottles of Chillean red and a corkscrew only came to $12 and we enjoyed the first on our adjoining balconies before dinner that night.
We had a swim in the turtle shaped pool and a short walk along the beach before dinner as well.
Our guide told us to meet at 5.45am in the morning for another boat trip so we cut the evening short and retired around 9pm.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Jungle or rain forest?
24 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
I suggested to our guide Manuel (it had to be! Que?) that the difference was just Hollywood but he explained that jungle was immature rain forest where the canopy still let in enough sunlight for undergrowth to thrive hence the need for machetes in a jungle but not in a rain forest where the undergrowth has disappeared as no light reaches the forest floor. So now you know and I'll bore you further with the day's activities.
The morning boat tour was a 5.45 start! Back around 8.15 for breakfast. Very quiet and peaceful at that time and we spotted a good selection of wildlife. Several species of heron, egrets, vultures, waders, toucans, etc. We watched both spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys but have yet to spot a howler. Other wildlife spotted were Cayman , crocks and a water snake.
After a leisurely breakfast we met our guide at 10 for a jungle walk. Here we saw the infamous poisonous red dart frog and several others, a viper, several species of bats, spiders and, of course, more spider monkeys!
We had a lazy afternoon round the pool and once again retired quite early as it was another fairly early start in the morning.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Escape from the jungle
25 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Up at dawn, breakfasted, packed, checked out and on the boat by 8.30! Ah hour and a half later we arrived at the boat terminal to find no bus waiting. It turned out one broke down so a second bigger bus picked up all the 'incoming' so was 30 min late getting to us. Not so bad though as it was a more comfortable ride and we made up time on the rough road. We stopped for lunch and there said goodbye to our guide before being dropped of at the car hire depot.
We have a big 4 wheel drive Hyundai with an Internet 'hotspot' included which makes finding our way very easy!
We reached our next stop 90min later and found tea making facilities in the rooms much to Chris's delight! After a drink and a snack we retired to the rooms and watched the first half of 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' before turning in early again as we wanted to be back in the jungle by 7 at the latest next morning.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Chocolate to volcano in 2 hours!
26 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We were once again up early and 3 of us headed to the suspended bridge to cross over to the jungle footpaths. The gate was still locked we were so early but the man came a few minutes later and ushered us on to the bridge. 250m long and very unstable! Tricia had to turn back and Chris let me lead the way across because of all the spiders webs that festooned the bridge!
It was quite eerie walking the jungle paths with no one around and the howler monkeys in full voice. We did meet one other couple on the way back over the bridge but that was it.
After breakfast we were booked on the chocolate tour - back over the bridge! Tricia and Chris opted out and did the shortened version on the lodge side whilst Graham and I did the whole thing!
Having had our fill of chocolate we set off for La Fortuna and the Arenal volcano arriving in ample time for our pre-booked 5pm slot at the thermal pools. This included dinner so we were not back at our Eco lodge till nearly 9 and retired early yet again!En savoir plus
VoyageurChocolate 😍 wobbly bridge 🤩 spiders 😫
29/01/2019Répondre
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Arenal volcano
27 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
When we arrived in La Fortuna yesterday the volcano was shrouded in cloud and we were told people stay for days and never see it clear! True to form the top was completely obscured as we set off for our first activity of the day, the mystic bridges reserve.
6 long hanging bridges later and a variety of wildlife we sat for a coffee with wonderful cloudless views of Arenal volcano. An awe inspiring site!
A hearty comida del dia and then a stroll around downtown La Fortuna with coffee and cake ended with us catching a rehearsal of the district marching band - very colourful.
The bird life at this lodge was stunning just a pity my camera does not do it justice!
We ended the day with a swim, a glass of wine and a light meal. Can't be bad!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Another day, another lodge
29 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
The day started with a scenic drive around lake Arenal. It was only 80k to our next lodge but it took nearly 4 hours as the black top ran out soon after the end of the lake. The drive was beautiful however and we arrived in Monteverde at 1300m by mid afternoon.
The new lodge is lovely. Large balconies overlook lush gardens with a variety of birds to keep the guide book pages turning over!
The evening saw us on a night tour in the forest. Not for wimps as snakes figured greatly as well as many sleeping birds and insects on small tracks deep in the foliage. Interesting stuff!
Another hearty meal followed, a glass of wine and then bed. We do seem to be in a groove!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Tuesday-but our day of rest!
29 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Graham not too well this morning so we left him at the lodge and drove downtown to do the tourist thing of souvenir hunting and good coffee. We got back to find him somewhat improved so set off on the short trail around the lodge.
Lunch consisted of yesterday's left overs and a beer. We then went to one of the cloud forest reserves for a walk. Saw lots of humming birds but not much else - we were far too late in the day!
Enjoyed a sunset with cocktails at a local restaurant and returned there later for dinner.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
The long drive day
30 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We had to make a fairly early start as we had about 270k to drive today. Certainly the longest drive day of the trip. The first 30 l took well over an hour on unmade roads but then we reached the Pan American Highway and we thought the journey would improve! Uh uh heavy traffic and hold ups kept our average speed down and then our sat nav let us down and we had to revert to an old fashioned map! Anyway we sorted it out and bowled along for the final 150k of the trip.
Our new lodge was wonderful! Great views over the Pacific, a warm pool, a well appointed two bed villa and friendly staff. Pity the drink and food prices were a bit steep!
We had to be up early the next morning so after a nice meal and a quiet drink in our villa ( that we had bought at a supermarket!) it was off to bed for the now familiar early night!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Manuel Antonio National Park
31 janvier 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
All sorts of scare stories about this park! From 'you won't get in after 8am' to 'the monkeys will pinch everything'. We were confident as we had dated tickets-wrong! I luckily checked the night before and found they were open tickets. Not good news so we were up early and off by 7.30 with the staff at the lodge warning we would have to queue just to get parking and then to get in.
Well I found a nifty short cut and we joined the queue about 5k from the entrance. Well that turned out to be just a very slow cement lorry and once we passed it there was no problem right up to the entrance and we were in by 8.45!
Ok so now onto the park itself. Very beautiful with well laid paths to the main sites. We saw monkeys, raccoons, sloths, frogs, crabs, iguanas and a variety of birds before relaxing on one of the beaches and enjoying a cooling swim.
Back at the lodge we found there was live music that night with an extended happy hour and much cheaper snacks for sale. So we sat around the pool and had a few drinks whilst listening to a very cool Ohion singing many of his own compositions and being entertained by the antics of a two year old boy in his own little world!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Aha me Hearties!
1 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Today started with our best view yet of a toucan and then an easy drive to the little town of Sierpe where we had to hand back the car. We were a bit early for the ferry to Drake's Bay but a coffee and wander around the little town passed the time.
We were expecting a quiet boat ride along a river through the mangrove swamps but when a fast looking launch turned up with twin 200h. p. outboards we begun to wonder!
It was about an hour along the river mostly at high speed with a short section through the mangroves and then we hit the open sea. Fortunately it was reasonably calm and 30 min of full on cruising found us reversing onto a beach. Instructed to take off our shoes we jumped off the stern and waded ashore for the short walk to our lodge 'Pirate Cove'.
Lunch was awaiting us and then we strolled into the village and enjoyed an ice cream. Back at the lodge we swim, had a cocktail then dinner before retiring early again to be up for a 6.30 breakfast before our booked snorkelling trip.En savoir plus
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VoyageurBrilliant photo's I hope your not swimming anywhere near those crocodiles ... xx
05/02/2019Répondre
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Cano Island
2 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
The inevitable early start found us on the beach by 7am waiting to wade onto the dive boat. We were only going snorkelling, no divers today, and we stopped twice to pick up more people. 50 min later we arrived at the first site and had a good 45min snorkel seeing, amongst others, several white tipped reef sharks.
We then had a break ashore with drinks and biscuits before reboarding the boat and heading for a second site. The visibility became steadily worse but did see a turtle (hawksbill) and a huge shoal of black jack fish before heading back to the boat.
Heading back to the mainland we caught sight of a fin and we were soon surrounded by a large school of spotted dolphins who played around the boat for several minutes. Always nice to see!
We were pretty shattered by then so had a quiet afternoon around the pool and I managed a short run along the beach before sundowners and our evening meal.En savoir plus
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VoyageurWhere are the dolphin photos?? 🐬
06/02/2019Répondre
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Gulfo Dulce
3 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Yes, another early start! Back on the boat for another high speed ride back to Sierpe. We then crossed the river on an old ferry before taking the high road across to Puerto Jimenez to our final lodge in Costa Rica, El Romanso.
This is set deep into the rain forest high above the Pacific and is our home for the next couple of days. On the short final stage to the lodge we finally saw howler monkeys and black fresh water turtles.
We watched the sunset from the deck by the pool and planned our next two days.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Relaxing El Romanso style
4 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
A lie in! Yes, today we had no programme to follow so we luxuriated with tea in bed before a swim in the pool followed by a late (by recent standards - 8.15!) breakfast.
We then took the trail down to the beach and then along to a small fresh water lagoon for a refreshing dip. The climb back to the lodge was hot and sweaty but the pool awaited!
After lunch and a siesta we took a trail over the swing bridges and into the forest where we caught a glimpse of a family of peccaries (a sort of wild pig). Difficult to photograph in the undergrowth.
We had a late dinner and retired that bit later to the sounds of the jungle!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Time and Tide
6 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Another gentle start to the day! After a leisurely breakfast it was down to the beach again but this time we turned South and headed for some tide pools about 1k away. These turned out to be quite small but a very cooling dip after the long walk. As we sat there several long skeins of Pelicans passed overhead heading south. Graham was ic photos of both but failed to notice it wasn't taking so sorry no pics!
We returned to the lodge in time for lunch and lazed the afternoon by the pool only stirring for what we thought was going to be a stroll along one of the forest paths.
This turned out to be rather harder than we imagined and shortly after Graham muttered 'I hope we at least see something!' I very nearly stepped on a large snake. It was around 2m and wrist thick, a small boa constrictor we were later told. We then came close to a troop of howler monkeys whose noise considerably increased as we approached. We arrived back at the lodge with a slight sense of relief!
Sundowners and dinner later we started packing for the long trip back to San Jose tomorrow.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Show me the Way to San Jose
6 février 2019, Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
It all went smoothly, at least after the bumpy first 60k or so and the last 15k through the traffic of S. J. The whole journey took 8 hours door-to-door so we simply went out for a last local meal (rice, beans and chicken) before retiring at the respectable time of 10pm.
Mind you on the way we did see some C. R. wildlife as in the pics!En savoir plus
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VoyageurBeautiful scarlet macaw 🦜
09/02/2019Répondre
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Viva Cuba!
7 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
An easy journey right up to customs at the airport. No one had told us (nor many other travellers!) about the form we had to fill in to actually be released into the country! A frustrating 15min later we found a source of them - a security check point that we hadn't used! Back to the exit gate but behind a group of about 30 Chinese who also had no idea about the form but we managed to sneak through in the confusion and find our taxi man, Alain.
30 min later we were at our first of three 'home stays' and warmly greeted by one of the family, Alek who showed us our room. A bit shabby but clean and comfortable with our own bathroom, fridge and , much to Chris's delight, a kettle!
Breakfast ordered, a bit of unpacking and in bed by midnight.En savoir plus
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Christine McNeillTravellers' Joy!
15/02/2019Répondre
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Havana in a day (and night!)
8 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Breakfast with the family followed by some money exchange with Dad preceded Alain coming to pick us up dead on time. He took us into the centre of old Havana where we met our guide for a walking tour of the old city.
One of our first stops was the National Theatre where Chris discovered that a ballet was on that night so, of course, she bought a ticket which was a third of our pesos! Later a stop at Hemingway's Mojito bar (3 Mojitos - one extra for the guide), a tip for her at the end and then another for Alain who had waited to take us 'home' and refused payment left us short of Pesos.
We had a two hour classic car ride later in the afternoon and, again dead on time, a Chevrolet 1957 'Bellair' convertible turns up in superb condition for the trip. I had thought these classic American cars were a bit of a tourist gimmick but not so! They are everywhere in various states of repair and can be hired simply as taxis. You see very few modern vehicles apart from yellow taxis and Transtur busses. Even old motorbike combinations are quite common!
He dropped us off at the theatre (another tip!) and we had a drink in the cafe waiting for the performance. I found a bar with live Cuban music and managed to make two beers stretch out the evening.
On the way back to pick up Chris I passed 4 ATMs but they all refused me money! We had enough for a taxi 'home' (a Lada from the 70's) but only about 20 pesos to last us over the w/e as change places only open Mon to Fri.
Watch this space as they say!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Havana to Vinales
9 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Our taxi turned up on time yet again and our driver, Hernando asked if we minded his 5 year old daughter coming with us. Fernanda was a delight and Chris taught her a few words of English during the journey of about 3h. The roads are very good with little traffic on them so only hold ups when behind slow vehicles once we were off the motorway. We arrived at our home stay right on time at noon expecting to find a guide there for a three hour trip through the Vinales valley, a region dominated by megales, limestone outcrops similar to the caste scenery in Halong Bay. He didn't show up and after several phone calls Hernando found his house and it was finally agreed that H. would take us to the main sites that afternoon and the guide would pick us up in the morning for the rest of the trip.
We then had a problem with entry as we had vouchers but only electronic and they needed hard copy! More phone calls and H. was told to pay (remember we had very few Pesos left!) and claim back the money later. Finally we waved goodbye to H. and F. having given him a tip in dollars, not a popular currency in Cuba.
We found a cheap meal in the town that night (again we couldn't use our meal voucher without a printout) and were drawn to the main square by the sound of music. It was a bit loud for us so we wandered a bit further down the road and I noticed a light up a narrow alley inset into a wall. It was a very well hidden ATM! It worked, we were back in funds so celebrated with Mojitos in a bar near the square.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Tobacco Road
10 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The house phone rang and Mariacele (our landlady) announced 'Jesus is coming' well it was a Sunday but pretty unlikely we thought till a young man arrived and introduced himself as our guide Jesus and added quickly 'but my surname is not Christ!'
He led us along paths through the field systems to a small farm where the owner showed us, and a pair of American ladies, how they lived and produced cigars which we had to try. Jesus turned out to be pretty poor at English but luckily the American ladies' guide was reasonable so we learnt a lot and drunk a cocktail with local rum. A bit early for alcohol but what the heck!
Back in the town we had a light lunch and then set off by ourselves for a walk close to the mogotes. The scenery here is not dramatic but very pleasing and we were surprised by the variety of domestic animals we saw mostly just wandering around!
We stopped back in town for refreshment (Pina Colada for Chris, beer for me) before walking the 1k back to the house. Mariacele was providing our dinner tonight, a vast improvement on our cheap one last night and then we settled down to edit photos, diary and Penguins.
Wifi is a real problem in Cuba. Only one state provider and you have to buy tokens for it at official offices. Only one such in each town so queues are long and you have to show ID as locals are restricted in use. It took me 10 min or so to buy 1 hour of use and that is only at 'hotspots' that are not widespread. You may be reading this after we arrive back in UK!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Trinidad without cricket!
11 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
A long drive today, 6 hrs but at least our driver spoke excellent English. So he should as he was a graduate teacher of English turned to taxi driving because it pays better! He told us that many things in Cuba are 'upside down' like that.
We arrived in Trinidad around 4pm having spent an hour in Cienfuegos on the way. C. was a lively town that somehow felt less safe than even Havana. Nothing to really substantiate that just a feeling really and the people on the streets. Anyway after a bit of sightseeing and a drink we were off to Trinidad.
This 'home stay' is much like the other two but right in the old town centre so easy to do the sights tomorrow.
After a couple of Mojitos listening to Cuban music we decided to eat cheaply tonight and splash out on our last bought meal tomorrow. I spotted a little bar on the Main Street that did Cuban snacks and pizza so in we went.
Now I can understand flags of Valencia F. C. and Barcelona F. C. but why Nottingham Forest? The barman had no idea but suggested they were given them so up they went!
A nice snack later and a fight with the ATM and we hit the sack to be ready for 8am breakfast tomorrow.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Foot sore in Trinidad
12 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ 🌙 25 °C
It's not a big town but quite hilly and the whole of the historic centre is cobbled with uneven stones from the river. This makes walking tricky and in 30 degree heat, tiring as well!
We set off on our guide book's suggested walk, visiting various historic buildings and craft markets. At 11.30 we stopped for coffee in a nice courtyard restaurant and found a quartet about to set up and play for the lunch crowd. They were so good that we ordered a snack and listened to their whole set, buying the CD at the end rather than giving the expected tip. We'll probably bore you with it sometime!
We continued wandering after lunch and made it back 'home' for Chris's afternoon tea. After a bit of a siesta we were off to a bar high up in the town for Mojitos and the sunset. A nice bar with live music again but nowhere near the standard of this morning. After a couple of cocktails and two very nice tapas plates we descended back to the main town and decided to order a pizza between us in a lovely restaurant we had spotted in the morning.
Low and behold another combo started to set up. They were excellent and gave us a full hour of first class music. Didn't have enough money for their CD so just a 3 CUC tip this time!
Finally back 'home' to write this but had to visit the ATM first so we had funds for tomorrow!En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Come Rain or Shine
13 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
The taxi wasn't due till noon so up to the old town again for a wander and coffee. Took some nice shots of the Plaza Mejor from the balcony of the art gallery before back to our 'home' and taxi dead on time as usual.
About half way into the journey the rain started! A real tropical downpour that kept going for around 8 hours! So much for our plans for an afternoon swim off one of the top ten beaches in the world! The wind was howling as well so the hotel, not designed for such weather, was awash inside and out!
A couple of cocktails , a meal and a Cuban dance show later we were ready for bed.En savoir plus
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Bus Pass Wanderers Pete Moore
Hotel Sol - Sol!?
14 février 2019, Cuba ⋅ 🌙 22 °C
Would it clear up? Rain all night but dry and dull as we had breakfast. We did some chores and by coffee time it was fine enough for a walk along the beach. We had an early lunch put on the swimmies and spent the afternoon on the beach beds. We did get wet but the red flag was out so only in up to the knees.
Chris enjoyed a water ballet show while we sipped our last Mojitos and then had dinner.
The alarm was set for 00.30 so we skipped the stage show and got a few hours sleep before the taxi turned up.En savoir plus
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